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Let the Land God gave Abraham speak to your heart. Hear the stones cry out, breathe the air, experience the Land flowing with milk and honey. See mountains, valleys and lakes David marveled over, sift the sands of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Paul and The Lord Jesus Christ. You've longed for it all your life - now is the time to come home, home to the Holy Land! You are invited to join this tour of a lifetime.
"If you want to understand the poet
you must visit his country." - Goethe
To receive the most benefit and
training from your Holy Land Tour a Bible reading program as part of your preparation is a must! In the
itinerary below the sites you visit are linked to Wikipedia which is NOT a Bible Encyclopedia. Wikipedia,
however, provides extensive background. Many sites, like Megiddo, have histories that predate what we
read in the Bible. It takes an extended period of time to read all the background material but you will
be glad you made that investment! A good resource for keyword Bible online searches is Bible
Gateway.
Saturday, Oct. 23 - Day 1: Overnight
flight from your airport to Tel Aviv (we can assist with good flight prices thru our consolidator if you
would like that assistance).
Sunday, Oct. 24
- Day 2: Upon arrival at Ben
Gurion International Airport you are met and transferred to the Grand
Beach Hotel in Tel Aviv for dinner
and overnight. The hotel is near the beach.
 Monday, Oct. 25
- Day 3: Caesarea - Megiddo - Mount
Carmel - Galilee. Drive along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea,
the ancient Roman Capital built by Herod the
Great in 22 B.C. See the Roman Amphitheater, Aqueduct, and Herodian Port. Continue via the Valley
of Armageddon to Megiddo and visit the remarkable
excavations, including the famous water tunnel and King Solomon's stables. Proceed to Mount
Carmel and visit Muchraka (place of the fire) where Elijah
met the prophets of Baal. Proceed to your hotel,
Kibbutz Lavi, in the Lower Galilee
for dinner and overnight.
Tuesday, Oct. 26 - Day 4: Mount. of
Beatitudes - Tabgha - Capernaum - Kursi - Caesarea Philippi. Enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee,
then view the fishermen's boat dated to the
time of Jesus. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes,
site of the Sermon on The Mount,
then travel to Tabgha, site of the Miracle
of the Loaves and Fishes. Proceed to Capernaum,
the city of Jesus and Peter, and visit the 2nd century Synagogue.
On to Kursi (Gergesa) site of the miracle of
the casting of the demons from the possessed man into the pigs, and Caesarea
Philippi, then return to Kibbutz Lavi for dinner and overnight.
Wednesday, Oct. 27 - Day 5: Yardenit
- Cana - Nazareth - Beit Shean - Jerusalem. Start the day with a visit to Yardenit, the Baptismal
center on the Jordan River. Drive to Cana
of Galilee to see the Church of The First Miracle. Continue to Nazareth
to visit the Church of The Annunciation
and Mary's Well. Short drive to Beit
Shean and visit the excavated Roman theater. From here the tour goes south along the Jordan River
Valley to the Holy City, Jerusalem. Check
into your Grand
Court Hotel for 4 nights, dinner and overnight.
Thursday, Oct. 28 - Day 6: Masada
- Qumran - Dead Sea. Drive through the Judean
Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest
point of earth, and along its shore to the fortress of Masada.
You will view the 3 dimension museum theater, then ride the cable car to the top of the mountain to see
Herod's fortress/palace, synagogue, bathhouses, and more. On the return trip to Jerusalem you visit
the Qumran, where the Dead
Sea Scrolls were discovered in remote caves. You also have time to enjoy a "float" in the Dead
Sea. Dinner and overnight Jerusalem.
Friday, Oct. 29 - Day 7: New City
of Jerusalem - Bethlehem. Drive to Ein Karem
and visit the Church of John the Baptist. Continue to Yad
Vashem Memorial to the Holocaust, visit the Shrine
of The Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed and the Model
of Jerusalem during the times of the Second
Temple. Situation permitting, drive to Bethlehem
to visit the Church of The Nativity,
Manger Square, and view the Shepherds
Fields. Return to Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight.
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Saturday, Oct. 30 - Day 8: Old City
of Jerusalem. Drive to the Mount of Olives
for a panoramic view. Visit the Garden
of Gethsemane and the Church of
All Nations. Continue to the Pool of
Bethesda and the Church
of St. Anne. Walk the Via Dolorosa
to the Church of The Holy Sepulchre.
