Duration: 11 Days
Dates: March 1, 2023 to March 11, 2023
Departure City: Dallas, Texas (DFW)

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1, Wednesday, March 01: Leave the USA on an international flight to Amman, Jordan

Day 2, Thursday, March 02: Arrive Amman.
Upon arrival into Amman airport, we will be met with our guide and driver and taken to our hotel in Amman for dinner and overnight (D).

Day 03, Friday, March 03: Bethany Beyond Jordan – Mt. Nebo – Mar Elias – Petra
After Breakfast, start the day with a visit to Bethany beyond Jordan (included) where group is allowed to renew their baptismal vows. We will then visit Mt. Nebo (included), the most revered holy sites of Jordan. This mountain was mentioned in Deuteronomy 34, (“Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah...”). While here, you will tour the Holy site of where Moses died and was buried. driving to Mar Elias (Tishbe), which is the birthplace of Elijah the prophet. We will then take the long drive to Petra for dinner and overnight (B/ L/D).

Day 04, Saturday, March 04: Petra – Amman
After breakfast, with visit Petra (included), the “rose red city half as old as time”. This ancient Edomite and Nabatean capital is an amazing example of prophecy. We’ll see the spectacular “city of the dead,” with its famed gorge, ancient streets, temples, dwelling places and tombs, carved in the solid rock. Then we arrive at El-Ji Post, and continue the one-mile journey on horseback, or walk, passing through the famous Siq (the natural gorge) and arrive at the Treasury. Return to Amman for dinner and overnight (B/L/D).

Day 05, Sunday, March 05: Allenby Bridge – Jericho – Jacob’s Well – Beit Shean
Today, we will cross the Allenby Bridge to Israel. Our first stop will be Tel Jericho (included), where we will see the location of city from the town of Joshua, view the Mount of Temptation. Then, enjoy panoramic tour of Jericho, seeing the Sycamore Tree reminding us of the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. We will then travel to Jacob’s Well in Nablus where Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her living water. We will then continue to Bet Shean the capital of the Decapolis. In Beit Shean (included) we will see the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine cities. We will also discuss the demise of King Saul and his sons, whose bodies were hanged on the walls of Beit Shean. We then drive to Tiberias for dinner and overnight (B/L/D).

Day 06, Monday, March 06: Sea of Galilee – Caesarea Philippi – Peter’s Primacy – Capernaum – Mount of Beatitudes – Magdala – Yardenit - Tiberias
After buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of a boat from Jesus’ time (included). We will dock in Ginnosar where we will visit the ancient boat museum (included), containing a 2000-year-old fishing boat which is a good example of how the boats looked like in Jesus’ time. We will then continue to Caesarea Philippi (included), where we will visit the ruins of the pagan altars and consider the confession of Peter (Matthew 16). During lunch break you may have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ day. In Tabgha, visit the Church of St Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus appeared to his disciples the third time after the Resurrection. Next, we will visit Capernaum (included), hometown of Jesus as described by the Gospel, also Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. There we will see the house of Peter’s mother-in-law and the ancient synagogue where many of Jesus’ teachings took place. We will then visit Magdala (included), the hometown of Mary Magdalene. We will then visit Mount of Beatitudes where we enjoy its enchanting gardens and reflect over Jesus’ teachings of the Sermon on the Mount before ending our day at the Baptismal site. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B/L/D).

Day 07, Tuesday, March 07: Nazareth – Mount Carmel – Caesarea Maritima – Jaffa – Jerusalem
After buffet breakfast, check-out, and drive Nazareth, where we will climb the Mount of Precipice, the brow of the hill, on which the city was built (Luke 4). There we will reflect on the rejection of Jesus by his family and friends in Nazareth. While there overlooking the Armageddon Valley, we will also discuss the reasons why we believe this will be the setting for the final battle between good and evil mentioned in Revelation 16:16. Visit Mount Carmel, Muhraqa – The Place of Fire (included), and consider the contest between the Prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal (I Kings 18), discussing the reasons why the Prophet chose that place for the contest, and the lessons we learn from the story. Continue to Caesarea Maritima (included), a magnificent city with Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader ruins. Here we will elaborate on the story of the baptism of Cornelius, the first gentile convert into Christianity (Acts 10), and on the travels of Paul — those events that led Caesarea Maritima to become the springboard of Christianity to the West. We will then travel towards Jaffa (time permitting). There we will consider the vision of Peter (Acts 10) and start following the sequence of events that lead to the opening of the gates of the early church to Gentiles. As we look at the very place where Jonah ran from the Lord, we will also reflect on our own walk with God. Proceed to Drive to Jerusalem and check-in at our hotel. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem (B/L/D).

