6 Days in Israel
Duration: 6 Days
Program only valid for private groups of 20 or more people
Day 1: ARRIVE IN TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - CAESAREA MARITIMA - HAIFA / MT. CARMEL - CANA - NAZARETH
Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, meet your local guide and proceed to visit Caesarea Maritima “By the Sea”, where the Apostle Peter baptized the first Christian Gentile, Cornelius the Centurion. Paul was held prisoner there for two years before he was sent to Rome. Later we visit the ancient theatre and have lunch at a local restaurant. Drive to Mt. Carmel, “your head crowns you like Mount Carmel” (Songs 7:5). Carmel was the symbol of beauty and fertility. To be given the “splendor of Carmel” was to be blessed. Continue with a drive to Cana, where Jesus’ first miracle took place and then onto Nazareth, Jesus’ home (Matthew 2:23) and see the Church of the Annunciation. Check-in to our hotel in Nazareth for a short rest, dinner & overnight stay. (L-D)
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Day 2: NAZARETH - CAPERNAUM - SEA OF GALILEE - MT. OF BEATITUDES - TABGHA - JORDAN RIVER - NAZARETH
After the buffet breakfast at the hotel we take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, as did Jesus and His Apostles (Matthew 4:13). We will see the Synagogue and Peter’s House, the center of Jesus’ preaching ministry. We will also see “Jesus Boat” recovered from the shore of the Sea of Galilee in 1986. After having lunch at a local restaurant, we drive to Mount of Beatitudes where the “Sermon on the Mount” was preached (Matthew 5-7), visit Tabgha and the ancient mosaic of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish (Luke 9:10-17). We then drive to Jordan River and visit the traditional baptismal site. Here we can baptize those ready for baptism. We return to our hotel in Nazareth for dinner & overnight stay. (B-L-D)
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Day 3: NAZARETH - JERICHO - DEAD SEA – QUMRAN –JERUSALEM
After the buffet breakfast, we check-out of the hotel to visit Jericho and see the excavations of the oldest city in the world, we will view from a distance the Mount of Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11). We continue to the Dead Sea, which is a Salt Lake 430 m below sea level making it the lowest point in the world on dry land. Here you can take a dip and experience firsthand it’s famous hyper-saline waters that make floating easy. After lunch at a local restaurant we drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to visit Qumran, where the “Dead Sea Scrolls” were discovered and where the Essene community lived. We check-in to our hotel in Jerusalem to have dinner & stay overnight. (B-L-D)
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Day 4: JERUSALEM - BETHLEHEM
After the buffet breakfast at the hotel we visit the Wailing (or Western) Wall and view from a distance the Temple Mount, where Solomon’s temple was built and overlook the Al-Aksa Mosque, the site where the sacrifice of Isaac was to take place. Passing the Stations of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) we will come to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose again. Lunch at a local restaurant in Jerusalem. In the afternoon, we will visit Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity. (Matthew 1:8-25, Luke 2:1-7). We return to our hotel in Jerusalem to have dinner & stay overnight. (B-L-D)
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Day 5: JERUSALEM
After the buffet breakfast, we drive to Jerusalem to visit the Mount of Olives where we will enjoy the wonderful view overlooking Jerusalem. We will see the site of Ascension (Acts 1:9-12), the Pater Noster Church, and walk the Palm Sunday road. At the foot of the hill we will see the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-44) with the ancient olive-trees and the Church of All Nations. We then drive along the Kidron Valley to St. Peter in Gallicantu, built over the palace of the High Priest Caiaphas. After lunch at a local restaurant we climb Mount Zion to visit the Tomb of David and the Upper Room, the traditional scene of Jesus’ last Passover feast (Mark 14:12-26). We return to our hotel in Jerusalem to have dinner & stay overnight. (B-L-D)
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Day 6: JERUSALEM - DEPARTURE
After the buffet breakfast, we check-out of the hotel to visit the Israel Museum to see the 1:50 scale-model of the city of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple period, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. After lunch at a local restaurant we visit the Garden rock-cut Tomb, unearthed in 1867. The Garden Tomb is adjacent to a rocky escarpment which since the mid-nineteenth century is considered by various scholars to be Golgotha. Finally we will be transferred to Tel Aviv “Ben Gurion” International Airport for our departure flights. (B-L)
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