SUNDAY

Upon arrival to airport meet our representative and transfer to hotel in Tel Aviv for an overnight.

..................................................................................................................................................................

MONDAY - Tel Aviv - Beersheba - 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 Mt. Scopus for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. On to the Garden of Gethsemane and 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. Afternoon visit the Hadassah medical center’s synagogue, with Marc Chagall stained glass windows. 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 stations 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. Afternoon continue to Bethlehem* to visit Rachel’s Tomb and the Church of the Nativity and return to Jerusalem for overnight.

..................................................................................................................................................................

THURSDAY – Beit Shean - Tiberias - Galilee Leave Jerusalem, and drive north via Jericho*, the oldest city in the world.

Through Jordan Valley and the new settlements to Beit Shean. Visit the excavations of this beautiful preserved Roman City. Proceed to Tiberias, the old center of Jewish learning. Drive along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum , to visit the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Continue to a Kibbutz hotel for overnight.

..................................................................................................................................................................

FRIDAY - Upper Galilee and Golan Heights - Nazareth

Drive to the Golan Heights. Visit the former Syrian fortifications, and the Druze villages, Via Banias, source of the Jordan River. Proceed via the Hula Valley to Safed, city of the Kabala, to visit a synagogue and the artists’ colony and then to Nazareth to visit the Christian Holy Sites. Return to the Kibbutz hotel for overnight.

..................................................................................................................................................................

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 Mount Carmel for a panoramic view of the city and the bay. Proceed along the cost to Caesarea to visit the Roman Theater and the Crusader fortress. End the day with a short city tour of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and overnight.

..................................................................................................................................................................

SUNDAY

Breakfast and transfer to the airport for departure, or extension tour to Jordan.

..................................................................................................................................................................