Holy Land

Depart for Israel. Overnight on the trans-Atlantic flight.

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. Dinner not included first night. Every other night, dinner is included. One lunch is included.

We will begin our vacation with a bus tour of Tel Aviv and then a visit of Old Jaffa (Joppa) and the Artist’s 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. We will discuss the doctrinal implications of the two events. 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, hippodrome and study a couple of the Biblical events that happened here. From Caesarea, we will go to Nazareth 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 Nazareth.

Today we will spend most of the day discovering the early childhood world of Jesus. We will begin the morning with a visit to Nazareth Village, which will demonstrate life in a small, first century village such as Nazareth. From there, we will pass through and visit Cana, where the first recorded miracle of Christ took place in the turning of water to wine. Time permitting, we will visit the church of Annunciation (traditional Biblical home of Mary). We will then return to our hotel in Nazareth. Weather and time permitting, we will have dinner with our Bedouin, Sheikh bus driver.

We will start the morning with a bus ride to the ancient and modern, northern-most border of Israel. We will start with a visit to Banias (Caesarea Phillipi in the New Testament), which is the site of Peter’s testimony of Savior (Thou art the son of the living God – Matthew 16) and one of the sources of the Jordan River as it emerges from the foothills of Mount Hermon. We will then go to the traditional Mount of Beatitudes, where we will find a quiet place to study the doctrines of that amazing sermon. Following lunch (included on this day), 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 built on top of the synagogue in which He taught. Time permitting we will visit the site of Magdala, which is believed to be the home town of Mary Magdalene and the site of a first century synagogue. Return to our hotel in Nazareth.

We will check out this morning and head to Jerusalem, driving through the Jordan River Valley. We will begin our drive to the strategic site of Beth Shean. At these impressive ruins we will see the splendor of Roman life and Hellenistic culture. Bet She’an was one of the Decapolis/Pagan cities of the New Testament. After seeing these ruins, 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 an overlook known as Wadi Qelt. We will stop at the traditional site where Christ was baptized and near where the Israelites crossed into Canaan. Before ascending into Jerusalem, we will float in the Dead Sea (optional). From here we will continue on to Jerusalem. We will check into our hotel in Jerusalem. Following dinner, we will visit an olive wood shop for those who are interested.

This morning will begin with a visit to the Garden of Gethsemane where we will discuss the miraculous events that took place along this hillside and where you will be given a moment to ponder those events prior to sacrament service. Today we will tour the Old City in which we will see Mount Zion, visit the St. Anne’s Church with the Pools of Bethesda, and the Antonia Fortress/Ecce Homo. We will walk through the Jewish Quarter to the Western Wall, visit the Herodian Quarter. In the afternoon, we’ll have an optional tour by way of the via dolorosa ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Free time in the Old City for those who would prefer.

This morning we will head out to Bethlehem, where we will see the church of the Nativity as well as the Shepherd’s fields. Coming back from Bethlehem, we will go to the Garden Tomb, where we are also 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.

We will start our day with a drive to Massada, passing by the scenic overlook Wadi Qelt, where we will study the parable of the Good Samaritan. Once we get to Massada, 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 Zealot’s last stand against the Romans. From Massada, we will transfer to the Red Sea, where we will cross into Jordan. Those going home will go from Massada back to the airport in Tel Aviv.Transfer to airport around 7:00 PM for late night flight home. Flight should be scheduled for around midnight. For those continuing to Jordan/Petra, the bus will go south from Masada to the Red Sea. From there we will cross over into Jordan.

Arrive home for those not going onto Jordan

The morning begins with a pickup ride through the Wadi Rum desert. The scenery is surreal and the site of many movies, ranging from Lawrence of Arabia to the most recent Star Wars moving. After returning from the desert, you will have free time to enjoy shopping, swimming, snorkeling or just relaxing on the beach. The hotel is right on the beach. Or you can also try out the world class snorkeling in the Red Sea. For about $30 you can grab a shuttle to the reef where snorkel gear is included (paid for at the hotel).

Today we will leave our amazing resort on the Red Sea around 9:00 AM to visit the amazing site of Petra.Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma’an that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. It was made famous from the Indiana Jones movie. Petra was established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans. It is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourist attraction. We will have about 4.5 to 5 hours on site in Petra before leaving for the airport in Amman. We will arrive to the airport around 9:00 PM. Schedule your flight to depart after 11:00 PM.