Overview

"Not Your Grandmother’s Holy Land Tour"

The Holy Land – captivating, perhaps confusing, and central to the Abrahamic faiths. We are drawn to it and want to explore the place where Jesus lived, but we are not sure how.

Not Your Grandmother’s Holy Land Tour is a unique experience that will inspire and challenge you in your faith journey. We interact with Israelis and Palestinians as we visit key sites in the life of Jesus. Our focus is on Jesus and how his ministry shapes our lives and intersects the complexities of the Holy Land.

The tour is led by Pastor Brian Newman who comes from a Jewish background and Elias Nawawieh who is a Palestinian Christian.

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DETAILS:

  • Trip departs on November 1, 2024, and returns on November 10, 2024

  • Departure Airport: Washington, DC (IAD)

PRICING:

  • $4,190.00 per person based on double occupancy - book now as space is limited!

  • Single room supplement - $790.00

  • Land only (if booking your own flights) - $3,040.00 (airfare credit $1,150.00)

PAYMENT PLAN: 

  • $300.00 per person with registration to secure space

  • Balance due on or before August 1, 2024

REGISTRATION:

  • Registering online? Click the "BOOK NOW" button and fill out the online form; You can pay by check. 

  • Registering by mail? Please download and complete the registration form (both the personal information page and the terms and conditions page signed at the bottom) with a copy of your passport and a deposit of $300.00 per person made payable to Elias Tours and mail to: 4941 Chalden Ln NE, Marietta, GA 30066

  • Download the Registration Form

FLIGHT SCHEDULE:

 

* Flight times, flight numbers, equipment, gates, and seats are subject to change. For the most current information check the airline website.

 

For more information, contact Brian Newman (bnewman@lwccyork.com) or Elias Nawawieh (info@eliastours.com or 406-261-7791)

 

November 1- 10, 2024 Available on request Bethlehem
Inclusions/Exclusions

What is included in the tour

  • Airfare to and from Tel Aviv (departing from Washington Dulles Airport) 
  • 8 nights in 4-star hotels (double occupancy)
  • All meals for the entire trip
  • Entrance to sites
  • All ground transportation in a private tour bus

What is NOT included in the tour

  • Gratuities for guide and driver
  • Personal expenses
  • TRAVEL INSURANCE: Travel Insurance is required and not included in the purchase price. For your convenience, we offer travel insurance through *Travelex Insurance Services. For questions, quotes, or to purchase travel insurance, visit Travelex Insurance or call (800) 228-9792 and use the code 26-0057 for Elias Tours.
Highlights
What makes this tour special

Why do you call it “Not Your Grandmother’s Holy Land Tour”?

Well, it’s a catchy title for one thing! The tour is different than other trips to Israel. The group is led by a Palestinian and a Jew – that’s different! We also limit the size of the group, making it a much more personal and flexible trip. We also “go off the beaten path” to view the Holy Land through the lens of Jesus and how various ethnic groups relate to him and to each other. This means that we interact with Israelis, Palestinians, Jews and Christians and Muslims, and others along the way.

Itinerary

             

Day 1, Nov 1, (Friday) - Departure from the US, Washington, D.C.

Day 2, Nov 2, (Saturday) - Arrival Tel Aviv – Transfer to Tiberias
Arrive at Ben Gurion Tel Aviv airport. Transfer to our Hotel in Tiberias. Dinner and night at the Hotel in Tiberias.

Day 3, Nov 3, (Sunday) - Theme: Becoming Like Rabbi Jesus
After breakfast at the Hotel. Introductions and Overview in a meeting room in Hotel.
Visit Bethsaida the hometown of Jesus’ five disciples, located amid the “triangle” where Jesus’ ministry was centered, together with Korazim and Capernaum. “Follow me” theme [Mt. 11:21, Mark 6:45, 8:22, Luke 9:10, 10:13, Jn 1:44, 12:21]. Visit Korazim ruins of a city located amid the “evangelical triangle” where Jesus’ ministry was centered, together with Bethsaida and Capernaum. Visit Capernaum the hometown of Jesus as described by the Gospel, is also Jesus’ Galilean ministry base. There we will see the house of Peter’s mother-in-law and the ancient synagogue where many of Jesus’ teachings took place. Following the theme “The Center of Rabbinic Life” [Mt 4:13, 8:5, 11:23, 17:24]. Enjoy lunch at Capernaum National Park. Visit Mount of Beatitudes, where we enjoy its enchanting gardens and reflect over Jesus' teachings of the Sermon on the Mount. (Read Matthew 5 – 7). Boat ride on Sea of Galilee. We enjoy a sail on the Sea of Galilee on a replica of a boat from Jesus’ time. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at the Hotel in Tiberias.

