Classic Israel

Day 1 - Fly UK / Tel Aviv
Fly to Tel Aviv, and transfer to Jerusalem where your home for the next fur nights is the King David Hotel.

Day 2 - New City of Jerusalem / Bethlehem / Jerusalem
Today's sightseeing begins with a visit to Yad Vashem - the Jewish people's memorial to the six million lives lost to the Holocaust. Containing the world's largest repository of information on the Holocaust, you visit the museum and walk along the Street of the Righteous, dedicated to the non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust. Then drive past the Knesset, Israel's Parliament en route to your visit to the Israel Museum. Here you will see the fascinating Model of Jerusalem as it was during the time of the Second Temple and the Shrine of the Book, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls. From here, it's on to Bethlehem, where you visit the Church of the Nativity, which rests over the cave where Jesus was born.  

Day 3 - The Old City of Jerusalem
A day around the remarkable Old City begins with a drive to the Mount of Olives for a wonderful view of Jerusalem. At the foot of the hill you will see the Garden of Gethsemane with its ancient olive trees. This is the place where Judas is believed to have betrayed Christ.

Continue to the Old City to visit the Western (or Wailing) Wall and view the Al-Aksa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Visit the Davidson Centre to get an archaeological overview of the Temple complex; a place now fiercely contested by Jews and Moslems. From here continue along part of the Via Dolorosa past the Convent of Zion Sisters, formerly the Antonia Fortress, and the huge cistern and the Lithostrotos (pavement) with its soldiers' games. The Stations of the Cross lead through the bazaars and on to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre - the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

You then leave the Old City at Mt Zion to view St. Peter in Gallicantu, which was built over the palace of the High Priest Caiaphas. Your busy day of sightseeing will also include stops at the traditional Tomb of King David and the Upper Room, the location where the Last Supper is believed to haven taken place.

Day 4 - Jerusalem / Masada / Qumran / Jerusalem
Today travel along the Dead Sea to Masada, where you take the cable-car up to the last stronghold of the Zealots. Some 2000 years ago, Roman legions stormed one of the two paths to the top of this sandstone mountain to reach the Jewish Zealots headquartered there. The brave Israelite soldiers held out for three years against the invading Roman army before taking their own lives to avoid capture and enslavement. Many of their fortifications, originally built by King Herod, still stand. After visiting Masada, stop at Qumran Caves, located on the Dead Sea's northern shore, and the place where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947 by a young Bedouin shepherd.  

Day 5 - Jerusalem / Beit Shean / Nazareth / Tiberias
Today you journey north into the Jordan valley to Beit Shean, the biblical Scythopolis, to visit Israel's best preserved Roman amphitheatre. You also make a stop at Beit Alpha to visit the Old Synagogue and mosaic floors. From here, continue on to Nazareth, the town where Jesus spent much of his life. During your time in Nazareth you will visit the Basilica of the Annunciation built on the spot where the Archangel Gabriel is supposed to have informed the Virgin Mary that God had chosen her to bear His son. You will also visit Mary's Well, the Church of St. Gabriel and the basement of the Church of St. Joseph that contains a cavern said to have been the carpentry workshop of Joseph, before continuing on to Cana - the site where Christ's first miracle took place. At the conclusion of your sightseeing you continue overland to Tiberias and on to your hotel the Scots Hotel.

Day 6 - Tiberias / Sea of Galilee / Golan Heights / Banias / Tiberias
This morning enjoy a 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 before you continue on to the Mount of Beatitudes, the site where Christ gave his famous Sermon on the Mount.

In the afternoon drive up to the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and stop at Banias, one of the sources of the River Jordan. Here you see the archaeological remains of this sacred place that span the Pagan, Jewish, Roman, Byzantine and Muslim eras.

Day 8 - Tiberias / Acre / Haifa / Caesarea / Tel Aviv
Drive to Acre, one of the world's oldest seaports designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Acre was the main base for the Crusades and today you can see the stunning halls and buildings of the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templars. After walking through the market bazaar leave for Haifa, where you view the magnificent Persian Gardens at the Bahai Shrine.

You then continue down the coast to Caesarea, where you see the contrast from "new" to "old". This 2000 year old city - built to honor Augustus Caesar - was once the capital of the Roman province and was later occupied by the Crusaders. Today, you find a wealth of Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Crusader ruins in the area, as well as the harbour from which St. Paul was taken prisoner to Rome. Near the excavated theatre, you can view a partial inscription mentioning Pontius Pilate. At the conclusion of your sightseeing, you continue on to Tel Aviv and your hotel the David InterContinental.

Day 8 - Tel Aviv & Ancient Jaffa
Start the day in Tel Aviv to see Independence Hall, Rabin Square, and the part of the city designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site due to its architecture. In the afternoon visit Carmel Market and Old Jaffa, a port town several thousand years old, visit an artist's studio and the quirky and unusual flea and antique market.

In the evening walk along the lively Sea Promenade to enjoy the "show". The old Neve Dzedek neighbourhood, now enjoying a renewal, has a wide range of restaurants to choose from for dinner. Overnight at the David Intercontinental.

Day 9 - Tel Aviv / Depart
You will be transferred from your hotel to Tel Aviv airport for your flight back to the UK.

Pricing
At A&K all of our journeys are individually tailored to suit your needs and timescale. However, as a guide, this 9 day Israel holiday will cost from £3,695 per person based on two adults sharing with flights from the UK and subject to availability.