An Archaeological Study Tour
Israel
Oct. 28 – Nov. 13, 2009
Led by Dr. Mattanyah Zohar


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 28: Depart New York on El Al Israel Airlines in the evening.

Thursday, October 29: JERUSALEM: Our arrival into Ben Gurion Airport will be in the evening. We drive up to Jerusalem and relax at our hotel, David Citadel, before our orientation lecture and dinner with Dr. Zohar.
Meals: Dinner

Friday, October 30: JERUSALEM: Our view of Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives and Mt. Scopus will give us an understanding of its geographical position before we enter the Old City at the Citadel, built by Herod, and begin our historical overview on its walls. Today’s Old City touring will focus on the First Temple period, including Hezekiah’s fortifications and the City of David, where 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.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Saturday, October 31: JERUSALEM: Our first stop this morning is 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 Israel Museum, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and many other treasures, as well as an ethnography collection and the Billy Rose sculpture gardens.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Sunday, November 1: 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. Lastly, we will view the Kidron Valley, which holds some of the finest standing monuments of the Second Temple period.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Monday, November 2: JERUSALEM: Returning to the Old City, we tour the Islamic monuments on the Temple Mount, including the Dome of the Rock and El-Aqsa Mosque (provided they are 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 & Lunch

Tuesday, November 3: JERUSALEM: Traveling south, we stop at Lachish, conquered by the Assyrian King Sennacherib in 701 BC. 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, thought 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

Wednesday, November 4: JERUSALEM: We have made special arrangements for a tour and lecture at the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, the oldest American research center for Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Middle East. Touring continues at the Rockefeller Museum of Archaeology. Here we will see important finds from throughout the country, including the famous Israelite “Lachish Letters.” The afternoon is at leisure to explore the city on our own.
Meals: Breakfast

Thursday, November 5: 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, we descend to the Dead Sea, stopping along the way to view spectacular desert vistas. We will arrive at the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea Hotel with time to swim in the Dead Sea before dinner.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Friday, November 6: 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 Sheraton Moriah Tiberias, situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Saturday, November 7: 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-12th centuries BC. 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, November 8: GALILEE: We drive north to Capernaum, the site of Jesus’ three-year ministry, and continue to Hazor, visiting its excellent museum, before exploring 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. Touring ends with Tel Dan, known in antiquity as Laish until it was captured by the tribe of Dan. The next two nights will be at the Kfar Blum Kibbutz Guest House.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Monday, November 9: GALILEE: Today’s touring will focus on the Golan and will include Banias, the Crusader fortress of Qalat Namrud, the Golan Archaeological Museum and the ancient site of Katzrin. We will stop to examine 2nd millennium BC funerary dolmens en route to today’s last site, the fortified town of Gamla.
Meals, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Tuesday, November 10: 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 & Lunch

Wednesday, November 11: TEL AVIV: Continuing south along the Mediterranean, we stop first at Tel Dor. This ancient harbor is unique for its evidence of three long-boat slips cut into the rocks and for its well-preserved remains of a purple-dye factory. We will visit the small Nautical Museum, before continuing to the Roman port of Caesarea, built by King Herod. Ongoing excavations are exposing greater expanses of the Roman city and port. We will spend the next two nights in Tel Aviv at the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel.Tonight we will meet for our farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Thursday, Friday, November 12 & 13: TEL AVIV: Our last morning in Israel will be spent visiting the Ha’aretz 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. Late Sunday night we transfer to the airport for our El Al Israel Airlines flight home.
Meals: Breakfast