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Land of the Prophets ~ Journey to Israel With an optional tour to Petra October 13 – 26, 2010 |
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Join Evelyn Greenberg as she re-visits some of her favourite places in Israel. |
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Fine accommodations in Jerusalem, the Upper Galillee, Tel-Aviv and Eilat. Breathe in the air, savour the scents and sounds and feel the history of this cradle of civilization. |
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Your Executive Worldwide Travel itinerary |
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Wednesday, October 13 Depart Ottawa for Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel. Thursday, October 14 Arrival at Ben-Gurion airport. Meet our local guide after passport control and transfer to Jerusalem. If time permits, stop to see the panoramic view from Mount Scopus or the Mount of Olives. Dinner in the main dining room of the hotel. Overnight at Dan Panorama Jerusalem. D |
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Friday, October 15 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel before a guided tour at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The origin of the name is from a Biblical verse: "And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name (Yad Vashem) that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah, chapter 56, verse 5). Drive past the Knesset and the Supreme Court on the way to the Israel Museum, the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel. Guided tour at the Museum, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world. Housed in the Shrine of the Book, the scrolls date from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. Lunch on your own. This afternoon a guided tour at the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, home of one of the foremost collections of Islamic art. See the amazing collection of antique watches and clocks, including the 'Marie Antoinette,' stolen from the museum in 1983, and now restored and on display. Dinner and overnight at Dan Panorama Jerusalem. BD |
  
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Saturday, October 16 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel. Depart for Mount Zion, just outside the walls of the Old City. Visit King David’s Tomb and the Cenacle or Upper Room, site of the Last Supper. In Christian tradition, based on Acts 1:13, the Upper Room was not only the site of the Last Supper, but the usual place where the Apostles stayed. Thus the Cenacle is considered the site where many other events described in the New Testament took place. Walk the Via Dolorosa, the route through picturesque Bazaar streets, that Jesus took between his condemnation by Pilate and his crucifixion and burial. The route of the Via Dolorosa begins near the Lions' Gate in the Muslim Quarter and ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter, covering 500 meters and incorporating 14 Stations of the Cross. Visit the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest Christian site in the world. After lunch on your own, transfer to Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, to see the Nativity Church and Manger Square. Dinner and overnight at Dan Panorama Jerusalem. BD | ||
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Sunday, October 17 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel. Depart for the Jewish Quarter with the Roman Cardo, rich in history and in artistic treasures. The various levels show different eras of the city's history, with artifacts from the First Temple, Roman treasures, columns which surrounded the Byzantine bazaars, porticoes built by Crusaders, and modern day plazas. Tour the Wohl Archaeology Museum, popularly called the "Herodian Mansion," which reveals in part the high level of living the tenants of the Herodian quarter were used to. During the time of Herod, the "Upper City" of the present day Jewish Quarter was populated by the wealthy of the city. This included the priestly aristocracy and successful merchants. Visit the Western Wall, the only surviving portion of the retaining wall around the Temple of Jerusalem. Lunch on your own followed by a walking tour of the old city and neighborhoods. Dinner in the main dining room of the hotel. Overnight at Dan Panorama Jerusalem. BD |
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Monday, October 18 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel. Continue our exploration of Jerusalem with a tour of the City of David, an amazing archaeological site, and a visit to the Kotel Tunnels, an incredible labyrinth of tunnels, arches and passageways revealed through extensive archaeological excavations. Lunch on your own. Live the experience of Second Temple pilgrims at Davidson Center and see the amazing discoveries unearthed at the Southern Wall excavations, including dozens of ritual baths, indicating the thousands of people who would have used this site. Dinner at Nafoura restaurant near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem. Overnight at Dan Panorama Jerusalem. BD |
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Tuesday, October 19 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel before checking out of the hotel and departing for the Upper Galilee. Visit Beit Shean, whose National Park houses some of Israel’s most spectacular archeological finds. The site, a major Roman city, features a large amphitheatre (with a capacity of about 7,999), a Byzantine era colonnaded street, ritual baths, a pottery workshop, a basilica, a Roman temple and much more. Continue to the holy sites along the Sea of Galilee, beginning with Capernaum, the old town of Jesus with its ancient synagogue. Lunch on your own before a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, one of the most glorious sites in the Holy Land, and Tabgha, site of a unique mosaic of loaves and fishes, recalling the feeding of the multitude. Proceed to Kibbutz Hagoshrim and check-in. Dinner and overnight at Hagoshrim in the Upper Galilee. BD |
  
