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The Land of Israel: Past, Present and Future : A Journey of Discovery |
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Program Number: |
14876RJ |
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| Start
and End Dates: |
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| Duration: |
14 nights |
| Location: |
Israel
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| Price starting at: |
$3,995.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city |
| Program Type:
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Activity Level: |
t (see description) |
| Meals: |
34;
12 Breakfasts, 9 Lunches, 13 Dinners |
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| Meal
Options: |
Vegetarian; Kosher |
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King David swam here. Herod the Great sought its healing waters, too. Farmers used its minerals as fertilizer and the Egyptians used it in their balms for mummification. As you float in the Dead Sea, consider this region as a cradle of cultures and birthplace of world religions. With local experts and scholars to lead you, discover the holy sites, history and modern life of Israel and learn how the past informs the nation’s present and future.
Highlights
• Join thousands of Israelis at the Western Wall to welcome the Jewish Sabbath.
• Walk through historic Tel Aviv and the Bauhaus District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Stay on a Kibbutz and talk with residents about their life in a collective community.
Activity Particulars
Walking up to two miles per day; some cobblestone streets and stairs. Hot, dry weather in Dead Sea region.
Itinerary Summary
Arrival Tel Aviv, coach to Jerusalem, 6 nights; coach to Dead Sea region, 1 night; coach to Galilee, 3 nights; coach to Tel Aviv, 3 nights; departure.
Overnight flight from the U.S.A. | 1 night | Arrival Tel Aviv | Coach to Jerusalem | 6 nights |
In the Holy City of Jerusalem, learn about the centrality of the Holy Temple in Judaism at the Western Wall, the last remnant of a holy temple built in 20 B.C. Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditional site of the crucifixion and resurrection. A personal remembrance by a Holocaust survivor deepens your experience at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial.
Coach to Dead Sea region | 1 night | Coach to Galilee | 3 nights |
Ascend by cable car to the fortress of Masada, site of Jewish-Roman battles, and examine the interplay between Biblical and Hellenistic civilization. Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth where, according to Catholic tradition, Gabriel visited the Virgin Mary. Discuss border security with an Israeli officer and learn about Jewish mysticism from a Kabbalistic artist.
Coach to Tel Aviv | 3 nights | Departure |
On the Bay of Acre, visit the ancient port of Acco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once a Crusader capital. Study the Bauhaus architecture of cosmopolitan Tel Aviv and sample traditional Middle Eastern cuisine. During a panel discussion learn about the decisions that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process today.
Israel
Here, on a small bridge connecting Europe, Asia and Africa, centuries of cross-cultural currents from shifting peoples and ideas nurtured Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The modern State of Israel contrasts its storied past with a dedication to dynamic, forward-looking advancements. Israel is home to the world’s second-largest number of start-up companies, venturing into new frontiers of communications, pharmaceutical and agricultural technology.
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Accommodations
Jerusalem: Modern boutique hotel near city center. Dead Sea: Shore hotel in Ein Bokek. Galilee: Modern hotel on an active kibbutz beside the Sea of Galilee. Tel Aviv: Downtown hotel near the Mediterranean coast.
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Meals and Lodgings |
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Prima Royale Hotel |
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Jerusalem, Israel |
6 nights
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Leonardo Inn Dead Sea |
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Dead Sea Region, Israel |
1 night
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Lavi Kibbutz Hotel |
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The Galilee Region, Israel |
3 nights
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Tal Hotel |
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Tel Aviv, Israel |
3 nights
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| Prima Royale Hotel |
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Type: |
Hotel |
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Description: |
Situated on a quiet street in Jerusalem's Talbieh residential neighborhood, the Prima Royale is no ordinary hotel; it is a haven. It was created to reflect the unique spirit of Jerusalem with its magnificent atmosphere, art, literature, and religious heritage. Prima Royale provides a "private hideaway" for business, leisure and arts travelers who want to relax in a club-like atmosphere. |
