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Israel Itinerary
November 1996
DEPART USA FOR ISRAEL
Wednesday, Nov. 20, 1996
Our itinerary commences with a flight from New Orleans to
Atlanta on Delta Air Lines. After a brief layover we will
continue on an overnight flight to Zurich, Switzerland
and then on to Tel Aviv for an afternoon arrival.
ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL
Thursday, Nov. 21
We will arrive at Ben Gurion Airport at 4 p.m. local time
and proceed to pick-up our luggage, and a car at El Dan.
If we have time we will visit Joppa and Tel Aviv and then
for an overnight at Maxim Hotel, 8 King David Street,
Netanya. We will have our evening meal, walk on the
Mediterranean Beach and then for a good night's rest.
PLAINS OF SHARON AND ACCO
Friday, Nov. 22
After our Israeli buffet breakfast we will journey up
through the Plain of Sharon to the magnificent Caesarea
Maritima, the major port city from the time of Herod the
Great through the Byzantine Period. Afterward, we will
proceed to Haifa and up the slopes of Mt. Carmel to
Muhraqa, the traditional site of Elijah's confrontation
with the Baal prophets.
We descend into the Jezreel Valley and to the ancient
fortress city of Megiddo, the site of numerous
significant battles. We go NW through the Jezreel to
Acco, an important OT, Hellenistic, and NT city
(Ptolemais of Paul's travels), which continued to be a
strategic site through the Crusader and Ottoman Turk era.
We then proceed up the seacoast five miles from Acco to
the seaside village of Shavei Tsyion, and overnight at
Beit Hava. After the evening meal, if not worn out, we
will return to Acco for an evening stroll through the Suk
and Caravanserai. This Old Town of Acco is perhaps the
most oriental in aspect in Israel since most of what you
see today was built by Ahmed el Jazzar at the end of the
18th Century.
There is a significant amount of restoration being
conducted in the Crusader Fortress area but the ancient
market occupies a large part of Old Town. Its streets are
cobbled, twisted and narrow, most of its shops little
more than recessed stalls. It is a labyrinth, always
crowded, and you can buy anything from a metal tray to
food. Seeing is believing and it is a marvelous melange
of people and commerce.
UPPER GALILEE
Saturday, Nov. 23
Up early and an Israeli breakfast and off we go. We will
travel north past Nahariyya and Gesher Haziv to the
border of Lebanon, and then return a short way south and
turn east to visit the French Crusader Fortress of
Montfort, the largest ruin in West Galilee.
From Montfort we will travel east across the Upper
Galilee, to two major OT cities, Hazor and Dan where
archaeologists have unearthed the Israelite and Canaanite
cities.
We will stop for lunch at a new mall in Kiryat Shmona and
then continue north to Caesarea Philippi (Banyas), site
of Peter's great confession of Jesus as the Messiah.
Weather permitting, we will travel through the Golan
Heights and along the eastern shore of the Sea of
Galilee, crossing the Jordan and turning north to enter
Tiberias where we will spend two nights at the Ron
Beach just north of town.
SEA OF GALILEE REGION
Sunday, Nov. 24
We will journey along the northern shore of the Sea of
Galilee in the early morning to Tabgha, the traditional
site of the feeding of the 5,000, and then go up the
slopes to the Church of the Beatitudes, and to Chorazin.
Then we will journey through Lower Galilee to the
Zipporah National Park and then to Nazareth. After
leaving Nazareth we proceed down into the Jezreel Valley,
along the slopes of Mt. Tabor, the traditional site of
the Transfiguration, and then to the shore of the Jordan
River. We then return to the Ron Beach for our evening
meal and overnight.
GALILEE TO JERUSALEM
Monday, Nov. 25
In the morning we head South to Beth Shean (also known as
Scythopolis of the Decapolis), and visit the magnificent
Byzantine excavations as well as the Old Testament tel.
We head south again through the Jordan Valley, travel
around Jericho and then travel on the Old Roman Road down
to overlook Jericho, visit St. George's Monastery, see an
old Roman aqueduct, and then return up the Old Roman Road
following the Wadi Kelt toward Jerusalem where we will
spend our next five nights at Beit Shmuel which is
located just outside the Jaffa Gate. Time and weather
permitting we will journey through the Old City inside
the walls after our evening meal.
JERUSALEM - OLD CITY TOUR
Tuesday, Nov. 26
We will begin our day at Mt. Zion, visiting Jewish and
Christian shrines, including the traditional place of the
Last Supper (Mt. 26:17-30, Lk 22:7-20, Mk 14:12-25), the
Catholic Church, St. Peter in Gallicantu, built in 1931
that commemorates Peter's third denial of Christ (Mt
26:69-75), and the Jewish Shrine from the 12th Century of
the tomb of King David.