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Wednesday, October 20 Breakfast at the hotel before transfering to Tel Dan, an archaeological site in Israel with finds dating back to the Neolithic era c 4500 BCE. See more fascinating archeological finds at Banias, near the uninhabited former city of Caesarea Philippi, located at the foot of Mount Hermon. The temenos (sacred precinct) included a temple, courtyards, a grotto and niches for rituals dedicated to Pan. Continue our exploration of the Golan Heights with a two-hour jeep tour through this strategic plateau and mountainous region. Lunch on your own. Wine tasting at the Golan Wineries, one the largest and most famous wineries in Israel. Dinner and overnight at Hagoshrim in the Upper Galilee. BD |
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Thursday, October 21 Breakfast at the hotel, check out and depart for Tel-Aviv, with interesting stops on the way, beginning with Haifa, where you will see the famous bay and view the beautiful Bahai gardens. Step back in time at Akko as you walk this ancient port city. The former capital of the Crusader kingdom, also known as St. Jean d’Acre, is also the birthplace of the Bahai religion. A Hospitaller Castle, Templar tunnel and the largest prison during the British Mandate (now a museum) can all be found here.  After lunch on your own, proceed to Caesaria, once the site of a Phoenician port. Over the course of 12 years, Herod built Caesarea into the grandest city other than Jerusalem in Palestine, with a deep sea harbor, aqueduct, hippodrome and magnificent amphitheater that remain standing today. Drive to Tel-Aviv and check-in. Dinner and overnight at Dan Panorama Tel-Aviv. BD |
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Friday, October 22 After breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel, visit Rubinstein Art Gallery, stroll through historic Rothschild Boulevard and spend some time in the beautiful old neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek. Lunch on your own before visiting the old port and the art galleries of Old Jaffa. Dinner in the main dining room of the hotel. Evening concert, philharmonic or opera or similar, subject to availability. Overnight at Dan Panorama Tel-Aviv. BD |
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Saturday, October 23 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel and check out. Depart for the southernmost tip of Israel, travelling through Arad, notable for its clean, dry air, to Massada. Ascend by cable car to the top of the mountain and marvel at King Herod’s desert fortress-palace and the last stronghold of the Jewish zealots against Roman domination in 73 C.E. Lunch & swim at the Hod hotel at the Dead Sea before continuing on to Eilat. Check into the hotel. Dinner and overnight at Dan Panorama Eilat. BLD |
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Sunday, October 24 Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel followed by an optional tour to Petra or a guided tour at the Underwater Observatory. Enjoy the rare opportunity to enter the amazing world of the Red Sea, one of the most exquisite seas in the world, famous for its incredible, unique and rich marine life. Free time to enjoy the aquariums, Shark Tank, Turtle and Stingray Pool and underwater observatories. Lunch on your own. Optional Tour to Petra (including lunch) The legacy of the Nabateans who settled here more than 2000 years ago, the ancient city is reached through the awesome “Siq,” an immense fissure in the Nubian sandstone. Petra’s most impressive monument, the elegant Treasury carved out of solid rock, appears quite suddenly and dramatically at the end of the “Siq.” Beyond the Treasury, in a wide open valley, is the still-mysterious Petra, a city of soaring temples, elaborate royal tombs, a Nabatean-carved amphitheatre and monumental staircases. Dinner and overnight at Dan Panorama Eilat. BD |
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Monday, October 25 Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Visit Timna Valley Park, noted for its natural sandstone formations, including King Solomon's Pillars, the “Mushroom,” “Arches” and “the Sleeping Lion,” and what are believed to be the oldest copper mines in the world, dating back to at least 4000 BC. Rock carvings, including “the Chariots,” and ancient inscriptions are visible as well as mining shafts, the remains of ancient copper furnaces and a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Hathor. See the Ramon Crater, shaped like an elongated heart, before a visit to the ancient ruins of Avdat, the greatest Nabatean city in the Negev, which includes two impressive Byzantine churches, a wine press, and many other interesting finds. Visit the grave of David Ben-Gurion at Sde Boker before lunch on your own. Drive through Beersheba on the way to Tel-Aviv. Check into the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel-Aviv. Dinner at Succah Halevana in the old port of Tel-Aviv. Overnight at Dan Panorama Tel-Aviv. BD Tuesday, October 26 – Breakfast in the main dining room of the hotel. Check out and proceed to Ben-Gurion airport for your 11:30 a.m. flight home. B |
  
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