Hike the Holy Land with the Rev. Phil Dieke

• Depart the United States.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion airport with assistance upon arrival.
• Meet guide and board bus for Jerusalem.
• Drive to northern Israel.
• Stop atop Mount Carmel for a short welcome ceremony and a walk in the footsteps of Elijah the Prophet, with time for personal meditation.
• Continue to the Sea of Galilee.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Festive opening Sabbath dinner.
• Opening sharing conversation.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to Nazareth for a visit to the Church of the Annunciation.
• Full day hike along sections of the Jesus Trail:
  • From Mount Arbel to Mount of Beatitudes and Tabkha
• Visit the Mount of Beatitudes, Tabkha and Capernaum.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Evening of Song, Prayer, and Reflection along the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive to the Jezreal Valley, beginning with a visit to Megiddo and the Valley of Armageddon, and continue for a full day of hiking in the Ramot Menashe Biosphere area, concluding along Nahal Hashofet (Hashofet River), the only wheelchair accessible river hike in Israel for a special volunteering program with Lotem, an organization that works with youth and adults with special needs.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Belief, the Outdoors and their Nexus in the Holy Land, with young adults connected to Israel’s Society for the Protection of Nature.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Drive south via the Jordan Valley.
• Stop at Beit Shean, for a hike along the Shean Dry Riverbed and up to Tel Beit Shean for a guided visit through the Biblical Tel and the Byzantine City below.
• Continue to Qasr el Yahud, considered by many to be the site of Jesus’ baptism and possibly the site where Joshua crossed the Jordan River.
• Lunch on own en route.
• Continue to Jerusalem.
• Stop at Mount Scopus for a blessing of Thanksgiving upon arrival in Jerusalem and an introductory overview of the city.
• Continue to Bethlehem.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Home hospitality dinner with Bethlehem residents.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Guided visit through the Church of the Nativity.
• Hike through the Bethlehem Hills from Bethlehem to Battir, through the Valley of Springs.
• Meet with local Palestinians and learn about their lives working the land and the challenges of occupation.
• Dinner on own in Bethlehem.
• Walking tour from Manger Square to the separation wall.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel and travel to Jerusalem.
• Early morning visit to the Haram al Sharif – Temple Mount.
• Ascend to the Mount of Olives.
• Overview of the city of Jerusalem, followed by a walk down the Mount of Olives to the Kidron Valley and around the walls of the Old City to the Hinnom Valley.
• Enter the Old City via Jaffa Gate.
• Walking tour of the Old City, beginning with the Market Rooftops and continuing to the Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall, and concluding with a guided walk along the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Evening visit to Machane Yehudah open-air market, one of Jerusalem’s hotspots, followed by dinner on own in the market.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Full-day hike in the Judean Hills along the Israel Trail, from Ein Kobi to the Hadassah Hospital.
• Meet with doctors and nurses at Hadassah Hospital to discuss the ways that they experience the conflict.
• Visit the village of Ein Karem and the Church of the Visitation, with an opportunity to wander around the artists’ colony.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel.
• Evening bike ride through the streets of Jerusalem.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit Yad Vashem, the Israeli national memorial to the Holocaust, for a guided visit through the Valley of the Righteous among the nations, the Holocaust History Museum and the Children’s memorial.
• Take a quiet nature walk into the Jerusalem Forest, with time for personal and group reflection.
• Celebrate life as Jerusalemites conclude the week at Machane Yehudah, followed by free time in Jerusalem, with lunch on own.
• Welcome in the Sabbath at a Jerusalem synagogue.
• Festive Sabbath dinner.
• Free evening in Jerusalem.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of hotel and drive to Tel Aviv.
• Walk along the Urban Israel Trail from the source of the Yarkon River into the heart of Tel Aviv, with lunch en route.
• Guided walk along Rothschild Blvd, the heart of the White City, to explore Tel Aviv’s collection of Bauhaus buildings and the UNESCO Heritage site, considered the largest concentration of Bauhaus architecture in the world.
• Check in to day-use rooms in Tel Aviv.
• Free time to explore Tel Aviv.
• Wrap-up conversation.
• Festive farewell dinner.
• For those departing for the United States, depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight home.
• For those going to Jordan, return to hotel.

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.