This
is an unusual opportunity to enjoy a small fully escorted tour at the large tour
price!
This
tour will have less than 15 pilgrims allowing you to see more with out the rush,
push and shove of a large group.
Also, we will fly nonstop from New York to Tel Aviv on Delta Airlines.
Plus
we will be in Jerusalem during Yom Kippur… one of Israel’s most sacred Holy
Days! And you can be there to be a
part of it!!!
Note:
This tour is escorted by Bobbie Ticer.
DAY
1 - NEW YORK / ISTANBUL
(Tuesday, October 4, 2011)
Depart USA "and said to him, 'LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND
COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU" (Acts 7:3) Tour members are welcomed this evening at JFK International Airport, departing
on Delta Airlines via widebody aircraft arriving in Israel the next day.
Meals served on board.
DAY 2 -
Upon arrival in Tel Aviv our guide who will be with us for the time we are in
the Holy Land meets us. Continue in close proximity to Tel Aviv, the main
commercial city in Israel. We travel parallel to the coastal plain
northwards and go to the famous Sea of Galilee where we check into our hotel for
dinner and overnight. "Turning around, Jesus saw them following
and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi,
where are you staying? "Come," He replied, "and you will
see." So they went and saw where He was staying...."(John
1:38-39)
DAY
3 - TIBERIAS / SEA OF GALILEE / BET SHEAN
/ TIBERIAS (Thursday October 6, 2011)
This morning we begin our day by sailing on the Sea of
Galilee in a wooden boat modeled on one from Jesus' time...they "got
into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum...."(John
6) After landing, "When He saw the crowds, He went up on a
mountainside and sat down" (Matt. 5:1) We drive up to the Mount
of Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7). We then descend to Tabgha where
Christians have long remembered the first feeding of the multitude (Mark 6)
and nearby, the breakfast of John 21. We continue to Capernaum
where archaeologists believe they have uncovered the house of Peter (Mark 1
and 2), in the home town of Jesus..." He went and lived in
Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulon and Naphtali"
(Matt.
4:13) We drive to the northern end of the Sea of Galilee and circle
eastwards. Bypassing Beth Saida, the fishing village of the Gospel home
town of Peter, Andrew and Philip (John 1:44). Here, like Capernaum
and Chorazin, Jesus performed many of His miracles, healed a blind man,
and cursed all three towns for their failure to repent. In Luke's account,
the feeding of the 5000 occurred in the area of Beth Saida. We
continue driving around the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee next to Kursi
which is the "Gergesa" of Matthew's Gospel where the evangelist
locates the miracle of the swine. The early Christians commemorated the
site with a church. We can stop for a St. Peter's Fish lunch.
After
lunch we complete the full circle around the lake and drive a short
distance through the Jordan valley to Bet Shean - aka Scythapolis.
Here we see the ancient tel and view the setting for the death of King Saul (I
Samuel 28 - II Samuel 1). We then survey the magnificent Roman and
Byzantine ruins: theater, bathhouses, ancient rest rooms, market areas and
colonnaded streets. We drive back north to Yardenit, the modern Baptismal
site located at the exit of the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee. We
will end our day with the renewal of our baptismal vows before we drive
to our hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee for dinner and
overnight.
DAY
4 - NAZARETH/ MEGGIDO/ CAESAREA/JERUSALEM
(Friday, October 7, 2011)
"We are going up to Jerusalem." (Matt. 20:18)
Traveling through Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed His first
Miracle turning water into wine (John 2). We proceed to Nazareth
and spend some time getting acquainted with Jesus' home town, visiting its
spring where Mary would have done her family laundry visiting the Church of the
Annunciation. We ascend the Mount of the Precipice at the brow of Nazareth
to an overlook surveying the Valley of Jezreel, synonymous with Armageddon.
We then drive through the valley to the mound of Megiddo - Har
Megiddo in Hebrew - which gave its name to Armageddon. We then ascend Mt.
Carmel, site of Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of baal. From
there we drive toward the Mediterranean coast traveling south along the coastal
highway to Caesarea by the Sea. We enter Caesarea Maritima to explore
this Roman bridgehead to the east, which became the Christian springboard to the
west. After the visit to this ancient harbor, we board our bus and head up
the historic Beth Horan road (Joshua 10:10) to the Benjamin Plateau,
passing ancient Gibeon and continuing on to Jerusalem. Finally,
atop Mt. Scopus, we behold majestic Jerusalem. We check in to our hotel
for dinner and overnight.
DAY
5 - JERICHO
/ QUMRAN / MASADA (Saturday, October 8, 2011)
We drive through the Judean desert into the Jordan Valley and head to Jericho.
