October 13(Sat): Flight departs USAOctober 14 (Sun): Arrive in Tel Aviv: Enjoy a relaxing evening, walk on the beach or swim in the Mediterranean as you recover from jet lag and prepare for our wonderful adventure.

October 15 (Mon): Tel Aviv – Jaffa – Caesarea – Mt. Carmel

We will begin our vacation with a city tour of Tel Aviv and then a visit of Old Jaffa (Joppa) and the Artists’ Quarters. Jaffa is where Peter received his vision leading to the expansion of missionary work to the Gentiles and is also the place that Jonah attempted to flee from the Lord’s presence aboard a ship bound for Tarshish. From Jaffa, we will travel along the Mediterranean coast to the Roman, New Testament capital, Caesarea. Once in Caesarea, we will see an ancient Roman theatre and study the Biblical events that happened here. From Caesarea, we will go to Tiberias stopping at Mt. Carmel on the way, where we will discuss the epic battle between Elijah and the wicked priests of Baal. We will overnight at our hotel in Tiberias.

October 16 (Tue): Cana – Megiddo – Nazareth – Jordan River

Our adventure today begins with a visit to Megiddo, which is prophesied as the venue for Armageddon (derived from the name’s place in Hebrew) or the final battle between the forces of light led by Jesus Christ and the forces of darkness led by Satan or the Anti-Christ after the End of Days. From Megiddo, we will drive via Cana, the place where Christ turned water into wine at a wedding feast, on our way to Nazareth. Nazareth was the boyhood home of Jesus. Here we will see the Church of Annunciation and a local synagogue. We will continue on to a beautiful spot along the Jordan River, where we will discuss Christ’s baptim. Then we will return to our hotel in Tiberias.

October 17  (Wed): Sea of Galilee – Mount Hermon – Capernaum – Mount of Beatitudes – Golan Heights

Today will begin with a drive along the coasts of the Sea of Galilee before arriving at traditional site where Christ delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Here we will find a quiet place to study the doctrines of that amazing sermon. Then we will visit Capernaum, which was the center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry. In Capernaum, Christ performed many miracles and gave many profound teachings, including the “Bread of Life” sermon. We will see the remains of a synagogue from the time of Christ, which very well may have been the synagogue in which He taught. Lunch today is included as everyone will have the opportunity to try St. Peter’s Fish. After lunch, we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Feel the power and peace of this amazing location and learn of those miracles that took place on this Sea. We’ll continue our day with a visit to Banias (Caesarea Phillipi) at the foot of Mount Hermon, which is the site of Peter’s testimony of Savior and one of the sources of the Jordan River as it emerges from the foothills of Mount Hermon. Return to our hotel in Tiberias.

October 18 (Thur): Beth Shean – Jordan Valley – Bethany – Mount Tabor

We will check out of our hotel this morning and begin our drive to Mount Tabor. Few events in the Bible equal the events that historically took place on Mt. Tabor. Many believe that it was here that Christ was transfigured and heavenly messengers conferred the keys of the kingdom to Peter, James and John. We will then visit the strategic site of Beth Shean. At these impressive ruins we will see the splendor of Roman life and Hellenistic culture. Here Saul’s body was nailed to the city walls when he was captured. We will then drive through the Jordan Valley passing by Jericho and review some of the important scriptural events that took place on the road to Jericho. From here we will continue on to Jerusalem. We will make a brief stop in Bethany and talk of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. We will check into our hotel in Jerusalem for a relaxing evening.  

October 19 (Fri): Qumran – Monastery – Masada – Dead Sea

We will begin our day by driving to Masada. Here we will take a cable car to the top of Masada to see the ruins of the palace-fortress built by King Herod. We will discuss the history of the Zealots’ last stand against the Romans. From Masada, we will drive to Qumran to visit the sites in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. For those interested in swimming, we will stop on our way back at a beach on the Dead Sea where those who would like can float in the salty water.

October 20 (Sat): Mount of Olives – Israel Museum – Mount Zion – Western Wall – Bethlehem

We will begin the Sabbath attending sacrament services at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Following which, we will visit the Israel Museum where we will see a scale model of Old Jerusalem. From there we will travel to the Mount of Olives, where we can view and discuss the history of the Old City of Jerusalem. Then we will begin a walking tour of the Old City in which we will see Mount Zion, visit the St. Anna Church with the Pools of Bethesda, and the Antonia Fortress. We will walk a small portion of the “Via Dolorosa”, which is the traditional road that Christ walked on his way to Golgotha. We will walk through the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall and descend into the tunnels of the Western Wall. We will see the Cardo Maximus, the Roman streets at the time of Christ, and conclude walking through the Oriental Bazaar. Time permitting, we will go to Bethlehem where we will visit a shepherd’s field and the traditional grotto of Christ’s birth.

October 21 (Sun): Jerusalem Center – Garden Tomb – Temple Mount – Mount of Olives – Golgotha

This morning we will return to the Jerusalem Center for a guided tour of the grounds and a video of its history. After our visit to the BYU Jerusalem Center, we will return to the Old City and visit Christ’s tomb and the Temple Mount. We will visit the Garden of Gethsemane. From the Garden Tomb, we are able to view the ancient Golgotha. Here we will be discuss and ponder the final moments of Christ’s mortal life and his glorious resurrection. Transfer to airport for late night flight home. Schedule your flights to depart around midnight this night.

 

October 22 (Mon): Arrive home 

 

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Terms & Conditions
Deposit: $300 per person (non-refundable – transferrable)
Cancellation: You can cancel any time up until the final payment date. Your deposit is non-refundable. We reserve the right to cancel if the group does not meet a minimum number of 14 participants. If we cancel for any reason (group size, safety, etc.), your deposit will be refunded.
Final Payment: Due July 13, 2012
Passports: Required and must be valid 6 months after tour date
Price does NOT include airfare and lunch (Everything else, including tips, is included) Tour Directors: Taylor and Lisa Halverson

Taylor Halverson: Taylor  has a PhD degree from Indiana University in Judaism & Christianity in Antiquity, a Masters degree from Yale University in Biblical Studies, and a Bachelors degree in Near Eastern Studies from BYU.  He has significant university research and teaching experience with the languages, history, and context of the ancient scriptures.  Among the ancient languages that he has studied are Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Aramaic.

He currently works full-time at BYU as a Faculty Consultant at the Center for Teaching and Learning where he collaborates with faculty across campus to help them enhance their teaching and student learning.  He also teaches Book of Mormon and Old Testament classes in the Ancient Scripture department of BYU’s College of Religious Education and History of Creativity classes at BYU’s School of Technology.  In addition to his college teaching experience he has taught at the Indiana University and Stanford University LDS Institutes of Religion.  Taylor is the Elder’s Quorum President in his Springville, Utah ward. 

Lisa Halverson has extensive experience in traveling and studying the world. She was an exchange student to Greece, taught English in Eastern Europe, attended the BYU Jerusalem Center, completed her undergraduate and Masters Degrees at Stanford University in International Relations and Modern Jewish & Middle Eastern History, spent a year studying and researching in Israel on Fulbright and Wallenburg scholarships, and was honored with a summer scholarship to attend the Folger Shakespeare institute in Washington, D.C.  She has studied Hebrew, Arabic, and French.  Lisa is completing her Ph.D. at BYU where she also teaches Middle East Studies classes.  Lisa and Taylor are the happy parents of a boy (David) and a girl (Rachel).

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