Duration: 10 Days
Dates: May 5, 2021 to May 14, 2021
Departure City: Chicago, Illinois 

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1:  Wednesday, May 5 - Leave the USA to Tel Aviv

Day 2:  Thursday, May 6 - Arrival to Tel Aviv – Transfer to Tiberias
Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport where we will be met by our local Israeli guide. Travel northward to Tiberias and check into our hotel for four nights. (D)

Day 3:  Friday, May 7 - Caesarea & Nazareth
After breakfast, we travel by private motor coach along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to Caesarea, where Gentiles first heard the Good News from Peter and were baptized. We’ll see the Roman Amphitheatre and aqueduct, and Herod’s Judgement Hall, Palace, Chariot Arena, and Harbor. Journey on to Mt. Carmel, where Elijah challenged King Ahab and the prophets of Baal. We drive through the area of Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, where we visit the Nazareth Village. Visit the Church of the Cave of the Annunciation. (B, D)

Day 4:  Saturday,  May 8 - Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes, the Sea of Galilee, & Bethsaida
Following breakfast, our morning travels will take us to Nof Ginnosar to visit the ancient boat discovered in the lake that dates back to the time of Jesus and has been preserved in a museum. We will return to the Sea of Galilee where we will enjoy a relaxing boat ride on the Sea. We will travel on to the church of Tabgha and the site of the multiplication of loaves and fishes and the Mount of the Beatitudes overlooking the sea. Later we will move to the city of Capernaum, where we will see the ruins of an ancient synagogue and Peter’s adult home. We will also stop at Bethsaida where Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and after His resurrection appeared to the fishing disciples. (B, D)

Day 5:  Sunday,  May 9 - The sources of the Jordan
Travel to the spring of Caesarea Philippi (Banias), where Peter confessed his recognition of Jesus as Christ (Matthew 16). Here we can visit the stunning remains of a first-century AD palace belonging to Agrippa II. We drive around Mt. Hermon for a glimpse of Damascus, 45 miles away, then head back over the Golan Heights. See the springs where the Jews hid from the Romans. (B, D)

Day 6:  Monday,  May 10 - Beit-Shean, Scythopolis, Jericho, & the Dead Sea Scrolls
We will begin our day with a visit to Beit-Shean/Scythopolis, the most magnificent archeological site in Israel, located at the strategic juncture of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys. After defeating Saul and his sons on Mt. Gilboa, the Philistines hung their bodies on the walls of Seit-Shean. During the intertestamental period, the city was renamed the “Scythopolis.” Travel to Jericho and visit this city, which is famed as the oldest in the world. Stop at the Jordan River. Then it is on to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. We will then continue on to Jerusalem. (B, D)

Day 7:  Tuesday,  May 11 - Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, & Bethlehem
Today we will walk where Jesus walked. Begin with a panoramic view of the city, Mount Moriah, and the Dome of the Rock from atop the Mount of Olives and then the Garden of Gethsemane. Visit the City of David and Palace of David excavations. We will drive to Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ was born, to visit the Church of Nativity and the Shepherds’ Fields, the fields where the angel appeared to the shepherds to lead them to where Jesus Christ was born. (B, D)

Day 8:  Wednesday,  May 12 - Jerusalem, Masada: Tour the Rabbinical Tunnels
In the morning visit the western wall tunnels Go down to the foundation of the Second Temple. Drive to West Jerusalem passing by the Knesset on the way to the Israel Museum. Visit the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. View the model of Jerusalem, representing how the city looked on the eve of the Jewish revolt, 36 years after the Passion of Jesus. Continue south to Masada. We will take the cable car to the top, visiting Herod’s mountain bunker and the last stronghold of the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-73 AD).

Day 9:  Thursday,  May 13 - Old City: Transfer to Dung Gate and visit the Southern Wall excavations Examine the ruins near the south side of the Temple complex, including steps where we are certain that Jesus and the disciples walked. Walk up to the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. Ascend to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site of Islam, located on the traditional site of the Temple. Just to the north we find the Pools of Bethesda  (John 5) and St. Anne’s Church, perfectly preserved from the Crusader period. Visit the House of Caiaphas. Pass through the Jerusalem markets. Visit the Garden Tomb for a special visit and communion before having dinner and departing for Ben Gurion airport where we board our flight back home. (B, D)

Day 10:  Friday,  May 14 - Depart to the airport