PRE-TOUR OPTION TO THE HOLY LAND*

DAY 1 -- Tuesday - 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 -- Wednesday - ISTANBUL / TEL AVIV / BAT YAM This morning we will arrive in Istanbul and transfer for our flight to Tel Aviv. Upon arrival in Tel Aviv we are met by our guide who will be with us for the time we are in the Holy Land. Board our bus and travel through Tel Aviv, the largest city in Israel. We proceed to Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean to our hotel where we will check in overnight.

DAY 3 -- Thursday - BAT YAM / CAESAREA / MEGIDDO / TIBERIAS This morning we start our day with a stop at Jaffa (Joppa), the city of Jonah, where Peter had his housetop experience at the home of Simon the Tanner. Proceed to Caesarea, capital of the Roman procurators of Judea. Visit the Roman port, Crusader's Moat, Roman theater and aqueduct. Continue to Muhraka on Mount Carmel. This afternoon we proceed to Megiddo to visit the excavations that unearthed 20 different civilizations. Traveling through the Plain of Jezreel, we visit Nazareth, boyhood home of Jesus. Transfer to the hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

DAY 4 -- Friday - TIBERIAS / SEA OF GALILEE / BET SHEAN / JERUSALEM This morning we take a relaxing boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, then visit Tabgha, the Mount of Beatitudes and the River Jordan. This afternoon we travel via the Crusader fortress of Belvoir along the Rift Valley to Bet Shean, where King Saul and his sons were pinned to the walls. It became the Decapolis Capital and was traveled by Jesus and known as Scythopolis. See the ancient theater, Circus Maximus and Cardo Maximo. On our way up to Jerusalem our next stop is at Jacob's Well, then continue through the Old Testament town of Bethel and Shilo. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 5 -- Saturday - JERUSALEM / MASADA / JERICHO We begin our day with a stop at Bethany, home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. 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 return to the hotel for dinner.

DAY 6 -- Sunday – 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 / 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 Sepulchre and end our day in the Garden Tomb before returning to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 8 -- Tuesday - JERUSALEM / TEL AVIV / ISTANBUL / IZMIR This morning we will board our motor coach and go to Ben Gurion airport for our flight to Istanbul. We will transfer to our flight to Izmir. Upon arrival we will be met and taken to our hotel for check in and dinner.

BASIC TOUR "7 CHURCHES OF REVELATION" BEGINS HERE

DAY 1 -- Monday - 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 -- Tuesday - ISTANBUL / IZMIR This morning we will arrive in Istanbul and transfer to our flight to Izmir. Upon arrival in Izmir our guide will meet and transfer to hotel. The remainder of the day is free. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.

DAY 3 -- Wednesday - IZMIR / PAMMUKALE - Today we drive to Sardis, a Lydian capital, where the largest Roman Synagogue ever discovered is visited. We will explore the massive scale of the Temple of Artemis and the white marble royal road, the gymnasium and the synagogue. Then visit to Philadelphia (Alasehir - Rev. 3:7-13), "The City of Brotherly Love", which will always be remembered as the church that kept the faith. In the afternoon we stop at Pamukkale ( Hierapolis), a unique, magnificent natural formation, sure to be a highlight of your trip. Over the last fourteen thousand years, calcium rich water from an underground thermal spring has flowed over the mountainside and slowly solidified, creating Shallow White Basins and Twisted Stalagmites. Since antiquity, these thermal pools have been used for their healing powers. Christianity came to Hierapolis via Paul (Colossians 4:13). Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Pamukkale.

DAY 4 -- Thursday - HIERAPOLIS / LAODICEA / MILETUS / IZMIR The day starts with a visit to Laodicea, another one of the Seven Churches ( Rev 3:14-22), chastised for being lukewarm. Continue to Miletus where Paul predicted his own death. Next we visit Izmir, site of another one of the Seven Churches where we visit the Church of St. Polycarp, the oldest church in ancient Smyrna. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight in Izmir.

