Holy Land Tours
13 Day Complete Biblical tour of Israel & Jordan
DAY 01 – DEPART USA
Day 02 – ARRIVE TEL AVIV
Visit Joppa on way to hotel; the port made famous
by Jonah’s flight from
God’s directive. Here, Peter saw the sheet of animals lowered from heaven
as God commissioned him to carry the gospel to the first Gentile convert, Cornelius.
Dinner and overnight in Tel Aviv.
DAY 03 – ASHKELON, ASHDOD, BEERSHEBA,
EILAT
Breakfast at the hotel. After
breakfast, drive through the Philistine country of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gat,
cities famous from the days of Samuel, Goliath, Samson,
and David. On to Beersheba, the city where Abraham departed to take
Isaac to be sacrificed, later home to Isaac and Jacob. Drive down to the
Ramon Crater and view the wilderness of Zin, the area where the children
of Israel
wandered for forty years. From there drive down through the Arava Valley
to Timna for a visit of the copper mines from the time of the Pharaohs and
King
Soloman. Arrive at the beautiful port city of Eilat for dinner and overnight.
DAY 04 – EILAT, ARAVA BORDER, AQUABA, PETRA
Breakfast at the hotel. After
breakfast use the morning at leisure to recover from jet lag while relaxing,
scuba, swimming, or shopping. Noon check out of
hotel. Visit port of Eilat, the unique Underwater Observatory, and enjoy
a boat ride on the Red Sea along the maritime border of Jordan. Sit back
and
gaze
over the splendid Eilat Bay and ponder the proposed
route of the Exodus under Moses, which would have taken the Israelites across
these same waters toward their visit with God at Mount Sinai in Arabia. Board
the bus for the border crossing at Arava. Travel through the lands where
God gave daily manna and Korah’s rebels were swallowed up by the earth. Arrive
at hotel near Petra for dinner and overnight.
Day 05 – PETRA, DEAD SEA
Breakfast at the hotel. Experience the ancient
city of Petra, the “rose
red city half as old as time,” capitol of the ancient Edomite and Nabataean
empires and possible refuge of God’s people during the coming days of
persecution under the Antichrist.
Lunch en route as we drive along the King's
Highway through the same areas made famous by the experiences of Moses, the
serpents in the wilderness, the
prophet Balaam’s visit, and the death of Aaron. See the spring where
Moses struck the rock and forfeited his passage into the Promised Land. Visit
a church in Madaba (perhaps the home town of Ruth) to view the 6th century
mosaic map of Jerusalem, then to the top of Mt. Nebo to view the Holy land
as Moses did before his death. Visit the baptismal site on the Jordanian side
of the Jordan River, the spot where John baptized Jesus. Perhaps offer you
an opportunity to experience baptism at this place before going to hotel for
dinner and overnight at the Dead Sea.
Day 06 – DEAD SEA, ALLENBY
BRIDGE, JERICHO, TIBERIAS
After breakfast,
we cross the border into Israel over the Allenby Bridge near the place
where Joshua led Israel on dry land. Visit Jericho, the oldest continuously
inhabited city of the world – where the wall fell flat, where Elisa’s
spring still waters the land – home of Zachias and tomb of Achan. Drive
north through the Israel side of the Jordan Valley to Gideon's Springs. Then
to Beit Shean where the bodies of Saul and Jonathan were desecrated, to visit
the excavations of this Decapolis city. On to the southern rim of the Sea
of Galilee to our dinner at the hotel in Tiberias.
Day 07 – TIBERIAS, NORTHERN
GALILEE
Sunrise on the Sea of Galilee is spectacular.
These are the shores where Jesus walked and Peter and Andrew fished (John
4:18). This morning our group will
visit Capernaum, Jesus’ ministry headquarters and hometown to most
of His disciples. We stop at the Mount of Beatitudes then up into the Golan
Heights
to the base of Mt. Hermon, site of His transfiguration. There at Banyas is
Caesarea Philippi of the Bible, a primary source of water for the Jordan
valley. Here Peter made his great confession (Mark 8:27), and Jesus
made his great promise to build his church.
At Kuneitra we stand 36 miles from
Damascus on the same road traveled by Saul of when he met the resurrected
Jesus. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight
in Tiberias.
