While Waiting for News...

Posted by Susan...

If you are like me, you've been checking in to WHS numerous times a day to see if Belinda has been able to post anything more since her report on the beginning of the trip which went up here on the blog at the end of their first day in Israel on Monday.  She shared with me a little treasure after cell group last Thursday night.  Acopy of her itinerary.  Mind you, she thought I was a little crazy asking for it, but I didn't care.  I like to know where the people I care about are when they're not where they're "supposed" to be!  Especially when so far away from home.  I'm crazy enough that I even I looked up the time difference between here and Israel.  In Israel they are seven hours ahead of those of us who are in the Eastern Standard time zone -Toronto.  So I'm just thinking about going to bed in the next half hour or so, and Belinda is probably just about to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock in their hotel room somewhere near the Sea of Galilee.  

The one thing I did hear from her (besides that initial post on Monday evening) was that the internet is very expensive over there.  And perhaps it's not accessible as it is here.  The things we take for granted...

Anyway, it just dawned on me this evening that I could post the itnerary here on Whatever He Says and then you would know too where she is, and what we might be hearing about in the coming days.

And so, with no further ado...

Day  1  Sun Feb  20    Depart Canada

• Depart Toronto to  Tel Aviv. Meals will be served on board.  
• Overnight en route

Day  2  Mon  Feb  21   Tel Aviv – Sea of Galilee

• Upon arrival at the Ben Gurion airport, you will be met by a Sunworld Tours representative.
• Drive through Tel Aviv to visit  Jaffa (Joppa) where Peter stayed with Simon the Tanner. (Acts 9:43, 10:9-23)
• Stroll through the picturesque port city of winding alleys, art galleries and crafts boutiques.
• Continue along the ancient “Way of the Sea”, which linked Egypt and Babylon.
• Stop at Caesarea the largest port in the Mediterranean built by King Herod the Great. Here Pontius Pilate had his seat; Cornelius lived and was baptized (Acts 10 ) and Philip preached (Acts 8:40).
• Visit the Roman Theatre, the Hippodrome, and the Crusader City. Stop at the  visitors’ center to view the audio visual. 
• Travel  to  Muhraka on  Mt. Carmel where the prophet Elijah challenged the 400 false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:30).
• Drive along the Jezreel Valley to Megiddo one of King Solomon’s fortified city kingdoms (1 Kings
• 9:15; 10:26), with impressive ruins of 20 levels of civilization.
• From here the Books of Daniel and Revelation will come alive as you read about the final Battle of Armageddon, while viewing the fertile plains of the Jezreel.
• Overnight by the Sea of Galilee

Day  3  Tue  Feb  22                  Nazareth – Sea of Galilee

• Proceed to Nazareth, the boyhood town of Jesus and stop at the Church of the Annunciation.
• Continue via Cana site of the first miracle changing water into wine.
• End the day with a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee to Kibbutz Ginnosar.
• Visit the ancient boat from the time of Jesus that was discovered in the Sea of Galilee.
• Stop at Yardenit the Baptism site  
• Overnight by the Sea of Galilee

Day  4  Wed  Feb  23   Golan Heights 

• Drive north to the Golan Heights.
• Visit Banias, a source of the Jordan River, site of ancient “Caesarea Philipi” where Peter made the confession of faith in Christ (Matt; 16:16).
• Continue to Korazin a village from Jesus’ time with ruins of a First Century Synagogue and one of three villages Jesus prophesied over “Woe to thee.” 
• Continue to the Mt. of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered “The Sermon On The Mount” (Matt.5).
• Walk down the mountain to Tabgha, visit the Church of the Primacy of Peter.
• On to Capernaum centre of Jesus’ Ministry in the Galilee and the site of many of his miracles (Mark 2:4; Matt.8:5; 14-7; 9; 1-7; 17: 18). 
• See the remains of St Peter’s house and the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught and worshipped (Mark 1:21; Luke 4:31).  
• Overnight by the Sea of Galilee

Day  5  Thu  Feb  24   Jerusalem

• Travel south to Beit Shean where the body of King Saul and his sons were placed on the walls by the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:10) and capital of the Decapolis.
• View the largest ongoing archaeological dig in the land of Israel.
• Drive through the Jordan Valley, where the desert now blooms with flowers and vegetation of every description (Isaiah 35:1-2). 
• Stop at Genesis Land where you will ride on a Camel and visit Abraham’s tent 4000 years later (Genesis 18:1-8).
• Continue south along the shores of the Dead Sea to Qumran, home of the Cult of the Judean Desert, where a shepherd boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls (1947) in a nearby cave. 
• Then ascend through the Judean Desert wilderness to the Holy City stopping on Mt Scopus to recite a Psalm of Ascent and enjoy the first view of Jerusalem.
• Tour the Southern Wall Archaeological Park at the Davidson Centre to see the impressive excavations along the South Western Wall of the Temple Mount.
• Continue to the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest spot.
• Overnight in Jerusalem 

Day 6  Fri  Feb  25   Jerusalem

• Drive to the top of Mount of Olives, for a panoramic view of Jerusalem.
• Tracing the footsteps of Jesus, stroll down the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations.
• Continue along the Kidron, the Valley of Jehoshaphat, past the Tombs of Absalom, Zechariah and James. 
• Drive to Mt Zion to visit the Upper Room (Room of the Last Super), and  King  David’s Tomb. 
• Enter the Old City walking through Zion Gate and the Armenian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter.
• Visit the Roman/Byzantine/Crusader Street called the “Cardo.”
• Continue down the “Upper Hill” view the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque built on the Temple Mount. 
• End the day at the Garden Tomb for communion before returning to your hotel. 
• Overnight in Jerusalem 

Day 7  Sat  Feb  26   New Jerusalem

• Start the day at Yad Vashem –Museum of the Holocaust.  Pay tribute to the six million victims of the Shoah during the Second World War.
• Visit the new Museum, the Children’s Memorial and walk along the Avenue of the Righteous commemorating those who risked their own lives to save Jewish souls.
• Continue to the Israel Museum to visit the Shrine of the Book housing the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Model of ancient Jerusalem describing the city from the Second Temple Period, the time of Jesus. 
• Visit King David’s City.
• Proceed along the path of Palm Sunday via the Pools of Bethesda at St. Anne’s Church and through the “Suk” the colorful bazaars, alleyways and market places along the Stations of the Cross to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.   
• Overnight in Jerusalem 

Day  8  Sun  Feb  27   Dead Sea

• Drive through the Judean desert towards Jericho, the oldest town in the world which you will see from a distance to the lowest point on earth the Dead Sea (over 1300 feet below sea level). 
• Continue south to Masada.
• Ascend by cable car to the summit of King Herod and the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in the revolt against Rome(73 ace).
• Travel north along the Dead Sea.  En route to Jerusalem stop at Mineral Beach to float on the Dead Sea the saltiest body of water in world.
• Stop in Qumran, center of the Essenes who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• Overnight in Jerusalem 

Day  9  Mon  Feb  28   Jerusalem

• Spend a day of leisure in this fascinating city.
• Optional tour to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, the birthplace of Jesus.
• Enjoy a farewell dinner at your hotel before transfer to Ben Gurion airport for your flight to Canada.

Day  10  Tue  Mar  1   Home

·       Arrive Canada

The itinerary is subject to change.