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Contact
info: |
3 Mendele Mocher Sfarim St.
Jerusalem, 92147 Israel
phone: ++972-2-5607111
web: www.prima.co.il/hotel.aspx?resortID=3&LangID=2
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Room amenities: |
Standard rooms include safe, hair dryer, cable TV, telephone, and a/c. |
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Facility amenities: |
The lobby holds a cafe-bar from which guests may acquire soft, cold and hot drinks as well as pastries and light deserts. The hotel has a business center and offers room service, laundry and dry cleaning services as well as wi-fi internet access (for a fee). |
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Smoking allowed: |
Yes |
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Elevators available: |
Yes |
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Additional nights prior: |
Contact Keshet for rates Please contact Keshet for rates. |
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Check in time: |
2:00 PM |
| Leonardo Inn Dead Sea |
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Type: |
Hotel |
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Description: |
Located on the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. |
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Contact
info: |
Ein Bokek
Ein Bokek, 86930 Israel
phone: +97286684666
web: www.leonardo-hotels.com/israel-hotels/dead-sea-hotels/leonardo-inn-hotel-dead-sea
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Room amenities: |
a/c, phone, TV with cable, balcony, coffee/tea maker, hair dryer. |
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Facility amenities: |
Swimming pool, spa facilities, on-site tennis courts. |
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Smoking allowed: |
Yes |
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Elevators available: |
Yes |
| Lavi Kibbutz Hotel |
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Type: |
Hotel |
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Description: |
This hotel is located on a religious Kibbutz (collective) which was founded in 1949 by immigrants mainly from England. The kibbutz supports itself with a dairy, agriculture, an synagogue furniture factory, as well as the hotel. |
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Contact
info: |
Kibbutz Lavi
Mobile Post
Lower Galilee, 15267 Israel
phone: +972-4-6799450
web: www.kibbutzlavi.co.il/hotel/indexE.asp#
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Room amenities: |
Rooms include: television, hairdryer, a/c, and radio. |
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Facility amenities: |
There is a covered swimming pool next to the hotel as well as pleasant walking grounds. Kibbutz members offer a number of extra services including massages, reflexology, and classes. Wireless Internet Connection available from the hotel lobby. |
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Smoking allowed: |
Yes |
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Elevators available: |
Yes |
| Tal Hotel |
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Type: |
Hotel |
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Description: |
Tal Hotel Tel Aviv, offers you the best combination of comfort, leisure and location. Our Tel Aviv Hotel is located within walking distance of the nightlife of Tel Aviv city, the beautiful Mediterranean sandy beach and the famous Dizengoff shopping street as well as the new boardwalk along the "Namal" or port. |
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Contact
info: |
287 Hayarkon Street
Tel Aviv, Israel
phone: ++972-3-5425500
web: www.atlas.co.il/hotel.asp?hotel_id=295
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Room amenities: |
Rooms include cable TV, safe, a/c, telephone, hair dryers, radio, and coffee corner. |
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Facility amenities: |
The hotel has a cafe and bar in the lobby and offers laundry and room service. There is free Wi-Fi in the lobby and most guest rooms. |
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Smoking allowed: |
Yes |
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Elevators available: |
Yes |
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Additional nights after: |
Contact Keshet for pricing Contact Keshet for pricing. |
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Check out time: |
10:00 AM |
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The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.
Free Time Opportunities |
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| Jerusalem |
Tower of David Museum
The museum's permanent exhibition is housed in several guard rooms of the old citadel, and tells the eventful 3,000-year-long story of Jerusalem. While exploring the permanent exhibition, the visitor becomes aware of the continuous ''dialogue'' between it and the citadel, and studying the one becomes an intriguing architectural exploration of the other as well.
The exhibition offers primary sources for the existence of Jerusalem as far back as the Canaanite period, and illustrates the city's history through to early 20th century.
Each room is devoted to a particular historical period and highlights the central events of the time. For additional information, visit www.towerofdavid.org.il/eng/
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Arab Shuk (Market)
Located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City, the Arab shuk (market) is a colorful place to shop. Bargaining is welcome. Enter at Jaffa Gate, and walk down David St. to Christian Quarter Road.
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Bible Lands Museum
Each object in the Museum has been carefully chosen for its historic importance and often for its aesthetic beauty. Today, the Museum is a center for cultural and educational programming. It is the only museum in the world displaying the history of the biblical period in the various lands of the Bible. In just six years the museum has produced numerous outstanding special exhibitions such as "The Jewish Presence in Ancient Rome" which marked the first cultural exchange between the Vatican and State of Israel following the opening of diplomatic relations. And, in 1996 the Museum presented "Jerusalem – A Capital For All Times; Royal Cities of the Biblical World" as the primary exhibition for the Jerusalem 3,000 celebrations, and brought record breaking crowds into the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna as the first stop on its international tour.
Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem:
Museum Row, 25 Granot Street,
P.O Box 4670,
Jerusalem 91046.
Tel: +972-2-5611066.
Fax: +972-2 5638228. For additional information, visit www.blmj.org/Main/Main.html
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L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art
Research on the art of Islamic countries focuses on architecture and ornamental objects from the 7th century C.E. to present times, and covers a vast geographical area - from Spain to India and even further eastward.
The L.A. Mayer Museum was founded by the late Mrs. Vera Bryce Salomons, realizing her long-standing idea of giving expression to the impressive artistic achievements of Israel's Muslim neighbors. Mrs. Salomons dedicated the Museum to her friend and teacher, Prof. Leo Arie Mayer. Many scholars of international renown took part in the establishment of the Museum, attracted to both its research activities and to the challenge of bridging the gap between the two cultures.
The Museum was opened to the public in 1974. For additional information, visit www.islamicart.co.il/default-eng.asp
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The Tisch Family Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem-Biblical Zoo
The Tisch family zoological garden, also known as The Biblical Zoo, is situated in south-western Jerusalem. The zoological collection of the Zoo includes species mentioned in the Bible (most of them are now extinct from the Land of Israel), and many other rare animals. Names of biblical animals on the tags are followed by relevant quotations from the Bible.
The landscape of the Zoo is very unusual, because the Zoo is surrounded by Jerusalem stony hills and in fact itself lies on a hill slope. So, for example, prairie beasts placed in Jerusalem landscape may look strange. But this adds to your exciting experience. For additional information, visit www.jerusalemzoo.org.il
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Rockefeller Archaeological Museum
The Rockefeller Archaeological Museum, situated in a magnificent white limestone edifice in East Jerusalem, houses the extraordinary collection of antiquities unearthed in excavations conducted in the country mainly during the time of the British Mandate (1919-1948). The Museum was opened in 1938.
Opening Hours:
Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10 am - 3 pm.
Saturday and Holidays 10 am - 2 pm.
Tuesday, Friday - closed.
The Rockefeller Museum:
Sultan Suleman Street,
East Jerusalem,
(Near the Flower Gate). For additional information, visit www.imj.org.il/eng/branches/rockefeller/
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The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts
The Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts, located in one of the most beautiful residential neighborhoods in the centre of the city, is the largest and most active cultural center.
In 1971 the Sherover Theatre, with one large hall, opened its doors. A construction of a new wing comprised of three additional halls - funded by a donation from the Crown family of Chicago with the assistance of the Jerusalem Foundation - was completed in 1986.
Housed in the modern complex are four well-equipped and beautifully designed halls: the Sherover Theatre which seats 950, the Henry Crown Symphony Hall (home of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra) with 750 seats, the Rebecca Crown Auditorium with 450 seats, and the 110-seats Little Theatre. In addition, the Centre includes spacious foyers, a bookshop, a cafeteria, a restaurant and large plazas outside.
While it has no dramatic, dance or musical repertory companies of its own, the Centre plays host to top local and foreign productions.
It offers plays in the best tradition of Israel's repertory companies, from large- scale and chamber productions to one-man's shows, features both original and translated experimental theatre (about 50 different plays a year).
More than 150 orchestral and chamber-music concerts as well as recitals are given each year at the Jerusalem Centre for the Performing Arts, and include the participation of Guest Soloist, vocal groups and conductors from Israel and abroad. For additional information, visit www.jerusalem-theatre.co.il/about_en.asp
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Mount Herzl Military Cemetery
This memorial park and cemetery is the final resting place of Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism, and other noted leaders including Golda Meir, Levi Eshkol and Yitzhak Rabin. There is also a multi-media museum about Herzl (reservations required, entrance fee).
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| Tel Aviv |
Tel Aviv Art Museum
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel's main art museum, first opened to the public in 1932 in the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Museum quickly became the cultural center of the Tel Aviv, presenting local and foreign artists. In addition to its steadily growing collections, the museum serves as a platform for free-thinking cultural and artistic exchanges.
The success of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and its
growth of collections led to the need for more space.
The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary
Art opened in 1959, and the present main building
of the museum in 1971. In 1999, a New Wing was
established along with a Sculpture Garden.
The Museum hosts more than half a million visitors
per year with a dynamic program of changing and
permanent exhibitions, and exciting cultural programs of classical and jazz music, performance arts, lecture series, special events, children's programs, dance, and cinema.