Day 4, Nov 4, (Monday) - Theme: Jesus, Land & Kingdoms
Breakfast at the Hotel. Drive up the Golan Heights from where we look into Syria and the road to Damascus. Time for prayer will be given. Visit Caesarea Philippi, known also as Banias springs from a source of the Jordan River, where Peter confessed that Jesus is the Son of God [Mt. 16:13, Mark 8:23]. We visit the high place seeing the gates of Hades, Augustus Temple, and the High Place where the God Pan was worshipped. Meeting with Elias Chacour, Lunch at Mar Elias. Visit St. Elijah Cathedral in Haifa. Mount Carmel, Muhraqa – The Place of Fire and consider the contest between the Prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal [I Kings 18]. Return to our Hotel. Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.
Day 5, Nov 5, (Tuesday) - Theme: Life as “Resident Aliens”
Breakfast at the hotel and check-out. Visit Beit Shean the capital of Decapolis. There we will see the ruins of the Roman and Byzantine cities. We will also discuss the demise of King Saul and his sons, whose bodies were hanged on the walls of Beit Shean. Visit Jacob’s Well, located in the present city of Nablus which encompasses the biblical Shechem, where nearby Jacob dug his well. The well became a setting for a meeting between Jesus and a Samaritan woman. [John 4:5-42]. Lunch en route in Nablus. Meet Artie Geldman at Synagogue at Afrata, Proceed to Bethlehem, and check in to our Hotel. Dinner and overnight at Hotel in Bethlehem.

Day 6, Nov 6, (Wednesday) - Theme: Honoring Our Histories
Breakfast at the Hotel. Meeting with Imam Drive to Jerusalem to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, for a needed reminder of what the Jews have suffered during WWII. Late lunch in Bethlehem.
Dinner and overnight at Hotel in Bethlehem.

Day 7, Nov 7,  (Thursday) - Theme: The Desert Journey
Breakfast at the Hotel. Visit Western Wall, Drive through the Judean Wilderness: Wadi Qelt [Matthew 3:1-12]. See remains of an ancient aqueduct and the view of St. George Monastery. Visit Bet Arabah (“Qasr el Yahud”), Baptismal Site on the Jordan River, known also as Gilgal, where the Israelites crossed into the promised land, from where Elijah was taken to heaven and where Our Lord was baptized [Matthew 3:13-17]. Lunch in Qumran, Visit Qumran, where we can see the caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered and the buildings that formed the Essenes public center. Afternoon at leisure, to enjoy a swim at the Dead Sea. Dinner and overnight at Hotel in Bethlehem.

Day 8, Nov 8, (Friday) - Theme: Jerusalem, City of Peace?
Breakfast at the Hotel. Visit Mount Zion, starting at the base, near Upper Room. Visit the Cenacle, which commemorates the Upper Room in which Jesus shared the Last Supper with the disciples [Matthew 26:17-30]. Walkthrough Kidron Valley. Visit the Garden of Gethsemane where amid the 2000 years old olive trees and where he was arrested at the hands of the High Priest guards. There we will pause for a prayer time in a private garden. Visit the Church of All Nations that commemorates the site of Jesus’ prayer before being arrested. Visit House of Caiaphas, the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu where we can see parts of the streets that Our Lord was dragged on by his capturers. We will have a chance to visit and pray at the dungeons where He was kept overnight [Matthew 26:47-57]. Lunch in Jerusalem. Visit Antonia Fortress site of Pilate’s Palace, where we would have time to pray over at the Lithostratos, probably on the same pavement stones that Jesus stood his Judgment before Pilate. Walk the Via Dolorosa following Christ passion toward the church of the Holy Sepulchre [Matthew 27]. Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, known by the locals as the Church of Resurrection. The two sections built over the hill are the focal points on where the Crucifixion took place, called Golgotha or Calvary, and the other, the tomb where Jesus was laid. These sites encompass the continuation of the Via Dolorosa and the final Stations of the Cross. Dinner and overnight at Hotel in Bethlehem.
Day 9, Nov 9,  (Saturday) - Theme: It Ends with Jesus Too!
Breakfast at the Hotel. In Bethlehem, visit the Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity built over the Cave of Christ’sBirth, we will view the actual place where Our Lord was born [Matthew 1] Visit Shepherd’s The field where the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Our Lord [Matthew 2]. These fields are also the setting of the Book of Ruth. Lunch. Visit Garden Tomb (included), a peaceful spot where we can remember Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We see the Calvary and the empty Tomb. Celebrate communion service at the Garden, reaching the climax of Pilgrimage at the empty Tomb. [Matthew 28] Debriefing and Closure Time. Dinner at the Grotto Restaurant. Overnight at the Hotel in Bethlehem.
Day 10, Nov 10, (Sunday) - Departure
Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
Drive to Tel Aviv airport for our homebound flight.

Tour Location
Bethlehem View on Map