JEWISH HERITAGE TOUR

The new and the old, the desert and the sea, bazaars and mysticism, Crusaders and artists, cities and rural settlements, modern shops, throbbing coffee houses and bars, all these are Israel. In addition, visit Petra, the Rose City, carved into the mountains of the Jordanian desert.

Trip Highlights

Tel Aviv: Independence Hall, Diaspora Museum, Rabin Square, Old Jaffa.
Western Galilee: Haifa and Mt. Carmel, Acre the Crusader underground city, Rosh Hanikra Grottoes.
Golan Heights and Banias ( Jordan) springs
Old and New Jerusalem: Western Wall , The Tunnels, the Jewish Quarter,
New Jerusalem: Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book and Model of Second Temple Jerusalem.
The Dead Sea : Massada Fortress
Desert experience: the Ramon Crater, Camel ride, Ben Gurion's Hut at Sde Boker

Masada dead sea

BEDUIN FEAST

Day 1 - Wednesday - ARRIVAL TO TEL AVIV

at Ben Gurion Airport where you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel. Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 2 - Thursday - INDEPENDENCE HALL-LATRUN-AYALON INSTITUTE

Visit Independence Hall where the establishment of the State of Israel was declared. Drive to Latrun to visit the Armored Corps Museum, one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. Visit "Mini Israel" park which includes miniature replicas of the most important landmarks in Israel. Proceed to Ayalon Institute, formerly an ammunition factory for the underground movement –the Hagana, which existed before May 1948. Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 3 - Friday - TEL AVIV – JAFFA

Visit the Diaspora Museum, drive around the main streets of Tel Aviv- hub of commerce and entertainment in Israel. Stop at Rabin's square –infamous site of the assassination of Prime Minister and Peace Nobel Prize winner Itzhak Rabin. Proceed to Old Jaffa, an 8000 year old port city where according to the Bible, Jonah the Prophet sailed. Walk along the restored artists' quarter. Visit Neve Tzedek, the first neighborhood of Tel Aviv, built in 1887, and Nahalat Binyamin Pedestrian Street, renowned for its lively atmosphere of musicians, outdoor shops of handmade jewelry and artifacts. Stop at nearby Sheinkin, abounding with unique shops, coffeehouses and youthful ambiance. Overnight in Tel Aviv

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 4 - Saturday - TEL AVIV

at leisure. Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 5 - Sunday - CAESAREA-HAIFA-ACRE-ROSH HANIKRA

Drive north to Caesarea, to see the excavations of the Crusaders' city, the aqueduct and the amphitheater which has been restored as a concert venue. Proceed to Haifa for a panoramic view from Mount Carmel and visit "Af Al Pi Chen", the naval museum of the illegal immigration to Israel at the time of the British mandate. Continue to Acre-walk along the old harbor and local market. Drive to the northernmost point of Israel, Rosh Hanikra and descend by cable car into the limestone grottoes. Overnight at a kibbutz hotel.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: HB

Day 6 - Monday - SAFED-GOLAN HEIGHTS-BANIAS SPRINGS-TEL HAI

Drive to Safed, center of the mystic Kabala movement. Visit the ancient synagogues of Joseph Caro and the Ari. Stroll around the Artists' Quarter. Enjoy a jeep tour to the the Golan Heights. Stop for a view of Kuneitra in Syria. Proceed to Tel Facher, a former Syrian army camp. Visit the Banias Springs, one of the sources of the Jordan River. Next, a visit to Tel Hai to see the "Roaring Lion", monument to the heroic battle of Josef Trumpeldor and his fellow pioneers in1920. Meet with a" kibbutznik"- a member of a kibbutz, and learn about this unique lifestyle. Overnight at the kibbutz hotel.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: HB

Day 7 - Tuesday - TIBERIAS-BEIT SHEAN- BEIT ALPHA-GAN HASHLOSHA (SACHNE)

Drive to Tiberias to visit the grave of Rambam(Maimonides), Proceed to Beit Shean, the largest archeological park in Israel with impressive excavations from Roman and Byzantine periods. Stop at Beit Alpha to see the beautiful mosaic floor of a synagogue from the Byzantine period. At Gan Hashlosha, enjoy the water springs located at the foot of the Gilboa Mountains, where King Saul was killed . Continue via the Jordan Valley to Jerusalem. Stop at Mount Scopus for a blessing on entering the city. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 8 - Wednesday - OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM

Visit the tomb of King David on Mount Zion. Walk along the Cardo, the ancient Roman road. Visit the four Sepharadic synagogues restored after 1967. Walk through the Kotel Tunnels. Stroll through the local Arab bazaar. Enter Jaffa Gate to the Tower of David Museum. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 9 - Thursday - NEW CITY OF JERUSALEM

Visit the Kotel to observe Bar- Mitzvah ceremonies. Continue to Mea Shearim and learn about the unique lifestyle of this ultra-orthodox community. Drive by the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Next, visit the Israel Museum's Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed, and the fascinating miniature replica of Jerusalem of the Second Temple period. Drive to Mount Hertzel, the military cemetery and to Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and Memorial. Visit Ammunition Hill, a former Jordanian army stronghold, at present a national memorial site and at

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 10 - Friday - QUMERAN-DEAD SEA-MASADA

Drive through the Judean desert to the Dead Sea. Stop at Qumeran National Park, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Continue to Masada, ascend by cable car and tour this 2000 year old fortress-King Herod's palaces, the synagogue, the bathhouses. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the remains of the Roman camps, the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea. Descend by cable car and proceed for lunch and spa facilities in one of the leading hotels in the area. Return to Jerusalem for overnight.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 11 - Saturday - JERUSALEM

at leisure. Overnight in Jerusalem

Accommodation: Jerusalem Gate

Meals: HB

Day 12 - Sunday - TIMNA-EILAT

Travel south through the Negev Desert. Stop at Timna copper mines, the earliest copper mines in history, and marvel at King Solomon's Pillars, huge multicolored rock formations. Continue to Eilat. Visit the underwater observatory – one of the largest seaquariums in the world, built into a coral reef. Overnight in Eilat.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 13 - Monday - at leisure in Eilat or A DAY IN PETRA (OPTIONAL)

at leisure in Eilat or A DAY IN PETRA (OPTIONAL) After assistance with a visa to the Jordanian border, drive to the astonishing rose-red city of Petra, built by the Nabateans. The visit begins with the possibility of a short horseback ride of about 700m. to Siq the entrance of the city, for a walk of 1.2km. A chariot can be rented for the visit. Once inside Petra, enjoy the magnificent monuments: the Treasury, Royal Tombs. The Court, Roman Theater, Qassier El-Bint(Palace of Pharao's Daughter). After the visit, lunch at a restaurant, and drive back to the border via the city port of Aqaba. Cross back to Eilat in the evening. Overnight in Eilat.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 14 - Tuesday - MITZPE RAMON-SDE BOKER-TEL AVIV

Leave Eilat and arrive at Mitzpe Ramon to gaze into the Ramon Crater, a geological phenomenon. Proceed to Kibbutz Sde Boker to visit at Ben Gurion's hut and grave overlooking the magnificent Zin Valley. Experience the desert by riding a camel and visiting an authentic Bedouin tent where a light lunch will be served. Continue to Hatzerim to visit Israel's Airforce Museum. Return to Tel Aviv for overnight.

Accommodation: Good tourist/first class

Meals: BB

Day 15 - Wednesday

Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for departure