Itinerary: 12 Days

Saturday-Sunday, November 3-4
Leave Saturday en route to Israel; arrive in Tel Aviv on Sunday; overnight in Bethlehem.

Monday, November 5
Travel from Bethlehem to Ein Karem, the village commemorating the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth and the birthplace of John the Baptist; visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem; spend remainder of day touring Bethlehem, seeing the Basilica and the Grotto of the Nativity, the Church of St. Catherine and the Fields of the Shepherds, where tour group will have devotions; overnight in Bethlehem.

Tuesday, November 6
Travel from Bethlehem north to Samaria; pass through Taybeh, an Arab-Christian village in the West Bank; driving to Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and on through the Lebonah Valley; see Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal; proceed through the Jordan Valley to Bet Shean, where Canaanite, Philistine and Roman history took place; travel north to Tiberias; overnight in Tiberias.

Wednesday, November 7
Travel from Tiberias to the Sea of Galilee; cruise the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, where Jesus lived for two years; see the Mount of Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered His lengthy discourse on everything from fulfilling the Law to treasures in heaven; proceed to Tabgha, where the 5,000 were fed; go to Chorazin, where Jesus performed mighty works and later cursed the town because its unrepentance; visit the Jordan River to see the Pilgrim’s Baptismal and to reflect on one’s own commitment; overnight in Tiberias.

Thursday, November 8
Travel from Tiberias to the excavation site of Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew and Philip; drive to Hazor, an ancient fortified city taken by Joshua and a UNESCO World Heritage Site; drive to Qatzrin, a partially reconstructed Talmudic village showing what a typical village looked like in the time of Jesus; proceed through the Golan Heights to the springs at Dan; drive to Caesarea Philippi; move on to Nimrod, the site of an elevated medieval fortress with terrific views; return to Tiberias; overnight to Tiberias.

Friday, November 9
Travel from Tiberias to the Horns of Hattin, where Saladin’s forces defeated the Crusaders; head to Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus and location of the Church of the Annunciation; proceed to Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle; drive along the crest of Mount Carmel to Muhragen, where Elijah contested the false prophets of Baal; en route to Jerusalem will be a stop at Caesarea-by-the-Sea, the capital of the Roman Empire in the Holy Land for nearly 500 years; overnight in Jerusalem.

Saturday, November 10
Travel from Jerusalem to Jericho to see the excavations at this prominent site; nearby sites include the Jordan Valley and River, Elisha’s fountain and the Mount of Temptation; continue on through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea, where stops will be made at Qumran, the site of the Essene Community located near the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered; stops will be made at En Gedi, where David took refuge from King Saul and where later he spared his life; travel on to Herod’s fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea and another UNESCO World Heritage Site; overnight in Jerusalem.

Sunday, November 11
Travel in Jerusalem can include any number of fascinating sites: the Dome of the Rock, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Pool of Bethsaida, the Western Wall, Pilate’s Judgment Hall and St. Anne’s Crusader Church, the Mount of Olives, Garden of Gethsemane and Mount Zion—to name a few; overnight in Jerusalem.

Monday, November 12 (day of leisure or a tour off the beaten path)
The day can be spent doing as you like or you can travel from Jerusalem to Gezer to see Solomon’s ruins; visit the Maresha Caves at Beit Gurvin; see Beit Shamesh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept; see the Valley of Elah and Tel Azekah, giving visitors a vantage point to see where David fought Goliath; next proceed through the lowlands of Judah’s Shephelah to the city of Lachish, where a group of letters written in ancient Hebrew before the city fell to the Babylonians was found; the day’s last stop will be Ashkelon, an important city during the time of Samson; overnight in Jerusalem.

Tuesday, November 13 (day of leisure or a tour off the beaten path)
The day can be spent doing as you like or you can travel from Jerusalem to the Herodium, another massive fortress built by Herod; drive south to the Negev Desert to the Tel Beersheba excavation; proceed to Hebron and see the tombs of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca; overnight in Jerusalem.

Wednesday, November 14
Travel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv to catch return flight to the United States.