Tuesday:Jerusalem, sightseeing of the new city. Begin the day with a panoramic view of Jerusalem from the top of Mt’ of Olives and move on to the Garden of Gethsemane and visit the Church of the Agony. Continue to Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book with the famous Dead Sea scrolls, then a visit to the beautifully renovated Model of the Herodian city of Jerusalem, dating back to the time of the Second Temple. Continue to Yad Vashem (the memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. Pay an afternoon visit to the picturesque village of Ein Karem, the birth place on John the Baptist. Return to hotel.
Wednesday: Jerusalem, Old City, Bethlehem Take a 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 Station of the Cross ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Drive to \ Mt. Zion and visit the tomb of King David, the Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey. In the afternoon continue to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity and enjoy a view of the shepherds fields. Return to Jerusalem for overnight stay.
Thursday: Beit Shean, Nazareth, Galilee. Leave Jerusalem, and drive north via Jericho, the oldest city in the world. Then via the Jordan Valley to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautiful Roman City and then proceed to Nazareth to visit the Church of the Annunciation & Mary’s Well. Move on to Safed, city of the Kabala, for a walk through the mystic alleys and the artists colony. Drive to Kibbutz Hotel for your overnight stay.
Friday: Golan Heights and around the Sea of Galilee. Drive to the Golan Heights. See the former Syrian fortifications, and the Druze villages. Via Banias, source of the Jordan River, drive to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, to Capernaum. Visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue and Peter’s House. Pay visit to Tabgha, where the miracle of the Fish & Bread took place and Mt. Beatitude. After a short tour of Tiberias the old center of Jewish learning, return to the Kibbutz hotel for an overnight stay.
Saturday: Acre, Haifa, Tel Aviv. After Breakfast drive west to Acre for a visit of the old, famous Crusader stronghold and medieval fortifications. Continue to Haifa, sightseeing tour of Haifa, including the Bahai Shrine, Persian Garden and Mt. Carmel for a panoramic view of the city. Proceed southwards to Caesarea to visit the Roman Theater and the Crusader fortress. Continue to Tel Aviv-Jaffa for a short city tour and to the hotel for overnight stay.
Sunday: Day of leisure in Tel Aviv, or an optional tour to the Dead Sea. Monday: Breakfast and transfer to the airport for departure.
