SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2023 Depart U.S.A. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2023 Arrival Upon arrival to Ben Gurion Airport, our representative will meet you in the arrival hall to assist you with your luggage. You will meet your guide and bus and travel to your hotel in Nazareth. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Nazareth. MONDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2023 Today’s Journey Nazareth to Sepphoris Our morning begins at the boyhood home of Jesus, Nazareth. We visit the Church of the Annunciation, built over the traditional place where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-37). The church is built on top of the ancient village of Nazareth, and we will visit a small museum that shows some of the finds and homes from the village. From the church in Nazareth, we hike north over the Nazareth Ridge into the Beth Netofa Valley to the ancient site of Sepphoris the capital of the Galilee when Jesus was a boy growing up. Sepphoris, with its mosaics, theater, ritual immersion pools, and paved streets, was the location where the Jewish Oral Torah was edited and compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince. From Sepphoris, we transfer to the first century village of Yodefat, one of the few first century archaeological excavations in Galilee where the archaeology reveals the first century Galilee of Jesus. From Yodefat, we hike down to the Beit Netofa Valley to the first century site of Khirbet Cana, the ancient site of Cana, the hometown of the disciple Nathaniel (John 21:2) and where Jesus turned the water into wine (John 2:1, 11) and from where he healed the official’s son in Capernaum (John 4:46). Our journey takes us across the Beit Netofa Valley past Rumah, where Nicodemus (John 3:1, 4, 9; 7:50; 19:39) owned property according to Jewish sources. We continue across the valley where our day concludes at a fun learning and engaging experience: Kefar Kedem. Here we will experience the land of the Bible in a unique way as we learn about shepherding, making bread as they did in the time of the Bible. The flora of biblical Israel comes alive within this small park as the Bible is illuminated as we learn how the land was so important in writing the Bible. Dinner and overnight at Kefar Kedem (overnight in Bedouin style tent). TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28, 2023 Today’s Hike Khirbet Cana to Magdala Our hike today begins traveling east through the Beit Netofa Valley making our way towards the Sea of Galilee. This is the route ancient travelers would have used to go from Nazareth towards the northern end of the Sea of Galilee. As we walk through the Galilee of Jesus, we experience the physical journey often taken by Jesus and his disciples, as well as exploring his teachings and parables that drew upon and came from the natural world and everyday life. Our hike takes us past the Horns of Hattin, where on July 4, 1187, the forces of Salah ad-Din won a decisive victory over the Crusader forces, and down towards the Sea of Galilee through Wadi Hamam. The dramatic cliffs of Mount Arbel rise over the Sea of Galilee to our south as we come to the ancient site of Magdala. At Magdala, we will visit one of the few, excavated, first century synagogues in the land of Israel. Its date coincides with the time of Jesus ministry in the area. We will also see wealthy homes from the village, as well as the first century harbor. Dinner and overnight on the Sea of Galilee. WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2023 Our journey today takes us through the Shephelah (Deut. 1:7), an area of rolling hills between Israel’s hill country and the Mediterranean coast. Our first stop is the Elah Valley, the site of the famous confrontation between David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17). We will experience this biblical landscape via ATVs. We then hike the ridge from Azekah to Tel Goded (a possible location of Moreshet Gath, the hometown of the prophet Micah). We meet our bus to transfer to the Negev for dinner and overnight. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2023 After a very early departure and 4x4 transfer, we begin our desert hike in Nahal Hava, which is a part of the Zin Valley System. The Israelites wandered through this landscape during their wilderness wanderings. Our hike today leads us through valleys and hills, with spectacular geological cracks and rock formations, as well as desert springs which are the source of life in the desert. Dinner and overnight at Nahal Hava camp. FRIDAY DECEMBER 1, 2023 We continue our hike today through the desert. We hike the Israel Trail following the ancient spice route to Maktesh Ramon. Dinner and overnight at Mount Ardon camp. Desert hike SATURDAY DECEMBER 2, 2023 We continue our hike today through Negev Desert hiking in Maktesh Ramon via Mount Ardon and through the Adom Valley and Nahal Nekarot towards the Aravah. We meet our bus at the conclusion of our hike and will transfer to our hotel on the Dead Sea. SUNDAY DECEMBER 3, 2023 Like ancient pilgrims, we journey to Jerusalem, going “up to Jerusalem.” We hike from the Herodian palaces of Jericho following the ancient road to Jerusalem. Arriving at the Byzantine Monastery of St. George’s, we meet our bus and transfer to the top of the Mount of Olives to overlook Jerusalem. We walk down the mountain following the modern path used by pilgrims on Palm Sunday visiting the church of Dominus Flevit, which remembers Jesus’ weeping over the city as he rode into it, and the traditional location of the Garden of Gethsemane. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. MONDAY DECEMBER 4, 2023 We begin our morning visiting the Temple Mount. Today the Muslim mosques of the Dome of the Rock and the ‘Al-Aqsa stand on top, but in the first century, the Temple of Herod stood upon the mount. After visiting the Temple Mount, we stop at the Western Wall, the most sacred site for Jews. After visiting the Western Wall, we will have a private tour of the Western Wall Tunnels. From the exit of the Western Wall Tunnels, we exit Lion’s Gate into the Kidron Valley where will discover the topography that created biblical Jerusalem. From the Kidron Valley, we hike through the Hinnom Valley and up into Jaffa Gate where in the first century Herod’s palace stood. Here the story of Jesus begins (Matt. 2) with the visit of the wisemen to Herod, and here his story ended because at Herod’s palace Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate (Mark 15:16). From Jaffa Gate, we walk into the Jewish Quarter and visit the Herodian Quarter, a series of priestly homes from the first century. We then walk along the Byzantine Cardo and see the walls of Jerusalem from the eighth century BC and the first century BC. Passing the Gennath Gate, we follow the historic route Jesus traveled from Pilate to his place of execution at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Our day ends along the southern wall of the Temple Mount. On the first century street, we see the shops and markets around the Temple, a possible location for the money changers (Luke 19:45-48). We then proceed to the southern entrances of the Temple where we walk the steps ancient pilgrims took to ascend to the Temple. After a farewell dinner at Satya, we depart Jerusalem for Ben Gurion Airport where you will return to your home country refreshed, challenged, and renewed in your faith. TUESDAY DECEMBER 5, 2023 Return to USA