Beth Judea 18 Oct 2020 - 01 Nov 2020 (15 Days 14 Nights) ITINERARY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 18 Oct 2020 19 Oct 2020 20 Oct 2020 21 Oct 2020 22 Oct 2020 23 Oct 2020 24 Oct 2020 Arrival to Tel Aviv Mediterranean Golan Heigths Galilee Jordan Valley Old Jerusalem Judean Desert Coast WEEK I Royal Beach Mitzpe Hayamim Mitzpe Hayamim Mitzpe Hayamim Orient Hotel, Orient Hotel, Orient Hotel, Hotel, Tel Aviv. Hotel, Rosh Pina. Hotel, Rosh Pina. Hotel, Rosh Pina. Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Jerusalem. 25 Oct 2020 26 Oct 2020 27 Oct 2020 28 Oct 2020 29 Oct 2020 30 Oct 2020 31 Oct 2020 Jerusalem Geopolitical Old Jaffa Tel Aviv Departure / Petra, Jordan Eilat- Leisure Day! Jerusalem extension tour To NO Guide WEEK II Orient Hotel, Orient Hotel, Royal Beach Royal Beach The Negev In Eilat In Eilat Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Hotel, Tel Aviv. Hotel, Tel Aviv. In Eilat 01 Nov 2020 Departure WEEK III DAY 1 - ARRIVAL TO TEL AVIV Sun, 18 Oct 2020 ■ VIP Arrival Upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, a representative will meet you at the exit of the plane and escort you through all incoming procedures (passport control, baggage claim, customs, etc.). We have also arranged ground transportation to your hotel. ■ Welcome dinner in Tel Aviv Overnight: Royal Beach Hotel, Tel Aviv. DAY 2 - MEDITERRANEAN COAST Mon, 19 Oct 2020 ■ Tour Starts 8:30 a.m your Touring Israel guides will meet you in the lobby of your hotel and you will begin your tour from there ■ Caesarea National Park The ancient city of Caesarea was built in the 1st century BCE by Herod the Great, became the Roman and Byzantine capital of the district and was later rebuilt by the Crusaders. At the time of Herod, it was the 3rd largest port in the ancient world. Today’s National Park includes a large Roman theatre where concerts are still enjoyed in the summer season, a hippodrome, a Roman bathhouse, mosaic floors, warehouses, a Crusader fortress and a beautiful ancient aqueduct. ■ Haifa Drive through Haifa, Israel’s third largest city, as it rises from the Mediterranean and spreads over Mount Carmel. Haifa is a working-class city with its port and heavy industry. It is a mixed city of Israeli Jews and Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, who live side by side and make it work. We will enjoy a magnificent view of the Bay of Haifa, the northern coast and the Western Galilee. We will visit the lookout over the Baha’i Gardens, where we will learn how Haifa became the world center of the Baha’i religion. ■ Old Akko You will visit Akko (Acre), a city where Israeli Christians, Jews and Muslims live side by side. The first inhabitants of Akko settled on the hill east of today’s city about 5,000 years ago. During the Hellenistic period, the city expanded west to the area that later became the Crusader and Ottoman city. Descend below ground level into the Hospitaller Knights Halls, a unique UNESCO Heritage site, and transport yourselves back 800 years to a time of knights, medieval kings and the pivotal center of the battleground between Europe and the Middle East. ■ Dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Mitzpe Hayamim Hotel, Rosh Pina. DAY 3 - GOLAN HEIGTHS Tue, 20 Oct 2020 ■ Kobi Marom Join Kobi for a special tour along the Israeli-Syrian armistice line (border) in the Golan Heights. You will hear about the Yom Kippur and Six Day Wars, Kobi will give briefings on the latest security developments from the region and updates on the Syrian Civil War. Drive along trails in the Golan Heights, past Druze and Jewish communities and hidden spots close to the border. Security Permitting, you will visit an Israeli Army Base in the Galilee or Golan area where you will have the opportunity to meet Israeli soldier's and witness their hard work from up-close. Colonel Marom (reserves) is an expert on Hamas, Hezbollah and other radical movements operating in the Middle East today. He is currently a Research Associate at The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel. (2.5 - 3 hour tour) Please note: Visiting an army base is subject to the security situation at the time of the tour and can be cancelled unexpectedly ■ Home Hospitality with Local Family In Magdal Shams at Druze family Farm House, It's now time for a very special culinary treat and a fascinating cultural encounter at an Israeli Druze village. We offer you a rare opportunity to break bread with a local family in their home, where you will hear about village life in the Galilee and Druze life in the Holy Land. You will dine at their table, sampling an assortment of authentic Galilean fare, in keeping with local culinary traditions. ■ Mount Bental Overlook A dormant volcano located on the Golan Heights, the view from the peak of Mt. Bental