Holy Land & Jordan | 12 Days

Depart Tel Aviv and drive along the coastal plain to Caesarea, once the Roman capital of the region; visit the excavations of the ancient city, the Roman Theater and aqueduct. Proceed to Muhraka, the site of confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal; enjoy the spectacular view of the Jezreel Valley and the lower Galilee. Continue to Megiddo, identified as the site of Armageddon; learn the impressive history of this battlefield as you visit the archaeological excavations, including the well-preserved water supply system. Onto Acre to visit the remarkable underground Crusader City and crypt; walk through the Old City, recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, and visit the local market and harbour. Overnight at Kibbutz hotel in the Galilee.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

After a short tour of Tiberias, enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee; visit the Yigal Allon Center where the “Jesus boat,” an ancient fishing boat from the 1st century, is displayed. Continue to Capernaum to visit the remains of the 2nd century synagogue. Stop at Tabgha, the site of the Miracle of Fish and Loaves, and visit the Church of Multiplication with its 4th century mosaic floor. Proceed to Mount of Beatitudes, the place where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Drive to the Banias springs and tour the Golan Heights. Overnight at Kibbutz hotel in the Galilee.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

Drive to Cana to visit the Wedding Church, where Jesus performed his first miracle turning water into wine. Continue to Nazareth to visit the Church of Annunciation, Joseph’s workshop and Mary’s well. Proceed to Yardenit, the baptismal site on the Jordan River, followed by a stop at Beit Shean to visit the newly excavated Roman city and amphitheatre. Drive along the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem for overnight. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

Drive to Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of the city; visit the Church of All Nations, King David’s Tomb and Room of Last Supper on Mt. Zion. Enter the Old City; walk through the Cardo, the ancient roman road. Visit the Jewish and Christian quarters; see the Jewish Wailing Wall; view the Temple Mount; walk along the Via Dolorosa and the oriental Bazaar to visit the Church of Holy Sepulchre. Next, drive to the Garden Tomb and enjoy the beautiful gardens and peaceful ambiance. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

Drive to Ein Karem to visit the Church of Visitation; proceed to Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Holocaust. Visit the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed, and the miniature model of Jerusalem as it was during the Second Temple period. Proceed to Bethlehem*, birthplace of Jesus; visit Shepherds’ Field; walk through Manger Square to visit the remarkable Church of Nativity. Return to Jerusalem. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

Drive through the Judaean Hills to Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found; continue along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada, the last stronghold of the Jews after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD; ascend Masada by cable car and tour the mountain fortress built by King Herod; visit the remains of the walls, the water cistern and Herod’s Palace; descend by cable car. Continue to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth; enjoy the opportunity to float in the unsinkable water and cover yourself with the mineral rich mud, believed to have therapeutic effects (weather permitting). Overnight in Jerusalem.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

After breakfast check out and transfer to the border and cross to Jordan where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Overnight Amman.

Meals Included:

Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, transfer to Petra en-route visiting Mababa, Mount Nebo and Kerak (Kings Highway). The trip south from the dead sea takes us to the 5,000-year-old King’s Highway, one of the most memorable journeys in the Holy Land, passing through a string of ancient sites. The first city you come upon is Mababa, “the City of Mosaics”. Madaba’s chief attraction, in the contemporary Greek Orthodox Church of St. Georg, is a wonderfully vivid, sixth-century Byzantine mosaic map showing Jerusalem and other holy sites. Ten minutes to the west is the most revered site in Jordan: Mount Nebo, the memorial of Moses, the presumed site of the prophet’s death and burial place. A small, square church was built on the spot by early Byzantine Christians and later expanded into a vast complex. Later proceed further south to Kerak. Kerak lies about 150 Km south of Amman. It is famous of its crusader fortress in the center of underground galleries, rooms and secret passageways and its thick defensive walls pierced by narrow arrow slits where crusader archers held out bravely but in vain for over 100 years. It was the crusaders who made Kerak famous. The fortress was built in 1142 by Payen Le Boutellier, the lord of Montreal. He made Kerak the new capital of the province because it was situated on the king’s highway, where it could control all traffic from north and south. After the tours, proceed to Petra for check in and overnight. Overnight in Petra.

Meals Included:

Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, enjoy a guided tour of the many sites of Petra. Petra was carved into the rose-red Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to Civilization until re-discovered by the Swiss Burkhardt. Around 11,000 BC Stone Age man was already exploiting the abundant natural resources of the Petra region, particularly wild goats and by 7000 BC some of the world’s earliest farmers were living in a walled village at Beidha, cultivating cereals and collecting nuts and fruits. But Petra really came to prominence in the 7C BC when the Edomites settled on Umm al-Biyara and other mountain strongholds and built a town at Tawilan above ’Ain Musa, in the hills to the north. Subject to Assyria, Babylonia, and then Persia, Edom in the 3C BC became the nucleus of an Arab state, the Nabateans kingdom and its capital at Petra. Originally from North Arabia, the Nabateans are first mentioned by the 1C BC historian Diodorus, who relates that in 312 BC Antigonus, the One-Eyed sent his general Athenaeus against ‘the land of the Arabs who are called Nabateans’, at that time a nomadic people who raised cattle and sheep and could survive for long periods in the desert, where they created a network of secret underground reservoirs. Athenaeus attacked a certain strong, though un-walled rock, perhaps the great massif of Umm al-Biyara at Petra, where the Nabateans had left their valuables, elders, women, and children while celebrating a festival, killed some of the Arabs there and made off with vast quantities of frankincense, myrrh and silver. Some 150 years later the Nabateans had settled, and Petra was the capital of an organized state, walk through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, to reach the Treasury, the Roman Theatre, the Courts, Qasr Bint Pharaoun, Temple of the Winged Lion and other monuments. Overnight in Petra.

Meals Included:

Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, drive to the desert of Wadi Rum. Enjoy 02 hours 4×4 jeep tour of Wadi Rum, following in the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia then drive to Amman hotel for overnight. Overnight in Amman.

Meals Included:

Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, check out of hotel and transfer to the airport. End of our services.

Meals Included:

Breakfast

Touring with licenced English-speaking guide

Tours as per itinerary

12 Breakfasts, 4 Dinners

Transportation by air conditioned vehicle

Entrance fees and local taxes

Border tax and entry visa in Israel, Jordan and Egypt

Passport or visa fees

Any beverages or food not listed in itinerary

Baggage and personal insurance of any kind

Hotel taxes, service charges and tips for baggage handling

Any items of a personal nature