Your pilgrimage begins as you depart the USA on an overnight flight.

You will be welcomed at the Tel Aviv airport by our representative and transferred to your hotel to enjoy dinner before retiring for the night.

Journey to Caesarea by the Sea and stand in the place where it is believed Paul addressed King Agrippa and Festus (Acts 25, 26). This port city reveals many extensive remains of the theater and other sites, including a Roman aqueduct along the Mediterranean shore. Look across the Valley of Jezreel to the heights of Mount Carmel, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). Travel the ancient caravan route to Tel Megiddo, where twenty different cities lie superimposed upon each other. Visit Nazareth, Jesus’ boyhood home, and Mount Precipice, where Jesus was rejected by those in the synagogue.

Visit Tel Dan, one of ancient Israel’s boundary markers - “From Dan to Beersheba”. Journey to Caesarea Philippi, where Peter proclaimed, “You are the Christ” (Matthew 16). View the Banias Waterfall and the entrance to the Grotto of Pan.

Walk the recent excavations of the town of Magdala, connected with Mary Magdalene. Stop at Tabgha, where the feeding of the 5,000 is remembered at the Church of the Loaves and Fish (Luke 9). Also, stop at the Chapel of the Primacy, where Peter confessed his devotion to Christ 3 times (John 21). Walk the streets of Bethsaida, one of the “cities of woe” mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 11 and where Jesus chose five of His disciples (Matt. 4:18- 21; John 1:39-51). Walk the streets of Chorazim, listed as a “city of woe” by Jesus (Matt. 11).

Travel to Capernaum, the center of Jesus’ ministry in the Galilee. Visit the synagogue that stands on the site where Jesus taught. Recall His teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:13,23). On the Mount of Beatitudes, contemplate the “Sermon on the Mount” Jesus preached there (Matt. 5-7). See a 2,000‒year‒old sailing vessel that was discovered and preserved at Kibbutz Nof Ginosar. After a fish lunch, enjoy a beautiful boat ride across the Sea of Galilee and then stop at the Jordan River for a time of spiritual blessing.

As our motor coach takes us through the Jordan Valley, visit the ruins of Bet Shean, a city which was continuously inhabited for 5,000 years. Enjoy a visit to intriguing 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. Travel to Qumran, the site of the Dead Sea Scroll discovery, to learn about the mysterious community of the Essenes who once lived on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Visit the Herodion, the fortified palace and final resting place of Herod the Great. Cross the border into Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus (Luke 2). Visit Bethlehem, where the cave revered as Jesus’ birthplace resides in the world’s oldest functioning church, the Church of the Nativity (Matt. 1). Look out on Shepherds’ Field, where angels spread the Good News.

Stand on the Mount of Olives as Jesus did and enjoy a remarkable view of the “Golden City” of Jerusalem. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12). Continue to Mount Zion to visit the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where some say Jesus was questioned the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26:57). Explore Hezekiah’s Tunnel, an amazing engineering feat that was dug from each end and met in the middle (Note: Those who are claustrophobic may want to meet the group at the other end of the tunnel).

Visit the Davidson Center and the Southern Wall Excavations, including the Teaching Steps and the Western Wall. View the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-31), where Jesus performed the Sabbath miracle. Visit Herod’s Antonia Fortress, where Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:1-11). Walk the Via Dolorosa (“the Way of the Cross”) to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built on the traditional sites of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus.

Explore the poignant exhibits of Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Memorial. Visit the Israel Museum and see the model of first-century Jerusalem and the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

This morning, visit and worship at the Garden Tomb and experience the reality of the Resurrection. Then, enjoy the afternoon on your own in Jerusalem.

Arrive in the USA with a lifetime of memories to cherish, or enjoy the Petra extension.