Depart USA

Arrive in Tel Aviv and transfer to Netanya for dinner and overnight.

Visit the Roman Aqueduct and Theatre at Caesarea, a center of early Christianity (Acts 10) and where Paul was imprisoned for two years (Acts 23:33). View Mount Carmel and recall Elijah’s dramatic victory over the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). Follow an ancient caravan route through the Jezreel Valley to Tel Megiddo, an exciting archeological dig with layers of twenty different cities, all built on top of each other. Conclude your day in Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home (Matt. 2:23). Check in to your hotel in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.

Pass through the Valley of the Doves and see Mount Arbel (Isaiah 9:2) on your way towards the Sea of Galilee. This was a major pathway in the time of Christ. He and his disciples passed through this valley as they walked through the Galilee. In Magdala, once home to Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:1-3), visit a recently discovered first-century synagogue. Enjoy lunch together before crossing the waters of the Sea of Galilee on a very special boat ride, complete with an onboard worship service. At Kibbutz Nof Ginosar, see the 2,000-year-old “Ancient Boat,” a rare example of the kind of boat in which Jesus might have sailed. Visit Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee, and visit the synagogue built on the site where Jesus taught (Matt. 4:13, 23). On the Mount of Beatitudes, contemplate the text of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached there (Matt. 5-7). Explore the Church of the Fish and the Loaves at Tabgha, traditional site of the feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9:10-17). Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

Stand on the Mount of Olives for a remarkable view of Jerusalem (the Golden City); Jesus stood here before ascending into heaven forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:9-12). In the Kidron Valley across from the walls of Jerusalem, pray as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was questioned the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26:57). Recall the events of the Last Supper as you visit the traditional location of the Upper Room (Mark 14:12-26). Spend time in prayer at the Western Wall (the only remnant of the Second Temple of Jerusalem) and sit on the Teaching Steps where Jesus taught. Check in to your hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Stand on the Mount of Olives for a remarkable view of Jerusalem (the Golden City); Jesus stood here before ascending into heaven forty days after His resurrection (Acts 1:9-12). In the Kidron Valley across from the walls of Jerusalem, pray as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was questioned the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26:57). Recall the events of the Last Supper as you visit the traditional location of the Upper Room (Mark 14:12-26). Spend time in prayer at the Western Wall (the only remnant of the Second Temple of Jerusalem) and sit on the Teaching Steps where Jesus taught. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

In Bethlehem, gaze out over Shepherds’ Field and visit the cave revered as Jesus’ birthplace (Luke 2:1-20). Visit the Church of the Nativity, built above the cave and considered the world’s oldest functioning church (Luke 2). Enter the Old City and walk along the Cardo, the ancient main street. View the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-18), where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle, and sing a hymn in the Church of St. Anne to experience its beautiful acoustics. Visit Herod’s Antonia Fortress, where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:1). Walk the Via Dolorosa, “the Way of the Cross,” and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, reflecting on Christ’s sacrificial love. End your day with communion at the Garden Tomb (Matthew 27:57-60). Return to your hotel in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Head to Jericho to visit the ruins of the ancient city Joshua conquered (Josh. 6:20). Off in the distance, you can see the traditional site of the Temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:1). Stop in Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd. Enjoy a visit to Masada, the spectacular mountaintop fortress built by Herod that later became the final tragic stronghold of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans. Ride the cable car to the top to explore the fortress and look down upon the remains of the Roman camps and siege ramp below. Cross the border and check in to your hotel on the Dead Sea in Jordan. Enjoy dinner and rest.

Visit Mount Nebo, where Moses caught a glimpse of the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34). On a clear day, you can see all the way across the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, to the rooftops of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Continue to Madaba, the City of Mosaics, to visit the Church of Saint George with its sixth-century, Byzantine, mosaic map showing Jerusalem and other holy sites. Return to your hotel at the Dead Sea for dinner and overnight.

Travel to the city of Petra. Its entrance passes through a long, narrow gorge known as the Siq and can only be accessed by carriage, horseback or on foot. Once inside the city, marvel at the intricate detail of a city that was cut into the cliff sides of rose-colored rock. Transfer to Amman and check in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Arrive and check in to your hotel in Cairo.

This morning your guide will escort you on a tour of 7,000 years of Egyptian history with a visit to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, which includes the world-famous golden treasures from King Tutankhamun‘s tomb. Tour the Citadel of Saladin built in 1183 A. D. and visit the Hanging church in old Cairo which is named for its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress the Roman fortress in Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo). Later enjoy a ride on the Nile aboard a traditional Egyptian Felucca.

Return to USA from Cairo