May 3, Wed
Welcome to Israel!. Arrving at 10:15, we will head to Jerusalem, and greet the holy city from the Mount of Olives Viewpoint
.
After check in, we will have some lunch, and head to the Jewish Quarter , and after some orientation head to the Western wall
to join a tour along the Western Wall tunnels
.
Guide: Danny Herman
O/N: Jerusalem
May 4 Thu
Today will be deovted to major Holy Christian sites in Jerusalem. We will start with a visit to the Garden of Gethsemane
, and the Grotto of Gethsemane
, and after crossing the Kidron valley we will enter the old city, see the Pools of Bethesda
, and walk along the Via Dolorosa
, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
.
After a Lunch break we will return to the Mount of olives and participate in the Temple Mount Debris Sifting Project .
Guide: Danny Herman
O/N: Jerusalem
May 5 Fri
Today we go to where it all began – the City of David
!. We will evaluate the possible remains of King David’s Palace
, see Area G
, Warren’s shaft
, the Canaanite Tunnel
, and possibly walks along Hezekiah’s Tunnel
, to the Pool of Siloam
.
We then ascend along the Herodian Drainage Channel , to the Southern Wall Archaeological Park
, and Davidson Center
.
The bus will now take us to Mahane Yehudah Market
where we will have lunch, and possibly do some food shopping for Shabbath, and drive back to the hotel via the Jewish Ultra Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim
.
Guide: Danny Herman
O/N: Jerusalem
May 6, Sat
Shacharit at the kotel (pending hotel location; or local synagogue options), and a day of rest!.
Shabbath Shalom!
O/N: Jerusalem
May 7, Sun
we start with a visit to the highlights of the Israel Museum
: the “Shrine of the Book”
, the Model of the Second Temple
, the Jewish Art and Life Wing
, and ofcourse – the Archaeological Wing
.
After a lunch break we return to the old city to walk along the Cardo , see the “Burnt House”
, and visit the Temple Institute
.
May 8, Mon
A day devoted to the Shefelah: David vs. Goliath famous battle will be reivewed in a new light with a visit to Khirbet Qeiyafa
, followed by a tour of the significant Biblical site of Tel Lachish
.
After a lunch break we will be introduced to the material culture of the Philistine by a visit to The “Philistine Street” near Biblical Ekron, and on the way back we will visit Emmaus-Nicopolis
and its well preserved Roman era Bathouse.
Guide: Danny Herman
O/N: Jerusalem
May 9, Tues
A day in the area of the Dead Sea begins with a visit to the spectacular site of Masada
, and followed by Lunch in Kibbutz Ein Gedi
, where we can also enjoy the Ein-Gedi Botanical Gardens
and visit Ein-Gedi ‘s ancient Synagogue
.
We will then see the site where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered (Kh. Qumran ), and of course go for a swim at the Dead Sea
.
We will end the day visiting the unique Modi’in synagogue, where Dr. Oren Gutfeld will take over, and guide the rest of the tour.
Guide: Danny Herman
O/N: Tiberias
May 10, Wed
Exploring the area of the “Sea of Galilee” we will visit today Magdala
, Capernaum
and Bethsaida
, and after a fish lunch break in Kibbutz Eingev we will Sail on the Sea of Galilee
, back to Tiberias Where Oren will present the finds he made in Ancient Tiberias
.
Guide: Dr. Oren Gutfeld
O/N: Tiberias
May 11, Thur
We begin with touring Tel Dan
, and the Roman era Caesarea Philippi (Banias)
.
We then ascend the Golan Heights to the top of Mt. Bental
where we can view into Syria, and after lunch at Kibbutz Meron Golan we will explore the “Masada of the North” – Gamla
.
Guide: Dr. Oren Gutfeld
O/N: Tiberias
May 12, Friday
Heading towards Tel-Aviv, we make one stop at Megiddo
.
In Tel-Aviv we join a tour of the Independence Hall after which we go for a stroll Carmel Market
where we can also get a lunch, and along Nahalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Fair
.
After a quick visit to Jaffa , we head to the Samaritan Holon Community
to learn about this unqiue ethnic group, and possibly see their special Friday prayers (no photos).
Guide: Dr. Oren Gutfeld
O/N: Tel-Aviv
May 13, Sat
Free day in Tel Aviv. Shabbath Shalom!
O/N: Tel-Aviv
May 14, Sun
Our last day of the tour will be devoted to significant sites from Greco-Roman tims. At Sepphoris
and Beth Shearim
we will learn about Jewish life in late antiquity, and after a lunch break in a Druze
village we will continue to Caesarea
for a review of its main sites, namely its aqueduct, the Port, the unique Hippo-Stadium, Herods Palace, and the ancient Theatre.
Guide: Dr. Oren Gutfeld
O/N: Tel-Aviv