DAY 5 -- Friday - IZMIR / EPHESUS / KUSADASI This morning a short drive takes us to Kusadasi where we explore Ephesus (Rev. 1:11) the crown jewel of the Seven Churches and one of the most impressive archaeological sites in the world. Visit the Odeon, the marble street where Paul held daily discussions, the Library of Celcus, the Temple of Hadrian and the great theater where Paul causes a riot. Also visit what’s left of the Temple of Diana. Finally, we’ll visit the House of the Virgin Mary where the Apostle John cared for the mother of Jesus. Check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 6 -- Saturday - KUSADASI / PERGAMUM / THYATIRA / BURSA The sun has risen behind Mount Pagus and the citadel of ancient Smyrna dominates the skyline when we leave this landlocked harbor-city for a day-long excursion. Our first stop is Pergamum, modern Bergama. We visit first its majestic Acropolis and remarkable Græco-Roman theater, steepest in the world; then, its famous Aesculapium, antiquity's nearest equivalent to a modern general hospital. We continue southeast to another city singled out in a letter from John: Thyatira (Akhisar); Paul's first European convert, Lydia, who accepted the Lord at Philippi, was a seller of purple from Thyatira. Continue on to Bursa where we will check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 7 -- Sunday - BURSA / ISTANBUL Departing Bursa we begin our drive to Nicaea, site of two ecumenical councils in the Byzantine period and later for its tiles during the Ottoman Empire. Continue on to Bursa, currently the fourth largest city in Turkey and the first capital of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th Century, before the Ottomans took Constantinople. Check into our hotel for dinner and overnight in Istanbul.

DAY 8 -- Monday - ISTANBUL / BYZANTINE & OTTOMAN This morning we see the highlights along Istanbul Drive: the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar. We go to the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, the Kariye Mosque and the Archaeological Museum. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 9 -- Tuesday - ISTANBUL / ATHENS / NEW YORK This morning we will board our flight to Athens and transfer to our flight to New York. We will arrive in the U. S. latter in the day and transfer to our flights for home.

OR TAKE AN OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO GREECE

DAY 9 -- Tuesday - ISTANBUL / KAVALA This morning we board our bus and make our way to the border where we cross into Greece. Continue on to the modern city of Kavala, sea port for Philippi, called Neapolis in Acts 16. Check into our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 10 -- Wednesday - KAVALA / PHILIPPI / THESSALONIKI This morning we visit Philippi, named after Philip of Macedonia, father of Alexander the Great. In Philippi, the Apostle first proclaimed the Gospel in Europe and was thrown in Prison (Acts 16). We’ll visit the prison, theater, Forum and Lydia’s Baptistery. The Epistle to the Philippians was written to the people of this city. We proceed to Thessaloniki, birthplace of Aristotle, where we see the Rotonda, Triumphal Arch of Galerius, the sea front and the White Tower. We continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

DAY 11 -- Thursday - THESSALONIKI / KALAMBAKA This morning we continue on to Pella, birthplace of Alexander, where we see excavations, mosaic floors and artifacts from the 4th century BC. Visit nearby Vergina with the tomb of Alexander the Great and then on to Veria, or Beroea, where Paul found people who eagerly received his message, “examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were true” (Acts 17:11). Continue our drive to Kozani and on to Kalambaka for dinner and overnight.

DAY 12 -- Friday - KALAMBAKA / DELPHI This morning we visit Meteora, a cluster of pillars of rock, and the “Hanging Monasteries” perched on top of rock cliffs. There are 13 monasteries here, only 4 of which are inhabited by monks. We continue our drive through the beautiful scenery of Greece. Imagine Paul walking with his followers and teaching them God’s word as they continued down the road. Our bus will take us through Larissa, Lamia and Trikala and on to Delphi for dinner and overnight.

DAY 13 -- Saturday - DELPHI / ATHENS This morning in Delphi we visit the museum with the famous Bronze Charioteer and other items that date back to the time of Paul. We visit the Temple of Apollo, where Paul must have spoken to the people about the Living God, continue to the Theater, the Athenian Treasury and the Castalian Spring. We then follow Paul’s ministry south as we travel on the national highway through famous Thebes, Levadia and the village of Arachova. Continue to the hotel in Athens where we check in for dinner.

DAY 14 -- Sunday - ATHENS / ACROPOLIS / CORINTH This morning we visit the important modern and archaeological sites in the city of Athens, the Acropolis and neighboring monuments. While driving through the main streets of Athens, we have an opportunity to see other places of interest such as the University, the Academy, the National Library, the Temple of Zeus, the Panathenian Stadium, Omonia Square, Constitution Square and the Royal Palace. This afternoon we drive along the coastal road to Corinth. Continue along the wonderful beach of Kinetta, make a brief stop at the Corinth Canal, then on to ancient Corinth to visit the Museum, the Bema of St. Paul, the Doric Temple of Apollo, the Askeleion, Agora, Lechaion Road, and the Peirene Fountain. Return to the hotel in Athens for dinner.

DAY 15 -- Monday– ATHENS / ISTANBUL / NEW YORK We transfer to the airport for our flight home with unforgettable memories to cherish always. Knowing we have walked in the footsteps of Jesus and the early Christians on such a memorable tour will bring new meaning to our Bible reading.

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