Jewish/Christian/Muslim Itinerary | Jewish/Christian Itinerary

Jewish/Christian/Muslim Interfaith Pilgrimage

Saturday. Depart the USA to Israel. Your flight includes meals, drinks and in-flight entertainment for your journey.

Sunday. Arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport. Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities. Transfer through Tel Aviv, known as the “city that never sleeps”, passing by centers of culture and recreation, from the Mann and Habima Theaters to sprawling beaches and Dizengoff Street. Then visit the Old City of Jaffa and stroll through the renovated artists’ colony and the ancient port. Enjoy a welcome dinner. (D): TEL AVIV

Monday. Breakfast at the hotel. Depart Tel Aviv and drive to Caesarea, one of the Land of Israel's most important cities during the Roman Empire; visit the Herodian theater and newly excavated hippodrome, palace and bathhouse and explore the 900-year-old crusader city built on the same site with its new hologram interactive activities centers. Visit Acre (Akko) and explore the newly renovated underground crusader city now listed on the UNESCO Heritage List and the famous British prison. Participate in an interfaith dialogue with local Jews, Muslims and Christians. Conclude the day with a visit to the Church of the Annunciation of Christ in Nazareth.Enjoy an afternoon cruise on the Sea of Galilee. Dinner at the hotel. (B,D): SEA OF GALILEE

Tuesday. Breakfast at the hotel. Start the day with a visit to the Church of the Beatitudes located on the traditional site of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Then continue on to Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the site of Jesus' teachings and the remains of a second century synagogue. Visit Tabkha, traditional site of the Miracle of the Loaves and Fish, and the site of a modern church built on the remains of a Byzantine church from the fourth century. Drive to Safed to see a center of Jewish mysticism for hundreds of years, and a contemporary artists’ colony; visit the many unique synagogues, stroll through the quaint art galleries and shop in the artists’ colony. Return to the hotel for dinner. (B,D): SEA OF GALILEE

Wednesday. After breakfast at the hotel depart for a walk along one of the rivers at the base of the Golan Heights. Visit Mt. Tabor, the site of Deborah’s famous battle and the Church of the Transfiguration of Christ. Continue on to Beit Shean to see the archaeological excavations in one of the largest Roman-Byzantine cities uncovered in Israel. Depart Beit Shean and drive to Jerusalem. Upon entering Jerusalem, stop at the Haas Promenade to say the traditional “shehechiyanu” blessing, recited upon entering Jerusalem. Dinner at the hotel. (B,D): JERUSALEM

Thursday. After breakfast at the hotel, begin your visit of Jerusalem with an overview of the city from the top of Mount of Olives, the traditional site of Jesus’ ascension to heaven. Walk down the side of the mountain to the Garden of Gethsemane. Then enter the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate and visit the pools of Bethesda at St. Anne’s Byzantine and Crusader Church. Continue on to the Lithostrotos and Struthion Pool under the Sisters of Zion Convent, a possible site of Jesus’ imprisonment in the Antonia Fortress. Continue along the Stations of the Cross on the Via Delorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. After eating lunch on own in the Old City followed by a visit the Western Wall (Kotel), the remaining wall of the Second Temple and, today, the holiest prayer site in the world to Jews. Visit the Western Wall Tunnel that runs along the entire length of the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. Exit the Old City and visit the Museum on the Seam, a center dedicated to tolerance and the uprooting of evil and violent conflict in Israeli society. Drive to the Israel Museum and following dinner on own, see the collections of fine arts, Judaica, archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolls which are housed in the Shrine of the Book. (B): JERUSALEM

Friday. Breakfast at the hotel. Begin the day with an opportunity for Muslims to visit the Masjad Al Aqsa and Kubbat Sakhra (Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosuque) and participate in Muslim worship. Visit the new excavations at the City of David which have redefined the origins of Jerusalem. Stop for lunch on own on Emek Refaim Street. Drive to Bethlehem, the site of the birth of Jesus and the Church of the Nativity. Return to Jerusalem and take time to rest and prepare for Shabbat. Attend private Kabbalat Shabbat services at the hotel, followed by a festive Shabbat dinner. (B,D): JERUSALEM

Saturday. Breakfast at the hotel. Attend Shabbat morning services at Hebrew Union College, Reform Judaism’s Israeli rabbinic seminary. Return once again to the Old City to explore the Arab, Christian and Armenian Quarters. Attend Mass in the Biblical Institute in Jerusalem. Dinner. Evening visit to Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall to take in the many sights, sounds and shopping opportunities in downtown Jerusalem. (B, D): JERUSALEM

Sunday. Breakfast at the hotel. Attend mass services at a nearby church. Depart Jerusalem in the direction of the Dead Sea Basin. Stop at Qumran, walk through the impressive Dead Sea Sect community area and see the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and view the new interactive audio visual program. Drive on to Masada, Herod’s mountain palace and site of the Jewish Zealots’ last stand against the Roman Legionnaires. Discuss Masada’s role as a symbol of Jewish defense and the current meaning and significance in modern Israel. Experience the weightlessness of the Dead Sea as you float in its waters. Enjoy a short hike to "Nahal David" the freshwater spring at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, a lush oasis in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. Return to Jerusalem for a farewell dinner. (B, D): JERUSALEM

Monday. Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for your departure flight to the U.S.A.