Day 16 – Saturday, March 23: Garden Tomb, Drive to Southern Border & Cross into Jordan (for most), Free Afternoon (for some)   Today was our last day together as a group. Because of Turkish Air not flying in and out of Israel the last few months, 22 of us had a long “road trip” today. It was a beautiful morning here on Shabbat morning in Jerusalem, with sunny skies and highs in the 60s (warmer down south). We read from Philippians 3 as we left the hotel at 8:45 a.m.   Garden Tomb Your one and only visit as a full group was the Garden Tomb. This is an alternative location for the ..read more

Day 15 – Friday, March 22: City of David, Southern Excavations, Herodium, Bethlehem   Today was another full day here in Jerusalem. We had to adjust our plans a few times, given the fact that today was Friday. The day included adventure (Hezekiah’s Tunnel & Drainage Tunnel), walking (through Old City), and archaeology (City of David, Herodium). We had full sun, but with cooler temps in the high 50s. We read from Psalm 48 as we left the hotel.   City of David/Hezekiah Tunnel We started the day by driving today’s Mt. Zion and walking (because of closed roads) to the City of D ..read more

Day 14 – Thursday, March 21: Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, Israel Museum, Mt. of Olives, Old City: Pools of Bethesda, Holy Sepulcher, Old City   Today was our first full day in Jerusalem. The day included two museums and a wonderful view of the Old City from the Mt. of Olives. We also entered the Old City in the afternoon. The weather was perfect, with sunny skies and highs in the mid 60s.   Yad Vashem Our first stop in the morning required us to drive to West Jerusalem. Here we visited the Israel’s Holocaust Museum & Memorial. It is called Yad Vashem, named after a verse in Isaia ..read more

Day 13 – Wednesday, March 20: Precipice of Nazareth, Megiddo, Mt. Carmel, Caesarea, Jerusalem, Western Wall   This morning we depart the Galilee towards Jerusalem. We checked out of our hotel at 7:30 enroute to the area of Nazareth. The showers continued off and on this morning, but the skies gradually cleared to sunny skies by the afternoon. High temps reached about 70 in the afternoon at Caesarea. We read the kingdom parables from Matthew as we departed.   Precipice of Nazareth We drove south through the Lower Galilee to the Precipice of Nazareth. The visibility from here was fair ..read more

Day 11 – Monday, March 18: Gamla, Qatzrin, Hippos, Khirbet Cana   Today was a southern Golan Heights day. Because of Lebanon, we could not travel any further than Katzrin. We ended the day with an adventurous experience to Cana! The weather was partly cloudy, with temps around 70, but a little cooler once we got to Cana in the late afternoon. It still has not rained, however, tomorrow some showers are predicted.   Gamla We drove around the northern end of the lake before turning south on the eastern side. We first ascended into the Golan Heights and stopped for an overlook of the no ..read more

Day 10 – Sunday, March 17: Wadi Qelt, Shiloh, Beth Shean, Mt. Gilboa, Tiberias   Today we traveled from the Dead Sea area to Tiberias in the north along the Sea of Galilee. Our travels once again included great sites and experiences along the way. The weather was partly cloudy today, with high temps around the low 70s. We read from portions of Psalm 61-63 and Luke 10 as we drove off from the hotel following breakfast and checkout.   Wadi Qelt En route to Shiloh, we made a stop overlooking a specific part of the Judean Desert called the Wadi Qelt. We were fortunate to get permission ..read more

Day 9 – Saturday, March 16: Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, Judean Desert, Jericho   We checked out of our hotel by 7:40 this morning following a good breakfast. Today was “desert day” here in the Judean Desert. The weather was once again perfect, with mixed sun and clouds and highs around 75.   Masada The site of Masada (metzada, in Hebrew, Psalm 18:1-2) was our first site and only a 15 minute drive from our hotel. This was built in the early 30s BC as a palace-fortress by Herod the Great. We took the cable car to the top and began seeing the ruins from the 1st century. We saw huge ciste ..read more

Day 8 – Friday, March 15: Southern Border Crossing into Israel, Red Sea, Timnah, Dead Sea   Staying here in the desert last night was really a fun experience. But today we cross into Israel! Following breakfast, we left Wadi Rum and drove to the southern border to cross into Israel.  Leaving at 8 a.m., we read from Obadiah about the Edomites. The weather was again sunny, with warm temps around 80.   Rabin Southern Border Crossing It took about 50 minutes to arrive at the border crossing. Located at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, we cross from Aqaba, Jordan to Elat, Isra ..read more

Day 7 – Thursday, March 14: Petra, Wadi Rum, Captain’s Bedouin Village   Following a good night’s sleep here in Wadi Musa (Petra) and a great breakfast, we walked to the site of ancient Petra by 7:10 a.m. It was a remarkable day here in this red-rose city of the Nabateans. The morning weather was cool (mid 50s) but with perfect temps (high 60s) and full sun all day. We prayed and sang our Oh, the Sun’s Coming Up song as we walked to the entrance of the site.   Petra Petra, this ancient Nabatean city was built within the Seir Mountains, the land of the Edomites (Deuteronomy 2, 33; Ez ..read more

Day 5 – Tuesday, March 12: Valley of Kings, Temples of Medinet Habu & Hatshepsut, Felucca Boat Ride on Nile River, Flight to Cairo    Following a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast, we departed from our hotel at 8 a.m. It was another great day here in Egypt as we crossed the Nile River to the western side. The weather was predictably sunny again, with highs around 85. We read portions from Exodus  as we departed.   Valley of the Kings  We boarded the bus and drove directly to the Valley of the Kings. 63 pharaohs have been buried here since the start of the N ..read more