Duration: 11 Days
Dates: October 5, 2021 to October 15, 2021
Departure City: Phoenix, Arizona

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Detailed Itinerary

Tuesday -October 05 (Day 1): Depart on an international flight to Tel Aviv

Wednesday - October 06 (Day 2): Arrival 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 Jaffa. There we will consider the vision of Peter (Acts 10) and start following the sequence of events that led to the opening of the gates of the early church to Gentiles. As we look at the very place where Jonah ran from the Lord, we will also reflect on our own walk with God. Check into our hotel on the coastal plains of the Mediterranean Sea. Dinner included.

Thursday - October 07 (Day 3): Caesarea – Mount Carmel – Megiddo – Nazareth – Sea of Galilee 
After a buffet breakfast, we depart the hotel on route to Caesarea Maritima (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 and his family, 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 (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 will celebrate the Eucharist here and then travel to Megiddo (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. 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. 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 two nights. Dinner included.

Friday - October 08 (Day 4): Mt. Beatitudes – Capernaum – Primacy of Peter - Magdala - Boat Ride & Jesus Boat Museum
After a buffet breakfast, we begin our day with on the Mount of Beatitudes and discuss the Sermon on the Mount. We will then visit St. Peter's Primacy, the location where Jesus appeared to the disciples the third time after The Resurrection (John 21). We then will visit Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene with its synagogue and ruins that go back to the time of Jesus. During our 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 (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 end our day with a visit to the ancient boat museum (included), containing a recently discovered 2000-year-old fishing boat. We will then sail (included) on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of that boat. We return to our hotel. Dinner included.

Saturday - October 09 (Day 5): Beit Shean – Beit Arabah – Jericho – Old Roman Road – Jerusalem
After a buffet breakfast, we leave the area of Galilee, following the Jordan Valley Road to Beit Shean (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. 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 (included) with its ancient ruins, pointing out what possibly could be the foundations of the ramparts that Joshua and the Israelites brought down. After lunch, we travel to the Old Roman Road, where we will consider the setting for the Parable of the Good Samaritan. From there we will go up to Jerusalem, and have a Genesis Welcome to the Holy City. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Sunday - October 10 (Day 6): Eucharist-Mount of Olives - Southern Wall Excavations - St. Anne’s – Western Wall – Bethlehem – Shepherd’s Fields
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 visit the Southern Wall excavations (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. We will then visit the 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). After lunch we 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.

Monday - October 11 (Day 7): Masada – Ein Gedi – Qumran – 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 Ein Gedi, the oasis in the desert where the meeting between David and King Saul took place (I Samuel 24) and where many of the psalms were written by David. After lunch, we visit Qumran (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 where the Essenes, the group of Jews who wrote the scrolls, lived. We will end the day with some time to float in the Dead Sea. Return to Jerusalem. Dinner included.

Tuesday - October 12 (Day 8): Temple Mount – Upper Room – Garden of Gethsemane – House of Caiaphas – Via Dolorosa – Garden Tomb
After a buffet breakfast, 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; we will then continue to the Upper Room. 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 (included). We will then continue to the home of the High Priest, Caiaphas (included). We will then visit the judgment hall Ecce Homo (included) as we walk the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. After lunch, we end our day with a visit to the Garden Tomb, where we will worship together and celebrate communion. We will then have a farewell dinner at a local restaurant before we travel to the airport to return home with unforgettable memories, amazing new friends and a life-changing understanding of the Bible.

OR return to our hotel (for those continuing to the Jordan extension):

Wednesday - October 13 (Day 9): Allenby Bridge – Bethany Beyond Jordan- Madaba – Nebo 
After a buffet breakfast, we check out from our hotel in Jerusalem. Drive to Allenby Bridge to Cross to Jordan, we visit Bethany Beyond Jordan, we drive 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 will then depart for Jerash, nestled in a quiet valley among the mountains of Gilead. Outside of Italy, this ancient Roman city is one of the most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world. Currently, its paved and colonnaded streets are home to soaring hilltop temples, handsome theaters, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and towers. We will then drive to Amman to have a tour of the city. Check in for dinner and overnight. Dinner included.

Thursday - October 14 (Day 10): Petra
After breakfast, we check out from our hotel in Amman. We start our day with a visit to Petra (Entrance 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. We will conclude our day with the Eucharist and check into our hotel in Petra for dinner and overnight.

Friday - October 15 (Day 11): Flight back home
Travel to the airport to go back home with unforgettable memories.