Day 1: Jaffa and Tel Aviv
• Jaffa port
• Flea market
• Neve Tzedek
• Rothschild's Blvd
Tel Aviv, "the first Hebrew town," was founded in 1909 north of Jaffa and today serves as a modern metropolitan, the cultural and business center of Israel. We will explore its different neighborhoods from the ancient port city of Jaffa through the Flea market, Neve Tzedek, Rothschild's Blvd, the Carmel market and the joyous Tel Aviv port.
Day 2: From the cost to Galilee
• Caesarea
• Bahai Gardens
• Acre
• The Church of the Annunciation
A visit to the excavations in the ancient port city of Caesarea, then following the coast line to Haifa to visit the Bahai Gardens with wonderful views over Haifa Bay. From there to the ancient city of Acre and finally Nazareth where Jesus spent all his life except for the last week of his life, which he spent in Jerusalem. We will visit the Church of the Annunciation and Nazareth Village and try to get an idea of how the place looked in the days of Jesus.
Day 3: The Sea of Galilee and Safed
• Capernaum
• Ancient wooden boat
• Safed
• Local food
Our first stop will be Kibbutz Ginossar where, in 1986, two brothers were amazed to discover in the lake an ancient wooden boat from the time of Jesus. In a most complex undertaking, the members of the kibbutz managed to pull the boat out of the water. From here we will go to the church of Beatitudes, where Jesus preached the famous "Sermon on the Mount."
Our next stop will be Capernaum, "the city of Jesus." Jesus moved there after the people of Nazareth had cast him out. He stayed in Capernaum for three years gathering disciples, preaching sermons in the churches and performing miracles.
Instead of having lunch at some restaurant, we'll visit a Druze house in the village of Maghar, learn about the Druze religion and community and cook our own lunch with a local woman.
Our next stop is Safed, one of the four holy cities of Israel. We will walk through the enchanting alley-ways of ancient Safed, Learn about Kabala, and visit its unique synagogues.
Day 4: The Golan Heights
• Olive press factory
• Jeep tour
• Boutique Winery
This day will be devoted to a tour of the Golan Heights. This is an area with rich natural resources and of historical interest, a plain in which cruel battles were waged, but now a place of charming vineyards and a flourishing wine-making industry producing wonderful wines. We will begin our day in "Magic Golan" which shows a movie which depicts the Golan Heights in a multi-sensual display spread on a 180 degrees screen as well as an exact model of the Golan Heights, accompanied by an audiovisual show that tells its story.
Then, we will drive to Kibbutz Merom Golan and join a local guide for a jeep tour along the Syrian border. Enjoy the landscape and learn about the current issues and geopolitics of the region. In order to relieve the tension and create a change in mood, we will visit a boutique winery and taste the local product. If we then feel like something sweet, we will continue to the De-Karina boutique chocolate enterprise run by the Karina family who came to Israel from Argentina bringing with them their great love for chocolate.
Day 5: From the Jordan valley to Jerusalem
• Kibbutz
• Jordan River – Baptize Site
This morning we start our drive to Jerusalem along the Jordan Valley. Our first stop is Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu where we will visit Bio Bee Biological Systems is one of the leading international companies in the field of Biologically based Integrated Pest.
On the way to Jerusalem we will stop at the original baptized site. That's the place at the Jordan River where the Israelites entered the holy land, and where Joun the baptiset baptized Jesus.
When we approach Jerusalem we'll stop at an observation point on Mount Scopus that offers a wide, panoramic view of the city, old and modern. We will see the hills around it and we will understand why King David spoke of "Jerusalem, hills all around her.
Day 6: Jerusalem
• City Of David
• Davidson Center
• Jewish Quarter
• Mt. Zion
• Room Of The last Supper
We will begin our tour at the place where Jerusalem became the capital of Israel, the City of David. We will visit David's palace and learn about David's character as a king and as a human being. We will go down into the excavations of the fortifications of the ancient city and we will walk through a water conduit built by King Hezekiah in the year 701 B.C.E. We will see the pool of Siloam, probably the pool where Jesus cured the blind man, and we'll then return the city through a Roman road built 2,000 years ago.
Continue underground to Davidson Center. Tour Robinsons Arch, Hulda gates, and remains from the Second Temple period. Visit the Western wall, the most sacred place for Jewish people in the world. Tour the Jewish Quarter and see the Cardo, the main street of Jerusalem 2000 years ago.
Day 7: Jerusalem
• Mount of Olives
• Gethsemane Church
• Via Dolorosa
• Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
• Muslim Quarter
Start our day on the Mount of Olives where we depart on a walking tour following Jesus on his last week. We will visit the Church of the Pater Noster, the place where Jesus taught his students the Pater Noster prayer, The Church of the Ascension, the Dominos Flevet Church, and the famous Gethsemane Church. During the entire day we will see the beautiful lookout over the Golden city.
Enter the old city via St Stevans Gate and walk the Via Dolorosa and the allies of the Christian and the Muslim Quarters, visiting the bazaar, Tasting local delicates food, and visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
Day 8: Jerusalem to the desert
• Yad VaShem
• Machane Yehuda Market
• Sde Boker
We will visit the Yad VeShem museum, set up to perpetuate the memory of the Holocaust and its victims. Yad VeShem records the history of the Jewish people in Europe from the period before the Holocaust and during its horrors by placing on record the stories of the lives of millions of its victims and every detail of the events of the time, all to be perpetuated for generations to come. The institution engages in all kinds of research, publications and education connected with the Holocaust.
Drive to the colorful Machane Yehuda Market and enjoy its fresh amazing food and ambiance.
Start our way to the Negev, the amazing vast Israeli desert. Will stop at Sde Boker, the Kibbutz where David Ben-Gurion lived. Visit his home and and have a lookout from the place he his buried.
Day 9: Desert Excitement
• Ramon Crater
• Camel Tour
• Hike
We start the day with a Camel tour in the Ramon Crater, led by a local Bedouin guide. The Crater is a unique and amazing phenomenon. After disembarking the camels, we'll take a short walk by foot in one of the many trails in the Crater. We'll then visit a local winery and learn that even in the desert one can produce excellent wine. In the evening we'll be back at the Crater for a magnificent star gazing.
Day 10: The lowest place in the world
• Masada
• Dead sea
We will see wide landscapes and hills and we will visit the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. The desert is a fascinating and awesome place, an area which even 2000 years ago was understood by King Herod to be very special and where he built a grand and luxurious palace in which to spend his winter days. We will go up to the top of Massada in a cable car (or on foot in order to see the sun rise over the desert) and we will be impressed by the Herodian splendor of the buildings.
We will leave the reserve and travel to the Dead Sea where we will be able to float on the water and enjoy the unique experience of being supported by the water because of its high percentage of salts. It goes without saying that we will not leave until we have smeared our bodies with mud from the sea bed, a simple treatment to make our skin healthier and feeling pleasanter.
