2017 BIBLE LANDS TOUR SPONSORED BY RED RIVER FAMILY ENCAMPMENT

This will be our TENTH Tour to host. We promise you a trip that will bless your life in many ways.  We are now receiving reservations.  We limit the number in our tour so if you are interested please communicate your interest ASAP.

PROPOSED ITINERARY (Please note: all sites will be visited, but the order may change)

DAY 1: Tuesday, September 5th:   Depart Newark, NJ at 4:30 PM on United Airlines non-stop to Tel Aviv.

DAY 2: Arrive Tel Aviv, 9:30 AM.  MEET OUR GUIDE MIKE ROGOFF AND BEGIN TO BE ENTHRALLED.  Visit Caesarea and Joppa. Ascend to Jerusalem, the Holy City, where we welcome ourselves with a psalm, a prayer and a photo-op. Overnight Jerusalem in a 4 Star Hotel where we stay for 7 nights.

DAY 3: From Jaffa Gate, stroll up to Mt. Zion. Visit the Upper Room(‘Last Supper’), the traditional tomb of King David, and St. Peter in Gallicantu with its New and Old Testament echoes. Enter the Old City at Zion Gate and explore the Jewish Quarter: the ‘Broad Wall’ from Isaiah’s time, the Herodian mansions from the era of Jesus, and the Byzantine ‘Cardo’ (main street). Visit the Western (‘Wailing’) Wall, the most sacred Jewish site in existence. End a gentle first day in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, with a film and the impressive ruins where (we can safely surmise) Jesus walked. Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 4: An early departure allows us to beat the crowds at the Temple Mount. Discuss Scripture and view the present Muslim shrines, before exiting to the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus cured the lame man (John 5). Test the extraordinary acoustics of St. Anne’s Church with a hymn or two, before setting off along the Via Dolorosa (‘Way of the Cross’) to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. A view of Bethlehem awaits us after lunch. Apanoramic view of Jerusalem from the Promenade introduces the afternoon visit to the City of David, the original core of the Old Testament city. Archaeology and Scripture are thrillingly intertwined in the place where it all began. Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 5: Drive down to Masada, Herod’s great desert palace-fortress and the last bastion of Jewish rebels against Rome. Explore the ruins and discuss why it has become such an Israeli symbol of courage and independence. Get a bird’s-eye view of the Ein Gedi oasis, where David hid from King Saul. Float luxuriantly in the super-saline Dead Sea. Visit Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and found. Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 6: Begin the day at Yad Vashem, the museum and memorial of the Holocaust – the destruction of the European Jewish community in World War II. ‘Decompress’ in the glorious hullaballoo of the Machaneh Yehuda produce market, where many of Jerusalem’s Jews shop for the Sabbath. End the day at the serene and beautifully tended Garden Tomb, favored by Protestants as the site of Golgatha and the tomb of Jesus. Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 7: AT LEISURE! Sleep late, walk about, shop, see other sites, read, catch up on journals and blogs – it’s your day. Overnight Jerusalem

DAY 8: For our last day in Jerusalem, put the week in perspective with the ultimate view of the Old City, from the crest of Mt. of Olives. Walk down the Palm Sunday Road to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed (Matt. 26) and was arrested. Visit the world-class Israel Museum, fresh from a major make-over, to see the outdoor scale model of ancient Jerusalem, and the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. Stroll to the nearby Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to see the big bronze Menorah (7-branched candelabra), with its reliefs of events and personages in Jewish history. Head out of town to Bet Shemesh, where the Ark of the Covenant was recovered from the Philistines (1 Sam. 5, 6). Re-enact the David and Goliath Saga in the Elah Valley before returning to Jerusalem for the evening. Overnight in Jerusalem.

DAY 9: Check out. Take Rte. 6 through the Sharon Plain to Caesarea, Herod’s great Mediterranean port city where Peter converted Cornelius (Acts 10) and Paul defended his faith (Acts 25, 26, 27). A branch of the ancient ‘Way of the Sea’ takes us inland to Mt. Carmel, where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18). Explore Megiddo, one of the greatest Old Testament cities in the land                                 overlooking the Jezreel Valley (identified as the Valley of Armageddon: Revelation 16). At “Gideon’s Spring”, at the foot of Mt. Gilboa, read the story of an Israelite victory (Judges 6, 7).   Drive into the hills for a great view of Nazareth. Overnight Tiberias in a 4 Star + Hotel

DAY 10: Drive to Ginosar to view the amazing 1st-century boat found in 1986 in the mud of the lake. Sail the Sea of Galilee in a modern wooden boat inspired by those of old. Take time for Scripture and contemplation on the shore at Tabgha, traditional site of John 21 (“feed my sheep”). A prepaid lunch of St. Peter’s fish (meat options available) is followed by a tour of Capernaum, the town Jesus chose as his base in the Galilee. Visit the Kinneret Cemetery, with its story of Jewish pioneers of a century ago. Overnight Tiberias

DAY 11:  Begin the day in the tranquil gardens of the Mt. of Beatitudes, associated with the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matt. 5, 6, 7). Change gear as we ascend the Golan Heights for a brief contemporary ‘seminar’. View Israel from an old Syrian gun emplacement (captured by Israel in the 1967 war), and drive east to the frontier for a look into Syria itself.  Descend to Banias, at the foot of Mt. Hermon. This is Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16) where Peter confessed the nature of Christ. Explore the nature reserve and wonderful Old Testament ruins of Tel Dan. Overnight Tiberias

DAY 12: After an early breakfast, leave your Tiberias hotel for the border crossing to Jordan (about 30 mins. drive). Procedures at the frontier take a bit of time. Your Jordanian guide and driver will meet you across the river. Visit Jerash, the ruins of a huge Hellenistic-Roman city (home town of the Gerasene demoniac, Mark 5:1). Drive to Amman, the capital of the kingdom, for a short city tour and check-in. Overnight Amman in a 5 Star Hotel.

DAY 13: Drive down to Petra, the extraordinary capital of the ancient Nabateans, carved out of red-rock desert canyons. (The site was voted as one of the New Wonders of the World in 2007.) This must-see site makes all the driving worthwhile. Overnight Wadi Mussa.

DAYs 14,15:  You have earned a more relaxed day! Travel to Madaba, to see the fine 6th-century mosaic floor-map of the Holy Land (now covered by a Greek Orthodox church). Then on to Mt. Nebo, from whence Moses looked across to the Promised Land that was denied him. Then to the baptism site where John immersed Jesus.  We will cross back into Israel and enjoy farewell dinner.

DAY 16: Depart Tel Aviv.  Arrive back in Newark, NJ for connecting flights back to your home.  (Our Travel Service in Israel will make your connecting flight schedule at a discount because it can be treated as an "add-on" fare.)

$500 Deposit will secure your seat.

Balance will be due by August 1st.

Must have valid US Passport that will expire at least 6 months after September 2017.

For more info contact:  Jerry C. Lawlis- 806-468-7676 or 806-676-8686

Email:  encampment@rrfe.org

Mail application to:  RRFE Tour, PO Box 8997, Amarillo, TX  79114-8997