Heritage Tour of the Holy Land
8 Days/7 Nights
Visit the Jewish and Christian sites that make up the heritage of both these religions on this Heritage tour to Israel
8 Days & 7 Nights – Thursday Arrival & Departure
THURSDAY
Upon arrival to airport meet our representative and transfer to hotel in Tel Aviv for an overnight.
FRIDAY – Haifa – Tzippori – Tiberias
Leave Tel-Aviv and travel north along the Mediterranean coast to Haifa, drive up to the peak of Mount Carmel to enjoy the panorama of Haifa, including the Bahai Shrine, Persian Garden. Continue via Acre to Rosh Hanikra; descend by cable car to visit the grottos and the Lebanese border, then motor down to Tzippori, the ancient capital of the Galilee with the recent excavations and impressive mosaics. Continue to Kibbutz Hotel or Tiberias for overnight.
SATURDAY – Nazareth-Upper Galilee and Golan Heights
Travel to Nazareth and visit the Church of the Annunciation & Mary’s Well. Continue through the Upper Galilee and ascend the Golan Heights. Visit the former Syrian fortifications, Birkat Ram, the Druze villages. Via Banias, source of the Jordan River, drive to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight.
SUNDAY – Tiberias – Beth Shean – Tel Aviv
Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue, then Mount of Beatitudes and drive through the city of Tiberias. Continue to Beth Shean, visit the city & the excavations and through the Sharon Valley drive south to Tel Aviv-Jaffa for a short city tour and overnight.
MONDAY Tel Aviv – Beersheva – Arad – Massada – Jerusalem
Leave Tel Aviv – via Ashdod – Ashkelon – Beersheba. A short visit to the Negev capital. Continue via Arad to Massada. Ascend by cable car to the fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod’s palaces, the synagogue, bathhouse, etc. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Descend for a possible “float” in the in the salty water of the world’s lowest place. Via Ein Gedi & Kalya proceed to Jerusalem for overnight.
TUESDAY – Jerusalem
Sightseeing of the new city Drive to Mount Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. On to the Garden of Gethsemane and Church of the Agony. Drive to Mount Zion for a visit to the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey. Sightseeing in the new city including the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls, new Supreme Court bldg. Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem (the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust). Then visit the model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem dating back to the time of the Second Temple. Afternoon visit of the Hadassah medical center & the synagogue with Marc Chagall stained glass windows. Then via Ein Karem (the birth place of John the Baptist), return to Hotel.
WEDNESDAY – Jerusalem – (Old City) – Bethlehem*
Walk through one of the Gates to the walled Old City: the renewed Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall, the Temple area; the colorful bazaars; Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Continue to Bethlehem* to visit Rachel’s Tomb and the Church of the Nativity and return to Jerusalem for overnight.
THURSDAY
Breakfast. Transfer to the airport, or extension tour to Jordan.
*Site under the Palestinian Authority Jurisdiction. Visit subjugated to situation.
