4 Dec – 13 Dec 2010

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Events & Expeditions

World Religions 2 - Israel & Jordan Itinerary

4 Dec  Day 1  Arrive Amman
Arrive at Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport before 11 am. Transfer into Amman and check-in to hotel.
We start with a visit to the Dead Sea – the lowest point on Earth, at over 400 m below sea level. Have lunch and enjoy the unique experience of a dip into the salty water.
Return to your hotel in Amman and overnight.

5 Dec  Day 2  Amman - Galilee
Visit Amman’s Citadel and Archeological Museum, and the Roman Theatre for an insight into the rich history of the city. Then depart for the Allenby Bridge and cross into the West Bank. After clearing Israeli immigration and customs, drive to Galilee, the region where Jesus grew up and began his ministry. Check-in to your kibbutz hotel for 2 nights.

6 Dec  Day 3  Galilee
Today we start with a visit to the Mt of Beatitudes, the site of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, and then to the remains of Capernaum, the city where he lived during his ministry in Galilee. We take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, and then drive to Nazareth and visit Nazareth Village. This is a reconstruction of a 1st century farming village, giving us a good idea of life at the time. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

7 Dec  Day 4  Galilee – Jerusalem
Morning drive to Haifa. First visit Mt Carmel, the traditional site of the Prophet Elijah’s battle with the pagan priests of Ba’al. Here also we find the world headquarters of the Ba’hai religion, set in stunning gardens on the hillside. We continue to Jerusalem and visit Yad Vashem, the museum of the Holocaust, and the Shrine of the Book, which displays finds associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, at the Israel Museum. Check-in to your hotel in Jerusalem for 4 nights.

8 Dec  Day 5  Jerusalem
This morning drive up the Mount of Olives for a view of the Old City, and see the Jewish Cemetry. If it is open, we will visit the Tomb of the Prophets, carved under the mountain over 2,500 years ago. Continue to Mt Zion and enter the Old City through Zion Gate; we take a walk through the Jewish Quarter and visit the Davidson Center, which recounts the history of the Great Temple, and the Western Wall Plaza, the only remaining part of the original Temple and the holiest site in Judaism. Visit the Western Wall Tunnel, excavated in 2002 along the foundations of the wall, before returning to your hotel.

9 Dec  Day 6  Jerusalem
Enter the Old City again early this morning and walk up to the Temple Mount. This is now the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and considered the most important Muslim site after Mecca and Medina. We walk down the Temple Mount into the Arab Quarter, and continue to the Holy Sepulchre Church. This church is believed by the six oldest Christian traditions to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, and is jointly the property of the Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Syrian, Armenian and Ethiopian churches.
After lunch, we drive to Bethlehem, and visit the Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Jesus’ birth. Return to your hotel and overnight.

10 Dec  Day 7  Jerusalem
This morning visit the Garden Tomb, and listen to the story of how the site became regarded as an alternative location of Jesus’ crucifixion. We then leave Jerusalem for a drive down the Jordan Valley, on the Israeli side of the Dead Sea, to Masada. The remains of Herod the Great’s palace-fortress, built on an isolated plateau 400 m high are impressive enough, but the story of how Jewish zealots held out here against a Roman Legion during the rebellion of AD66-70 before committing suicide to avoid capture brings the site to life.

We continue to visit Qumran, the archeological site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, before returning to Jerusalem for the night.

11 Dec  Day 8  Jerusalem – Petra
This morning we drive back across the Allenby Bridge into Jordan, and continue on the desert highway to Petra. Enroute we visit the Crusader Castle at Showbak.

Check-in to your hotel for 2 nights.

12 Dec  Day 9  Petra
A full day visit to Petra, the Red Rose City. Carved out of the red sandstone of the cliffs, the remaining monuments of Petra are mostly the tombs of royalty. We start with a short horseback ride to the opening of the siq the narrow canyon which was the only entrance to Petra. A walk through the siq brings you suddenly face-to-face with the impressive façade of El-Khazneh, “the Treasury”, actually a royal tomb. Continue in, stopping at the Commoners’ tombs, the theatre, the cardo and Royal Tombs and the Temple of Zeus, before taking a break for lunch. Then proceed up 700 or so stone steps to El-Deir, “the Monastery”, perhaps the most impressive of the monuments in Petra.
We then make our way slowly back out again, for dinner and overnight in Petra.

13 Dec  Day 10  Petra – Amman – Departure
Check-out in the morning and drive back to Amman. We visit Mt Nebo, where Moses is said to have looked across the Jordan Valley to Israel before his death, and have lunch at Madaba, where the Church of St George’s ancient mosaic floor is said to be the oldest representation of the land.
Transfers will be provided to the airport for departures (must be after 4 pm).