Duration: 11 Days
Dates: December 31, 2024 - January 10, 2025
Departure City: Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)

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Detailed Itinerary

TUE (31DEC) - Day 1: Departure

WED (01JAN) - Day 2: Arrival Tel Aviv
Arrival Tel Aviv, Israel. Check into our hotel on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner included.

THU (02JAN) - Day 3: Caesarea – Mt. Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth – Tiberias
After breakfast we travel to Caesarea Maritima (entrance included), 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 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 will then continue to Mount Carmel (entrance 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. We then travel to Megiddo (entrance included) and explore the Tel that goes back in history to 4000 BC, looking at ruins from the times of King Solomon and King Ahab. 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. 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. (B, D)

FRI (03JAN) - Day 4: Mt. of Beatitudes – Capernaum – Primacy of Peter – Magdala – Ancient Boat – Boat Ride
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. We will then visit Capernaum (entrance included), Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. There we will see the house of Peter’s mother-in-law, in addition to other ruins of the village. We will stand in the ruins of the ancient synagogue where Jesus was confronted by the demoniac.” We will then visit the Primacy of Peter, the location where Jesus appeared to the disciples the third time after the Resurrection (John 21). During our break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ day. We will then visit Magdala (entrance included), the hometown of Mary Magdalene with its new discoveries. We end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum (entrance included), containing a recently discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat. We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat (included). We return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B, L, D)

SAT (04JAN) - Day 5: Tel Dan – Tel Hazor – Banias – Jordan River – Tiberias
There is nothing quite like watching a sunrise on the Sea of Galilee from your guesthouse or from a boat (OPTIONAL SECOND SAIL: 15 USD pp). Today will include many biblical sites in the Upper Jordan Valley: Hazor (entrance included) (Josh. 11:10; 1 Kgs. 9:15), Tel Dan (entrance included) and the Nature Reserve, Border of Lebanon (Josh. 11:17), view Mt. Hermon (Deut. 3:8), Caesarea Philippi (Paneas; Mark 8:27) (entrance included), The road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19) in the Golan Heights (Bashan). 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 avail-able location picked by your host and guide. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias. (B, D)

SUN (05JAN) - Day 6: Beit Shean – Jericho – Dead Sea
After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean, 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 Beth Shean. Jericho will be our next stop, where we will visit the Tel of Jericho (entrance included) with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. We travel to our hotel spa on the Dead Sea where you will have the chance to enjoy the facilities in the hotel. You will also be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea. Dinner and overnight in Dead Sea. (B, D)

MON (06JAN) - Day 7: Masada – Qumran – Genesis Land – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day visiting Masada (entrance & 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 then continue to visit Qumran (entrance included), 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. In the afternoon, we head to Genesis Land (hospitality, camel ride and pita bread baking workshop) in the desert, where we get to experience a recreation of life in the time of the patriarchs (including an optional camel ride and authentic food). Check in to your hotel in Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight. (B, D)

TUE (07JAN) - Day 8: Temple Mount – St. Anne & Pools of Bethesda – Via Dolorosa – 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 (entrance 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). We will then walk the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering), the actual path that Jesus walked from the Antonia Fortress (entrance included) to the crucifixion site. We will also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jesus’ tomb. Then we travel to the Israel Museum (entrance included), 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. We then return to our hotel. Dinner included. (B, D)

WED (08JAN) - Day 9: Mt. Olives – Garden of Gethsemane – Davidson Center Shepherd’s Fields – Bethlehem
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with an orientation over the Holy 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 road. We will then spend some time at the Garden of Gethsemane (time will be given at the private section of the garden). We will then walk through the Kidron Valley past the Pool of Siloam. We will then continue to visit the Davidson Centre (entrance included). Afternoon drive to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the 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. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. (B, D)

THU (09JAN) - Day 10: Upper Room – Caiaphas House – Garden Tomb – Free Time
After breakfast, we will visit the Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper and also the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (entrance included). We will then visit the Jewish Quarter. We end our program with a visit to the Garden Tomb (entrance included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion. Balance of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight at hotel. (B, D)

FRI (10JAN) - Day 11: Departure

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