| |
Day 1 - Saturday: Johannesburg – Tel Aviv
Evening departure from Johannesburg with El Al. Dinner will be served on board. (D)
Day 2 - Sunday: Arrive in Israel – Tel Aviv – Jaffa – Netanya
Light breakfast on board prior to landing. Morning arrival in Tel Aviv. On arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, you will meet your driver and guide who will be with you for the duration of your tour in the Holy Land. Drive through the modern city of Tel Aviv, founded 100 years ago on the Mediterranean shore. Next we have a short tour of the ancient port city of Jaffa ("Joppa"), from where the prophet Jonah set sail, and where the "cedars of Lebanon", sent by the Phoenicians, arrived to be used in King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. Travel north to your hotel for the night.
Dinner and overnight: Netanya (B,D)
Day 3 - Monday: Caesarea Maritima – Mt. Carmel – Megiddo/Armageddon – Nazareth - Nazareth Village - Cana
Your first Israeli breakfast. Drive north along the fertile coastal plain. Stop in Caesarea Maritima, King Herod’s masterpiece city, built to impress the emperor in Rome as well as the local population. See the ancient theatre, hippodrome for horse and chariot races, and Herod's private palace, as well as the currently being excavated Crusader city. Drive via Mount Carmel where the prophet Elijah defeated the pagan priests of Ba’al, and then through the beautiful and fertile Jezreel Valley ("Valley of Armageddon"). Here we explore the site of Megiddo/Armageddon, and discover why this tel (archaeological mound), which holds 5,000 years of accumulated cities, is viewed as the place for the “Cataclysm of the End of Days.” See the stables and gateway built by King Solomon nearly 3,000 years ago. Continue to Nazareth, the town where Christ spent His childhood, where we visit the Church of the Annunciation and also Mary’s Well. Then experience Nazareth Village, a unique reconstruction of what first century Nazareth looked like on an actual ancient agricultural site. Then we see the village of Cana where the first miracle of turning water into wine took place. Finally, arrive at the Sea of Galilee and our hotel for the next two nights.
Dinner and overnight: Tiberias area. (B,D)
Day 4 - Tuesday: Sea of Galilee Boat Ride - Capernaum – Tabgha – Mt. Beatitudes – Bethsaida – Jordan River Baptismal Site
Breakfast in the hotel. Start the day with a Boat Ride on the Sea of Galilee followed by a visit to Capernaum, hometown of St Peter and also Jesus’ headquarters during His ministry in the Galilee.
"Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum" (Matt 4:13). Next stop is at Tabgha, the site of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, and nearby the place traditionally linked to Jesus telling Peter to become a “Fisher of Men”. Drive to Mount Beatitudes, where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered. Continue to the ancient city of Bethsaida, currently being excavated, which although it was home to at least three of the Disciples and is mentioned in all four Gospels, was only discovered and identified in recent times. Walk along the paths of the first century town where Jesus also visited. End this amazing day at the Baptismal Site on the Jordan River, where the river meets the Sea of Galilee.
Dinner and overnight: Tiberias area. (B,D)
Day 5 - Wednesday: Golan Heights – Gamla – Mt. Tabor – Jordan Valley – Judean Desert
Breakfast in the hotel. Drive up to the Golan Heights for a brief visit to Gamla, a first century town which was destroyed by the Romans 2,000 years ago, and see the synagogue which Christ probably visited during his Ministry in the Galilee and Golan (Biblical Bashan). See the magnificent view of the Sea of Galilee from above and learn about the geopolitical issues in the region. We leave the Golan Heights and drive south to Mount Tabor, traditional site of the Transfiguration. During the afternoon we drive south along the Jordan River Valley, passing by the modern city of Jericho, with a view also to the Mount of Temptation. From here we begin to "ascend" to the Holy City of Jerusalem, driving through the stark and beautiful Judean Desert.
Arrive in Jerusalem.
Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 6 - Thursday: Jerusalem Old City – Southern Wall Stairs – Western ("Wailing") Wall – Cardo – Bethesda Pool – Church of St. Anne – Via Dolorosa – Stations of the Cross - Holy Sepulchre – Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial
Breakfast in the hotel. Today promises to be one of the highlights of our Pilgrimage to Israel. We begin our exploration of ancient Jerusalem with a view from the Haas Promenade, and then a tour of the Southern Wall excavations of the Temple Mount, and walking on the stairs where Jesus taught, that led into the Temple. Then we visit the Western Wall, remnant of the foundation of the Second Temple from the time of Jesus, and holiest site of Judaism. Walk along the Cardo, the main road of Roman/Byzantine Jerusalem, beautifully restored for some modern-day shopping. See Bethesda Pool where Jesus healed the lame man, and the Church of St. Anne. Nearby is the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, with remains of the Antonia Fortress, where Jesus was kept in prison. We walk along the Via Dolorosa ("Way of the Agonies"), stopping at the Stations of the Cross, following the path Christ walked to the crucifixion. We arrive at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Calvary and Burial of Christ. Walk through the bazaar area. We leave the Old City and continue to Yad Vashem, the National Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust - memorial to the 6 million Jews killed during World War II.
Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 7 - Friday: Dead Sea – Masada – Dead Sea Swim
Breakfast in the hotel. Drive through the Judean desert on your way to the lowest point on earth - the Dead Sea, located some 400 metres below sea level. View the caves at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and talk about their significance. Stop at the Dead Sea and enjoy a “swim” in the salty, mineral rich waters. Ascend the rock of Masada by cable car, walk through palaces built by Herod the Great and see evidence of the heroic struggle and last stand of the Jews against the Roman 10th Legion nearly 2000 years ago. Return to Jerusalem.
Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 8 - Saturday: Bethlehem – Jerusalem Mt. of Olives – Garden of Gethsemane – Free time for shopping
Breakfast in your hotel. Start the day’s touring in Bethlehem, where you will see fields with sheep grazing and it is easy to imagine how it must have been 2000 years ago. Visit the Church of the Nativity the traditional place of Jesus' Birth, and have time to shop for gifts, especially the unique olive wood items from Bethlehem. Return to Jerusalem and walk on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City. Walk through the Garden of Gethsemane and see the Church of All Nations (also called "Church of the Agony"). Free time for last minute shopping in Jerusalem.
Dinner and overnight: Jerusalem. (B,D)
Day 9 - Sunday: Jerusalem - Tel Aviv - Johannesburg
Breakfast in the hotel. Check out from your hotel room. Day at leisure, for visiting sites of your choice and exploring on your own. Transfer to the airport for departure flight. (B)
Day 10 – Monday: Johannesburg
Morning arrival in Johannesburg.
Please contact ITT for a quote.
Please note that all our Pilgrimage Packages have been created for groups of 20 or more passengers and as they do not operate with regular scheduled departures, cannot be booked by individual passengers unless they form part of a pre-arranged group.
|
|
