Israel tour

  • Day 3 & 4

    Day 3:   Monday 23 September

    (Accommodation at Lutheran Guest House – Old City Jerusalem)

    • Wadi Kelt hike (hike between Jerusalem and Jericho that Jesus would have walked up on his way to the Temple – we will walk 1/3 of the route – all downhill for about 2 hours)  We depart Jerusalem first thing in the morning and start descending to the lowest point on the earth (377m below sea level) – the lower Jordan Valley where the Dead Sea is located.  This is the route David would have used when he fled from Absalom and also the way Jesus would have travelled when he went up to the temple for the three feasts each year.  This hike will give you a greater appreciation for Joseph and Mary’s trip back to Jerusalem where they would have had to search for their twelve year old son, only to find him in the temple with the teachers of the law. (Luke 2:41-50).

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    • Lunch in Jericho
    • Baptismal site (location where John is thought to have baptised Jesus)

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    • Swim in the Dead Sea (weather permitting)

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    Day 4:   Tuesday 24 September 

    (Accommodation at Lutheran Guest House, Old City, Jerusalem)

    • Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock.  This is the location of Solomon’s Temple and Herod’s Temple.  Jesus visited this location many times during his growing up years and during his public ministry.  Now this site is under total Muslim control and is the 3rd holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.

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    • Pool of Bethesda (where Jesus healed the paralytic)

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    • Western Wall/Wailing wall (retaining wall built by Herod the Great).   This is the the most holy site in Judaism since Jews can’t worship on Temple Mount.  This spot is holy to the Jews because it is the closest spot they can worship to the where the Holy of Holies was located.
    • City of David  The City of David is situated right outside the current city walls.  This  is the location of the oldest ruins of Jerusalem and the area David captured from the Jebusites and made his capital over all of Israel.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZhFteuv9Is
    • Walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel (450m tunnel built by Hezekiah to bring water from outside the city walls) Walk back through ancient Roman sewers

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