THE CLASSICAL ISRAEL TOUR 2008-2010 GUARANTEED DEPARTURES 11 DAYS / 9 NIGHTS / WEEKLY FRIDAY ARRIVAL

11 Days/ 9 Nights Fully Escorted Tour of Israel /Operated Weekly with Friday Arrivals General Sightseeing / English Speaking Tour

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                                                                                                                             Massada  ancient fortress

Day 1 - Thursday - Departure

Fly from North America to Israel

Day 2 - Friday - Arrival - Welcome to Israel

Arrive at the new Ben-Gurion Airport. Meet our representative and transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv for check in. Overnight: Tel Aviv

Day 3 - Saturday - Free day in Tel Aviv

Free Shabbat to enjoy Tel Aviv, the city that never sleeps. Overnight: Tel Aviv

Day 4 - Sunday

Diaspora Museum / Caesarea / Druze villages

Depart Tel Aviv and drive to the Diaspora Museum for a visit.Proceed along the coastal plain to Caesarea, capital of Judea under the Romans.  See the excavations of the Crusader city and the Roman port, aqueduct and the amphitheatre that has been restored to its former glory as a concert venue. Continue via the Druze villages to Haifa. Overnight: Haifa

Day 5 - Monday

Haifa / Safed / Golan Heights

The tour of Haifa will begin at the summit of Mount Carmel where you will take in a breathtaking panoramic view of the Haifa Bay and Western Galilee.  Continue on to the golden domed Bahai Shrine to visit the exotic Persian Gardens.  Proceed to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism, where you will visit the ancient synagogues and the artists’ colony.  Continue to the Golan Heights to see the former Syrian bunkers, Kuneitra and the new Israeli town of Katzrin. Dinner & Overnight: Galilee - Kibutz Lavi

Day 6 - Tuesday

Sea of Galilee / Nazareth

Start the day with a visit to Tiberias.  Drive to Capernaum to see the ruins of the synagogue and octagonal Church of St . Peter . Proceed to Nazareth , here you will visit the Church of the Annunciation .  Drive around the new Jewish town and visit the Arab market.  Drive via Beit Shean to Beit Alpha to see the remains of the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue depicting the zodiac. Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 7 - Wednesday

Jerusalem: The Old City

Visit the tomb of King David on Mt. Zion and the room of the last supper . Enter the walled city and walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter. Visit the Roman Cardo, the Herodian Quarter and continue to the Western Wall.  Walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Proceed to Mount Scopus and then to the Mount of Olives for a magnificent panoramic view of the Old City. Continue to Bethlehem* stopping at Rachels tomb and visit the church of Nativity. Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 8 - Thursday - Jerusalem: The New City

Drive to the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem to see the Chagall stained glass windows.  Continue to Yad Vashem, the memorial to the Holocaust and then to the Israel Museum.  Visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed. At the same grounds of the Museum we will visit the Miniature model of Jerusalem as it was 2000 years ago .We will see the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, and the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University. Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 9 - Friday - Qumeran / Massada / Dead Sea

Drive through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, almost 1300 feet (400 meters) below sea level.  Stop at Qumran to visit the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.  Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to Massada.  Ascend by cable car and tour the ancient fortress where the Zealots made their last stand against the Romans before committing mass suicide in 73 AD.  Descend by cable car, time and weather permitting, an opportunity will be provided to float on the Dead Sea.

Overnight: Jerusalem

Day 10 - Saturday - Free day in Jerusalem

Free day to enjoy the special atmosphere of Shabbat in Jerusalem. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 11 - Sunday - Departure from Israel

Transfer to Ben Gurion Airport for your transatlantic flight back home. Take your fond memories of Israel that will last a lifetime and start planning your next fun-filled trip to Israel.....

* Visit to Bethlehem subject to availability