Jinni and Friends

• Departure to Israel.

• Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, with assistance by a Makor representative.
• Stop at Mount Scopus for an introduction and overview of Jerusalem.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Free time for rest and relaxation or Covid-19 isolation.
• Dinner at the hotel.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Ascend to the Mount of Olives for an overview of Jerusalem and an introduction to the multi-faith mosaic of the city.
• Drive down from the Mount of Olives to the City of David for a guided visit through the origins of the ancient city of Jerusalem, while exploring its 3000 years of history.
• Continue through the ancient drainage tunnel which also follows the Pilgrims Path from the Pool of Siloam, under the walls of the Old City to the Davidson Center and the Southern wall excavations at the base of the Temple Mount.
• Proceed to the Western Wall (Kotel) with time for personal reflection.
• Lunch and tasting tour in the Old City Market.
• Continue into the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate and visit the Church of St. Anne and the Bethesda Pools, continuing along the Crusader Via Dolorosa, concluding at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
• Conclude the day with a guided visit through the Jewish Quarter.
• Return to the hotel.
• Late afternoon visit to Machane Yehudah open air market, followed by dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center, dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust, including the Museum and Children’s Memorial.
• OPTION 1: Continue to Ein Kerem, for a visit with the women of Niflaot Ein Kerem, with their art and culinary creations, with lunch.
• OPTION 2: “sataf hike” at Eitan mountain.
• Return to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
• Return to the  market for dinner at the famed Machaneyuda restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Depart for the Dead Sea Basin.
• Ascend Masada via the cable car.
• Guided visit through Masada exploring the complex stories interwoven into the archaeological remains and the message of Masada in contemporary Israel.
• Descend Masada and continue to an Ein Bokek Dead Sea hotel for an opportunity to float in the Dead Sea, use the hotel spa and have lunch.
• Return to Jerusalem.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Drive along the coast to Meshek Helbrecht – a farm-to-table venture with combined ecologic and green methods.
• Drive to Akko for a guided visit through the underground Crusader City and an opportunity to explore the bustling market, with lunch at the famous Uri Buri restaurant with renowned owner and chef Uri Jeremias.
• Continue to Rosh Hanikra on the Lebanese border and ride the cable car down to the grottos.
• Drive to Kibbutz Lavi, check in to the hotel, followed by dinner.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Early morning tour of the Kibbutz.
• Drive to Nazareth in the Lower Galilee, beginning with a visit to the Church of the Annunciation and continuing to the Nazareth Baptist Church.
• Tasting and touring in the old city
• Participate in the Reish Lakish olive workshop with Ayala Noy-Meir.
• Nature walk on the Tabor circular route.
• Visit Tabor Winery and meet with Micha Akerman, the CEO, one of Israel’s wine experts.
• Dinner at a Galilean restaurant.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Drive to the Sea of Galilee and visit the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount, with time for personal reflection.
• Continue to Capernaum, a Second Temple Jewish community, where Jesus developed his teachings and Jews and Proselytes lived side by side.
• Lunch en route.
• My Home in Palestine – I am Here to Stay: Visit Rawabi, the new Palestinian city north of Ramallah, for a glimpse into one man’s vision for translating the Palestinian hope for statehood into a concrete reality on the ground, including a possible meeting with developer Bashar El Masri to discuss the driving vision behind one of the more significant Palestinian responses to a new sense of peoplehood and desire for statehood, with lunch.
• Continue to the town of Taibeh and a visit to the Taibeh Brewry with beer tasting and a conversation with the brew masters from the Khouri family.
• Continue to Tel Aviv.
• Check in to the hotel.
• Dinner and evening on own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Welcome ceremony at the Jaffa Promontory, with a view of the Jaffa Port that was the gateway to Israel and the Middle East for the past three thousand years. Brief orientation to the lay of the land and a chance to hear the story of Jaffa, one of the oldest cities in the world, featuring, among others, Jonah the Prophet.
• Graffiti tour in Florentine, Tel Aviv’s most bohemian and upbeat neighborhood, the neighborhood with the most public art and graffiti social commentary in Israel.
• Tasting tour of Levinsky Market, one of the finest markets in Tel Aviv, specializing in spices and Mediterranean delicacies.
• Israel in a Pita: An Israeli Culinary Show, an interactive cook show, featuring Israel’s leading mouthwatering dishes, with an intriguing discussion about Israel’s culinary culture, politics, economy, identity – then and now – with Hagit Evron and Chef Yossi Elad, former chef at the Palamor and Machneyuda restaurants.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the new ANU Museum (formerly the Diaspora Museum), which traces the story of the Jewish People from the past and explores the diversity of Jewish life in the present.
• Guided walk through the Neve Zedek neighborhood, one of Tel Aviv’s first neighborhoods and today a quaint center of galleries and creativity
• Continue to Rothschild Blvd , Tel Aviv’s White City, the UNESCO world heritage collection of Bauhaus architecture, the largest urban concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world.
• Visit the Carmel Market for a tour and late lunch.
• Free time for personal exploration.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Festive farewell dinner at Romano – an Eyal Shani restaurant.
• Depart for Ben Gurion Airport for return flight to the United States.

Option for Petra Extension.  Details TBC.

*Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.