Visiting Hours:
Sun. - closed., Mon. & Wed. - 10 a.m.-4 p.m.,
Tues. & Thurs. - 10 a.m.-10 p.m.,
Fri. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.,
Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.,
Tel Aviv Museum of Art - 27 Shaul Hamelech Blvd. - Tel Aviv 64329. For additional information, visit www.tamuseum.com/museum/index.htm
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Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora
Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, exists to convey the story of the Jewish people from the time of their expulsion from the Land of Israel 2,500 years ago to the present. It relates the unique story of the continuity of the Jewish people through exhibition, education and cultural endeavours, providing multiple avenues of personal historical identification. Our hope is that by sharing the unique story of Jewish endurance, new generations may find the key to their own. Many come and experience: young and old, religious and secular, Israelis and tourists, civilians and soldiers.
The idea to establish Beth Hatefutsoth was originally proposed in the late 50's by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, the founder and President of the World Jewish Congress. The idea was to create a monument to the Jewish Diaspora, past and present. The final concept of the Museum was based on the proposal of the poet Abba Kovner to divide the Permanent Exhibition into six thematic parts. When it opened in May 1978, Beth Hatefutsoth was regarded by many museum experts as one of the most innovative museums in the world. It created a whole new concept of what a museum is and has influenced museum culture since. Today Beth Hatefutsoth has evolved into far more than a museum: it impacts and touches the lives of Jews not just in Israel but throughout the world. It is truly, in every sense of the word, the Museum of the Jewish People. For additional information, visit www.bh.org.il/
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Eretz Israel Museum
The Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, is a multidisciplinary museum that depicts the history and culture of the Land of Israel through an extensive permanent exhibit and temporary exhibits on diverse subjects: Archaeology, Ethnography, Folklore, Judaica, Cultural History and local identity, and traditional arts and crafts. The Museum's pavilions are located in a spacious park at whose center is Tell Qasile, an ancient Bibbical mound.The Planetarium offers a program entitled "Voyage into Space".
The Museum shop offers a unique selection of Israeli-made gifts and objects d'art.
A Museum map can be purchased at the box office.
Hours:
Sunday through Thursday, 9 AM to 3 PM.
Friday and Saturday, 10 AM through 2 PM. For additional information, visit www.eretzmuseum.org.il
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Dizengoff Center
Dizengoff Center, located on Dizengoff Boulevard in the heart of Tel Aviv offers stores and shops of all kinds.
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Ilana Goor Museum
The museum is located in a structure which once served as a seaside inn
for pilgrims seeking shelter on their way to Jerusalem. You gaze forward,
into the spacious atrium as you enter the museum. Two hundred and fifty
years ago, this house served as a first stop for pilgrims who entered the
Holy Land.
Today, in the shining, restored citadel of ancient Jaffa in Israel, the city's
first Jewish hostel has been transfigured by the vision of one artist into a
sanctuary of a different kind. Ilana Goor, internationally renowned artist,
designer and sculptress, has created in this space an odyssey of the soaring
spirit. A museum.
The museum serves today as the artist' s home, and you are invited to
explore the chambers she has set before you. Thanks to reconstruction
efforts initiated by Ilana Goor and her husband Leonard Lowengrub, the
museum offers you arches, internal vaulting, rooms and ancient stones all
of which expose the Jewish hostel which was built at the beginning of the
18th century.
4 Mazal dagim st. -
Old Jaffa -
68036 Israel -
Fax 972:3:6836699 For additional information, visit www.ilanagoor.com/
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Rubin Museum
Reuven Rubin painted Tel-Aviv throughout the early 1920s', documenting the "miracle" of a city growing on the sand dunes. He painted the seashore and the paved streets which seem like little rivers pouring into the blue sea.
He painted also the old sycamores and the people: the milkman, the street-sweeper and others who collectively form the human identity of the first Hebrew city. For Rubin painting these canvases was as much a pioneering activity as it was a search of aesthetic values. It is therefore not surprising that when Tel Aviv gradually became a metropolis he substituted it's urban landscape with the pastoral Galilean olive groves and the Arab villages on the mountain slopes along the way to Jerusalem.
14 Bialik Street, Tel Aviv. Tel: 03-5255961 For additional information, visit www.rubinmuseum.org.il
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