Join Susan and Me in Israel
December 3-December 13
We leave from JFK… Total Cost $2500.00 plus $100.00..
$300.00 deposit
Contact me if you want to go..
The rates include the following hotels or similar and services:
* 8 nights hotel accommodations in the following hotels or similar
- 1 night Renaissance Hotel, Tel Aviv
- 2 nights Gai Beach Hotel, Tiberias
- 5 nights Renaissance Hotel, Jerusalem
* Round trip airfare on Air Canada from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Toronto then flying non-stop from Toronto to Tel Aviv
* Arrival and departure transfers
* Buffet Breakfast and dinners daily in the hotels in Israel
* Farewell dinner in a Middle Eastern Restaurant on December 12 before transferring to the airport for your flight home.
* 6 full days of sightseeing in a modern air-conditioned coach
* All Entrance Fees to all selected places of interest
* Porterage of 1 piece of luggage per person for the airport and hotels
Not Included:
* Airport departure taxes and fuel surcharges of Air Canada of $475 per person (subject to change at anytime either with an increase of decrease)
International Heritage Tours requires a deposit of $300 per person refundable up to 90 days before departure (less $100 for administrative fees per person), less than 90 days the deposit becomes non-refundable and a full non-refundable payment 60 days before departure.
Day 1 – Friday, December 3
TORONTO
Departure from LaGuardia Airport , New York to Toronto then flying non stop to Tel Aviv.
Day 2 –Saturday, December 4
TEL AVIV
Arrive in Tel Aviv where we will be met by our tour guide and will be transferred to our hotel in Tel Aviv. Balance of the day will be at leisure. Walk along the Mediterranean promenade to see the sunset before dinner.
Dinner and overnight in Tel Aviv at the Renaissance Hotel.
Day 3 – Sunday, December 5
TEL AVIV/ JAFFA/ CAESAREA/MT.CARMEL/MEGIDDO
Following our breakfast, we begin our tour in Jaffa that affords us a breathtaking view of the city of Tel Aviv. At this picturesque port city of winding alleys, art galleries and crafts boutiques, King Solomon had the cedars of Lebanon rafted for the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem. You will view the spot of the House of Simon the Tanner. We drive north along the Plain of Sharon, the Mediterranean and the old coastal road the Via Maris that linked Egypt and Babylon as we journey towards Galilee. We stop at Caesarea the incredible fortress city built by King Herod the Great. Here, Pontius Pilate had his base; where Cornelius lived and was baptized (Acts 10); where Paul embarked to Tarsus (Acts 9:30) and where Philip preached (Acts 8:40). Visit the Roman Theatre, the Hippodrome, and the Crusader City. We then travel north towards Haifa and ascend Mt. Carmel the site where the prophet Elijah fought the 400 false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:30). We will stop for an incredible panoramic view of Haifa. We turn inland and proceed to Megiddo, one of King Solomon’s walled fortified cities (1 Kings 9:15; 10:26), with ruins of 20 levels of civilization. From here the Books of Daniel and Revelation will come alive as we read about the final Battle of Armageddon, while viewing the Plains of Jezreel. Continue to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee.
Dinner and overnight at the Gai Beach Hotel, Tiberias
Day 4 – Monday, December 6
JESUS’ MINISTRY IN THE GALILEE
After breakfast, we will start our day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Kibbutz Ginossar where we view an ancient boat from the time of Jesus that was discovered in the Sea of Galilee. Continue to Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’ Galilean ministry and the site of many of his miracles (Mark 2:4; Matt.8:5; 14-7; 9;1-7;17:18). We will see the remains of Peter’s house and the synagogue site where Jesus taught and worshipped (Mark 1:21; Luke 4:31). Drive to Tabgha and visit the Church of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes. Continue to the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered what is perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached – “The Sermon On The Mount” (Matt.5). We will then proceed to the site of the city of Korazim where there are the remains of a First Century Synagogue where Jesus frequently ministered. We will drive north of the Golan Heights and visit Banias, one of the sources of the Jordan River and the site of ancient “Caesarea Philipi”, where Peter made the confession of faith in Christ (Matt; 16:16). Return to Tiberias via the east side of the Sea of Galilee stopping at Kursi to see the place where the demons entered the swine and entered the Sea of Galilee.
