ISRAEL TOUR 2024
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT
$7,445 twin share / $1,585 single room supplement (prices are in AUD). Price includes airfares and meals as indicated. (The cost and itinerary are subject to change at any time at the discretion of Inner Faith Travel due to currency fluctuations, airfare increases or airline schedule changes from the time of publication.) It is strongly advisable that all travellers have Covid Insurance Cover. Call Inner Faith Travel for competitive pricing on comprehensive travel insurance.
SCHEDULE
Wednesday • 10 January
Depart Melbourne for your flight to Amman, Jordan on Emirates Airlines. (Departure from other cities are available upon request)
Thursday • 11 January
Upon arrival we will be met by IFT representatives and be transferred toour hotel for rest and relaxation. (D) Overnight Amman.
Friday • 12 January
After breakfast, we will transfer to the Rose City of ancient Petra. Petra is magnificent and is referred to in the bible as the City of Refuge. After exploring for the day, we travel back up the Kings Highway to overnight in Amman. (B-D) Overnight in Amman
Saturday • 13 January
After our delicious Middle Eastern breakfast, we leave for the “promised land” via Mt Nebo and stand where Moses stood. We enter Israel via the Allenby Bridge where we are met by our tour guides. A short trip takes us to our resort hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea. The rest of the day is free for a swim and enjoying the resort facilities. (B-D) Overnight Dead Sea
Sunday • 14 January
Our day begins with travelling down to Beersheba, “well of the oath” or “seven wells”. This is an ancient city that was significant for the patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac, and has an indelible link to Australia and NZ and the Light Horse Brigade. We will visit the Light Horse Museum and meet with a Messianic Jewish leader, Howard. We travel through the town of Sderot on the edge of the Gaza Strip. Sderot tells the story of missiles fired from Gaza and transformed into works of art by the locals. We continue along the Mediterranean coast to Israel’s Capital Tel Aviv. (B-D) Overnight Tel Aviv
Monday • 15 January
2,500 years ago the prophet Isaiah asked this question, “Shall a nation be born in one moment (day)?” Then tells us, for as soon as Zion was in labour, she gave birth to her children. Our day starts with a visit to Dizengoff House where David Ben Gurion declared Israel an Independent nation on
Tour Itinerary
10 – 24 January 2024
May 14th, 1948. A poignant reminder that Israel is still God’s covenant people and the land is their inheritance. A short trip to the ancient port city of Joppa and Simon the Tanner’s house where Peter had the vision that led to the revelation that the Good News is for Gentiles as well. Then we head north to the town where the story that started in Joppa ends, Caesarea, the home town of Cornelius. It was also the site of Herod’s palace. From there we travel to Mt. Carmel (Muchraka) where Elijah called down fire from heaven. Our day ends at Haifa’s Hanging Gardens at sunset. (B-D) Overnight Haifa.
Tuesday • 16 January
We travel to ancient port city of Acre. An important city that connected Israel and Europe during the crusades. The launching place for endless battles, for control over Jerusalem, battles that continues to this day. From Acre we head to the Sea of Galilee via Kfar Haruv for a panoramic view of Galilee. (B-D) Overnight Galilee
Wednesday • 17 January
We wake to an amazing view as we look out over the peaceful Sea of Galilee. We will visit the ruins of the three towns mentioned in the rebuke. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; (Matthew 11:20-24) We finish the morning with a visit to the ruins of another town of the region, Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene from whom Jesus cast out seven demons and was the first person to see the resurrected Messiah. We will enjoy St Peter’s Fish lunch (included in tour price). Remember how Jesus walked on water? Our special, traditional sailing vessel will take us across the Sea of Galilee, stopping in the middle for a time of worship and reflection. Rejoice! Jesus is alive! On the shores of Galilee there will be an opportunity for participants to be baptised and rededicated. (B-L-D) Overnight Galilee
Thursday • 18 January
After our breakfast, we leave the Galilee region and travel on to Nazareth the hometown of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We stop at “Nazareth Village” an open-air museum, that reconstructs and re-enacts village life in the Galilee in the time of Jesus. The village features houses, terraced fields, wine and olive presses all built to resemble those that would have been in a Galilee village in the 1st century. Our time in the village ends in the synagogue, from where Jesus was taken to Mount Precipice and the town’s people sought to kill Him.
From Nazareth we travel to the new city of Jerusalem, we see the Knesset, and spend time at the Israeli Shuk (Machane Yehuda market). Walking through the market’s alleyways is a good opportunity to meet Jerusalem and its fascinating human mosaic. (B-D) Overnight Jerusalem
Friday • 19 January (Erev Shabbat)
Early in the morning, we leave Jerusalem for the Judean wilderness. Our first stop will be Masada, the site of the last heroic three-year stand of 960 Jewish defenders against the Roman Empire. We continue onto a truly amazing oasis in the desert, En Gedi, the place where David hid from King Saul. Then onto Qumran, where the dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Shabbat of a Lifetime (eat with Jewish families) (B-D) Overnight Jerusalem
Saturday • 20 January
Today our tour takes us to the birthplace of Jesus and King David, Bethlehem, where we meet Pastor Naim with an update about Christianity in the Palestinian Territories. Back to the Old City for a panoramic view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. From here we have an iconic view of the “Old City”, the Temple Mount and the Golden Gate. A day is coming when Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives and lead all who embraced His grace in victory into Jerusalem through that gate and His kingdom will be established and the covenant fulfilled. We walk down the “Palm Sunday Walk” following in the footsteps Jesus took and enter the Old City through the Lion’s Gate. We also stroll through St Annes and the ruins of the Pool of Bethesda. Tonight, a real treat at the “Tower of David”, as we watch a Sound and Light show. (B-D) Overnight Jerusalem
Sunday • 21 January
The morning is spent in the Old City. Isaiah says, “Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob” We go up onto the Temple Mount which is a truly awe-inspiring moment. We tour the City of David this includes a 3D movie, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Steps of the Temple Mount and Western Wall. Jewish Quarter including the Cardo. We finish with a visit to the Temple Institute. In the afternoon we visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. (B-D) Overnight Jerusalem
Monday • 22 January
We go to the Israel Museum including the 2nd Temple Model and see what Jerusalem looked like at the time of Jesus. Shrine of the Book, a museum to the scrolls found at Qumran allows us to view some of the oldest fragments of scripture. We also visit the Burnt House, Hurva (Burnt) Synagogue, Tower of David and the Upper Room and Mount Zion. Friends of Zion Museum. (B-D) Overnight Jerusalem
Tuesday • 23 January
Our last day begins at a place where the greatest victory took place – the Garden Tomb. Here we will celebrate a Communion service with the empty tomb in the background. The serenity of the place makes it a spiritual oasis within a bustling city. We go from Jerusalem to Ben Gurion Airport for our flight home. We leave Israel with bountiful memories of our time in God’s Land. (B)
Wednesday • 24 January
Late evening arrival back into Australia
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