Multicultural Heritage Accessible Trip- Olga Shadova – May 2023

Activities:

• Welcome to Israel! - Arrival at Ben Gurion airport. Your VIP agent will be waiting to greet you at the sleeve of the plane. After assisting with arrival procedures and collecting your baggage, you will be taken to meet your driver.

• Transfer to Tel Aviv & check-in to your hotel - Please note: check-in time is at 6pm on a Saturday. If you arrive early you can leave your luggage in the storage room.

• Time to explore on your own - Suggestions:
  - walk along Tel Aviv beach promenade.
  - Visit Neve Tzedek neighborhood
  - Check out the local Carmel Market (tasting tour is available)
  - Guided tour of the city is available (history, architecture etc.)
  - Israeli Art collection in the Tel Aviv Art Museum (guided tour with an artist is available)

• Dan Panorama Tel Aviv

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Meet your guide at your hotel and start out on your special journey.

• Independence Trail - Spend the morning getting to know the history of Tel Aviv through the Independence Trail which follows Tel Aviv’s heritage sites beginning at the intersection of tree-lined Rothschild Boulevard and Herzl Street, home to Tel Aviv’s first kiosk and ends across the street at Independence Hall, where on May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion read aloud the Declaration of Independence as Israel was declared an independent Jewish state. Become familiar with Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus architecture and Zionist history.

• Have a quick lunch of some of Israel Street Food- pita required!

• Caesarea National Park - Drive to the coastal Caesarea which reveals the wonders of the past that were built by one of the greatest builders of the ancient world, Herod. Caesarea’s antiquities park houses unique building from various periods, bearing silent witness to the upheavals that have visited Caesarea and the region over the past 2,300 years.

• Druze home hospitality - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy the feast you create. Learn about Druze culture and history from your hosts and from the food you eat.

• Check into hotel

• Dinner at the hotel

• Galilee

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Tel Dan Nature reserve - Tel Dan National Park combines a lush nature reserve with a biblical archaeological experience and includes a short wheelchair- accessible trail. At the heart of the park is “Tel Dan”- the capital of the ancient northern Israeli biblical kingdom.

• Golan Heights - Drive to Mount Bental for a geopolitical discussion overlooking the Israeli-Syrian border. The Golan Heights are a geological and biogeographical region and is a plateau formed by a volcanic action.

• Lunch on rout

• Golan Heights Winery - Enjoy a tour and wine tastings of the world-known winery.

• Afternoon visit to the Hula Valley - Take a ride on a golf cart through the Hula Valley, an important resting place for migrating birds and many species of rare fish and plants creating a wonderland of flora and fauna. Allows you an extra-close observation of birds and other animals in their natural habitat at Agamon Hula.

• Dinner on own

• Galilee

Activities:

• Breakfast and check out from the hotel

• Tour of Capernaum - Located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum was a fishing village in the days of Jesus. This is where Jesus called his first disciples, the brothers Peter and Andrew. The remains of the ancient village were excavated starting the 19th century - some of the findings are a testimony to the rich Jewish lives in the early Roman times, and the existence of a Judeo-Christian community as Christianity grew and evolved in the land. Amongst other astonishing relics, we can still visit a very well-preserved synagogue and remains of the House of Peter and the Byzantine church that was built over it. A modern octagonal church is situated above the site nowadays - its glass floor allows a look at the remains under it. As the place in which Jesus, Peter, and the Apostles lived and preached, Capernaum is a main site of pilgrimage for Christians.

• Optional stop: Tamar Bakfar - Learn about the centrality of the date to Israeli culture and taste samples of different dates.

• Lunch on rout

• Drive through the Jordan Valley on the way to Jerusalem

• Visit Qasr el Yahud - According to tradition, Qasr el Yahud (Arabic: Tower of the Jews) is the baptismal site on the Jordan river, marking Jesus’ spiritual birth. As John the Baptist called the People of Judea to baptize in the Jordan River, he was referring to a long-existing sentiment in Jewish heritage towards the river: present in numerous miraculous stories, this is where the ancient Hebrews crossed to enter the Land of Israel, and where the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven (Joshua 3:15-17, Kings 2 2:1-17). It was regarded as a sacred body of water, prominent in the scripts - it is mentioned 167 times in the Hebrew Bible (!!) - more than any river, stream, lake, or sea in the Old Testament.
  Today Qasr el Yahud is an integral part of any pilgrimage tour, and twice a year, mass baptisms are arranged on this site.

• Approach Jerusalem - When you enter Jerusalem stop for a panoramic lookout over the old & new city of Jerusalem. Make a toast and say together the "Shehecheyanu" blessing – appreciating the moment and the opportunity to be in Jerusalem.

• Check in and Dinner at the hotel

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Begin your day at the Jaffa Gate - Enter the Old City of Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate. Walk through the Christian quarter and see some of the important sites in Christianity.

• Tour the Jewish Quarter of the Old City - Visit the Byzantine Cardo, and the artifacts uncovered during archaeological excavations exposing two thousand years of Jewish history in the Old City till present day.

• Church of the Holy Sepulchre - The Holy Sepulchre is situated on the hill called Golgotha or Calvary. The Church contains the last five Stations of the Cross including the sites of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Several Christian denominations claim ownership to various parts of the site so holy to Christendom.

• Lunch on your own in the old city

• Davidson Center - Visit the fascinating Southern Wall Archaeological Park that surrounds the lower part of the Temple Mount from West and South.

• Proceed to the Kotel (The Western Wall) - Sacred because it is one of the last remnants of the Second Temple that was destroyed by the Romans. Feel the stones that have witnessed so much in the history of the Jews. Place your special and personal prayer in the cracks of the stones.

• Return to the hotel to rest & dinner on own

• Optional: Tower of David Sound and Light Show - Amidst the archaeological remains in the David Citadel courtyard the story of Jerusalem unfolds through virtual reality images. The Night Spectacular uses trompe l'oeil technology – the stones of the walls and structures fade into the scenes and the viewers are part of a multi-sensory experience.

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel

• Drive to the Dead Sea region, the lowest place on earth

• Tour of Masada - Masada is a rugged natural fortress, of majestic beauty, in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is built as a palace complex, by Herod the Great, King of Judaea, (reigned 37 – 4 B.C.). Became a symbol of the ancient kingdom of Israel, and the last stand of Jewish patriots in the face of the Roman army, in 73 A.D. Ascend Masada by cable car and tour the site.

• Dead Sea - lunch and swim - Continue to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. Have time to enjoy and relax on the beach and pool area at one of the hotels on the shore of the sea. Attempt flotation in a sea that is 33% salt and keeps you buoyant. Lunch at the hotel included.

• Return to Jerusalem

• Tasting tour in the Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem, a bustling multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor, a tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market is an adventure for your taste buds. Enjoy the hustle and bustle with all the rich fragrances, colors, and sounds this iconic Jerusalem market offers.

• Jerusalem

Activities:

• Breakfast at the hotel & check-out

• Private tour of the museum at Yad Vashem - Israel’s National Memorial to the Holocaust. Tour this memorial to the darkest moment in world and Jewish history, its children’s memorial, and exquisite gardens. Yad Vashem is an unforgettable place of tribute and remembrance

• Visit the Israel Museum - This is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums. The Museum houses encyclopedic collections, including works dating from prehistory to the present day, in its Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Jewish Art and Life Wings, and features the most extensive holdings of biblical and Holy Land archaeology in the world. Don't miss out The Shire of the Book.

• Farewell lunch (on own)

• Depart - Proceed to Ben Gurion airport and depart home

• We look forward to hosting you again in our beautiful country