Duration: 12 Days
Dates: May 9, 2021 to May 20, 2021
Departure City: Phoenix, Arizona

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 (May 09, Sunday): Leave the USA to Tel Aviv Today, we will leave out of Phoenix on an international flight to Tel Aviv.

Day 2 (May 10, Monday): Arrive in Tel Aviv Arrive in Tel Aviv and board a new, climate-controlled motor coach where our guide will greet us and give us an orientation to the land as we travel towards our hotel on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner and overnight in Tel Aviv.

Day 3 (May 11, Tuesday): Diaspora Museum, Caesarea Maritima, Mount Carmel, Nazareth (Basilica of the Annunciation and Mary’s Well) After a buffet breakfast, we start our day at the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv that focuses on Jewish life in the Diaspora with some very interesting exhibits. We will then travel to Caesarea Maritima and explore the Roman and Byzantine ruins of the city that had the conversion of the first Gentile into Christianity and is associated with Peter and Paul. From here, we travel to Mount Carmel where we will consider the miracle contest between the Prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). We will end our day in Nazareth where we will visit the Basilica of the Annunciation where the Angel Gabriel announced the Birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary and see Mary’s Well, the only water source for the village at the time. We will then continue to Tiberias to check in to our hotel on the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

Day 4 (May 12, Wednesday): Mount of Beatitudes, Caesarea Philippi, Safed, Quneitra, St. Peter’s Primacy After a buffet breakfast we start our day on the Mount of Beatitudes where The Sermon on the Mount was given (a private space will be booked for prayer). We will then continue to Safad, the city that became the center of Jewish Kabbala with amazing artist galleries and famous synagogues. We will then visit Caesarea Philippi where Saint Peter confessed his faith in Jesus (Matthew 16) before we travel to the border with Syria and consider the Road to Damascus with the conversion of Saul. We will then continue to the Primacy of Saint Peter where The Lord appeared to the disciples the third time after the Resurrection (John 21) and celebrate Mass. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

Day 5 (May 13, Thursday): Capernaum, Gideon’s Spring, Jericho, Old Roman road. Overlook near the windmill to view the old city of Jerusalem. After a buffet breakfast, we start our day in Capernaum where Jesus spent a couple of years as part of His Galilean Ministry. We will then visit Gideon’s Spring where Gideon chose his men to fight against the Midianites. We will then travel on the Jordan Valley road on to Jericho, city of Palms where we will consider Old Testament and New Testament events that happened here. We then ascend to Jerusalem and go to the Montefiore Windmill, the location of the first neighborhood that left the Old City walls in the 1860s to have a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. *Subject to confirmation

Day 6 (May 14, Friday): Mount of Olives panoramic view, Palm Sunday walk, Valley of Elah, Hebron, Bethlehem After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day on the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of the city of Jerusalem where we will go through the history of the city as we look at its landmarks. We will then walk on the Palm Sunday walk as we make our way to the bus to Bethlehem where Our Lord was born to visit the Church of the Nativity and Shepherds fields. We will then continue to Hebron to visit the Cave of the Patriarchs where most of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs are buried before we make our way to the Valley of Elah where David slew Goliath. We will then return to Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 7 (May 15, Saturday): Upper Room, Gethsemani, Church of All Nations, Kidron Valley walk to Siloam, St. Peter in Gallicantu, Via Dolorosa, Church of The Holy Sepulcher, Worship at the Kabbalat Shabbat service * After a buffet breakfast, we start our day on Mount Zion where we will visit the Upper Room where Jesus had His Last Supper and where the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles on the day of Pentecost. We will then visit Gethsemani with the Church of All Nations and some private time in the Garden where Our Lord was arrested. We will then walk through the Kidron Valley on to Siloam where we will get on the bus and go to the house of Caiaphas, the location where Peter denied Jesus three times. We will then follow the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where we will celebrate Mass before we go to Sabbath Service at a local community in Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 8 (May 16, Sunday): Worship at the Arabic Service at St. George’s Cathedral and stay for the coffee with opportunity to meet with congregants. Meeting with local Christians (Armenian church) *, City of David, Southern Steps, Western Wall Tunnel After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with the Sunday Service at St. George’s Cathedral with a chance to socialize with the local community. We will then have a meeting with a local Christian community (Armenian Christians, pending confirmation). In the afternoon we will visit the Western Wall Tunnel with some amazing discoveries along the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, City of David which is the original location of the city of Jerusalem and the Southern Steps, the main entrance to the Temple at the time. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. *Subject to confirmation

Day 9 (May 17, Monday): Early visit to Holy Sepulcher, transfer to Allenby bridge to go to Jordan. Baptismal site, Mount Nebo, Madaba Today, we will have an early morning visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (optional) to experience the morning services various Christian denominations have at this holiest of sites. After a buffet breakfast, we will drive to the Allenby bridge where we will cross into Jordan and be met by our Jordanian guide at passport control. We will proceed to visit Bethany beyond the Jordan where St. John the Baptist was baptizing, this is also the location where the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land. We will then proceed to Madaba the site of a mosaic map of Jerusalem from the Byzantine era and then on to Mt. Nebo to stand where Moses stood to view the Promised Land. We then check into our hotel at the Dead Sea for Dinner and overnight.

Day 10 (May 18, Tuesday): Petra After a buffet breakfast, we begin a long day of driving through the Jordanian desert along the area called the Way of the Kings to visit Petra. 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. Return to our Dead Sea hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 11 (May 19, Wednesday): Short visit to Amman. Visit Caritas * After a buffet breakfast, we will have a short visit to Amman, the capital of Jordan which will include a visit to Caritas to hear about the services they provide. You will then have some free time at our spa hotel, where you can enjoy the day at leisure to perhaps soak in the mineral rich Dead Sea or take in a spa treatment. Dinner and overnight at the Dead Sea. *Subject to confirmation Day 12 (May 20, Thursday): Fly back home Today we fly back home with unforgettable memories.