Price of tour includes: Round trip airfare from Pittsburg on Delta Airlines ● Full Israeli breakfast and dinner daily ● Full sightseeing program and entrance fees on itinerary ● All transfers and porterage at airport and hotels ● Tips to driver, guide and hotel staff ● Deluxe air conditioned motor coach ● Licensed Israeli English speaking guide ● 7 days of sightseeing ● 7 nights first class accommodations double occupancy ● shipping of documents ● Tour price is a cash/check discount rate*

Not included: Charges for passport ● Bottled water or beverages ● Room service, items from room mini-fridge, or personal items ● Single Room ● Lunches ● Travel Insurance ● Use of credit cards for tour payments-tour price is cash/check discount (4% convenience fee not retained by Madison International Travel)*

Airline taxes are included in the tour price.  The current airline taxes are $425 and will be shown on invoice after registration.  Should the airline impose a tax or fuel surcharge increase, the difference will be collected before departure.

Itinerary

Day 1, Wed, Nov 5 — Depart from Pittsburg on Delta Airlines #2029 at 5:30 p.m., change planes in Atlanta for the overnight flight to Tel Aviv.

Day 2, Thurs, Nov 6 — We arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv where we will be met by our representative and transfer to the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv. After a delicious buffet dinner, enjoy a walk along the Mediterranean Sea.

Day 3, Fri, Nov 7 — Begin the day at Jaffa, one of the oldest cities in the world and the port where the prophet Jonah set sail. We will travel to Caesarea Maritima to see well-preserved aqueducts and a beautiful example of the Roman Amphitheater. Visit Mt. Carmel, where Elijah held the triumphal contest with 450 prophets of Baal.  Continuing to Megiddo, see the site of 26 superimposed cities, the remains from Solomon’s days, and view the Plains of Jezreel where the final Armageddon will be fought. Nazareth is our next stop, the boyhood home of Jesus, where we visit a replica village built on remains from 2,000 years ago. Travel back in time to visit homes, a synagogue and see ancient crafts such as carpentry and yarn weaving. Arrive at Holiday Inn Hotel, where we will stay while in Tiberias.

Day 4, Sat, Nov 8 — Start the day by sailing across the Sea of Galilee in a replica boat of 2,000 years. Visit the ancient “Jesus” boat discovered in 1986.  which is consistent with boats built from 100BC to AD200. Next, travel to Capernaum to  see the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught, and the Apostle Peter’s home. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount, before traveling north to the site of ancient Caesarea Philippi. We then drive on the Golan Heights, site of the Six Day War.  This evening we will enjoy dinner and fellowship with Living Stones Ministries at the home of Richard and Carolyn Hyde. Enjoy an evening of praise and worship with Messianic believers.

Day 5, Sun, Nov 9 — Before we leave the Galilee area, you will have an opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River at beautiful Yardenit. We then travel down the Jordan Valley to explore the latest excavations at Beit Shean, revealing the remains of a Decapolis Capital. Drive by Mt. Gilboa, site of Saul’s death, and visit the natural springs where Gideon brought ten thousand to be tested. Continue down the Jordan Valley, driving by Jericho and the Mount of Temptations, to the lowest spot on earth, the Dead Sea. We will visit Qumran, site of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery before arriving at the Le Meridien Hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea for an evening of relaxation, take advantage of the spa facilities, or “float” in the therapeutic Dead Sea water.

Day 6, Mon, Nov 10 — Enjoy a morning of leisure before a visit to Massada, to tour the famous archaeological site, where Jewish Zealots made their last stand against Rome in AD73. We enter Jerusalem, and stop at the Mt. of Olives where we will hear an explanation of the city then walk down the Palm Sunday road to the Garden of Gethsemane. We arrive at our hotel, the Grand Court Hotel, for dinner and overnight and where we will stay while in Jerusalem.

Day 7, Tues, Nov 11 — Today we begin at Mt. Zion and visit the Church of St. Peter in Galacantu, Caiaphas’ House where Jesus was held before trial. Then, at the Upper Room enjoy a time of worship.

See the Pools of Bethesda and enjoy a time of singing at the Church of St. Anne’s.  We will enter the Old City of Jerusalem to visit the Davidson Center and explore the southern steps of the Temple Mount. This evening we travel to the Judean desert, for dinner at Genesis Land where you experience Biblical life.

Day 8, Wed, Nov 12 — This morning we enter the Old City and visit the Western Wall for a personal time of reflection and prayer. Next we walk through the Western Wall Tunnel to see remarkable underground excavation of ancient Jerusalem.  Continue through the Old City following the Via Dolorosa. See the ancient Roman Cardo and the remains from Nehemiah’s Wall. At Antonia’s Fortress, see the original paving believed to be where Christ stood before Pilate, and markings of a cruel game used by the soldiers. We will travel back in time at the Burnt House where we will get a glimpse of a home during the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. We end our day at the Temple Institute, an organization that is rebuilding vessels for the future Temple.

Day 9, Thurs, Nov 13 — The Ancient City of David begins our program today.  Just outside the Old City Walls, lies the original Jerusalem. Recent excavations on this site have revealed the very walls, wells, and passageways where ancient Jerusalem unfolded. We visit the sites of New Jerusalem beginning with Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum. Visit the Israel Museum and see the Holy Land Model, replica of Jerusalem during the time of Christ and also see the Dead Sea Scrolls. Our time in Jerusalem will end with worship and communion at one of the sites believed to be the burial site of Jesus, the Garden Tomb. We enjoy a sumptuous farewell dinner and lovely biblical garden tour at Yad Hashmona, as we say good-bye to Israel and prepare for the flight home.

Day 10, Fri, Nov 14 — We depart Tel Aviv just before midnight and arrive in Pittsburg via Atlanta at 9:45 a.m. with a lifetime of memories on our Journey through the Land of the Bible.