Duration: 10 Days
Dates: October 5, 2021 to October 14, 2021
Departure City: Charlotte, North Carolina

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1:  Tuesday, October 5
Leave the USA on an international flight to Tel Aviv 

Day 2:  Wednesday, October 6 - 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 of the land as we travel 

Day 3:  Thursday, October 7 - Caesarea Maritima – Mount Carmel – Nazareth - Tiberias
Today we travel towards Caesarea Maritima (entrance included), where we will have a brief visit to the 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. We will then continue to Mount Carmel 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 a lunch break, 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. 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. We check into our hotel on the Sea of Galilee for the next three nights and enjoy another dinner together. 

Day 4:  Friday, October 8 - Mt. Of Beatitudes – Peter’s Primacy - Capernaum -Magdala– Jordan River - Sea of Galilee
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with visiting the Gospel Triangle and the location where Jesus spent two of His three years of public ministry. We will begin on the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount, we will then visit the Primacy of Peter where Jesus appeared to the disciples the third time after the resurrection. During lunch break you will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s fish, commonly eaten by people in Jesus’ day. 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 ancient boat museum containing a recently-discovered 2000-year old fishing boat (entrance & boat ride included). We will then proceed to Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene. We will then sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat. Our last stop of the day will be to the Jordan River where you will get a chance to be baptized before we return to our hotel. Dinner included. 

Day 5:  Saturday, October 9 - Beit Shean – Jericho – Wadi Qelt - Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beth Shean (entrance 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 Beth Shean. We will then continue traveling south to the actual location where John the Baptist was baptizing on the Jordan River. 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. Dinner and Overnight in Jerusalem. 

Day 6:  Sunday, October 10 - Mt. of Olives – Bethlehem – Shepherd’s Fields - Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we will 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 to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the passion of Jesus began. We will then visit the Southern Wall excavations (entrance included) where ruins of the retaining walls of the Temple Mount are still visible. We will then gather at the teaching steps, the main entrance to the Temple where Rabbis met and taught their disciples. After lunch, we then travel to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. We begin with a visit to the Shepherds 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. 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. We return to our hotel. Dinner included. 

Day 7:  Monday, October 11 - Masada – Ein Gedi - Qumran – Dead Sea - 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 En Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took places (I Samuel 24) and where many of the psalms were written by David. After lunch, we 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. You will also be able to experience floating in the Dead Sea. Dinner and Overnight in Jerusalem. 

Day 8:  Tuesday, October 12 - Jerusalem - 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 to the crucifixion site (entrance included). We will also visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jesus’ tomb. After lunch in the Old City, 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, in addition to the archaeological section where many artifacts are displayed, we will play special attention to those items that relate to Bible history. We then return to our hotel. Dinner included. 

Day 9:  Wednesday, October 13 - Jerusalem - Upper Room – Caiaphas house – Jewish Quarter – Garden Tomb
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with a visit to the original location of the city of Jerusalem, going back in history 3000 years. We will visit the Upper Room, the place of the Last Supper and also the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (entrance included). After lunch, we will visit the Garden Tomb (entrance included), where we will worship together and celebrate communion. We return to our hotel for our last Dinner provided. Then we will travel to the airport in the evening and return home with unforgettable memories, amazing new friends and a life-changing understanding of the Bible. 

Day 10:  Thursday, October 14
Depart Tel Aviv