Duration: 10 Days
Dates: September 5, 2023 to September 14, 2023
Departure City: Houston, Texas (IAH)

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1, Tuesday, September 05th: Leave the USA on an international flight to Tel Aviv.

Day 2, Wednesday, September 06th: Arrival in Tel Aviv –Jaffa – Transfer to Hotel in Herzliya/Tel Aviv • Welcome to Land of your Bible! We arrive in Tel Aviv, upon arrival we will meet our representative who will assist us through customs, then we will meet our local guide and driver and the only stop for today will be Jaffa (time permitting). • We head towards the Mediterranean Sea to Jaffa. • After our tour in Jaffa, we will transfer to our hotel in Herzliya Tel Aviv for dinner and overnight. (D)

Day 3, Thursday, September 07th: Caesarea Maritima – Mount Carmel – Bethlehem of Galilee Spice Farm – Nazareth – Tiberias
• 6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. • Check-out. • 7:45 AM Depart for Caesarea Maritima. • 9:15 AM Visit 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 converts 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 continue along the coast to Mount Carmel. • 11:00 AM 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. • 12:00 PM Lunch (included). • Depart for Bethlehem of Galilee. • 1:45 PM Visit a typical Jewish village, Bethlehem of Galilee, famous for its spice production (included). • Proceed to Nazareth. • Visit Church of the Annunciation built over the house of Mary, where the Angel appeared to Mary announcing to her that she is going to be with a child calling him Immanuel. • On to visit the Upper Basilica and the nearby archaeological museum (included) seeing the remains of Nazareth from the time of Jesus. • Drive to Tiberias. • Then we will check into our hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight. (B/L/D)

Day 4, Friday, September 08th: Sea of Galilee Boat Ride – Ancient Boat Museum – Capernaum – Mount of Beatitudes – Peter’s Primacy – Yardenit – Tiberias
• 6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. • 7:45 AM, We begin our day with a sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of a boat from Jesus’ time (included). • 9:00 AM 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. • 9:45 AM 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. • 11:00 AM Visit Mount of Beatitudes where we enjoy its enchanting gardens and reflect over Jesus’ teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. • 12:30 PM During lunch break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ days (lunch included). In Tabgha, visit the Church of St Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus appeared to his disciples the third time after the Resurrection. • 02:00 PM Visit Yardenit Baptismal Site where you will get a chance to renew baptismal vows. • Return to our hotel. • Dinner and overnight in Tiberias. (B/L/D)

Day 5, Saturday, September 09th: Caesarea Philippi – Magdala – Jericho – Jerusalem
• 6:00/6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. • Check-out. • 7:00 AM Depart for Caesarea Philippi. • 8:30 AM Visit Caesarea Philippi, known also as Banias (included), springs from a source of the Jordan River, where Peter confessed that Jesus is the Son of God. We visit the high place seeing the gates of Hades, Augustus Temple and the High Place where the God Pan was worshiped. • Depart for Magdala. • 10:00 AM, We visit Magdala (included), home town of Mary Magdalene to include the 1st century Synagogue, oldest Synagogue discovered on shores of Galilee with a stone carved model of the Temple, including a Menorah carving. • We will leave the Galilee area and travel south through the Jordan River Valley towards Jericho. • 1:30 PM Lunch (included). • Visit Jericho; view the Mount of Temptation. Then, enjoy panoramic tour of Jericho, seeing the Sycamore Tree reminding us of the encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus. • Proceed to Jerusalem. • Arriving in Jerusalem, enjoy Genesis Welcome to the Holy City. • Check-in at our hotel. • Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 6, Sunday, September 10th: Masada – Ein Gedi – Dead Sea float – Jerusalem
• 6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. • Depart towards Dead Sea. • 9:00 AM, We begin our day visiting Masada (entrance and cable car 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. • Then, we visit Ein Gedi, an oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place (I Samuel 24) and where some of the psalms were written by David. • 1:00 PM Lunch at Dead Sea Hotel (included). • Time at leisure at shores of Dead Sea. • Return to the hotel. • Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 7, Monday, September 11th: Bethlehem – Shepherd’s Field – Israel Museum – Jewish Quarter – Free time in the Old City Jerusalem
• 6:30 AM Buffet breakfast. • Drive to Bethlehem. • In Bethlehem, 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. • Visit Shepherd’s 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. • 12:00 PM Lunch (included). • Return to Jerusalem. • 1:45 PM Visit the Shrine of the Book (included) housing some of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran and see a Model • Tour the Jewish Quarter, one of the Old City’s quarters, where we can see Roman Cardo, King Hezekiah broad wall, Hurva Synagogue and Golden Menorah. • Free time in the Old City will be given. • Return to our hotel. • Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 8, Tuesday, September 12th: Temple Mount – St. Anne’s Church & Pools of Bethesda – Mt. Olives – Mt. Zion – Davidson Center
• 6:00 AM Quick buffet breakfast. • 6:30 AM Leave the hotel and drive towards the Old City to Temple Mount • 7:30 AM Visit 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. • Leave Temple Mount. • 8:45 AM Visit 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). • Depart for Mount of Olives. • 10:00 AM 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. • 11:15 AM, 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. • 12:45 PM Enjoy lunch with Falafel and Hummus cooking class (included). • 2:30 PM 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. • Return to the hotel. • Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 9, Wednesday, September 13th: Holy Sepulcher – Gethsemane – Kidron Valley – Pool of Siloam – House of Caiaphas – Ecce Homo – Via Dolorosa – Garden Tomb
• 6:00 AM Early buffet breakfast. • 7:00 AM For those who are interested, we may start the day early in the morning at the Church of Holy Sepulcher, which houses the focal points on where the Crucifixion took place, called Golgotha or Calvary, and the other, the tomb where Jesus was laid. These sites encompass the continuation of the Via Dolorosa and the final Stations of the Cross. • 9:00 AM Visit 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). • Later on, we will walk along the Kidron Valley following the footsteps of Our Lord, seeing Absalom Tomb, Gihon Spring and Water Gate. • We reach remains of the Pool of Siloam (included), accidentally discovered about ten years ago, which is the place where Jesus instructed the blind man to wash the mud off his eyes. • 11:30 AM, 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. • 12:45 PM Lunch (included). • 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. • We walk the Via Dolorosa following Christ passion toward the church of the Holy Sepulcher. • 3:30 PM To conclude our day, 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. • Return to our hotel. • Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 10, Thursday, September 14th: Departure
• Buffet breakfast • Check-out of the hotel. • Drive to the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport and board your homebound flight. (B)