Heritage Holy Land and Jordan Tour – Thursday – 12 Days

Thursday, Day 1: Ben Gurion Airport / Tel Aviv

You will arrive Ben Gurion Airport and will be met by a Shalom Journey’s representative, who will assist us with our luggage, escort us through customs and introduce us to our guide and vehicle with driver. You will continue to our hotel in beautiful Tel Aviv and to your hotel for check-in and for the remainder of the day at leisure (depending on flight times). Suggested stroll along the beautiful beachfront.
Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Friday, Day 2: Tel Aviv / Sea of Galilee / Tiberias

Following a delicious Israeli buffet breakfast (which you will enjoy each morning, we will start our first day of touring with a visit to Jaffa (also known as Joppa) for a short walking tour in picturesque alleys of the old, fortified town. Pass the house of Simon the Tanner and marvel at the views from the hilltop. Depart Tel Aviv and drive north along the coastal plain to Caesarea (Acts 9.30 Acts 10 24-48), capital of Judea under the Romans and built by Herod the Great in honor of Augustus Caesar. Continue to Megiddo (1 Kings 4.28, 9,15, 2 Kings 23,29 & Revel. 16.16), identified as the site of Armageddon. Visit the archaeological excavations at Megiddo, including the well-preserved water supply system. Continue towards the Galilee and arrive in Tiberias for overnight.

Saturday, Day 3: Sea of Galilee

After breakfast, we will start the day from historic Tiberias where Jesus lived, sojourned and preached on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Our next destination will be Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and the site of many of His miracles (Mark 2:4; Matt. 8:5; 14-17; 9:1-7; 17:18). You will see the remains of Peter’s house and the synagogue site where Jesus taught and worshiped (Mark 1:21; Luke 4:31). Continue to Tabgha, the site of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes (John 6:1-14). At the Church of Multiplication, the mosaic floor depicts a basket with loaves and two fishes. You will continue to the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered what is perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached – “The Sermon On The Mount” (Matt. 5) and it is believed that Jesus picked his 12 apostles. you will ascend to the Golan Heights to view the panoramic view of the peaks of Mount Hermon and the rugged plateau of the Golan Heights and beneath it, the green pastoral Hulah Valley. Return to Tiberias for overnight.

Sunday, Day 4: Sea of Galilee / Jordan River / Jerusalem

After breakfast, you will travel to Cana and visit the Wedding Church where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine (John 2.1-11). Proceed to Nazareth where Jesus spent his childhood and visit the Church of Annunciation, built on the site where archaeologists believe the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary. You will also see Mary’s Well and Joseph’s Church. You will proceed to Beit Shean to visit the excavations of this beautiful preserved Roman city which was destroyed in an earthquake. It is considered of the largest ongoing archaeological dig in the land of Israel with its amphitheater, colonnaded Roman streets, mosaics and Roman bathhouse (1st Samuel 31:10). You will continue along the lush Jordan Valley, where the dessert now blooms with flowers and vegetation of every description (Isaiah 35:1-2). You will pass Jericho, the oldest know city in the world and continue south towards the mountains of Judea. You will check-into your hotel in Jerusalem for overnight.

Monday, Day 5: Dead Sea / Massada

After an early breakfast, you will drive towards the Dead Sea area. Your route will take you back down the main highway towards Jericho. You will then turn south and start driving along the shores of the Dead Sea, as you descend to the lowest point on the surface of the earth at 1305 feet (398m) below sea level. You will visit Qumran, where a young shepherd boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls. Continue to Massada which is situated right on an isolated cliff in the Judean Desert. The site has been declared as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. 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, King Herod’s Palace, the synagogue, bathhouse and more. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Bring your swimsuit and should weather permit, it is possible to float on the salty, mineral rich water. Return to Jerusalem for overnight in Jerusalem.

Tuesday, Day 6: Jerusalem

After breakfast, you will start the day at Mount Scopus and enjoy the spectacular view of Jerusalem, the holy city and understand the three world’s greatest religions – Jewishity, Judaism and Islam. Jerusalem occupies a unique place in the world. You will continue to the Mount of Olives and stop at the site where Jesus first gave the Lord’s Prayer and the Garden of Gethsemane and where Judas betrayed Jesus. You will proceed to the Old City, where you will see the Western Wall and the actual site of the Second Temple, the Temple Mount. Walk the Way of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa to Calvary and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to see both sites of the traditional Crucifixion and the Tomb of the Resurrection (Matt. 27. 33-57, 28.10). To the southwest, just outside the Old City is Mount Zion, here you will visit the site of David’s tomb and the Upper Room where the Last Supper was held (Mark 14.13, Luke 22. 10-38, Matt 26 17-29, Acts 1.13 and Acts 2, The Pentecost). Overnight in Jerusalem.

Wednesday, Day 7: Jerusalem / Bethlehem*

After breakfast, this day of touring will include a visit to Yad Vashem, the official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust established in 1953, located on the foot of Mount Herzl. Enjoy Ein Kerem, a picturesque village on the south western outskirts of Jerusalem. This small village has great significance in Jewish traditions, since this is where according to the tradition, John the Baptist was born. Visit the Israel Museum with a detailed model of Jerusalem from the time of Second Temple and the Shrine of the Book, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. Drive by the Knesset (House of Parliament) and the campus of the Hebrew University. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Thursday, Day 8: Sheikh Hussein Bridge or (Allenby Bridge) / Jerash / Amman

After breakfast, you will depart from your hotel to the border. After border crossing procedures to enter Jordan. Drive to Jerash, city of the Decapolis located approximately 45 kilometers north of Amman in the fertile heights of Gilead. Visit the Roman city with colonnaded streets, the ancient heater, baths, hill top temple, triumphal arch etc. Continue to Amman for a city tour of the Jordanian Capital. Overnight in Amman.

Friday, Day 9: Amman / Madaba / Mount Nebo / Shobak / Petra

After breakfast, you will drive to Madaba to see the ancient mosaic map of the Holy Land and ruins of historical sites. Continue for approximately 10 kilometers to Mount Nebo, from where Moses viewed the Promised Land. From there, you will see the Jordan Valley, Jericho, Dead Sea. Visit the remains of the Byzantine Church with a mosaic floor and proceed via Shobak and the Crusaders castle to Wadi Musa, the modern village of Petra for overnight.

Saturday, Day 10: Petra / Amman

After breakfast, you will leave the hotel and ride on horseback to the “Siq” (Canyon). Continue on foot to Petra, also known as “Sela Edom” or Red Rock City, the ancient capital of the Nabateans from the 3rd Century B.C. to 2nd Century A.D. Visit the most interesting carved monuments such as the Treasure (El Khazneh – a tomb of a Nabatean King), field of tombs, obelisks, the altar etc. From this point, you can view the whole of the rock city. After the visit, leave Petra and drive back to Amman for overnight.

Sunday, Day 11: Amman / Allenby Bridge / Tel Aviv

Leave the hotel and drive to Allenby Bridge, cross the Jordan River and drive back to Tel Aviv for overnight.

Monday, Day 12: Tel Aviv / Ben Gurion Airport

After breakfast, transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure.

*Subject to availability