Day 08 – CANA, NAZARETH, MEGIDDO, CARMEL, CAESAREA, JERUSALEM
After a
boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, we travel past the Horns of Hattin...where
Saladin defeated the Crusaders, through Cana...Gath-hepher, hometown of Jonah
(2 Kings 14:25), and walk through Nazareth...hometown of Jesus and His earthly
family. Then cross the valley to Megiddo, a 6,000-year-old fortress conquered
by Joshua, rebuilt by Solomon, and place of the Battle of Armageddon.
We drive
to Mount Carmel, where Elijah prayed fire from Heaven. From that platform,
we enjoy a panoramic view of the hills of Nazareth, Mount Tabor, Mountains
of Gilboa, Hill of Moreh (Gen. 12:6), the y-shaped Valley of Jezreel (Armageddon
in Revelation 16:16), and the hills of Samaria to the south. All abound in
Biblical narrative. According to Scripture the last battle of History will
be fought in this area. We bus south along the coast of "The Great Sea" to
Caesarea where the Roman theater and the aqueduct remind us about Cornelius,
Phillip the Evangelist and Paul’s two-year imprisonment before his journey
to Rome. Then up to Jerusalem and supper at our hotel.
DAY 09 – JERUSALEM
This morning we visit a true 1 to 50 scale outdoor
model of Jerusalem as it looked in Jesus' time 2,000 years ago. Each time
a new archaeological discovery
is made, this model is updated to be accurate. Next we visit Yad Vashem
(Museum of the Holocaust) to be reminded of recent history of the Jewish
people and
the rebirth of the modern State of Israel. Next to see the Kinesset and
visit the Shrine of the Book where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls are discussed
and displayed. Lunch en route. We drive to Bethlehem to see
Rachel’s
Tomb, Shepherd's Fields (where angels sang) and visit the Church of the Nativity,
where God first saw a manger through human eyes. Time to shop before we return
to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 10 – JERUSALEM (Possible scheduled
visit to the Western Wall Tunnel in an evening. We then walk through the
Old City at Night.)
After breakfast
we go to Mt. Scopus and motor to the top of the Mt. of Olives to look across
the Kidron Valley at the old walled city of Jerusalem. We walk
down the side of the Mt. of Olives, following the path taken by Jesus during
His "Palm Sunday" ride into Jerusalem. We view the city from the
courtyard of the church where Jesus wept over the city, and then continue our
descent to the Church of All Nations at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus
prayed. We enter the city through the Dung Gate and walk through the excavations
at the southern wall of the Temple Mount. Then visit the holiest site in the
whole Jewish world – “the Wailing Wall” – at the base
of the western wall of the Temple Mount. The 35-acre Temple Mount platform
is entered through another gate at the top of a short incline. King David purchased
this land from Arauna the Jebusite (II Samuel 24:18-25). This history of this
area includes: the sacrifice of Isaac, Solomon's temple, Herod's temple, and
many visits of Jesus. Leaving the Temple area through the "Needle Eye",
we stop at the Sisters of Zion convent to see the Pavement, where Jesus was
mocked by the soldiers, the pool of Bethesda, and through the crowded streets
of the Old City, we follow the "Way of Sorrows" Via Dolorosa to the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Return to our hotel for supper and overnight.
DAY
11 – JERUSALEM
This morning we will travel down through the blooming
desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth - more than 1,300 feet
below sea level. We stop to
see a life size tabernacle, see the caves of Qumran where the copies of
Scripture were found. Time permitting, we will stop at Ein Gedi, where David
could have
killed King Saul, then continue to Masada and ascend by cable car to the
remarkable ruins of this fortress built by Herod the Great. Here the Jewish
Zealots made
their last stand against the Romans as recorded by the historian Josephus.
At the next stop, those who desire may float in the unique waters of the
Dead Sea near the sites of Sodom and Gomorrah. Return to Jerusalem hotel
for dinner
and overnight.
Day 12 – JERUSALEM
Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we bus to Caiaphas'
House, where Peter heard the rooster and walk on steps dated to Jesus’ times;
we view King David’s Tomb and the Upper Room where Pentecost occurred,
then through Zion Gate into the modern Jewish Quarter of old city to the Cardo,
and see
the instruments already constructed for the new temple worship at the Museum
of Temple Treasures. We walk through the old city through the Damascus Gate
to see Calvary and the Garden Tomb. Return to hotel for supper and overnight.
Day 13 – JERUSALEM - USA
Transfer to airport in Tel Aviv for flight to
USA.
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