Walking Israel - the Holy Land 2011

Already Walked for 2011!

Walking Israel is a special WAI tour dedicated to the exploration of the Holy Land and its history, so much of which is related in the Bible.

After working for several months on a completely new walking program to an undeniably old part of the planet, we are excited to present the 2011 edition of our first Adventure to Israel!

We are already smitten with Israel and suspect you will be too.

You will be challenged by the breadth of historical periods that overlap each other in a seemingly endless chain of tribes, conquerors, and kingdoms. You’ll be surprised by flora and fauna and the verdant green spaces of Galilee and Golan in the north. You’ll be impressed by the deserts of the south at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, Ein Gedi, where David hid from King Saul, and Masada, the Alamo of the Jewish world.

Note from Dan

Daily Itinerary

NOTE: Walk distance is recorded in kilometers • 1 Km = .62 Miles

DAY 1: FEB 25: ARRIVE TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (D)

Travelers arrive throughout the day into the Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion International Airport, where you’ll be greeted by a representative of WAI and transferred to our hotel located just two blocks from the Mediterranean Sea. Walkers who arrived a day early (yesterday) may participate today in an optional walking event along the seaside promenade, into the ancient port of Jaffa (Joppa). In Jaffa, King Solomon imported cedars from Lebanon to build Jerusalem’s First Temple. Here as well, the Apostle Peter received a vision of gentile equality with Jews. The only official activity for today is a “get acquainted” dinner.

DAY 2: FEB 26: TEL AVIV - NAZARETH (BLD)
Walk #1a: Caesarea Walk – 4.5 km, rated 1+/2
Walk #1b: Mount Carmel Walk – 4 km, rated 2+/3

From a trio of ancient aqueducts, we walk south with sweeping views of the Mediterranean into the ruins of 1st century Caesarea, one of Herod the Great’s many architectural achievements. Stately remnants of the Crusader era give way to Herod’s impressive hippodrome and amphitheater. Lunch on nearby Mount Carmel in a Druze home provides insight into this mysterious Arabic culture combining elements of all three monotheistic religions. The afternoon trail takes us past Druze farms to Mukhraka Monastery, which commemorates the duel between the Old Testament prophet, Elijah, and 450 prophets of the pagan god, Baal. Our home for the next two nights is Nazareth, in a rustic 200-year-old Arab mansion!

DAY 3: FEB 27: ACTIVITIES FROM NAZARETH (BD)
Walk #2: Jesus Trail to Cana Walk – 9 km, rated 3

We walk in Jesus’ footsteps today. Tsipori is the remarkable excavation of the hometown of Jesus’ mother, Mary. After exploring Tsipori, we continue along Galilean hills, through an Arab village, arriving at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine at a local wedding – his first public miracle. Following lunch, we return to Nazareth Village, a living history museum that brings the biblical era to life.

DAY 4: FEB 28: NAZARETH TO SEA OF GALILEE (BD)
Walk #3a: Sea of Galilee Walk – 5 km, rated 1+
Walk #3b: Beatitudes to Capernaum Walk – 5 km, rated 2

Mount Arbel offers a dramatic panorama over the Sea of Galilee with an equally dramatic account by Jewish historian Josephus, of extreme Jewish resistance to Herod the Great. Later this morning, our Sea of Galilee walk begins at 600 feet below sea level, winding through mango orchards and banana groves to the shores of this large freshwater lake. Here we lunch and visit a 2000-year-old fishing boat carefully preserved and displayed at the Jesus Boat Museum. This afternoon we disembark by boat, sailing across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum. Part two of today’s walk starts up the hillside at the Mount of Beatitudes, site of Jesus’ most oft-quoted teachings, and takes us along the shores of Galilee to what archeologists believe could be the home of the Apostle Peter. We spend the next two nights at Kibbutz Ein Gev, on the eastern shore of Galilee.
 
DAY 5: MAR 1: ACTIVITIES IN GOLAN AREA FROM SEA OF GALILEE (BD)
Walk #4a: Gamla Nature Walk – 5 km, rated 3+/4
Walk #4b: Jordan Headwaters Walk – 5 km, rated 2+/3

Gamla is a jewel in the Israel National Park system. It was also the site of an epic battle between Jewish rebels and Roman legions in AD 67. We walk along a breathtaking canyon known for its jackal population and soaring griffin vultures to the ruins of Gamla, where you can almost hear the ghosts of the vanquished. Further north in the Golan Heights, our afternoon nature walk takes us to the headwaters of the Jordan, marked by an intriguing ruin also known as Caesarea Philippi where, when challenged by Jesus’ question “Who do men say that I am?” Peter first affirmed Jesus as the Son of God.

DAY 6: MAR 2: SEA OF GALILEE TO DEAD SEA (BD)
Walk #5a: King Saul & Jonathan Walk – 2.5 km, rated 2+
Walk #5b: Ein Gedi David Waterfall Walk – 2 km, rated 2+

Heading south, our first stop is the ancient city of Beit She’an, boasting 20 different eras of occupation. Our walk also takes us past Roman ruins to the Philistine settlement, where the victorious Philistines displayed the bodies of King Saul and his sons after their defeat on nearby Mount Gilboa. Our second walk also intersects the wanderings of King Saul, this time at Ein Gedi, as we walk along a stream past lovely waterfalls below the caves where Saul hunted in vain for his son-in-law, the fugitive and future king, David. We finish at a Dead Sea resort in Ein Bokek with time for a spa treatment or a relaxing, unsinkable soak in the soothing waters at this lowest spot on earth!

