Day 1 -Thursday, March 14
Departure from Toronto (Tenninal 3) on El Al Israel Airlines flying non-stop to Tel Aviv at 6:45pm.
Day 2 - Friday, March 15: TEL AVIV/ JAFFA
Arrive in Tel Aviv at 11:45am where our tour guide will meet you. We start by traveling to Jaffa, which affords us a breathtaking view of the city of Tel Aviv. At this picturesque port city of winding alleys, art galleries and crafts boutiques, King Solomon had the cedars of Lebanon rafted for the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem. You will view the spot of the House of Simon the Tanner (Acts 10:6). After this tour we go to our hotel for check-in and the balance of the day is at leisure to enjoy Tel Aviv. Dinner and overnight at the Grand Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 3- Saturday, March 16: CAESAREA/MT.CARMEL/ACRE
We drive north along the Plain of Sharon, the MediterraQ.ean and the old coastal road- the Via Maris that linked Egypt and Babylon as we journey towards Galilee. We stop at Caesarea the incredible fortress city built by King Herod the Great. Here, Pontius Pilate had his base; where Cornelius lived and was baptized (Acts 10); where Paul embarked to Tarsus (Acts 9:30) and where Philip preached (Acts 8:40). Visit the Roman Theatre, the Hippodrome, and the Crusader City. We then travel north towards Haifa and ascend Mt. Carmel the site where the prophet Elijah fought the 400 false prophets of Baal (l Kings 18:30). We will stop for an incredible panoramic view of Haifa. Continue to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. We continue to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Acre. We visit the amazing underground Crusader city. Drive to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight at the Prima Galilee Hotel, Tiberias
Day 4 -Sunday, March 17: JESUS MINISTRY IN THE GALILEE
After breakfast, we will depart our day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Kibbutz Ginossar where we will see a ancient boat from the time of Jesus displayed at the Kibbutz Museum. Continue to Capernaum, the centre of Jesus' Galilean ministry and the site of many of his miracles. We will see the remains of Peter's house and the synagogue site where Jesus taught and worshipped. Drive to Tabgha and visit the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes. Continue to the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered what is perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached - "The Sennon On The Mount" (Matt.5). We will drive north of the Golan Heights and visit Banias, one of the sources of the Jordan River and the site of ancient "Caesarea Philipi", where Peter made the confession of faith in Christ (Matt; 16: 16). We finish the day with a visit to Yardenit, the Baptismal Centre on the Jordan River. Dinner and overnight at the Prima Galilee Hotel, Tiberias
Day 5 - Monday, March 18: ROAD TO JERUSALEM
Drive to Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus. We will visit Nazareth Village depicting a village from the time of Jesus. We ascend to the summit of Mt. Tabor to see the spot of the Transfiguration of Jesus. We tum inland and proceed to Megiddo, one of King Solomon's walled fortified cities (1 Kings 9:15; 10:26), with ruins of20 levels of civilization. From here the Books of .Oaniel and Revelation will come alive as we read about the final Battle of Annageddon, while viewing the Plains of Jezreel. We continue southward to Beit Shean, where we will walk through the incredible excavations of the largest ongoing archaeological dig in the land of Israel with its Roman theatre, colonnaded Roman streets, mosaics and Roman bathhouses. It is also the city where the body of King Saul and his sons where nailed to the walls by the Philistines ( l Samuel 31: I 0). We then drive through the lush Jordan Valley, where the desert now blooms with flowers and vegetation of every description (Isaiah 35: 1-2). Ascend up the Judean Wilderness to the Golden City of Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight at the Caesar Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 6-Tuesday, March 19: OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM
We start the day at the Mount of Olives, for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Walk down to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. From here, we proceed by bus across the Kidron Valley, past the Tombs of Absalom, Zechariah and James and proceed to Mt Zion to visit the traditional site of the Upper Room (Room of the Last Supper), King David's Tomb and the Church of St. Peter's in Gallicantu, built on top of the High Priest Caiphas' house. Visit the newly excavated City of David including the Pool of Siloam and Hezekiah Tunnel. Continue to the Davidson Centre and visit the archaeological park of the excavations along the Western and Southern walls of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Visit the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest spot and visit the tunnels to see the excavations from the time of the Second Temple period. We continue our walk along the Via Dolorosa to visit the Pools of Bethesda, St. Anne's Church. We pass through the colourful bazaars, alleyways and market places and reach the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for a brief visit. Finish the day with a visit to the Garden Tomb or Gordon's Calvary for a communion service before returning to your hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Caesar Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 7 Wednesday, March 20: JERUSALEM/ BETHLEHEM/ HEBRON
