1 DEPARTURE: This morning we are transferred to the Charlotte airport for our trans-Atlantic flight.

2 ISRAEL • TEL AVIV • JOPPA • BEERSHEBA: Upon our arrival we meet our guide and board our bus. We begin our tour of the Holy Land by first visiting the ancient port of Joppa. We continue driving south through the Philistine cities on our way to Beersheba. We stop in the Valley of Elah, where David encountered Goliath, arriving in Beersheba, where we visit Abraham’s Well. Dinner is included this evening. D

3 WILDERNESS OF ZIN • EILAT • JORDAN: This morning we drive south to view the stupendous wilderness of Zin. We continue south through the Negev, the desert region of southern Israel to Eilat, a busy port and resort city. We arrive at the Arava Border to obtain our visa (free) and cross into Jordan. In Jordan we board our Jordanian bus with our guide and drive to Aqaba located on the northern most coast of the Red Sea. Overnight & dinner is in Aqaba. B D

4 WADI RUM • JEEP TOUR • PETRA: Early in the morning, we proceed along the Exodus route to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is one of the world’s outstanding desert landscapes. This was the heartland of Midian, which played a crucial part in early Israel’s faith. We’ll take a jeep tour through this spectacular wilderness before we drive up to Petra. Today you are in the heart of the Seir mountains. Aaron Peak is the highest in Petra and the burial place of Aaron, brother of Moses. A walk through the Siq, the main entrance to Petra will bring you to the first monument treasure (the one that appears in the Indiana Jones movie). A walk further down through the outer Siq with all of its tombs and burial chamber brings you to one of the largest theaters in Jordan. This theater is carved in the sandstone mountains of Petra at the bottom of the High Place of Sacrifice Mountain. You will have a great view of the lower part of Petra with all its Roman remains. You have an option to walk to the church of Petra and view its Mosaics. We walk back to the

entrance and then check into our hotel in Petra for dinner and overnight. B D

5 KING’S HIGHWAY • AMMAN: This morning we continue to drive along the Exodus route north along the famed historical King’s Highway passing by the conserved Crusader city of Kerak. From there we go to Madaba, with its mosaic floor from the 6th century showing a map of the Holy Land as Christian pilgrims knew it in that period. We end the day at Mt. Nebo, from which God showed Moses the Promised Land. Our day ends with the drive to Amman - Philadephia, the capital of Jordan, for dinner and overnight. B D

6 BAPTISMAL SITE • JERICHO • JORDAN VALLEY • SEA OF GALILEE: This morning we take a short drive to the recently discovered baptismal site of “Bethany beyond the Jordan.” For Christians, the most significant event associated with the River Jordan is undoubtedly the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. We then proceed to the Allenby Bridge to return back to Israel. We again rejoin our bus and guide from the Holy Land. We drive to Jericho and view the traditional mountain of Jesus’ temptation. Driving through the Jordan Valley we enter Harod’s Valley. Jesus healed the 10 lepers probably somewhere in this valley. We continue on the Ein Harod where Gideon thinned out his army as he brought them to the spring and sorted them on the basis of how they drank from the water. We drive through the Jezreel Valley back towards Beth Shean to view the setting for the death of Saul, surveying the magnificent Roman and Byzantine ruins: theatre, bathhouses, ancient rest rooms, market areas, colonnaded streets. Our overnight is in Tiberias for the next two nights, where our hotel is

12 Days Israel & the Holy Land including Petra

CAESAREA PHILIPPI

PHOTO: ISRAEL TOURISM PHOTO: ISRAEL TOURISM

THE WESTERN WALL IN JERUSALEM

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located near the Sea of Galilee. B D

