An Archaeological Study Tour
Israel with an optional 5-day Jordan extension
Oct. 17 – Nov. 2, 2012
17 Days
Led by Dr. Mattanyah Zohar, Archaeologist

The Lands of the Bible, though physically small and shared today by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, have attracted the attention of Western scholars for more than two hundred years. This tour encompasses the marvelous kaleidoscope of Israel’s archaeological riches from the Neolithic Revolution and the Bronze and Iron Ages to the Classical and Medieval Periods. Five full days will be spent in Jerusalem, exploring in depth the archaeological sites, the outstanding museums and the major Christian, Jewish, and Islamic holy places. Some of the many highlights of the tour include the prehistoric Carmel Caves, King Herod’s fortress of Masada, Bronze and Iron Age Megiddo, Hazor, Dan and Lachish as well as the famous classical sites Bet She’an, Caesarea, Capernaum and Sepphoris. During the Galilee portion of the tour, the sites visited include the Crusader fortress at Qalat Namrud, the fortified town of Gamla and ancient Katzrin. The exploration of these sites and the plethora of local museums will provide significant insights into both the ancient and modern history of the Near East and its profound influence on Western civilization.

Wednesday, October 17: Depart in the evening from our home cities.

Thursday, October 18: JERUSALEM: Our arrival into Ben Gurion Airport will be in the evening. We drive up to Jerusalem and relax at our well-located hotel, David Citadel, before our orientation lecture and dinner with Dr. Zohar.
Meals: Dinner

Friday, October 19: JERUSALEM: Our tour begins on the Mt. of Olives and Mt. Scopus, with several spectacular views of Jerusalem. These views will give us a clearer understanding of Jerusalem’s geographical position. We then drive down to the Old City and begin to explore the city’s historical layers at the City of David. Excavations have exposed the city and shaft leading from the city to the water supply in the Kidron Valley. We will examine Hezekiah’s Tunnel, built through the rock under the city to divert the water into an inner city reservoir, the Gihon Spring and Pool of Siloam. There will be time this afternoon to stroll in the Old City and to experience the preparations for the Jewish Sabbath in the Jewish Quarter.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Saturday, October 20: JERUSALEM: Traveling south, we stop at Lachish, conquered by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BCE. The capture of Lachish was the subject of a magnificent series of wall reliefs for the palace at Nineveh. These reliefs can now be seen at the British Museum. We then continue to the caves of Beit Guvrin, believed to have been dug first for stone to build the Roman coastal cities and later used as churches by the Byzantines and Crusaders.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Sunday, October 21: JERUSALEM: The day begins at the Model of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple. The remainder of the day is devoted to an in-depth visit to the newly renovated Israel Museum, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and many other treasures. There will be time for a lunch break in the museum’s cafe as well as a stroll through the Billy Rose sculpture gardens. The day ends with a stroll through the Kidron Valley to view some of the finest standing monuments of the Second Temple period.
Meals: Breakfast

Monday, October 22: JERUSALEM: The focus of this exciting day is the recent discoveries of the Second Temple period. Beginning in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, we visit the Herodian Quarter, the residence of the upper-class Jerusalemites; the Cardo, the main thoroughfare of the Upper City and the fascinating southern wall excavations.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Tuesday, October 23: JERUSALEM: Returning to the Old City, we view the Islamic monuments on the Temple Mount, including the Dome of the Rock and El-Aqsa Mosque (these mosques are not open to the public). Our touring continues with the excavations of the Western Wall and the Christian Quarter, visiting the Bethesda Pool and the Church of St. Anne. Lastly, we will follow the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Meals: Breakfast

Wednesday, October 24: JERUSALEM: We have made special arrangements for a tour and lecture at the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research ( http://www.aiar.org), the oldest American research center for ancient Near Eastern studies in the Middle East. We then offer two options for touring: the Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology, which houses important finds from throughout the country, including the famous Israelite “Lachish Letters” or Yad Vashem Memorial to the Holocaust. The remainder of the day will be at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast

Thursday, October 25: SODOM: Our day begins at Herodion, the spectacular fortress built by King Herod between 22 and 15 BCE. We then visit the desert settlement at Tel Arad, an impressive Early Bronze Age city and Israelite citadel, and descend to the Dead Sea, stopping along the way to view spectacular desert vistas. We will arrive at the Isrotel Dead Sea Hotel with time to swim in the Dead Sea before dinner.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Friday, October 26: TIBERIAS: This special day begins with an early ascent to the great fortress of Masada. Built by Herod as a sanctuary, it was later occupied by the Zealots and others fleeing the Romans. After a full morning at this extensive site, we will travel north to Qumran, believed to have been an Essene settlement whose library housed the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in nearby caves. We then continue to ancient Jericho (political conditions permitting), one of the oldest urban settlements in the world. After completing our touring, we drive up the Jordan Valley to Tiberias for two nights at the Leonardo Plaza Tiberias, situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Meals, Breakfast & Dinner

