Israel. A Survey of 20 Centuries.
This is an 11-day sample itinerary. Remember that R. Crusoe can create an Israel journey of any length to meet your exact specifications.
Time for an international holiday, isn't it?
It is history, and not the oil or the baubles that it buys, that keeps us coming back to Israel. This is a land whose very roots figure prominently in the lives of Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike.
Begin on the Mediterranean coast in Tel Aviv, heartbeat of modern Israel. In Jaffa, a part of the city, the story stretches back at least to the Bronze Age, possibly earlier. See the White City, a UNESCO World Heritage site. People-watch on Sheinkin Street and in Carmel Market.
In Caesarea, excavations reveal ruins built by Kind Herod to honor his Roman patron, Augustus Caesar.
Haifa boasts a gorgeous bay as well as the terraced Bahai Gardens, from which we take in exceptional views.
Into ancient Akko, next, for an underground Crusaders' city and a scenic fishing port. In days gone by, this was one very important settlement.
See Mother Nature show off in Dan Tel Nature Reserve. Excavations here, too, are quite interesting and include perhaps the world's earliest reference to the House of King David.
Climb Mount Bental for incredible views of the Golan Heights, then into the Heights themselves for a peek at olive and grape orchards.
Tabgha, on the Galilee shore, was the scene of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. He also performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes here. Explore nearby Capernaum, believed to be the birthplace (or at least the childhood home) of Jesus Christ.
Take a boat ride on the Galilee, then head to Cana where Jesus is said to have changed water into wine.
Nazareth's authentic old town and bustling markets are on our route, too. Go Roman at Beit She'an, where much of the past is still being deciphered by archaeologists.
To Jerusalem, Israel's capital and a city whose complex past stretches back to the fourth millennium B.C. Welcome to the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people. It also contains a number of tremendously important ancient Christian sites and is considered the third-holiest city in Islam. So you can imagine the richness and complexity found here.
Security permitting, we venture into Bethlehem for a look at the Church of the Nativity and the Chapel of the Manger.
Day trip to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found; to Masada, site of a tragic loss of life in the first century A.D.. Experience the Dead Sea, whose salty, salty water does wonderfully strange things to the human body.
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