DAY 7: MAR 3: DEAD SEA - JERUSALEM (BD)
Walk #5c: Masada Snake Path Walk – 3 km, rated 4+ (OPTIONAL)

Masada is another of Herod the Great’s masterpieces – a mountaintop citadel/playground captured by rebelling Jews in AD 66, at the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War. To reach the top, you can climb the winding, ancient Snake Path, or riding the 21st century gondola. In an epic setting, we learn of the epic siege that ended tragically in death by suicide of all the Jews except two women and five children. Returning north, our second stop explores a parched desert at Qumran where a Bedouin shepherd boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. The hugely important find sent tremors through the archeological world and lent immeasurable additional weight to the authenticity of the Bible, and the history of the Jews. We end the day just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem in a hotel that will be our home for the next four nights.

DAY 8: MAR 4: ACTIVITIES IN JERUSALEM - 1ST DAY IN JERUSALEM (B)
Walk #6a: Jerusalem Footsteps of Jesus Walk – 5 km, rated 2

Today’s memorable walk begins at the Mount of Olives with a panoramic view over Jerusalem. From here, we trace a trail of tears along a network of legendary sites connected with Jesus’ last days. Most prominent are the Chapel of the Ascension (where Christ ascended to Heaven), the Pater Noster Church (commemorating the Lord’s Prayer), and the Garden of Gethsemane (where Jesus prayed and was arrested). Upon entering the Old City through the Lion’s Gate, we continue past the original Stations of the Cross on Via Dolorosa, the Way of Suffering. The culmination of our route, and the life of Christ, finishes through winding cobblestone streets at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, believed by most archeologists to be the likely site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and, resurrection.

Later this afternoon, those with reserves of physical and emotional energy are invited to join us for an optional excursion to Yad Veshem, a stunning holocaust museum and memorial in West Jerusalem. Estimated price: $20

DAY 9: MAR 5: ACTIVITIES IN JERUSALEM - 2ND DAY IN JERUSALEM (BD)
Walk #6b: Bethlehem Manger Walk – 3 km, rated 2

This morning, we drive just six miles south to Bethlehem, in the Palestinian West Bank. Passing through the security wall, our first stop explores the Greek Orthodox Saint Theodosius Monastery. The church marks the spot where magi, returning from their successful visit to the Christ child, slept in a cave in their attempt to evade the paranoia of Herod. After visiting a field where shepherds may have “watched their flocks by night”, we walk through old Bethlehem to Manger Square. Here, we enter the Church of the Nativity, memorializing the birth of Jesus.

This evening, following dinner, join us for an optional Sound and Light show, which plays upon the crumbling walls of the Tower of David near the Jaffa Gate. Estimated price: $15

DAY 10: MAR 6: ACTIVITIES IN JERUSALEM - 3RD DAY IN JERUSALEM (B)
Walk #7a: Jerusalem Ramparts and Western Wall Walk – 4 km, rated 2+/3
Walk #7b: City of David Hezekiah’s Tunnel Walk – 4 km, rated 3+ (OPTIONAL)

This unique day exploring both above and below the Old City begins with a walk along the ramparts, built in the 16th century by Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. We start at the Jaffa Gate and exit at the Dung Gate, from where we visit the Western Wall, holiest site in Judaism. Here, after feeling the significance of this place of Jewish worship, backed by the Muslim-controlled Temple Mount, we descend into a tunnel that runs along the lowest courses of the Western Wall of Herod’s Temple. Our route takes us below the Muslim Quarter, adjacent to the spot in the Temple where the Holy of Holies had been, and out onto the Via Dolorosa.

The balance of the afternoon is free, or you may join us for an optional visit to the City of David National Park. Here, where David first took Jerusalem from the Jebusites, we will descend yet again below ground. Our route is wet as we splash our way through the dark, water-filled (up to your calves) 2700-year-old tunnel built by Hezekiah as a secret water channel prior to the Assyrian siege. Estimated price: $25

DAY 11: MAR 7: DEPART FOR HOME (BD)

We start our final day in Israel with a visit to the Jerusalem Archeological Park (Davidson Center) to review what we have learned about this city. Timelines and short films illustrate the various periods of history. From the Davidson Center, we ascend to the Temple Mount, holy to both Islam and Judaism as the site of: Mt. Moriah, where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac; Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple of Herod; Mohammed’s Night Journey to Heaven; Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s most sacred; and Dome of the Rock, built over the spot from which Mohammed ascended to Heaven on his Night Journey. Is it any wonder Temple Mount has such an impact upon religious sensibilities? Our last stop is the Israel Museum, better known as the Shrine of the Book for the Dead Sea Scrolls that are lovingly displayed here. Later, a Farewell Dinner prepares us for late evening flights to North America. Our journey through the Holy Land is complete, but the impact of what we have experienced will linger long. 

What's Included

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Why We Walk