7 SEA OF GALILEE • SITES OF JESUS’ MINISTRY: We drive along the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, where we visit the synagogue and the place where early Christians remembered Peter’s house. We continue to Tabgha to view the mosaics in the Church of the Loaves and Fishes then we ascend to the Mount of Beatitudes. On an ancient trade route, we pass Hazor and then go on to Dan. Here we take a nature walk and visit the high place where Jeroboam, son of Nebat, set up a golden calf. We continue to Caesarea Philippi, where Peter answered Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?’’ Our route then takes us over the Golan Heights, skirting Mt. Hermon, with a view toward Damascus. We end the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. B D

8 NAZARETH • MEGIDDO • JERUSALEM: This morning we depart Tiberias on to Cana, commemorating Jesus’ transformation of water into wine. We then proceed to Nazareth, visiting part of the ancient village. We continue on our drive to the mound of Megiddo, ‘har megiddo’ in Hebrew, which gave its name to Armageddon. Our day continues as we ascend Mt. Carmel, site of Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal. After descending the mountain, we drive toward Caesarea nestled between the banana groves and the sand-skirted sea. We enter Caesarea Maritima to explore this Roman bridgehead to the East, which became the Christian springboard to the West. After we visit this ancient harbor, we head up the historic Beth Horon road to the Benjamin Plateau, passing ancient Gibeon and continuing on. Finally, atop Mt. Scopus, we behold majestic Jerusalem. We check into our hotel for a four night stay. Dinner is included at the hotel. B D

9 JERUSALEM • MT OF OLIVES • GETHSEMANE • BETHLEHEM: We begin our day on the Mt. of Olives with the Old City tilted toward us.

After an orientation, we will descend the traditional Palm Sunday road to Dominus Flevit, remembering Jesus’ entry. We continue to Gethsemane to visit the garden and the church. Then we drive to Mt. Zion to the grounds of a church called Peter in Gallicantu, affording us the best view of early Jerusalem. Traveling south, we drive by Solomon’s Pools, Jerusalem’s main source of water for almost 2000 years. Passing the monastery of Hortus Conclusus (“the sealed garden”) in Artas, we go to Shepherds’ Fields. Concluding our day we visit Bethlehem, walking through its alleys and markets to the Church of the Nativity before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight. B D

10 JERUSALEM - THE OLD CITY: Just inside the Dung Gate, we examine the ruins near the south side of the Temple complex, including steps where Jesus and the disciples walked. We walk up to the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. We ascend to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site of Islam, which is located on the traditional site of the ancient Temple Mount where it was once thought the Temple stood. Just to the north we find the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne’s Church preserved from the Crusader period. We follow the Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa) back as far as the Holy Sepulcher and from there we walk through the Christian Quarter through the Arab Souks past the Armenian Quarter and exit the Old City. Outside the Mt Zion Gate we visit the Upper Room and King David’s Tomb. Our day concludes at the Garden Tomb for a special visit and private communion. B D

11 DEAD SEA SCROLLS • MASADA • DEAD SEA: We begin our day at the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Israel Museum, including the outdoor model of Jerusalem as the city may have

looked in 66 AD. We drive through the Judean desert to Qumran. Here we view Cave # 4, which contained the greatest quantity of Dead Sea scrolls. We continue south to Masada where we will take the cable car to the top, visiting Herod’s mountain bunker and the last stronghold of the Jewish revolt against Rome. We enter the nature reserve of Ein Gedi, rich in flora and fauna, and walk to a lovely waterfall. We conclude the day with a float in the Dead Sea (at minus 1390 feet, as low as you’re ever likely to get) before we return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight. B D

12 TEL AVIV • HOME: This morning we transfer to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport for our flight home. B Tour arranged by Christian Tours

PETRA, JORDAN

Sea of GalileeSea of Galilee

NazarethNazareth

Tel-AvivTel-Aviv

BeershebaBeersheba

EilatEilat

PetraPetra

AmmanAmmanJerichoJericho

JerusalemJerusalem

Dead SeaDead Sea

Activity LevelEasy Strenuous

1 2 3 4 5Frequent walking on rough and uneven terrain

THE DEAD SEA PHOTO: ISRAEL TOURISM PHOTO: ISRAEL TOURISM

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