The alleyway leads to the Domition Church which was
completed in 1908 and is cared for by the German
Benedictine monks (The building is influenced by the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre and has a mosaic floor with
three interlocking circles in the middle as a symbol of
the Trinity. Also there is a superb coffee shop
downstairs and since it will be chilly that time of the
day we will of course visit it.)
We will enter the Old City at the Zion Gate and visit the
Jewish Quarter, including the Burnt House and the
Herodian Villa, both destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD,
then descend to the Western Wall, where thousands of Jews
come to pray daily. We ascend to the 35 acre Temple Mount
complex upon which the Second Temple stood until 70 AD,
and which now contains the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa
Mosque, the third most holy site of Islam.
We continue walking to the Lion's / St. Stephen's Gate,
the Church of St. Anne and the excavations of the Pool of
Bethesda, where Jesus healed the lame man, and then visit
several of the steps along the Via Dolorosa, reaching the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the traditional
site of Jesus crucifixion and resurrection.
We will trek across the Old City from the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre to Jaffa Gate. We will locate the New
Imperial Hotel which opened in 1889 and enter the arcade
where in the middle stands a stone with the Roman
inscription of the Tenth Legion which was stationed here
to guard the ruins of the city after it was destroyed in
70 AD. We will have lunch at the Coffee Shop, operated by
the Christ Church, across from the Citadel of David.
After lunch, we will visit the Petra Hotel, and haggle
over the fee for a visit up four flights of stairs to get
to the roof for a stunning view of the Old City. This is
the only location that you can see Hezekiah's Pool
(erroneously named), which was constructed during the 2nd
Temple Period and originally lay outside the City Walls,
which today resembles a garbage dump.
After leaving the Petra Hotel, we will travel west along
David Street, left on Christian Quarter Road passing St.
John's Convent and taking a right on Queen Helena Road.
We will visit the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer which
was consecrated by Kaiser William II on Reformation Day
1898, and the Russian Orthodox St. Alexander's Church,
containing the threshold that some believe to be part of
the Judgment Gate through which Jesus passed on His way
outside the City Walls to the Cross.
We will travel across the Old City to the Damascus Gate
and outside to Gordon's Calvary and the Garden Tomb in
East Jerusalem. Hopefully, we will get a chance to visit
Omar's Souvenirs and eat an oriental meal at the
Victoria.
DEAD SEA REGION AND THE SHEPHELAH
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Today we visit the Dead Sea region, beginning with Qumran
and the region in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
We then head South along the shoreline to En Gedi, and
then to the famous mountain top fortress of Masada, built
by Herod the Great. It served as a protective hideout for
the Jewish Zealots for several years before they were
subdued by Rome in 73 AD.
We will journey from Masada south along the Dead Sea
until we turn east to Arad, traveling through the Negev
east turning north to visit Lachish, famous for its
defensive battles against both the Assyrians in 701 BC
and the Babylonians in 587 BC. From Lachish we will
continue north near the chalk caves and excavations of
Mareshah and Beth Guvrin, and then through the Elah
Valley between Socoh and Azekah, where David defeated
Goliath.
The final leg of our journey today will be through the
Judean hills and return to Jerusalem.
JERUSALEM
Thursday, Nov. 28
We will visit Gordon's Calvary, all of the streets in the
Old City and take some time for reminiscing. There will
be an opportunity to walk the Old City Walls, visit with
Moshe and Dov at Shoreshim in the Jewish Quarter and many
other delightful places that will devour our time. This
is Bar Mitzvah day at the Wailing Wall and we will want
to visit. Also, we will travel by car in and around the
new part of Jerusalem and you will experience the traffic
and unique streets of Jerusalem. I am looking forward to
visiting with Thomas Brimmer and possibly some of our SBC
Foreign Missionaries today.
JERUSALEM
Friday, Nov. 29
This will be a leisure day as we wind up our Israel trip.
Shopping, visiting the Citadel of David early and at dusk
a visit to the Western Wall as Shabat begins. Also, this
is Carol's 50th birthday and she will be getting up on or
about 2 p.m. Jerusalem time. We will need to stop and
pray for her and me for not being home on her 50th. Pack
for tomorrow's return home.
DEPART ISRAEL FOR USA
Saturday, Nov. 30
The longest day - Leave Israel early AM and arrive New
Orleans in the evening (add 8 hours).
Holy Land Tour 1996....Corvin, Dukes, Cleland, Friedmann,
Achord
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