The Wonders of Israel 12 Day Christmas Tour with Jordan and Egypt Dec. 20-31, 2024

Arrival at Tel Aviv International Airport. A Noah Tours representative will meet you after passport control and accompany you to your transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast drive through Jaffa, an ancient port city, and the oldest part of Tel Aviv. Continue to the ancient city of Caesarea that was built by King Herod the Great while driving along the beautiful Mediterranean coast. We will then proceed to Haifa, passing by Mt. Carmel to see the famous Bahai Gardens. From Haifa, we will drive to Nazareth and the Church of Annunciation. Pass by Cana, where the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine took place.  End the day with an overnight in Tiberias/Galilee Sea.

Start the day with an exciting boat ride on the Galilee Sea. Continue to see the “Jesus Boat”, the ancient boat found sunk in the Sea of Galilee from the time of Jesus. Ascend to Mt. Beatitudes, where Jesus gave the “Sermon on the Mount”.  Continue the day in Capernaum, known as “The Town of Jesus”, and visit the synagogue and Peter’s house. Take a lunch break with a delicious St. Peters fish lunch. Next, we will visit Tabgha, the place where the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes took place. You will also have the amazing opportunity to see the famous mosaic under the altar of the ancient church of Tabgha. Proceed to the Golan Heights and have an overview from above. End the day at your hotel in the Galilee Sea for your overnight.

Begin the morning driving along the Jordan River to the Yardenit Baptismal Site. Visit Qumran and see the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Travel on to Masada where you will take a cable car up to the fortress. The history of the famous Jewish fortification will unfold before your eyes; the palaces built by King Herod, the synagogue, and bathhouses used by the Jews. Descend Masada by cable car and drive to the Dead Sea for relaxation and a water dip. Overnight at the Dead Sea.

Go up to the Mt. of Olives, a cemetery that once was covered in olive groves, where you will have a magnificent panoramic view of Jerusalem.  Finish the day back in Jerusalem continue the day with an exciting tour of the Mahane Yehuda Marketplace (Shuk) and experience life as an Israeli. Return to the hotel for a rest. In the evening, we will have a Christmas Dinner in Bethlehem and visit the Christmas mass from Manger Square outside the Church of The Nativity.  returning at 11:00 pm to the hotel in Jerusalem. 

The morning will begin with the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus prayed and his disciples slept the night before his crucifixion. Make your way to Mt. Zion where you will visit David’s Tomb and the site of the Last Supper, also known as the “Upper Room”. We continue to the Christian Quarter where you will enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Jesus was crucified. From there, walk where Jesus walked and make your way down Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross). The day will continue with a trip to The Cardo, what used to be a main street in the Old City during the time when Judea was under Roman rule. Go down to the Western Wall and spend some time in reflection and/or prayer. End the day in your Hotel.

Today will begin with a short city tour in New Jerusalem, we will pass by the Israeli parliament “Knesset”, and if time permits, stop by the famous menorah. We will visit the Israel Museum, Israel’s national museum, where you will see the Dead Sea Scrolls and a model of the Second Temple. Travel to Bethlehem to see the Church of Nativity located at Manger Square. Overview of the Judean Desert and Shepherd's Field. Overnight in Jerusalem. 

After breakfast Transfer to Allenby Border where a Noah Tours representative will meet you at the other side and transfer you to the beautiful city of Petra. Overnight in Petra. 

After breakfast, visit the Rose City of Petra through the Siq, a narrow passage through the mountains that has inspired people for centuries. Travel up to the treasury which suddenly appears at the end of the gorge, leaving the visitors breath-taken by its size, colour, and beauty. Continue into the heart of this ancient city carved into the mountains, passing hundreds of tombs and monuments and a spectacular Amphitheatre, which once held 3,000 spectators. Stop for a sit-down lunch before leaving Wadi Mussa - the new town of Petra. Drive to Amman for overnight.

We begin our day with a tour of the ancient city of Memphis which lies some 12 miles south of Cairo. The ancient city is now an open-air museum testifying to the magnificence of its four thousand years of history. Serving Memphis lies the necropolis Saqqara a vast, ancient burial ground, featuring numerous pyramids, including the world-famous Step pyramid of Djoser. We then proceed to the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx located on the Giza Plateau. The Great Pyramids of Cheops or Khufu; of Khafre or Chephren; and of Menkaure have always loomed large as emblems of ancient Egypt and were listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Valley Temples surrounding the pyramids provide an insight into the dominating religious motives of the era. Overnight in Cairo.

Visit the Egyptian Museum, with its fantastic display of ancient civilization. Next, see the Mosque of Mohammad Ali, the Citadel, the old city, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue also known as the Geniza Synagogue. Its storerooms were found to contain over 2,000 medieval manuscripts, a collection known as the Cairo Geniza. After, visit one of the oldest and most famous Coptic Churches in Egypt, the El Mullakah Church (Hanging Church). Continue to the City of the Dead, a four-mile-long grid of tombs and mausoleums where people live and work amongst their ancestors. End today's tour at  Bazaar Khan el-Khalili. Overnight in Cairo.

Departure. Transfer to Cairo International Airport for your flight home.