Atlanta Hiking Group 
ISRAEL HIKING EXPERIENCE

Sunday November 5 Departure

Departure from USA, Delta flight 152 at 11:45pm 

Monday, November 6   To the Sea of Galilee

Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport at 5:25pm.  Transfer to the North via the traditional trade route used in antiquity. Dinner along the way on your own.  Overnight: Sea of Galilee area. 

Tuesday, November 7 5000 years of history

Visit Megiddo, traditional site of Armageddon, with its impressive archaeological remains dating back 5000 years, including remains from the time of King Solomon.  Get an overview of the Galilee and the valleys where many Old Testament Bible stories took place.  Visit ancient Tzippori and visit the intersection between Roman and Jewish culture from 2000 years ago, including mosaics in private houses, public buildings, and an ancient synagogue.  At night, enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.   Return to the Guest House for dinner and recovery from jet lag. Overnight: Sea of Galilee area. 

Wednesday, November 8  Jesus in the Galilee

Visit the places where Jesus ministered in the Galilee, including Tabha (loaves and fishes), Peter's Primacy Church (Jesus appeared to Peter to appoint him first church leader), Capernaum (healing of Peter's mother-in-law) and the Mt. of Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount).  Enjoy a water hike in the Banias nature reserve, one of the sources of the Jordan River.  Overnight: Sea of Galilee area. 

Thursday, November 9  North to the Golan

Spend a day in the Golan starting at Mt. Bental, overlooking the Syrian border, to understand the military and strategic value of the Golan and its role in recent Israeli history.   Hike to the Gilaboun waterfalls.  Tour a Golan Heights winery, and taste for yourself why Israel is now a world-class wine producer.  In the late afternoon, relax in the hot springs of Hamat Gader, a place of baths since Roman times.  Overnight: Sea of Galilee area. 

Friday, November 10  Elijah on Mt. Carmel

Travel to the Carmel mountain range and visit the Mukhraka, traditional spot where Elijah confronted the priests of Ba'al.  Hike through the woods and hills of "Little Switzerland" in the Carmel Forest.  Descend to the Mediterranean to our seaside base for the weekend. Overnight: Nachsholim. 

 
Saturday, November 11  Modern and Ancient Ports

Tour the magnificent Bahai Gardens overlooking the modern port of Haifa, and tour this city which is similar to San Francisco with its steep streets, culture, and weather.  Walk among Crusader ruins in the ancient port of Acre, and hear the story of how Ahmed el Jazzar stopped Napoleon's army.  Overnight: Nachsholim. 

Sunday, November 12    Down the coast

Start the day with a seaside hike on HaBonim beach.  See the underwater archaeology museum in Nachsholim, getting a feel for the importance of shipwrecks in helping us understand the past.  Tour the magnificent ruins of Caesarea, and learn about King Herod, founder of Caesarea, and his megalomaniac plans and troubled life.  See the Roman theater, horse racing stadium, baths, and port.  Continue to the South and the desert.  Overnight: Mashabim 

Monday, November 13 The Desert in Antiquity and in Ben Gurion's Dreams

Hike a desert canyon to the Ein Avdat spring, and tour the ancient Nabatean site of Avdat and learn about the spice route that carried frankincense and myrrh from Arabia to the West in pre-Roman and Roman times.  Tour the simple dwelling of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, and hear his vision of making the desert bloom.  Enjoy a quiet sunset moment at the site of Ben Gurion's grave, the only Prime Minister of the State to e buried outside of Jerusalem in his beloved Negev Desert.  Overnight: Mashabim 

Tuesday, November 14  Craters and Camels

In the Machtesh Ramon Visitor's Center, learn how Israel's largest natural "crater" was formed.  Descend into the crater and hike at another stop along the Nabatean highway and visit the remains of a "khan," or caravan pit stop.  Ride a camel in the desert and experience a Bedouin "haflah" dinner, a desert feast in a Bedouin-style tent in the desert.  After dinner, relax on cushions in the tent with Bedouin coffee and bed down in the tent for the night.  Overnight: Havat HaNokdim. 

