DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
September 16 to 25, 2024
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 16
Depart From the New York City area for Israel. Beverages and meals will be served on board.
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17
Arrive in Tel Aviv and meet our guide. We will drive north along the coast to the Galilee and check-in at the hotel to enjoy dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Dinner and Overnight: Kibbutz – Sea of Galilee
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18
CAESAREA / MEGIDDO / NAZARETH / JORDAN RIVER
We will drive to Caesarea, an excavated city built by Herod the Great 2000 years ago. It served as the administrative capital of Judea for over 600 years. We will then climb up Tel Megiddo, one of Solomon’s ancient chariot cities, for a view of the Jezreel Valley and future site of the battle of Armageddon. Next we will visit Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus. We will stop at the Basilica of the Annunciation. End the day at the Jordan River and renew your baptism as a true pilgrim!
Dinner and Overnight: Kibbutz – Sea of Galilee
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 19
CAESAREA PHILIPPI / GOLAN HEIGHTS / MT BEATITUDES / CAPERNAUM
We will start our day with a visit to the site of ancient Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus demanded to know of His disciples who people were saying He was. Next we will climb up to the Golan Heights and remember the Road to Damascus, and enjoy the breathtaking view from the Peace Vista. Then you will enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Next a visit to Mt. Beatitudes where Jesus gave his “Sermon on the Mount” (Matt.5). At Tabgha we will remember the miracle of Multiplication of loaves and fishes (Mark 6) with which he fed thousands of people. Visit Capernaum – known as Jesus’ “own town” (Matt. 9:1) – “walking where Jesus walked” takes on thrilling new meaning. As you sit on the stone benches of Capernaum’s ancient synagogue, you’ll be reminded that right here, Jesus taught (Mark 1:21; John 6:59) and healed a man possessed by an evil spirit (Mark 1:23-27). It was the synagogue on this very spot, whose foundations you can still see, which Luke says was built by the centurion whose servant Jesus later healed (Luke 7:3-5). Jesus also raised from the dead the daughter of this synagogue’s leader (Luke 8:49-53).
Dinner and Overnight: Kibbutz – Sea of Galilee
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 20
BEIT SHEAN / HAROD SPRING / SHILOH
After breakfast we will travel to Beit Shean, historical gem that unfolds the fascinating story of a rich period full of changes, was the capital of the Decapolis cities, through which word of Jesus’ miracles and teachings spread (Matt. 4:25, Mark 5: 20). It has also been a scene of tragedy: more than a millennium earlier, the Philistines hung the body of Saul from its ramparts. We will stop and visit the Harod Spring which bubbles in a cave on the slopes of Mount Gilboa and from here we can enjoy a fine view of the Jezreel Valley and lower Galilee. Tel Shiloh, in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, the children of Israel brought the Tabernacle (Josh. 18:1), making Shiloh a religious center for the Israelites before Jerusalem. It was from Shiloh that the Ark was taken into battle and temporarily lost to the Philistines. We will stop at the Western Wall and observe the dancing and chanting by all Israelis and Yeshiva students to welcome the Sabbath.
Dinner and Overnight: Ramada - Jerusalem
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 21
MT OF OLIVES / GARDEN OF GETHSAMANE / UPPER ROOM
DAVID’S TOMB / ST. PETER EN GALICANTU / GARDEN TOMB
Begin the day with the glorious view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. Visit the garden of Gethsemane and see its ancient olive trees, remembering Jesus’ agony in prayer for us. Visit Mt. Zion and the Upper Room, remembering the Last Supper and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Below we can pray and pay homage to Israel’s famous king and ancestor of the Messiah at King David’s Tomb. Then we enter the compound at the St. Peter en Galicantu Church which is built over the site of the house of Caiaphas where Jesus was imprisoned. Proceed to Gordon’s Calvary and the Garden Tomb. Continue to Bethlehem with a stop at the Bethlehem Nativity Souvenirs store.
Dinner and Overnight: Ramada - Jerusalem
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22
QUMRAN / MASSADA / DEAD SEA
We will depart early today after breakfast and start our drive to Qumran and we will stand among the 2,000 year-old ruins overlooking the Dead Sea on the edge of the Judean Wilderness, we will experience a dramatic view of the cave in which most of the Dead Sea Scrolls, containing the oldest Bible ever found, were discovered. We will then visit the mountaintop fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea. Less than 40 years after Jesus was crucified, Jewish rebels took over Masada. In contrast to Jesus’ instruction to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Luke 20:25), the rebels believed in zero-tolerance for Roman rule. The rebels were surrounded by the Roman army, and took their own lives rather than become slaves. This act has made Masada a symbol of the human spirit’s yearning for freedom and gives a greater understanding of this era of conflict that was the backdrop to Jesus’ ministry. Afterwards, we will descend to the lowest point on Earth and take advantage of the hot springs, mineral waters, and mud baths, and enjoy the desert climate, bathe in the healing waters of the Dead Sea, and breathe healthful bromide-filled air at the desert oasis, Ein Gedi.
Dinner and Overnight: Ramada - Jerusalem
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 23
GUSH ETZION / TEMPLE MOUNT / WESTERN WALL / JEWISH QUARTER / YAD VASHEM
After breakfast drive to Gush Etzion, the region south of Jerusalem, with its picturesque rolling hills adorned with grape arbors and olive groves, brimming with biblical and modern history. For millennia, the main road through here passed near Bethlehem, which in Bible days was called Efrat. Stop at the Kfar Etzion visitors' center, which showcases the region’s heritage in a moving audio-visual presentation. Return to Jerusalm to visit the spot where Abraham offered Isaac in sacrifice on Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount. Prepare to be “Awestruck” at the Western Wall, the last remnant of the Jerusalem Temple Jesus knew, destroyed 2,000 years ago by the Romans. We will walk through the Jewish Quarter and can visit the stores along the Cardo, a typical Roman street built in the 6th century. Next we will visit the Yad Vashem museum Israel’s Holocaust remembrance and education center which is an emotional and heartrending experience, but seeing the exhibits and remembering the Holocaust gives the more than one million individuals, world leaders and dignitaries who pass through its doors annually a meaningful way to commemorate the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust.
Dinner and Overnight: Ramada - Jerusalem
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 24
ISRAEL MUSEUM / VIA DOLOROSA / CHURCH OF HOLY SEPULCHRE
After breakfast we will begin the day a visit to the Israel Museum, the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and one of the leading art and archaeology museums in the world. with a visit to the Pool of Bethesda, the site of the miraculous healing of a paralyzed man by Jesus, as recounted solely in the gospel of John, and also the site of the birth of Mary's mother, "Anne". Here over the original pools the purest crusader church in the whole country was built: St. Anne's. We will walk along Via Dolorosa, the road Jesus walked from the place of Pontius Pilate’s sentencing to Golgotha. We will then visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the most sacred ground in the Christian world; this ancient church stands over the Tomb of Jesus and the last of the Stations of the Cross. Farewell dinner at an Israeli restaurant before we head to the airport for our overnight flight home.
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25
Arrive in the USA!
PLEASE NOTE! We reserve the right to omit any site and/or change the itinerary
Should it be necessary due to local conditions.
