Dates of Travel - Novemeber 5-13, 2012
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DAY ONE:

• Departure from the USA
• Overnight: Flight

DAY TWO:

• Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport
• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
• Welcome dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight; Netanya

DAY THREE:

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Check out of the hotel and depart.
• Travel to Caesarea (Acts 10 & 25); this ancient city was built in honor of Augustus Caesar by Herod the Great, and was the capital of the Romans in the Holy Land for nearly 500.  The ancient theater, the Crusader City and the fantastic aqueduct serve as a back-drop for the Book of Acts; Cornelius, the first gentile convert; the home of Philip the evangelist; the many visits by the Apostle Paul including his two-year imprisonment and his journey to Rome.
• Lunch on your own.
• Continue on to the mountains of Carmel - Mukhraka where Elijah engaged in the contest with the false prophets of Baal. (I Kings 18)
• From an elevated platform, see the panoramic view of the hills of Nazareth, M. Tabor, Mountains, of Gilboa, the Y shaped Valley of Jezreel and the hills of Samaria to the south.
• Visit Megiddo, one of the most important biblical sites in Israel and the traditional site of Armageddon, and walk through the archaeological park and Biblical waterways.
• Travel to Nazareth, home town of Jesus and visit the Church of the Annunciation, Church of St. Joseph, Mary’s Well, “Mount of the Leap of the Lord” - this is the traditional site of the brow of the hill to which Jesus was led by angry citizens of Nazareth after he preached in the local synagogue, the hill from which they might cast him headlong.  But He, passing through the midst of them, went His way. (Luke 4)
• See the Sea of Galilee as night approaches, and the lights of many villages and Kibbutzim in the foothills of the Golan Heights.
• Arrive at the hotel and check in.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight: Tiberias

DAY FOUR:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Imagine what it was like as you walk in the footsteps of Jesus, for that is what is in store for you today, including:
• *** A visit to the Jesus Boat a 2,000 year old fishing boat near Magdala, similar to those used by the Apostles. (Matt. 15.39, Luke 8.2)
• *** Enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee in a replica of an ancient fishing vessel much like those used in the time of Jesus.
• We will visit and tour biblical sites along the shore of the Sea of the Galilee, including:
• *** The healing of the Gerasene demoniac. (Mark 5)
• *** Capernaum. (Matt. 4:13)
• ***Mount of Beatitudes. (Matt. 5-7)
• *** Tabgha Feeding of 5,000. (Mark 6)
• *** Church of Peter of Primacy. (John 21)
• Return to the hotel and see the sun set over the Sea of Galilee.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight: Tiberias

DAY FIVE:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out and drive to the Ardent Baptismal sit on the Jordan River.
• Travel southwards towards the holy city of Jerusalem, stopping at Beit Shean, (I Sam. 31:8-31) - The Philistines killed King Saul and his three sons in battle and hung them on the walls of Beit Shean.
• Drive via the Jordan Valley, with a view of Jericho, one of the world’s oldest cities.  Archeological excavations have shown that civilization existed in Jericho from very ancient times.  Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus and his companion here (Matt. 20:29-34) Zacchaeus.  Jesus was tempted by Satan in the Judean wilderness.
• Ascend to Jerusalem, entering the city from the East and stopping for a panoramic view of the city from Mt. Scopus.
• Continue on to the hotel and check in.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight; Jerusalem

DAY SIX:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Start the day with a drive to the beautiful Mt. Of Olives to behold the breath-taking panorama of the Holy City.
• Descend to Gethsemane with its ancient olive grove, and visit the Church of Agony, where tradition holds that Jesus prayed.
• Enter the old city of Jerusalem through the Dung gate, and walk to the holies site in the whole Jewish world, the Western Wall (Wailing Wall).  Beyond the wall lies the 35-arce temple area.  On this site now stands the magnificent Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque, the third holiest shrine in all Islam.
• From the temple area, continue on to the Sisters of Zion Convent, the Ecce Homo Arch, the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne’s Crusader Church.
• Lunch in the Old City on your own.
• Special visit to the Garden Tomb, traditional Protestant site of Calvary.
• Return to the hotel
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight; Jerusalem

DAY SEVEN:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the Upper Room on Mt. Zion, where Jesus spent those last momentous hours with his disciples before his passion; it was also here that the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 on the Day of Pentecost.
• Depart the Upper room and enter the Old City through Zion Gate, and proceed along the Cardo, Jerusalem’s main street from the second century.
• Walk through the Arab market, and on to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Visit the city of Bethlehem, site of the birth of Jesus and the church of the Nativity.
• Visit the Israel Museum, one of the most creative and innovative museums in the world with a wide and eclectic collection, ranging from Judaica and archaeology to Tenaissance and contemporary Israeli art. Concluding with a visit to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Shrine of the Book and the newly restored Second Temple Period Model of Jerusalem.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight; Jerusalem

DAY EIGHT:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Day at leisure or take an optional tour to the Dead Sea region and Masada:
• *** Depart Jerusalem and travel to the Dead Sea basin, passing Ein Gedi where David hid from King Saul.
• *** Arrive at Masada, and ascend this wilderness mountain fortress in a cable car.  Most of its ruined fortifications, waterworks, synagogue, and palaces were built by King Herod.
• *** Continued south along the western shore of the Dead Sea, and visit the Ein Gedi Spa, where everyone will have the opportunity to float in (or merely to set foot) in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth at 1,300 ft below sea level.
• ***Lunch on your own.
• *** Visit Qumran, a settlement of the First Century Jewish sect known as the Essenes, and the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• *** Return to Jerusalem via the old Roman road along the Wadi Kelt and see in distance St. George’s Monastery.
• *** Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Overnight; Jerusalem

DAY NINE:

• Early breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out from the hotel.
• Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for your flight to the USA.
• Depart to the USA.

Contact info:

• Church - 770-925-8600 ext 212
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