Drive to Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the Holocaust commemorating the six million Jews who perished. Visit and walk through the newly opened Museum, visit the Children's Memorial, walk along the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles for those who risked their lives to save Jewish lives. Continue to the Israel Museum and visit the Shrine of the Book housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest manuscripts of the Bible ever found. Visit the model of Jerusalem from the Second Temple Period as it looked from the time of Jesus. Drive to Bethlehem and visit the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in the world and birthplace of Jesus and the Tomb of Rachel. Continue south to one of the four holiest cities in Judaism, the city of Hebron to visit the burial p.!ace of Abraham, Issac and Jacob with their wives Sara, Rebecca and Leah at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Dinner and overnight at the Caesar Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 8-Thursday, March 21: JERUSALEM/ JACOB'S WELL
We drive north of Jerusalem to Shechem for a visit to Jacob's Well the site where Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink and offered her "living water" which lies today in the crypt ofa modern Greek Orthodox church in Nablus in the West Bank. We return to Jerusalem for the remainder of the day at leisure. Dinner & overnight at the Caesar Hotel, Jerusalem
Day 9-- Friday, March 22: DEAD SEA/ QUMRAN/ EIN GEDI/ MASADA/ EILAT
After breakfast we drive to the lowest point on earth, over 1300 feet below sea level. We will drive south along the shores of the Dead Sea. We will stop at Qumran where, in 1947, a young Bedouin boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave that you will see. These scrolls are the oldest known scriptures ever found. You will see where the Essenes, the guardians of these scrolls, lived and wrote them-:-we will visit Ahava factory where skin care products are manufactured from the mud and mineral-based compounds of the Dead Sea. We will take time for a float in the Dead Sea, the saltiest body of water in the worlds. Continue to Ein Gedi, where David found refuge from King Saul. Continue south to Masada, where we will take a cable car to the summit of this magnificent fortress built by King Herod the Great, and the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in the 1st century. We will see the siege walls as they existed in the 1st century. We will explore the historic ruins, the palaces, store rooms, bath houses, swimming pool, and the oldest synagogue in the world. Continue south through the desert of the Arava Valley to the resort town of Eilat on the Red Sea. Dinner and overnight at the Royal Resort Hotel, Eilat
Day 1O-Saturday, March 23: TOUR TO PETRA, JORDAN or DAY AT LEISURE IN EILAT
For those taking the tour to Petra you will drive to the Israel/Jordanian border and meet your Jordanian guide and driver. You will see breathtaking Jordanian scenery en route. Petra was built by the Nabateans 2,000 years ago. It was a main centre on the frankincense trade route. Your local guide will take you into the "Red Rose City" (by horseback and foot), winding through the "Siq", a breathtaking, narrow canyon passage .. At the end of the passage you will see Petra's most impressive monument-The Treasury-carved out of the solid rock from the side of the mountain. Beyond the treasury, you'll discov:er soaring temples; elaborate royal tombs, a theatre, burial chambers and water channels. Return in the late afternoon with lunch included. Cross the border to Israel to Eilat. Dinner and overnight at the Royal Resort Hotel, Eilat
Day 11-Sunday, March 24: NEGEV/ TEL A VIV
Depart Eilat and drive through the magnificent scenery and moonlike craters of the Negev Desert where the Israelites wandered for 40 years. We visit the Nabatean remains at Avdat and the visit the remains of the Byzantine Monasteries. Continue to BeerSheva, the city from the time of Abraham but now the capital of the Negev. Visit the desert tomb/monument of David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister. Drive to Tel Aviv to our hotel. Dinner and overnight at the Grand Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv
Day 12-- Monday, March 25: TEL A VIV
Day at Leisure in Tel Aviv. Afternoon check out of the hotel and early Farewell dinner in a Middle Eastern Restaurant before transferring to the airport to check-in for our flight to Toronto.
Day 13-Tuesday, March 26: TEL A VIV/TORONTO
After breakfast we depart to Ben Gurion Airport for our El Al non-stop flight departing at 12:55am, arriving in Toronto at Terminal 3 at 7:00am.
