Reading Acts is Going to Israel

For the next two weeks I am leading a (mostly) student group from Grace Bible College on a tour of Israel and Jordan. This is my eighth trip leading a group to Israel. I have 35 students and parents on this trip, so it is by far the largest group I have led.

Days one and two are travel, by Wednesday we will be in the Old City. Here is our itinerary with some links. I plan on posting each day, so check back often  for updates. There is a tab near the top of this page with posts from previous trips and two videos.

Day 3: (Wednesday-May 3)  Jerusalem

We begin our morning at the Garden Tomb for communion (8:30 AM appointment), then a walk to the Jaffa Gate and Old City of Jerusalem to visit the Tower of David museum. We continue to walk through the Old City market to the Western Wall, the Davidson Archaeological Park on the Southern wall of the Temple, including parts of the Via Dolorosa and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Day 4: (Thursday May 4)  Jerusalem

We will spend the morning at the Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem (9:00 AM appointment). We will spend the afternoon at the Israel National Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Shrine of the Book, the Jerusalem Model, and the Archaeology Wing of the Museum.

Day 5: (Friday-May 5)  Jerusalem

The day begins on the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley. Walking down the Mount we will visit Domiunis Flevit (where Jesus wept over Jerusalem), the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. We will walk across the Kidron Valley past Absalom’s tomb and up to the City of David and Hezekiah’s tunnel and the pool of Siloam.

Day 6: (Saturday-May 6)  Galilee-Maagan

We will begin the day by driving from Jerusalem to Caesarea, Megiddo, through Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee to finally arrive at Maagan Holiday Village in the late afternoon.

Day 7: (Sunday-May 7)  Galilee-Maagan

We will begin this day by visiting Mount Arbel, the synagogue at Magdal, the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and other sites Jesus visited before returning to Maagan to enjoy the swimming pool!

Day 8: (Monday- May 8)  Jordan, Jeresh, Mt. Nebo, Amman

We will leave the Galilee early and prepare to cross into Jordan at the King Hussein Bridge and transfer busses in Jordan. We will stop at Jeresh for a tour of this spectacular Roman city. We will visit Mt. Nebo and possibly Madaba on to the Petra Movenpick Resort.

Day 9: (Tuesday-May 9)  Petra

We start out for Petra early, walking the Suq to the famous Al Khazneh or Treasury at Petra, a tomb carved out of the mountain stone by the Nabeateans about 2000 years ago. We will have time to explore this UNESCO World Heritage site before returning to our hotel.

Day 10: (Wednesday-May 10)  Aqaba, Eilat, Tamar Park

We will head south to the Red Sea, crossing the border back into Israel at Eilat. After some time swimming in the Red Sea we will arrive at Biblical Tamar Park.

Day 11: (Thursday-May 11)  Mamshit, Tel Arad, Masada

We will be on the bus early to explore several sites in the desert. Our first stop will be Mamshit, a Nabatean trading village which has been beautifully restored by the Israeli Park service. Then we will visit Tel Arad, an ancient Canaanite city captured by Joshua. We will visit the Judean fortress and a reconstructed temple at the top of the Tel. Finally, we travel to Masada, the famous fortress built by King Herod and the site of the last stand of the Jewish zealots in the first Jewish War against Rome. Masada is also an UNESCO World Heritage site.

Day 12: (Friday-May 12)  Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, Qumran, The Dead Sea.  We will hike to the waterfall in Ein Gedi where David hid from King Saul. We will visit Qumran, the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We end this day with a float in the Dead Sea.

Day 13: (Saturday-May 13) Bet Guverin, Emek Elah, Old City

We will leave Tamar early to travel into the central hill country to visit the Bell Caves at Bet Guverin and make a quick stop at the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath. We will spend a final few hours in the Old City for final shopping. We will end the day at the Sadot Hotel, fifteen minutes from the Ben Gurion airport.