Proceed to the area of Temple Mount - see
the Western Wall. On to Mount
Zion and the Church
of St. Peter in Gallicantu, King
David's Tomb, and the Room of
The Last Supper. The tour ends with a visit to the Garden
Tomb. Return to Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight.
 Sunday,
October 31 - Day 9: Transfer to Allenby
Bridge near Jericho for crossing into
Jordan (takes approx. 3 hours to transfer from
Jerusalem, exit Israel, enter Jordan). Drive south along the King's
Highway to Petra; visiting Madaba
once a Moabite border city, cited in the Exodus
account at Numbers 21:30 and Joshua 13:9. The present-day city is known for the many mosaics
found in the remains of floors of private homes and public buildings. It is the site of the famed Madaba
Mosaic Map, an index map of the region, dating from the sixth century, preserved in the floor of the Greek
Orthodox Basilica of St. George. The mosaic is the earliest remaining representation of Jerusalem. The
map provides important details of 6th century landmarks. This map is one key in developing scholarly knowledge
about the physical layout of Jerusalem after the year 70. Continue to Mount
Nebo - the burial site of Moses, then
drive south to Petra (approx. 3 hours) for dinner and overnight the Petra
Palace Hotel.
Monday, Nov. 1: Full day to visit Petra,
this city that was carved into the rose-red Sharah
Mountains by the Nabateans and lost
to civilization until re-discovered by the Swiss explorer Burkhardt.
Walk through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure
between the cliffs, to reach the: Treasury, Roman Theater, Courts, Temple of the Winged Lion and other
monuments. You may wish to climb up to the Monastery. Late afternoon departure from Petra then 2 hour
drive to Aqaba for dinner and overnight Ra'ed
Suites Hotel.
Tuesday, Nov. 2: 10 minute transfer
from Aqaba hotel to exit Jordan, enter Eilat,
Israel, drive 15 minutes to Egypt border at Taba
(expect 2 hours for this whole process of border crossings). Drive to St.
Catherines (3 hours), the traditional location of Mount
Sinai for dinner and overnight at Wadi El Raha hotel (2+ star hotel, best available).
Wednesday, Nov. 3: Optional mountain
climb, 2:15am start the tour to Mt. Sinai, climbing up the mountain, camels are available to ride half
way up for about $15.00. You reach the mountain top before sunrise. Enjoy the sunrise then walk down the
mountain and back to hotel for breakfast and check out. Then you visit St. Catherines Monastery with the
traditional Burning Bush. Leaving the Mt.
Sinai area we drive through the Sinai Desert
passing through the Oasis of Rephidim, Exodus
17:2, and passing the traditional site of Marah,
Exodus 15:23, under the Suez Canal in the
Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel, through portions
of the Land of Goshen, into Cairo
for dinner and overnight (6-7 hours driving time) at the Marriott
Hotel on an island in the middle of the Nile
River.
Thursday, Nov. 4: Touring Cairo, this
morning you take a tour of the ancient capital of Memphis
and Saqqara, which contains the tombs of Old
Kingdom royalty and nobility. You will see the Step
Pyramid complex of Djoser, the first pyramid to be built. Continue on to the plateau of Giza
to see the last remaining site of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, the Great
Pyramid which dates from 2600 BC This pyramid is 450 feet high and consists of 2,300,000 blocks
of stone, each stone weighing 2.5 tons. Nearby see the pyramids of Khafre
and Mykerinos, and end your visit by the majestic
Sphinx, guardian of the plateau. Return
to Marriott Hotel for dinner and overnight Cairo.
Friday, Nov. 5: Touring Cairo, enjoy
a full day of touring beginning with the wonders at the Egyptian
Museum especially the treasures of King TUT
and the optional Mummy Room tour! Then continue
to Old Cairo and experience the people, sights
and smells. Next we visit the beautiful Coptic
churches with their stained glass, woodwork and mosaics, plus the spectacular Hanging
Church first built on the walls of the Roman Citadel in the first century after Christ. Dinner
and overnight Marriott Hotel.
Saturday, Nov.
6: Early morning transfer to Cairo
Airport for flight home, same day arrival in US as you gain 8 hours on the way home.
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