We have designed the following tour program for maximum exposure to the land and the Bible while enabling maximum security.

Day 1

Day 2
We enter Caesarea Maritima to explore its harbor, Sebastos, and the rest of this Christian springboard to the West. We ascend Mt. Carmel, site of Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal. We then drive to the mound of Megiddo, har megiddo in Hebrew, which gave its name to Armageddon. After surveying thePlain of Jezreel, we  end the day at the Arbel cliff, which affords a view over the Lake of Galilee and the main sites of Jesus’ ministry.

Day 3 
A day around the Sea of Galilee.  Depart for the Yarmuk River and ascend the Aphek Plateau for an unobstructed view of the lake from the east. Visit the Mt. of Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7), then the black basalt city of Chorazin.  After lunch (optional St. Peter’s fish) we will drive to Tabgha and Capernaum .  Then we shall view the remains of a fishing boat from Jesus’ day.   From here we shall spend an hour on the lake in a wooden boat modeled after the one we have seen.

Day 4  
We start with Sepphoris, a stunning example of a mixed (Jewish-Gentile) city; it was the capital of Galilee when Jesus was growing to manhood four miles away in Nazareth. Lunch.  We then proceed to his town, visiting Mary’s Well (the chief springs of the ancient village). We shall proceed to a view from the Nazareth ridge over the Jezreel Plain, recalling stories from both Testaments (Luke 4 and Judges4). We then return to the lake for a few free hours in the afternoon with an opportunity to swim in the Sea of Galilee.

Day 5  After a brief stop at Hazor, the land’s biggest Canaanite city, we drive to Tell Dan. Here we shall walk through the nature reserve to the headwaters of the Jordan, then visit the ruins, including the high place built by Jeroboam, son of Nebat (I Kings 12). We then proceed to Caesarea Philippi (Banias), recounting Peter’s Confession (Matthew 16) at the foot of Mt. Hermon. We walk through the ruins ofAgrippa’s Palace.  Nearby at Kibbutz HaGoshrim (except in winter) we shall have a chance to experience the Jordan in another way, letting its current carry us in rubber boats.  (Some may prefer instead to use the kibbutz swimming pool for a fee.). We return to our lodging via the Golan Heights.

Day 6 
We visit Beth Shean, viewing the ruins of Roman Scythopolis, under which name it served as capital for the Roman Decapolis. Above the mighty Roman ruins is the tell, on which we shall stand to view the setting for the last days of Saul. (I Samuel 28 – 31). After lunch we shall drive up the Jezreel Valley to the tell of Jezreel, standing where Saul stood when he surveyed the Philistine army on the Hill of Moreh. We shall also recall here the story of Naboth’s Vineyard and Jezebel’s fate, as prophesied by Elijah. We shall then gird up our loins and drive to Beersheba in the Negev desert, where we shall spend the night.

Day 7
A day in the Negev. We start with a visit at Abraham’s Well  in Beersheba. We then drive south to view the stupendous wilderness of Zin.  From here we shall drive, then walk, to the spring of Avdat (Ein Avdat), an oasis in the desert. (We can include an uphill climb for those who wish.)  Then we visit the well-preserved desert city of Avdat, founded by Nabatean Arabs and developed by the Byzantines. We overnight again in Beersheba.

Day 8 
We visit the ruins of the ancient Israelite temple at Tel Arad. We then continue to Masada, which includes, amid Herodian grandeur, the last days of the Jewish revolt against Rome. After lunch and a swim in the Dead Sea, we drive up to Mount Scopus in Jerusalem to look at the city as pilgrims to the Temple once did.  Lodge in Jerusalem.

Day 9
We start the day with an orientation to Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives. We then follow the traditional Palm Sunday route to the church known as Dominus Flevit (“the Lord weeps”). After viewing the Golden Gate, we walk downhill to Gethsemane, where we take time to meditate on the Gospel text. After lunch, we shall visit St Anne’s, a medieval church with remarkable acoustics, and the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed one who had been ill for 38 years.  We continue on the Way of the Cross (Via Dolorosa), which culminates at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Day 10 
Today we shall drive to beautiful Ein Gedi and hike up to the waterfall.  From there we will backtrack toQumran for a visit to the site and a look at one of the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We finish with a visit to Jericho.

Day 11
Free day

Day 12
We visit the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. We walk through an archaeological tunnel, exploring the full length of the Herodian Temple wall. From here we shall go to the grounds of Peter in Gallicantu for an excellent view of the original Jerusalem. Then on to Mt. Zion, City of David, Warren’s shaft, andHezekiah’s Tunnel.

Day 13
We ascend to the Dome of the Rock  and the al-Aqsa Mosque, located on the traditional site of the ancient Temple Mount. We then explore the Jewish Quarter excavations, including the Byzantine main street (Cardo) and the Broad Wall of King Hezekiah. We follow this with the Ophel excavations. After lunch, we go on to Bethlehem.

Day 14
After communion at the Garden Tomb, we proceed to the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. There we also survey the outdoor model of Jerusalem (scale 1:50), as it may have looked in 66 AD, just before the Jewish revolt against Rome. Lunch. Then to the Holocaust Museum, Yad Va Shem.

This evening we drive to the airport for departure.