After an early breakfast we enter the Old City, where everyday life and customs within narrow, crooked streets have remained virtually unchanged for centuries. We will see the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site. We hope to be among those allowed entrance to the Temple Mount where we may see the place Abraham would have sacrificed Isaac, where Jesus ministered, and where the ancient Jewish temples stood. We have the unique privilege of working alongside archaeologists as we sift through soil from beneath the Temple Mount looking for ancient Temple-era artifacts. In the reconstructed Jewish Quarter we can see the Ancient Cardo and Hezekiah’s Broad Wall, testaments of the past. Along the way, we will meet some friends who will answer many of your questions about Jewish life and will have some really great shopping tips! In the early evening we will stroll through Machaneh Yehudah, the wonderful outdoor market where native Jerusalemites buy their food. The sights and smells of everything from fish to fresh-baked bread will stir your appetite. Dinner and overnight at the Guesthouse in Jerusalem.

We now visit the sites of Jesus' life that occurred in and around Jerusalem. We climb to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane. We cross the Kidron Valley to the Old City where we will retrace Jesus' final steps along the Via Dolorosa. There will be time for shopping in the exotic Moslem Quarter. We continue to the Garden Tomb, possible site of Jesus' burial. We enter the City of David and walk over the area of King David's palace and then take out our flashlights for a walk through one of the marvels of King Hezekiah's reign: the Water Tunnel. Leaving the Tunnel, we will stand beside the recently discovered Pool of Siloam. We will view Bethlehem where David and Jesus were born and continue to the valley of HaElah, where we will each choose 5 smooth stones from the battleground of David and Goliath. Dinner with some Christian home schooling families of Israel, overnight at the Guesthouse in Jerusalem.
We travel today in the direction of Judea to Hebron, infused with the awesome sanctity of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, burial place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah and according to tradition, Adam and Eve. In Hebron we will see the possible archaeological site of King David’s Palace from the time when he ruled in Hebron for seven and a half years. We now drive south to Tel Arad, one of the richest archaeological sites in southern Israel. Here Moses' spies began to encounter walled cities and returned to camp with a bad report. We proceed to our camp area for a camel ride into the desert and dinner in a Bedouin Tent. Dinner and sleeping in a Bedouin Tent in the Negev Desert.

Day 10 - Friday, Sept 2: Northern Regions
Today we head north along the Jordan River Valley for the northern lands of the Galilee. We pass the world's oldest town, Jericho, home of Rahab the harlot, and the location where Joshua entered the Land after 40 years in the Wilderness. On the way we will discuss many of the people of the Bible: David's flight from his son, Absalom; Jacob wrestling with an angel; the hometown areas of Elijah and Elisha; Mt. Gilboa, and many more. We will explore Beit Shean, governmental seat of “Galilee of the Gentiles” (the Decapolis) and Israel’s largest Roman-era archaeological site containing theaters, baths, a central cardo, temples, a basilica and many monuments and fountains. It is one of the ancient Near East’s oldest cities.