Day 08, Wednesday, March 08: Temple Mount – St. Anne’s Church and Pools of Bethesda Mount of Olives – Mount Zion – Shepherd’s Fields – Bethlehem – Jerusalem
After a quick buffet breakfast early in the morning, we visit the Temple Mount where the Jewish temple stood until it’s destruction in 70 A.D. Here we reflect over Jesus’ ministry at the Temple of Jerusalem, seeing the Dome of the Rock, a possible location of the Holy of Holies. Next, visit the Church of St. Anne’s (included), a perfectly intact Crusader church. It is a wonderful place to gather and sing a song (sometimes with fellow Christians from all over the world). There, we will also visit the Pools of Bethesda where the healing at the pool took place (John 5). Visit the Southern Wall excavation site (included). Here we will walk on the very stones where Jesus trod to Herod’s “second temple” and see the place where our Savior taught the Scriptures. Visit the Mount of Olives for a breathtaking view of Jerusalem and a panoramic photo. Our guide will point the most important sites in Jerusalem, then we will walk the Palm Sunday Road. We proceed to Mount Zion to visit the Cenacle, that commemorates the Upper Room in which Jesus shared the Last Supper with the disciples. Then, visit also King David’s tomb, a site which is considered to be the place of burial of biblical king. Depart for Shepherd’s Fields. First, we visit Shepherd’s Field where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Our Lord. These fields are also the setting of the Book of Ruth. Visit the Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity built over the Cave of Christ’s Birth, we will view the actual place where Our Lord was born. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight (B/L/D).

Day 09, Thursday, March 09: Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – Dead Sea – Jerusalem
After buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada (included), the fortress built by King Herod the Great and made famous by the Zealots in 73/74 AD with the standoff against the Romans. We visit the fortress and see the ruins that are considered a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. We take cable car onto the mountain (included). We continue to Ein Gedi, an oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took places (I Samuel 24) and where some of the psalms were written by David. We visit Qumran (included), where we can see the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and the buildings that formed the Essenes public center. We proceed to the Dead Sea beaches, where we will have some time to float in the Dead Sea. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight (B/L/D).

Day 10, Friday, March 10: Gethsemane – House of Caiaphas – Ecce Homo – Garden Tomb – Jerusalem
After breakfast, start our day with visiting the Garden of Gethsemane where amid the 2000 years old olive trees we see the Rock of Agony on which Jesus prayed and the nearby Gethsemane cave where Jesus often spent the nights at and where he was arrested at the hands of the High Priest guards. There we will pause for a prayer time in private garden (subject to confirmation). We proceed to visit House of Caiaphas, the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (included), where we can see parts of the streets that Our Lord was dragged on by his capturers. We will have a chance to visit and pray at the dungeon where He was kept overnight. On to the Old City, where we reach Ecce Homo (included), the site named for Pontius Pilate's words “Behold the man”, where Jesus was beaten, crowned with thorns and clothed in a purple robe. We see the Stone Pavement called Lithostratos and have some time for prayers and meditations. In the afternoon, we visit Garden Tomb (included), a peaceful spot where we can remember Christ’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. We see the Calvary and the empty Tomb. Celebrate communion service at the Garden reaching the climax of Pilgrimage at the empty Tomb. We go back to our hotel for dinner and overnight (B/L/D).

Day 11, Saturday, March 11: Flight back home
Today, we will head to the airport to board our flight back home with unforgettable memories (B).