We visit the tel of the oldest city and view the traditional mountain of Jesus'
temptation. We drive to Qumran and view Cave #4, which contained
the greatest quantity of Dead Sea scrolls. We drive to
DAY
6 - MT. OF OLIVES / SOUTHERN
WALL / UPPER ROOM / BETHLEHEM (Sunday, October 9, 2011)
"If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you
peace" (Luke 19:42)
We start the day with an orientation to Jerusalem from the Mount
of Olives. We then walk the traditional Palm Sunday route to the
church known as Dominus Flevit ("Our Lord Weeps"). After viewing
the Golden Gate, we walk downhill to Gethsemane, where we take time to
meditate on the Gospel text. Boarding our bus we drive to the Dung
Gate. Just inside we walk to the Southern Wall excavations. We then
examine the ruins near the south side of the Temple complex, including
steps where we may be certain Jesus and the disciples walked, then to the
slopes of Mt. Zion. There we will visit the Upper Room and King David's
Tomb. Driving south , we visit Solomon's Pools, Jerusalem's main source of
water for almost 2000 years. We
conclude the day with a visit in Bethlehem to the Church of the
Nativity. We then return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY
7 - OLD CITY / GARDEN TOMB (Monday, Oct 10, 2011)
After breakfast we go through the Dung Gate and walk up to the Western Wall
- Judaism's holiest site. We ascend to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa
Mosque and the Dome of the Rock where it is believed the Temple once
stood. A short walk away we find the Pools of Bethesda (John 5) and
St. Anne's Church - the church is perfectly preserved from the Crusader period -
with remarkable acoustics. We then follow the Way of the Cross (Via
Dolorosa) through the bazaars as far as the Holy Sepulcher. From
there we walk through the Christian Quarter along the Arab Souks and past the
Armenian Quarter. We exit the Old City at Mt Zion to the grounds of
a church called Peter in Gallicantu, when affords the best view of early
Jerusalem from the west. (Here, it is suggested, was the house
where the High Priest Caiaphas interrogated Jesus). From there we board
our bus and arrive at the Garden Tomb where we will end our day with a
special visit and the possibility of having a private communion on the grounds outside the city walls.
"He
has risen!" (Mark 16:6)
DAY
8 - JERUSALEM
/
We transfer to the airport for
our flight home with unforgettable memories to cherish always.
Knowing we have walked in the footsteps of Jesus and the early Christians
on such a memorable tour will bring new meaning to our Bible studies and
understanding.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
Good
quality hotels with bath will be
used throughout tour. Price is based
on two people sharing a twin bedded room. An
extra charge of $80 per night will be charged when passenger does not
have a roommate or wishes a private Single-room. (This is Not an Upgrade.)
MEALS:
Continental breakfast and dinner daily throughout the tour. Except
that no meals are provided in USA. Extra
charge for beverage or food not included in the itinerary or menu of the day.
(Beverage not included in dinners.)
SIGHTSEEING:
By
modern motorcoach including services of English-speaking guides and entrance
fees to places included in the itinerary.
NOT
INCLUDED:
Airport and airline taxes, Visa and border crossing fees, gratuities to guides,
drivers and porters and hotel personnel. (These tips, taxes and fees will be
approximately $720.00 and will be pre-collected.) Passport, laundry, sightseeing or
services other than those specifically mentioned, items of a personal nature,
excess baggage, and airport porterage. Hotel
or food not included in USA.
THE
TOUR PRICE:
Price is based on international tariffs and rates in effect on Date of
proposal and is subject to change without notice should there be a revision in
AIR or LAND rates prior to departure of tour. Price is based on a minimum of
passengers using double occupancy and departing
from
DEPOSIT
AND CANCELLATION: A
Non refundable deposit of $300 per person is required to secure reservations.
Balance must be paid in full not later than 60 days prior to departure of
tour. In event of
cancellation, refund in full will be made up to 60 days prior to departure.
(Excluding the $300 deposit.) Cancellation
59 or fewer days prior to departure will result in forfeiture of 100% of tour
price. Note: There is no exception to cancellation fee.
Date is effective when cancellation by letter, fax or e-mail is in hands
of Three Coins Travel, Inc. All money
will be refunded IF the tour is canceled by Three Coins Travel.
INSURANCE:
Travel
Insurance is available and is strongly recommended. It includes Trip
Cancellation & Interruption due to covered causes plus many other covered
benefits - See policy. (Insurance premiums are non-refundable.)
RESPONSIBILITY
AND LIABILITY:
The printed day-to-day itinerary and policy described in "Terms and
Conditions" constitutes the complete agreement between passengers and Tour
Company. The tour operator reserves the right to change the itinerary, delete or
substitute sites when tour operator feels it to be in the best interest of the
tour. While Three Coins Travel will attempt to assist passenger in obtaining
Valid Passport, Visa and Entry permits to all countries, they remain the sole
responsibility of the individual passenger. Three Coins Travel, Inc., and the
participating Tour Operators and travel agencies act only as agents of the
sightseeing contractors and others which provide the actual air transportation
and ground transportation and land and or other tour arrangements and are not
liable for force majeure, civil unrest, acts of war, terrorism and/or any act,
omission, governmental warnings, delay, injury, loss or damage or
non-performance occurring in connection with these travel arrangements.
Passenger should note that none of these occurrences constitute reasons
for cancellation of tour. The tour operator reserves the right to remove any
passenger that operator feels is creating discord on the tour. This program will
be operated from January 1, 2011 , to December 31, 2011.
PASSENGER
ACCEPTANCE: Payment
of deposit certifies passenger has read, understands and accepts the itinerary
and policy described under “Terms and Conditions” and agrees it is
contractual also that any dispute regarding this transaction will be handled in
King or Snohomish Counties of Washington, State.
EXCEPTIONS to any of the above
policy described under "Terms and Conditions" must be in the hands of
the tour members in writing from Three Coins Travel, Inc.
Seller of Travel Registration -