Day 1 (Thurs) Sept. 12 Fly from Utah

 

Day 2 (Fri) Sept 13 arrive in Tel Aviv, approx 4:30PM. Drive to Hotel, Sharon Hotel or Leonardo in Netanya.

 

Day 3 (Sat) Sept 14 Caesarea including port and crusader wall, Roman aqueducts. Mt. Carmel, then Templar Fortress in Acco. Overnight in Nof Ginosar  

 

Day 4 (Sun) Sept 15 Banias-Caesarea Philippi (Mt Transfiguration), Mt Beatitudes. Schwarma lunch in Magdala. Tabgha; Church of Multiplication (loaves and fishes). Peter’s Primacy; according to tradition this is the spot where Jesus is said to have laid out a breakfast of bread and fish for the Apostles, and told Peter to “Feed my Sheep” after the miraculous cath (153). The third time he appeared to them after His resurrection. Capernaum, where Jesus performed the majority of his miracles. Finish the day with a swim in the Galilee before dinner.

 

Day 5 (Mon) Sept 16

Magdala (2 hours), Boat ride on the Galilee and Yardinet near the Jordan River. Lunch in route to the Dead Sea. Sunset float in the Dead Sea. Overnight at King David Hotel.

 

Day 6 (Tues) Sept 17 Sunrise float on the Dead Sea. Masada; Ein Gedi, hike to the waterfall. Stop at Qumram. On to Jerusalem. Overnight Gloria Hotel.

 

Day 7 (Wed) Sept 18 City of David, Hezekiah’s tunnel,(change and snack) Western Wall Tunnels, St Anne’s Church, Pools of Bethesda and Templar Church. (Tower of David Light Show 8:00PM)? Overnight Gloria Hotel

 

Day 8 (Thur) Sept 19 Old City Tour; start from Gloria Hotel: Jerusalem Citadel; Tower of David. The cardio. The Madaba mosaic replica, Jerusalem 1st Temple period (wall), Jewish Quarter, Western Wall, South Temple Archeological Park. Temple Mount, southeast corner; (James the brother of the Lord) Al-Aqsa Mosque, Dome of the Rock. Lunch in the Christian Qtr. Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Overnight Gloria Hotel

 

Day 9 (Fri) Sept 20 8:30AM Bethlehem, House of Bread. Grab bread and walk down Star Street to Church of the Nativity. Chapel of Milk Gratto. Foster Home, Lunch at Shepard’s Tent, Shepherds’ Field. Drive by Herodian. Shopping. Kathisma on the way back to Jerusalem. Shabbat at the Western Wall. Overnight Gloria Hotel

 

Day 10 (Sat) Sept 21 Walking to Zions Gate, Room of the Last Supper, St Peter Gallicantu, BYu Jerusalem Center for Sacrament Meeting 10:00AM; arrive at 9:30 to take pictures, Meeting will last until 11:00AM. Garden Tomb. Lunch near Hebrew University. Orson Hyde Park, Garden of Gethsemane (north garden), Church of All Nations. Overnight Gloria Hotel

 

Day 11 (Sun) Sept 22 Free Day; BYU-Jerusalem Evening Concert (Standby)

 

Day 12 (Monday Sept 23) after breakfast we will leave Jerusalem and head to the border to cross into Jordan. Our first stop will be Machaerus, where John the Baptist was beheaded. Our next stop is Lot’s Cave, where Lot and his two daughters survived and fled near the small town of Zoar (modern-day Safi) (Genesis 19: 15-22). The Bible says Lot’s daughters gave birth to sons whose descendents would become the Ammonite and Moabite people, whose kingdoms were in what is now central Jordan. From there we will head to Petra in Wadi Musa. Overnight near Petra

 

 

Day 13 (Tuesday Sept. 24) after breakfast we will visit Petra and take the day to explore this amazing site. It was a hidden away treasure until Raiders of the Lost Ark made it a popular destination for people all over the world. In 2007 Petra was announced as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. A must see visit for everyone’s Bucket List. From there we head further south to Wadi Rum and our Jordan desert adventure. Overnight in Bedouin Tent in Wadi Rum.  

 

Day 14 (Wednesday Sept. 25) we will start our day with breakfast and then we’re off for our Jeep tour and Camel ride of the Wadi Rum Desert. The magical place where Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars and most recently Aladdin were filmed.  After our Bedhouin lunch we will head north and visit Shobak; a Crusaders Castle built in the 12th century by Baldwin the I, the first King of Jerusalem. Then on to Ma’in Hot Springs Resort to enjoy the natural thermal hot springs. Overnight Ma’in Hot Springs 

 

Day 15 (Thursday, Sept. 26) Breakfast at Ma’in Hot Springs Resort before heading north to Madaba and then Mount Nebo. From there will drive to Jerash, an ancient city that prides itself for having an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. We will have our final Farewell Dinner in Amman before we head to the Amman airport. 

 

Day 16 (Friday Sept 27) Leave Ammon, Jordan with our flight back to the USA