Saturday, October 27: TIBERIAS: Touring continues at Bet She’an, where excavations, still under way, have revealed evidence of Bet She’an’s role as an Egyptian provincial capital as early as the 14th to 12th centuries BCE. After lunch, a lovely drive through the rolling hills of the Galilee brings us to the ancient site of Sepphoris, which houses amid its villas a very fine mosaic, locally referred to as the “Mona Lisa of Sepphoris.”
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Sunday, October 28: GALILEE: Our first stop this morning is Capernaum, the site of Jesus’ three-year ministry. We will then drive around the Sea of Galilee to the Golan Archaeological Museum and the ancient site of Katzrin. We will stop to examine 2nd millennium BCE funerary dolmens and view the fortified ancient town of Gamla from above. We can easily imagine the bloody battle described by Josephus as we stand above the ruined city. After lunch, touring continues at Tel Hazor, where we explore the site and Amnon Ben-Tor’s current excavations. Early work by Yigael Yadin revealed 21 different strata of settlement going back to the Early Bronze Age. Famous as one of King Solomon’s military centers, it was finally destroyed by the Assyrians. We will spend the next two nights at Kfar Blum Kibbutz, a lovely spa hotel.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Monday, October 29: GALILEE: Our day begins at Tel Dan, known in antiquity as Laish until it was captured by the tribe of Dan. This fascinating tel has yielded wonderful architecture, including a fine Middle Bronze Age mud-brick arched gate and a cult center, where three altars have been found. The afternoon’s touring will focus on the Golan Heights and will include Banias, one of the sources of the Jordan, and the Crusader fortress of Qalat Namrud.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Tuesday, October 30: HAIFA: Returning to the Galilee, our first visit will be to the Solomonic city of Megiddo, exploring the remains of the ancient city, the Early Bronze Age temples and the city’s amazing water system. We will spend the afternoon in Haifa at the Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum at Haifa University. This fine museum exhibits material from the “Land of Israel,” including an outstanding collection of Phoenician material. Dan Carmel Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Wednesday, October 31: TEL AVIV: Driving south along the Mediterranean, we visit the Roman port of Caesarea, built by King Herod. Ongoing excavations are exposing greater expanses of the Roman city and port. We then stop at the aqueduct, which brought water from Mt. Carmel, and drive on to Tel Aviv. After a walking tour in old city of Jaffa, we check into our seaside hotel to relax before we will meet for our farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Thursday, Friday, November 1 & 2: TEL AVIV: Our last morning in Israel will be spent visiting the Eretz Israel Museum, including Tel Qasile, a well-preserved Philistine temple. The afternoon will be at leisure to relax on the beach, finish our shopping or stroll on the boardwalk. Friday morning we depart for the airport for our flights home.
Meals: Breakfast

Optional Jordan Pre-tour Extension

Saturday, Sunday, October 13 & 14 AMMAN: Independent departures from our home cities on Saturday. Arrive in Amman Sunday and transfer our hotel. Crowne Plaza Hotel

Monday, October 15: PETRA: Our touring begins with the fine collection at the Regional Museum and the hilltop ruins of the Temple of Hercules and the Roman Theater. We then depart for Petra stopping at Madaba, to view a unique mosaic map of Palestine made around 560 CE, and at Umm al Rasas, a fortified Roman encampment, where we will see the beautifully preserved mosaic of the Church of St. Stephen, which dates from 757, and the older mosaic floor of the Church of Bishop Sergius. Our arrival at our hotel will be in time to enjoy the changing colors of the sun setting on the cliffs of Petra. Mövenpick Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Tuesday, October 16: PETRA: The full day will be devoted to the exploration of the breathtakingly beautiful city of Petra, carved into rose-colored sandstone. Few sights in the world rival one’s first glimpse of the Treasury viewed from the Siq. During our two-day stay here we will visit all of the accessible monuments of the ancient city with some time free for those who wish to climb to some of the city’s less accessible places.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Wednesday, October 17: AMMAN: This morning we will reenter Petra and climb to the High Place of Sacrifice. Here we will see altars and sacrificial pits cut into the rock as well as the remains of buildings that probably housed the priests. The views out over the city are spectacular. In the late afternoon we drive back to Amman. Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast

Thursday, October 18: JERUSALEM: Touring begins with a drive north of the city to visit Jerash, an exceptionally well-preserved Roman provincial city. We will see remains of the ancient city from the time of the Roman general Pompey, the Triumphal Arch of Hadrian and churches built during the rule of Justinian. After lunch, we transfer to the Allenby Bridge and cross into Israel where we will be met by our Israeli driver who will bring us to Jerusalem to join the tour.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch