Make your way to your local airport where you will board your first leg of flights to the Holy Land. Meals will be served on transatlantic flight.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, make your way to the baggage claim area and collect your luggage. Proceed to the Arrival's Hall, where you will be greeted by your tour guide and/or driver. Transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv for check-in, dinner and restful overnight.

Drive up the coast to Caesarea, ancient capital of the Roman province, where you view the remains of Roman and Crusader structures. In Caesarea, you see a 2000 year old city-built to honor Augustus Caesar-was once the capital of the Roman province and was later occupied by the Crusaders. It was here that Herod laid out a classical city complete with amphitheater and stadium. Also constructed was an artificial harbor with concrete pilings under water-the first such use of concrete. You will also see the Roman aqueduct that is a marvel of engineering. You find a wealth of Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Crusader ruins in the area as well as the harbor from which St. Paul was taken prisoner to Rome. Drive along the Carmel Range at Haifa. From here, you continue to visit the excavations of Megiddo, and ancient city-state now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its historical, ITINERARY1010 geographical and theological importance as its Greek name, Armageddon illustrates. Excavations have unearthed 26 layers of ruins which makes it one of the most interesting archeological sites in Israel. Drive through the Jezreel Valley to Galilee and on to your hotel. Continue to Tiberias to check-in to your hotel. Dinner and overnight.

This morning you set off on a private boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. Stop at Capernaum, where you will see the ancient synagogue where Jesus taught and St. Peter's house which was later converted into a church. You will also visit Tabgha with the Church of Peter's Primacy and the ancient mosaic of the Loaves and Fishes (a mosaic in the Church of the Multiplication commemorates the event) before you continue on to the Mount of Beatitudes, the site where Christ gave the sermon on the Mount. In the afternoon, drive to Nazareth to visit the Church of Annunciation. You may also wish to visit Nazareth Village, a modern re-creation based on archaeological research, of what a Galilean village at the time of Jesus was like. End the day with a visit to the Byzantine Church at Cana, where Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding and where some couples today renew their wedding vows.

Leave and go south to Sepphoris, once a great center of trade and culture as well as of Jewish learning and early Christianity. Drive down the Jordan Valley to visit the Baptismal site on the Jordan River. Continue to Jericho, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, where we view Mt. Temptation and an example of a Sycamore Tree. Then to Jerusalem where you check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Begin the day with a visit to the Second Temple scale model for an overview of Jerusalem as it was at the time of Jesus. A short drive takes us to the village of Ein Karem, birthplace of John the Baptist, to visit the church that commemorates his memory. Also, a visit to the Church of the Visitation. In the afternoon, visit Bethlehem to see the cave at the Shepherds' Field. The caves have soot marks of the fires that shepherd's lit to keep warm while watching over their flocks. Then, we will visit Manger Square which stands in front of one of the oldest of Christian churches, the Church of the Nativity. Enter the Church and down to the Grotto of the Nativity which marks the spot of Jesus' birth. Beneath the altar, there is a silver star and a Latin inscription that states: HIC DE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Following Mass in this Sacred space, return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

From the Mount of Olives, take in the panoramic view of Jerusalem. Then to the Pater Noster shrine where Jesus taught his disciples, the Pater Noster-The Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1-4). Walking down the Palm Sunday Road, stop at the beautiful little church, Dominus Flevit-"The Lord wept." It was here that Jesus wept over Jerusalem [Luke 19:41]. At Gethsemane, reflect on Jesus' final night. The Garden contains threes, the roots of which go back to the time of Jesus. Visit the Church of All Nations to pray at the "Rock of Agony," a section of bedrock identified as the place where Jesus prayed alone in the garden on the night of His arrest. Visit the Western Wall to see all that remains of the Temple compound that dates to the time of Jesus. From here to the house of the High Priest Caiaphas where, He was interrogated and imprisoned. Now called Peter in Gallicantu (crowing rooster), this beautiful Church also commemorates Peter's Denial of Christ, his repentance and then being forgiven by Jesus. We also go up to Mt. Zion to visit the Upper Room which commemorates the Last Supper. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

This morning we start the Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) at the Antonia Fortress. This is the spot where Jesus was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate. From there, He was taken through the city to be crucified. The Stations of the Cross lead through the markets of the Old City to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here is the site of Calvary and the Tomb of Christ. Proceed to a visit to the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the heart of the Old City for Sunday Service. We then visit the Church of St. Anne's, the Pool of Bethesda and the Sisters of Zion. You will have free time to spend in the Old City. Dinner and overnight.

This morning we will travel down the Jordan Valley to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Take the cable carto the top of Masada to learn about the heroic last stand of the Zealots. Afterwards, there may be time for a dip in the Dead Sea for those who want to. Drive through the Judean Wilderness where Jesus spent 40 days fasting and John the Baptist lived and baptized Christ. Then to Bethany where He raised Lazarus from the dead before returning to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we travel across the Sheikh Hussein Northern Border into Jordan. We drive to Jerash, nestled in a quiet valley among the mountains of Gilead is the grandeur of Imperial Rome-one of the most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. To this day, its paved and colonnaded streets, hilltop temples, handsome theaters, spacious public squares and plazas, baths fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates, remain in exceptional condition. We continue on to our hotel in Petra. We enjoy a delicious buffet dinner at our hotel before retiring for the evening.

After breakfast, we enjoy a walking tour that begins with a visit to the Siq to the Treasury. Continue through the main street with magnificent structures on each side carved into the mountains, to the colonnaded street and ending at the Petra Museum. Lose yourself in the history of the Nabateans who meticulously carved massive structures out of the rose colored sandstone. See the influence of the people that followed, including the architecture of the mighty Romans and a beautiful Byzantine chapel decorated with ancient, stunning mosaics that have been carefully preserved. Dinner and overnight in Petra.

After breakfast, we are off to Madeba to visit St. George Church. Then off to Mt. Nebo where Moses was laid to rest and where the late Pope John Paul II tread on his first pilgrimage of the millennium. Visit the Sanctuary at Nebo: the memorial of Moses, the presumed site of his death and burial place and a center for pilgrimages since early Christian times. You will be inspired by the Biblical feel from start to finish as you experience this divine tour. Mount Nebo is one of the most revered holy sites of Jordan. The site's association with the last days of Moses is described in moving words in Deuteronomy. The episode of Balak and Balam (2:13-26) also took place here.

Depart Amman and arrive home in New York.

*206 Tours Disclaimer: Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of places to be visited. Occasionally local religious holidays, national days, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of visits or the missing of certain visits.