Wednesday, November 15 Masada, the Dead Sea, and King David

Climb up the Roman siege ramp to Masada, a fortress built by Herod where Jewish zealots held out against a Roman legion in the year 73 AD.  Walk in the beautiful desert oasis and see the waterfalls of Ein Gedi, site of the famous encounter of David and King Saul.  After an afternoon rest and dinner, take a night hike in the desert near Masada by moonlight.  Overnight: Masada Guest House. 

Thursday, November 16 The Dead Sea Scrolls and Ascent to Jerusalem

Visit Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and hear different theories on how this place was used and who used it.  After coffee at "Genesis Land", where we meet Abraham, the founder of the Jewish people, take a desert safari tour of the Judean Desert monasteries, active in Byzantine times.  Entering Jerusalem from the East, see the Old and New Cities from the Mt. of Olives, the traditional site of Jesus' ascension to heaven and site of the oldest active Jewish cemetery in the world.  Overnight: Jerusalem Youth Hostel. 

Friday, November 17 Jerusalem of Old and Jerusalem of Gold

Overlook the city from the Tayelet, traditional spot where Abraham "saw the place (future site of Jerusalem) from afar."  Tour the City of David, conquered by David 3000 years ago and capital of the Kings of Judah until the Babylonian conquest in 586 BCE.  Hike through Hezekiah's tunnel that brought the water inside the city during the Assyrian siege in ancient times.  See how Jerusalem prepares for the Jewish Sabbath, touring the open air market Mahane Yehuda.  Take a walking tour of Prophets Street, where every building is a historical treasure with a fascinating story.  Overnight: Jerusalem Youth Hostel. 

Saturday, November 18 Christian Jerusalem

Tour the Church of All Nations, the Grotto of the Agony, Mary's Tomb, and Dominus Flevit (where Jesus cried) on the slopes of the Mount of Olives and in the Kidron Valley (Gethsemane).  Walk to the Christian Quarter in the Old City, experiencing its markets, sights, sounds, and smells.  Visit the fascinating Church of the Holy Sepulchre, with its complicated politics, ownership, customs, and mysteries.  On Saturday night, watch the city come alive again after the Jewish Sabbath.  Overnight: Jerusalem Youth Hostel. 

Sunday, November 19 David and Goliath and the Jerusalem Hills

Participate in an active archaeological dig in caves that were later used as hiding places during the Bar Kochba rebellion against the Romans in 132-5 AD.  See the Roman town of Beit Guvrin, where gladiators fought and where the Crusaders later built a church whose foundations are still there today.  Visit Tel Azeka, overlooking the Elah Valley, where David killed Goliath, and identify the locations of the Phillistine and Israelite armies according to the Biblical description.  Enjoy a sunset hike in the Jerusalem hills and have a picnic barbeque dinner in the forest.  Overnight: Jerusalem Youth Hostel. 

Monday, November 20 Modern Israel

Tour the award-winning Supreme Court building.  Experience the completely re-done Israeli Holocaust Museum at Yad Vashem, and then visit the Har Herzl cemetery to try to understand the connection between the Holocaust and the establishment of the Jewish state and the sacrifice of people who died to establish and defend it.  Tour the Herzl Museum, a high-tech depiction of the initial proponent of modern Zionism.  In the evening, pack for departure.  Overnight: Jerusalem Youth Hostel. 

Tuesday, November 21 A final taste and shalom

Descend to Ein Karem, a charming village that is the site where the pregnant mothers Mary and Elizabeth had the "Visitation".  Do final shopping at the Ben Yehuda open air pedestrian mall and catch a last falafel or schwarma (traditional Israeli fast food) for lunch.  See the "Time Elevator", a great summary presentation of the history of the Holy City.  Tour the Israel Museum and its Shrine of the Book that houses the Dead Sea scrolls.  Enjoy a final Israeli-style dinner at a Jerusalem meat restaurant before heading to the airport for a midnight departure.  

Wednesday, November 22 Home again

6:00am arrival in Atlanta.