Religious Pilgrimage to Israel: Land of the Bible

Meet our guide at the airport and transfer to Natanya for the night. As an introduction to Israel, we will plant a tree.

Drive along the Mediterranean shore line to the Herodian port city of Caesarea, where the Romans held Paul prisoner. Our visit to Caesarea will include Pontius Pilate Stella, the aqueduct the theater and the hippodrome

View Mount Carmel, where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal.

Follow the ancient route through the Jezreel Valley to Tel Megiddo, where we will visit the archeological dig. Continue to with a visit to Nazareth Village. This is an interactive replica of the Town of Nazareth as it was during Christ’s youth. Continue to our hotel in Tiberias, a former Crusader and Turkish stronghold, as well as an important site of Jewish pilgrimage.

Continue to our hotel in Tiberias, a former Crusader and Turkish stronghold, as well as an important site of Jewish pilgrimage.

Pass through the Valley of the Doves and See Mount Arbel towards Sea of Galilee, which was a major passage way at the time of Christ.

Visit Madgala, once home of Mary Magdalene. Visit a recently discovered Synagogue. Enjoy lunch before cross the waters of the Sea of Galilee on a special boat ride with a worship service on board. Ascend the Mount of Beatitudes, north of the Sea of Galilee where the Sermon on the Mount was given.

Then we will visit the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes in Tabgha, built on the site where it is believed that Jesus fed a multitude of people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

Journey to Capernaum, the town where Jesus first assembled his disciples to view remains of the ancient synagogue. Continue with a visit to view the 2000 year old boat at the “Jesus Boat Museum,” located on Kibbutz Ginosar. We will return to our hotel in Tiberias for the evening.

Our morning begins as we take short walk in the Tel Dan national reserve, a beautiful paradise that lies in the ancient city ruins of Dan. View the altar built by Jeroboam and learn about the "House of David" fragment from the First Temple Period discovered.

Continue to the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, where Jesus gave Simon the keys to the kingdom of Heaven.

Visit Bethsaida and the River Jordan, as we remember the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Here we will have a chance to Renew our Baptismal vows. We will return to our hotel in Tiberias for the evening.

Our sightseeing today will start by viewing Jericho, believed to be the most ancient city in the world, where we will view the Mount of Temptation where Jesus fasted and prayed for 40 days.

Continue to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd. Visit the mountaintop Palace and Fortress of Massada, as we ascend via cable car to view these ancient ruins, including Herod’s palace, synagogue, baths, defensive walls and water cisterns. This is where the amazing story of the 960 Zealots who preferred suicide rather than face enslavement by the Romans took place.

As we travel to Jerusalem and time permitting, we will stop at the Dead Sea and experience true weightlessness by floating in these buoyant waters that are claimed as a natural health and beauty spa. Continue to Jerusalem, where we will spend the next four nights.

This morning we will travel to Bethlehem, a city featured prominently in both the Old and New Testaments. We will visit the Basilica of the Nativity and descend to the Grotto of the Nativity in the lower level of the church to kneel at the place where Jesus was born. We will also see Manger Square, which has been transformed into a meeting place, and the Shepherd’s Fields, where the birth of the Christ child was announced. We then travel to Ein Karem, the birthplace of St. John the Baptist and the site of the visitation with Mary and Elizabeth.

This afternoon we will return to Jerusalem, where we will visit Yad Vashem and the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority, a museum dedicated to the documentation of the history of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. We end our day with a visit to the Shrine of the Book, showcasing the Dead Sea scrolls.

Our day starts as we drive to the top of the Mount of Olives, where Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1), for amazing views of the city and better understanding of the geography and key sites in the area. Then make our way to the Garden of Gethsemane, whose ancient olive trees believed to date back to the times of Christ. The Garden is believed to be home to the rock that Jesus prayed upon. Continue to the Temple Mount: The Dome of the Rock and El Akza Mosques - the 3rd holiest for Muslims & holiest place for Jews. The Temple Mount is where Jesus spent Tuesday and Wednesday of the Holy Week. Next we will go to Mount Zion and visit Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, built on what is believed to have been the site where Peter denied Jesus. It was also the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was interrogated. We will end our day with a visit to the Cenaculum, where it is believed Jesus celebrated the Last Supper.

Begin our day walking the Temple Mount, once the temple of Solomon and home to the Dome of the Rock, where Jesus healed on the Sabbath at the Pool of Bethseas. Next we will walk along the Via Dolorosa and the Stations of the Cross to Calvary to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Continue to the Western Wall, the holiest site in the Jewish world. It became the most sacred spot in Jewish religious and national consciousness and tradition by virtue of its proximity to the Western Wall of the Holy of Holies in the Temple, from which, according to numerous sources, the Divine Presence never departed. It became a center of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and Israel's exile, on the one hand, and of religious - in 20th century also national - communion with the memory of Israel's former glory and the hope for its restoration, on the other. Because of the former association, it became known in European languages as the “Wailing Wall.” We will also have time to stop and sit on the teaching stairs where Jesus taught. Enjoy a special Farewell Dinner together this evening.

Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our guide accompanies us to the airport for our return flight home.