Duration: 10 Days
Dates: March 18 - 27, 2024
Departure City: Dallas, TX (DFW)

RegisterAllianz Insurance

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: MON (18 March) | Departure to Tel Aviv

Day 2: TUE (19 March) | Arrive in Tel Aviv- Herzliya
Arrive in Tel Aviv and board a new, climate-controlled motor coach where our guide will greet us and give us an orientation of the land as we travel towards Jaffa. 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. Check into our hotel on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner included. (D)

Day 3: WED (20 March) | Caesarea Maritima – Mount Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth – Sea of Galilee
After a buffet breakfast, we depart the hotel on route to Caesarea Maritima, where we will visit the 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 (included). We will then continue to Mount Carmel 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 (included). We then travel to Megiddo, and explore the Tel that goes back in history to 4000 BC, looking at ruins from the times of King Solomon and King Ahab (included). 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. After a self-hosted lunch break, we travel to 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. In addition to discussing Jesus’ boyhood, we will also consider the life and times of Deborah (Judges 4). We check into our hotel on the Sea of Galilee for the next three nights and enjoy another dinner together. (BD)

Day 4: THU (21 March) | Mt. of Beatitudes – Primacy of Peter - Capernaum – Magdala - Boat ride - Jordan River
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day on the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. We will then visit The Primacy of Peter where Jesus reinstated Peter (John 21). We will then visit Magdala the hometown of Mary Magdalene with its significant finds (included). During our lunch break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ day (Lunch included). We will then visit Capernaum, Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. There we will see the house of Peter’s mother-in-law, in addition to other ruins of the village (included). We will stand in the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus was confronted by the demoniac. We end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum, containing a recently discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat (included). We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat (included). We then travel to the baptismal site of Jesus on the Jordan River. You will be offered the opportunity to be baptized in the waters of the Jordan in an available location picked by your host and guide We return to our hotel in Tiberias. Dinner included. (BLD)

Day 5: FRI (22 March) | Beth Shean – Jericho - Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean, the capital of the Decapolis (included). There 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 Beth Shean. We will then continue traveling south to the actual location where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. Jericho will be our next stop, where we will visit the Tel of Jericho with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down (included). We then get ready to enter the Holy City of Jerusalem. Beginning with an orientation of the city and “a Genesis Welcome” from Mount Scopus. Check in for dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (BD)

Day 6: SAT (23 March) | Mt. of Olives – Southern Wall Excavations –Bethlehem
After a buffet breakfast, we overlook of the city from the Mount of Olives, pointing out important locations within the Old City, connecting them with Biblical stories and prophecies about the return of Jesus. We will then walk down the Palm Sunday Procession past the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. We will then visit the Southern Wall excavations (included) where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. We will then gather at the teaching steps, the main entrance to the Temple where Rabbis met and taught their disciples. After a self -hosted lunch we then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds fields 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. We will then travel to the Church of the Nativity and view the actual place where Our Lord was born. Time will then be given to shop for olive wood and other items. We return to our hotel in Jerusalem. Dinner included. (BD)

Day 7: SUN (24 March) | Masada – Ein Gedi –Qumran - Dead Sea
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada, 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 (included). We then continue to Ein Geri, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place (I Samuel 24) and where many of the psalms were written by David. After another self-hosted lunch, we visit Qumran, the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found by a Bedouin boy back in 1947. There we will see the caves and other buildings that the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived (included). You will also be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea (included). We return into our hotel in the Jerusalem. Dinner included. (BD)

Day 8: MON (25 March) | Western Wall– Temple Mount – St. Anne and Pools of Bethesda – City of David– Israel Museum
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day entering the Old City and a visit to the Western Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. We will ascend the Temple Mount, discussing its connection to both the Old and New Testaments. We will also discuss why it is considered the third holiest site in Islam. Leaving the Temple Mount, we will visit the Church of St. Anne’s, a perfectly intact Crusader church (included). 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). We will then have a visit to the original location of the city of Jerusalem, going back in history 3000 years. We will also visit Hezekiah’s tunnel, a 1749-foot-long tunnel that was dug by King Hezekiah as he prepared for the Assyrian King Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 BC (included). Those interested in walking the knee-deep water tunnel will have the chance to do so. After a self-hosted lunch, we travel to the Israel Museum where we will visit the Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem, a 1:50 scaled model of the city from the year 66 AD. We will also visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on exhibit, in addition to the archaeological section where many artifacts are displayed, we will play special attention to those items that relate to Bible history (included). We then return to our hotel in Jerusalem. Dinner included. (BD)

Day 9: TUE (26 March) | Upper Room-Garden of Gethsemani -Kidron Valley-House of Caiaphas – Judgment Hall-Garden Tomb
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a visit to the Upper Room where Jesus had His Last Supper. We will then visit the Garden of Gethsemani where the passion of Jesus began. Each of us will be given some personal time in a private section of the Garden for personal prayer and reflections. Crossing the Kidron Valley, we will then continue to the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (included), followed by the Ecce Homo Convent where the Lithostrotos (Judgment Hall) is present (included). After a self-hosted lunch, we end our day with a visit to the Garden Tomb, where we will worship together and celebrate communion. After a farewell dinner, we will travel to the airport for our flight back home.

* In case of unforeseen events, this itinerary is subject to change.