overlooks the Syrian border and is an excellent setting for the study of the Six Day War (1967), Yom Kippur War (1973) and the current situation in war-torn Syria. ■ Golan Winery Take a tour and enjoy a wine tasting at the world-renowned Golan Heights Winery. Learn about the special, volcanic soil of the Golan Heights and how it nourishes and grows rich, delicious fruit, including grapes. These grapes are grown by several communities on the Golan Heights that banded together to form a cooperative winery. Golan Heights Winery has become one of Israel’s leading wineries and has garnished many prizes and awards. ■ Dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Mitzpe Hayamim Hotel, Rosh Pina. DAY 4 - GALILEE Wed, 21 Oct 2020 ■ Tzfat Known as the birthplace of Jewish mysticism, several thousand Jews headed towards the Land of Israel after their expulsion from Spain in 1492 invited by the Ottoman sultan to re-establish Jewish life in the Galilee. They settled in Tzfat (Safed) and for the next century this city became the most important Jewish community in the world. Today, we can visit several historic synagogues and learn about Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. The Artists’ Quarter is full of Judaic, contemporary art galleries and studios. A real shopper’s delight! ■ meeting with artist David Friedman discussion about his art work visit his website https://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/ ■ Gourmet Picnic with Chef Tal Enjoy a delectable banquet at a breathtaking outdoor location catered by a private chef who prepares a tasty and theatrical culinary feast. The one and only Chef Tal Zohar and his mobile kitchen are standing by to go to any lengths to prepare a gastronomic experience like no other. And the food is only the beginning… ■ Rosh Pinna Rosh Pina, is a small, picturesque town located in the Upper Galilee. It was originally founded in 1865 by a group of Jews from nearby Tzfat as the first attempt to build a Jewish farming community in the modern era. Due to drought and Bedouin attacks, the farmers eventually gave up and abandoned the site. A few years later in 1882, thirty Jewish families from Romania reestablished the community and renamed it Rosh Pina. Today the town is known for its quaint cobble stone streets, quality B&Bs and eateries. ■ Agamon HaHula Israel is one of the world’s bottlenecks for bird migration and 500 million birds a year fly over our tiny country, seeking to rest and refuel on their way south to Africa and back up north to Europe and Asia. Many of these birds can be seen at the Hula Valley. The Agamon Hula lake and swamps are home to tens of thousands of aquatic birds, along with many species of rare plants and fish, creating a wondrous world of flora and. Visitors can tour the park on a variety of bicycles, golf carts, or on guided tours in a Safari Wagon, as well as special tours, according to the season.Safari Wagon guided tour ■ Dinner at the hotel. Overnight: Mitzpe Hayamim Hotel, Rosh Pina. DAY 5 - JORDAN VALLEY Thu, 22 Oct 2020 ■ Old Gesher On the drive down the Jordan Valley, visit Old Gesher (Bridge), where one can still see the remains of bridges from Roman and Ottoman times and the first water-generated power plant built on the junction of the Yarmouch and Jordan Rivers. It is also where a fierce battle was fought between members of Kibbutz Gesher and the Iraqi Army during the War of Independence ■ BioBee Tour at Sde Eliyahu Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, located in the Valley of Springs, is a religious kibbutz and the pioneer of commercial organic farming and biological pest control in Israel. You may tour the kibbutz and learn what it means to live on a collective religious kibbutz. Sde Eliyahu, founded in 1939, has a lot of history. You can also learn about organic farming, which makes organic farming "organic", and the importance of such methods to our health and the environment. And then, you may tour BioBee, the first biological pest control facility in Israel, and a world leader in the field. See live samples of beneficial insects and our bumble bees, which are used for pollination. ■ Buffet lunch in the kibbutz dinning hall ■ Drive through Jordan Valley Travel through the Jordan Valley, a tectonic fault connected to the Syrian-African Rift. It is the largest geological fault in the world, extending from East Africa to the Middle East. The Jordan Valley has a fascinating story to tell, both ancient and modern, and includes amazing archaeological and historical sites as Beit She’an, Belvoir and Jericho. It also houses some of the most interesting geographical locations on the planet including the Sea of Galilee, located at 600 ft below sea level and the Dead Sea, located at 1,200 ft below sea level and is the lowest point on Earth.