Dinner and overnight at the Gai Beach Hotel, Tiberias
Day 5 – Tuesday, December 7
ROAD TO JERUSALEM
We start the day with a visit to Yardenit, the Baptismal Centre on the Jordan River. We proceed to Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus. We will visit Nazareth Village depicting a village from the time of Jesus. We continue southward to Beit Shean, where we will walk through the incredible excavations of the largest ongoing archaeological dig in the land of Israel with its Roman theatre, colonnaded Roman streets, mosaics and Roman bathhouses. It is also the city where the body of King Saul and his sons were nailed to the walls by the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:10). We then drive through the lush Jordan Valley, where the desert now blooms with flowers and vegetation of every description (Isaiah 35:1-2). Ascend up the Judean Wilderness to the Golden City of Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem at Renaissance Hotel.
OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM/BETHLEHM
We will drive to the top of the Mount of Olives, for a panoramic view of Jerusalem. Continue to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. From here, we proceed by bus across the Kidron Valley, past the Tombs of Absalom, Zechariah and James and proceed to Mt Zion to visit the traditional site of the Upper Room (Room of the Last Supper), King David’s Tomb and the Church of St. Peter’s in Gallicantu, built on top of the High Priest Caiphas’ house. We walk to the Zion Gate and enter the Old City of Jerusalem through this gate and walk through the Armenian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter. Walk along the Roman/Byzantine Street called the “Cardo” to the Davidson Centre and visit the archaeological park of the excavations along the Western and Southern walls of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Visit the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest spot. View the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque on top of the Temple Mount. Visit the City of David Excavations and the Hezekiah Tunnel. Continue for a visit to the Davidson Center to visit the excavations surrounding the wall around the Temple Mount. We continue our walk along the Via Dolorosa to visit the Pools of Bethesda, St. Anne’s Church. We pass through the colourful bazaars, alleyways and market places and reach the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for a short visit
Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
We start the day in the New city of Jerusalem by visiting Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust commemorating the six million Jews who perished. Visit and walk through the newly opened Museum, visit the Children’s Memorial, walk along the Avenue of the Righteous Gentiles for those who risked their lives to save Jewish lives. Continue to the Israel Museum and visit the Shrine of the Book housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest manuscripts of the Bible ever found. Visit the model of Jerusalem from the Second Temple Period as it looked from the time of Jesus. Drive to the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament and take a picture of the large Menorah symbolizing the state of Israel. Drive to Bethlehem and visit the Church of Nativity, the oldest church in the world and the birthplace of Jesus. Finish the day with a visit to the Garden Tomb or Gordon’s Calvary for a private communion service in the garden. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM
Today is a day of leisure. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM
MASADA/ DEAD SEA/ QUMRAN
Today is a fun day. After breakfast we drive to the lowest point on earth the Dead Sea that is over 1300 feet below sea level. Our route will take us back down the Judean Wilderness towards Jericho, the oldest town in the world that you will see from a distance. We will then turn south and drive along the shores of the Dead Sea. We will stop at Qumran, where a young shepherd boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 in the cave that you will see. These scrolls are the oldest scriptures of the Bible ever found. You will see the where the Essenes who wrote these scrolls lived and wrote these scrolls. Continue south to Masada. You will take a cable car to the summit of this magnificent fortress built by King Herod the Great and the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots. You will walk around this historic ruins you will see the palaces, bath houses, swimming pool, the oldest synagogue in the world on this mountain in the middle of the desert. After descending this mountain by cable car we travel to the shores of the Dead Sea where you will have time to take a float in the saltiest body of water in world. Return to Jerusalem.
Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM
After breakfast, enjoy a day of leisure. Perhaps re-visit the Old City for shopping in the bazaars or to the new city for shopping along Jaffa Road and Ben Yehuda Street. Visit many of the Museums that Jerusalem has to offer that you did not see on the tour. Check out of the hotel sometime in the afternoon and in the early evening we depart for a farewell dinner in a Middle Eastern Restaurant before transferring to the airport. Farewell Dinner in Jerusalem
NEW YORK
Departure from Tel Aviv at midnight on Air Candad flying non-stop to Toronto and connecting to your flight to New York.