Duration: 9 Days
Dates: December 28, 2022 to January 5, 2023
Departure City: Charlotte, North Carolina

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1. Wednesday, December 28, 2022: Leave the USA on an international flight to Tel Aviv

Day 2, Thursday, December 29, 2022: Arrival Tel Aviv – Transfer to Jerusalem
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. Transfer to our hotel in Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (D)

Day 3, Friday, December 30, 2022: Temple Mount – St. Anne’s Church & Pool of Bethesda – Southern Wall Excavations – Mount of Olives – Shepherd’s Fields – Bethlehem – Western Wall
Quick buffet breakfast. Leave the hotel and drive towards the Old City to Temple Mount. 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. 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. 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 then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and have lunch on our own. 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. Then, 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 Jerusalem. Our last stop is visiting the Western Wall, called the Wailing Wall, a section of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, and Judaism’s holiest site. Dinner included. Overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 4, Saturday, December 31, 2022: Garden of Gethsemane – Kidron Valley – Pool of Siloam – Mount Zion – Ecce Homo – Via Dolorosa – Garden Tomb
After buffet breakfast, we 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). 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. Proceeding to Mount Zion, we 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. 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. After lunch on our own, 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. 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. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 5, Sunday, January 01, 2023: Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – Jerusalem
After buffet breakfast, we visit 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. We proceed to Ein Gedi (parking included), 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. After lunch on our own, we visit Qumran (included), where we see the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and the buildings that formed the Essenes public center. Have some time to float in the Dead Sea (weather permitting). Return to our hotel. Dinner included. Overnight in Jerusalem. (B/D)

Day 6, Monday, January 02, 2023: Jericho – Baptismal Site – Beit She’an – Sea of Galilee
After buffet breakfast, check-out and depart to Jericho. 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 will then continue traveling to the actual location where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. Proceed to Beit She’an. En route, lunch on your own. Visit Beit She’an (included), the capital of the Decapolis. 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 Beit Shean. Drive to the Sea of Galilee. Check in at our hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Sea of Galilee. (B/D)

Day 7, Tuesday, January 03, 2023: – Mount of Beatitudes – Magdala - Capernaum – Ancient Boat & Boat Ride – Sea of Galilee
After breakfast, we begin our day on the Mount of Beatitudes where we enjoy its enchanting gardens and reflect over Jesus’ teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. Passing through Tabgha, visit the Church of St Peter’s Primacy, where Jesus appeared to his disciples the third time after the Resurrection. We will then visit Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene. During lunch break on your own you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ day (lunch not included). 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. 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 sail on the Sea Of Galilee on a replica of that boat. Dinner and overnight at the Sea of Galilee. (B/D)

Day 8, Wednesday, January 04, 2023: Caesarea Maritima – Muhraqa – Megiddo – Nazareth – Sea of Galilee
Buffet breakfast. 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. 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. After lunch on your own, depart for Megiddo. Visit Tel Megiddo “Armageddon” (included), reflecting over the future end of days battle between good and evil mentioned in Revelation 16:16 and the return of Christ. Along our visit we would see the Solomon city gate, stables and palaces from the times of Ahab, high place and the impressive water system dating to the 9th century BC. 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). Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Sea of Galilee (B/D)

Day 9, Thursday, January 05, 2023: Departure
Buffet breakfast. Drive to the Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport and board your homebound with unforgettable memories.