Duration: 12 Days
Dates: October 24, 2022 to November 4, 2022
Departure City: Jacksonville, Florida

RegisterAllianz Insurance

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1, Monday (October 24, 2022): Departure to Amman.

Day 2, Tuesday (October 25, 2022): Arrive in Amman – Transfer to hotel in Amman
After arrival in Amman International Airport, we will be transferred to our Hotel in Amman for dinner and overnight. (D)

Day 3, Wednesday (October 26, 2022): Petra tour
After breakfast, we begin a long day with a visit to 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. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel in Petra. (B/L/D)

Day 4, Thursday (October 27, 2022): Machaerus – Mt. Nebo – Bethany Beyond Jordan – Dead Sea
After breakfast, visit Machaerus (included), which is recorded as the place where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. Then we head to 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. Then, visit to Bethany beyond Jordan (included) where group is allowed to renew their baptismal vows. Check-in to our Hotel at the Dead Sea. Dinner and overnight. (B/L/D)

Day 5, Friday (October 28, 2022): Mar Elias – Sheikh Hussein border crossing – Beit Shean – Tiberias
After breakfast, visit Mar Elias (Tishbe), which is the birthplace of Elijah the prophet. Drive to Sheikh Hussein border crossing to start our Israeli part of the tour. After crossing the border, drive to Beit 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. Proceed to our Hotel in Tiberias. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias. (B/L/D)

Day 6, Saturday (October 29, 2022): Sea Of Galilee – Caesarea Philippi – Peter’s Primacy – Capernaum – Mount of Beatitudes – 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 (lunch not included). 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. To conclude our day, visit Mount of Beatitudes where we enjoy its enchanting gardens and reflect over Jesus’ teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B/L/D)

Day 7, Sunday (October 30, 2022): Nazareth – Mount Carmel – Caesarea Maritima – Jacob’s Well – Jerusalem
After buffet breakfast, check-out and drive 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. 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. 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 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. Drive to Jacob’s Well in Nablus where Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her living water. Drive to Jerusalem and check-in at our hotel. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 8, Monday (October 31, 2022): Mount of Olives – Mount Zion – Shepherd’s Fields – Bethlehem – Jerusalem
After buffet breakfast, visit the Mount of Olives for a breathtaking view of Jerusalem and a panoramic photo. Our guide will point out 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 Field. 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 9, Tuesday (November 01, 2022): 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. 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, Wednesday (November 02, 2022): Temple Mount – St. Anne’s Church and Pools of Bethesda – Southern Wall Excavations – Jewish Quarter – Jericho – Bet Arabah – Jerusalem
After 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 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. 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. Visit 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 travel to the Old Roman Road, where we will consider the setting for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Visit Bet Arabah (“Qasr el Yahud”), Baptismal Site on the Jordan River, known also as Gilgal, where the Israelites crossed at into the promised land, from where Elijah was taken to heaven and at where Our Lord was baptized. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (B/L/D)

Day 11, Thursday (November 03, 2022): Gethsemane – House of Caiaphas – Ecce Homo – Via Dolorosa – Garden Tomb
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. We walk the Via Dolorosa following Christ passion toward the church of the Holy Sepulchre. 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. Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/L/D)

Day 12, Friday (November 04, 2022): Departure
After buffet breakfast, check-out of the hotel. Drive to Ben Gurion Airport for your homebound flight. (B)