Exploration of
The Holyland
ISRAEL
Day 1 – Departure
Depart your home city today for Israel.
Day 2 – Tel Aviv
Welcome to Israel the “land of milk and honey”. Upon arrival your Learning Through Travel guide will greet you and assist with arrival formalities. Drive along the Mediterranean coast and enjoy dinner at the hotel.
Day 3 – Tel Aviv/Haifa
This morning visit the Old City of Jaffa where you can stroll along cobblestone streets of the artist’s colony and the ancient port including a visit to the unique Ilana Goor Art Gallery. See the Tel Aviv Museum of Art with a collection of Israeli and international art. Leave Tel Aviv and continue to Haifa where you have the opportunity to visit a Druse village, to meet with a local family and enjoy a home cooked lunch. You have a chance to visit some of Israel’s most beautiful gardens; the Bahai Gardens and Temple, the holiest site of the Bahai religion, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa.
Day 4 – Haifa/Caesarea/Nazareth
After breakfast, leave Haifa for Caesarea one of Israel’s most important cities during the Roman Empire. Visit the Herodian Theater along the Mediterranean shore, concluding with the inter active audiovisual program “The Stars of Caesarea”, located in the 900-year old crusader city built on the same site. Visit Acre (Akko) and explore the newly renovated underground crusader city now listed on the UNESCO Heritage list. Continue to Nazareth for your overnight.
Day 5 – Nazareth/Safed
Today visit the Basilica of the Annunciation and view the Blessed Cave, where Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. Continue to a Druse village in the Carmel Mountains for a look into the unique world of the Israeli Druse community. Enjoy a home cooked hospitality lunch, then visit Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artist’s colony. See the many unique synagogues, stroll through the quaint art galleries and shop in the artist’s colony.
Day 6 – Safed/Capernaum /Tiberias
After breakfast at the hotel, continue to Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the site of Jesus’ teachings and the remains of a 2nd century synagogue. Visit Tabgha, the traditional site of the Miracle of Loaves and Fishes, and the site of the modern church built on the remains of a Byzantine church from the 4th century. Proceed to the Church of Beatitudes located on the site of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Continue to Tiberias, a bustling city located on the shores of the Kinneret, one of the four holy Jewish cities in Israel. This evening enjoy a fish dinner at St. Peters Restaurant.
Day 7 – Tiberias/Jerusalem
This morning leave Tiberias for Jerusalem. While driving visit Banias Nature Reserve, walk along the river Banias – one of the major sources of the Jordan River. A stop will be made at the Golan Heights and to Mt. Avital to view the present Israeli Syrian border and city of Quneitra. Visit the City of Qatzrin (a new Israeli city in the Golan Heights) and enjoy wine-tasting at the famous Golan Heights Winery. Continue to Jericho to see the caves. Ascend through the Judean hills to Jerusalem a city 3,000 years old and full oft history. If time permits a stop will be made at Mt. Scopus for a view of the city. This evening you may participate in a Shabbat dinner and service with a local family.
Day 8 – Jerusalem
Today explore the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Via Delarosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer and other Christian sites. Visit the Israel Museum, which houses collections of fine arts, Judaica archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls and more. See the Ethopian Church and Courtyard. The afternoon is at leisure to experience the sites, smells and tastes of Jerusalem while walking through the Mahaneh Yehuda Market . This evening you may take part in a ceremony of breaking Shabbat, or at one of the local restaurants.
Day 9 – Jerusalem
This morning meet with Hannah Pick, a Holocaust survivor and childhood friend of Anne Frank for a discussion of the meaning of the Holocaust contemporary Jewish society. Afterwards visit the renovated Yad Vashem complex, the Jewish National Memorial to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. You have the opportunity to see the new Historical Museum and the Children’s Memorial where a service will be given. Take part of a guided tour of the new excavations at the City of David which have been redefined the origins of Jerusalem. Travel through the city of Jerusalem exploring some of the political and diplomatic complexities of recent years, including Har Homa, Gilo and the new “Security Fence” in the Jerusalem area with an in-depth study seminar on the ramifications of current developments. This afternoon meet with a scholar who will give a lecture on the life of Muslims and Jewish beliefs. Enjoy dinner this evening at one of the local restaurants.
Day 10 – Jerusalem
Today visit the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem and view the West Wall and the Herodian Mansions. Enter the Western Wall Tunnel, the underground continuation of the Western Wall along the Temple Mount. Visit Davidson Archaeological Park to see the Davidson Center and a three-dimensional computer generated presentation of Life During the Time of the Temple, followed by a visit to the Southern Wall excavations.
Day 11 – Dead Sea
Today leave Jerusalem to visit Masada Herod’s mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealot’s last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. A lecture will be given on Masada’s role as a symbol of Jewish defense and the current meaning and significance in modern Israel. See the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and view the new interactive audio visual program. The afternoon is spent at the Ein Gedi Spa where you can enjoy the mud and solphur baths, soaking in the Dead Sea. You will have your lunch here.
Day 12 – Jerusalem/Nazareth
Nazareth Village exists to present the life and teachings of Jesus. The Village is situated less than 500 meters from where scholars believe Jesus grew up. Visit the Church of the Annunciation. This evening enjoy a farewell dinner with your host Tsipora and her friends at their home.
Day 13 – Departure
Farewell to Israel as you transfer to the Airport for your return. Arrive home, your hearts and minds filled with many happy memories of ancient and modern day Israel.
- International Air USA /Tel Aviv / USA
- 1 night accommodation in Tel Aviv at 4star hotel
- 1 night accommodation in Haifa at a 4 star hotel
- 1 night accommodation in Nazareth at 4 star hotel
- 1 night accommodation in Safed at a 4 star hotel
- 1 night accommodation in Tiberias at a Kibbutz
- 6 nights accommodation in Jerusalem at a 4 star hotel
- Special lectures throughout Israel
- 11 breakfast, 2 lunches and 10 dinners
- All sightseeing and transfers by deluxe motor coach
- Entrance fees to all sites as per program
- Hotel taxes and service charges
NOT INCLUDED
- U.S. Departure Tax and Airport Security fees
- Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, inter-net services, soft drinks, coffee, tea, mineral water, alcoholic beverages, tips to drivers, guides, transfer personnel, travel insurance, etc
PLEASE NOTE: ITINERARY
SEQUENCE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
