TAKE AN OPTIONAL PRE-EXTENSION
JORDAN & PETRA
DAY 1 -- Sunday: NEW YORK / ISTANBUL Tour members are welcomed at JFK International Airport for our departing flight to Istanbul via widebody aircraft arriving the next day. Meals served on board.
DAY 2 -- Monday: ISTANBUL / AMMAN / PETRA This morning we will arrive in Istanbul and transfer to our flight to Amman. This afternoon we will arrive in Amman. We will be met and loaded on our motor coach for our drive to Petra. We proceed to Petra for dinner and overnight at our hotel.
DAY 3 -- Tuesday: PETRA This morning we awake and look out at Petra, one of the most scenic places in the world. Proceed by foot into this dream-like, unreal world: the " Rose-Red City" of Petra with its incredibly beautiful temples, carved into solid rock and forgotten for 500 years. This is the Mount Seir and the Selah of the Old Testament. We will view the places of sacrifice, the old tombs dating back to 100 B.C., El Deir Monastery, the Tomb of Aaron and the royal palaces. This afternoon we will board our motorcoach and take a panoramic ride of the outer environs of Petra. This is one of the 8th wonders of the ancient world. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 4 -- Wednesday: PETRA / MT. NEBO / JORDAN RIVER / TIBERIAS This morning we will go to Madaba one of the ancient maps of the Middle East and then on to Mount Nebo, from which Moses viewed the Promised Land. This afternoon we will head north to the traditional site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Continue to King Hussein Crossing where we enter Israel and turn north to Tiberias. Up on arrival we are taken to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
BASIC TOUR BEGINS HERE:
DAY 1 – Tuesday - NEW YORK / ISTANBUL Tour members are welcomed this evening at JFK International Airport, departing on Turkish Airlines via widebody aircraft arriving in Istanbul the next day. Meals served on board.
DAY 2 -- Wednesday – ISTANBUL / TEL AVIV / TIBERIAS This morning we will arrive in Istanbul and transfer to our flight to Tel Aviv. Upon arrival in Tel Aviv our guide who will be with us for the entire time we are in the Holy Land meets us. Continue through Tel Aviv, the largest city in Israel. We proceed up the coast and go to the famous Sea of Galilee where we check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 3 - Thursday - TIBERIAS / BET SHEAN / SEA OF GALILEE / TIBERIAS We visit Bet Shean at the foot of Mt. Gilboa, where King Saul was slain, see the evidences of Egyptian, Roman and Byzantine occupations, and view the ancient tel, Roman Theater and church mosaics. In the afternoon we enjoy a relaxing boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, then visit Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes. Our last stop today will be at the River Jordan then transfer to the hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
DAY 4 – Friday - TIBERIAS / NAZARETH / CAESAREA / JERUSALEM We leave Tiberias for Jerusalem, on the way visiting Nazareth, boyhood home of Jesus. We pass through Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle, then proceed across the Plain of Jezreel to Megiddo to visit the excavations of over 20 different civilizations. In the afternoon we visit Caesarea on the Mediterranean, the Roman aqueduct and port, Crusader's Moat, and the famous Roman Theater. Board our bus and travel to Jaffa ancient port where Jonah left prior to being swallowed by the whale. Here is where Peter had his house top experience. Continue up to Jerusalem for check-in and dinner at our hotel.
DAY 5 – Saturday – JERUSALEM / MT. OF OLIVES / OLD CITY Today we drive to the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem, visit the Church of Pater Noster and the Chapel of Ascension, then proceed to the Garden of Gethsemane. Crossing the Kidron Valley, we pass the tombs of Absalom, Zechariah and St. James, then visit the Pool of Siloam and the Church of St. Peter of Gallicantu (Caiaphas' House). We enter the Old City this afternoon through the Zion Gate and see the Cardo and the remains of Nehemiah's Wall on the way to the Western (Wailing) Wall. We visit the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, the Church of St. Anne, the Pool of Bethesda, Pilate's Judgment Hall, the Chapel of Flagellation, Lithostrotos, and the Arch of Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man"). We follow the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and end our day in the Garden Tomb before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 6 -- Sunday - JERUSALEM / NEW CITY / BETHLEHEM This morning we visit the New City of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, the Upper Room, the tomb of King David and Dormition Abbey. We enter the Jewish Quarter of the Old City to visit the Wohl Archaeological Museum, displaying the newly restored Herodian Quarter. Remains of this area of Jerusalem date back to the time of the Herodian Dynasty (37 BC to 70 AD). Proceed to the Shrine of the Book where we see the Dead Sea Scrolls on display then view the Knesset (Israeli parliament) building. Continue to visit Yad Vashem, a memorial of the Holocaust then visit the Model City. This afternoon we continue to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, the Manger, Crusader's Cloister and the Grotto of St. Jerome. We then visit the cave in Shepherds' Field and view the Fields of Boaz. En route to Jerusalem we see the Tomb of Rachel and other antiquities before returning to the hotel for dinner.
DAY 7 – Monday - JERUSALEM / MASADA / JERICHO We drive to Masada and ascend by cable car to the magnificent ruins of the fortress where, from 70 to 73 AD, Jewish defenders made their last stand in the Judean revolt against Rome. We see the remains of storehouses, cisterns and a sixth-century Byzantine church. Continuing alongside the Dead Sea, 1300 ft. below sea level — the lowest spot on earth — we proceed to Qumran and the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This afternoon we travel to Jericho, the world’s oldest city. From the excavated tel atop the ruins of ancient Jericho we view the lush green Jordan Valley, Elisha’s spring and Qarantal, the Mount of Temptation. We will head up to Jerusalem and go to our gala farewell dinner and overnight.
DAY 8 –Tuesday- JERUSALEM / TEL AVIV / NEW YORK This morning we return to the airport where we board our flight home. Upon our arrival in New York we will head for our home cities with memories and new Bible truths as we walked the land of our Lord.
OR TAKE AN OPTIONAL POST EXTENSION OF EGYPT
DAY 8 -- Tuesday: - JERUSALEM / TABA / ST. KATHERINE'S Today we pass through the Valley of Elah, the site of David and Goliath's battle, through the region of Adullom, where David took refuge from Saul, and on to Beersheba, ancient city of Judah, a watering hole and trading post for thousands of years. It is the center of desert traffic, located on the edge of the vast Negev Desert. Here we catch a glimpse of Bedouin life. Then on to Eilat on the Red Sea, and cross into Egypt at Taba. Continuing through the desert, we come to St. Catherine's Monastery and Mt. Sinai, traditional site of Moses' receiving the 10 Commandments. We check in to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 9 -- Wednesday: - ST. KATHERINE'S / MT. SINAI / CAIRO Those who desire, may climb Mount Sinai for the sunrise. Continue to St. Katherine's Monastery, where we visit the Chapel, then go to the traditional site of the Burning Bush and the Chamber of the Skulls. We then head north to the Suez Canal and cross it to Ismailia and the desert route to Cairo, where we check into our hotel for dinner.
DAY 10 -- Thursday: - CAIRO / PYRAMIDS / TEL AVIV / NEW YORK This morning we visit the Egyptian Museum with its priceless gems from the tomb of Tutankhamen and other world-famous relics. We tour Old Cairo, including the Coptic church of "El Moallaka", dating from the early fourth century and the Mohamed Ali Mosque. This afternoon's excursion includes an exciting camel ride to the Pyramids. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 11 -- Friday: - CAIRO / NEW YORK This morning we will arrive in New York from our night flight. We will head for our home cities with memories and new Bible truths as we walked the land of our Lord.
