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Tours detailed Itinerary
Technical Tours
Tours During the Symposium
Post-Symposium Tours
Technical Tours
| TT1 : Survey of Israel, ImageSat International. Tel Aviv.(Sunday, 14th March, 08:30) |
Departs Hotels by 08:30 for Tel Aviv. Visit Survey of Israel, where we will be welcomed by Director General Dr. Haim Srebro. If time permits, we'll visit ImageSat International.
Survey of Israel is in Charge and serves as the National authority of National Mapping, Cadastre, Geodesy and Geo-Information.
http://www.mapi.gov.il/
ImageSat International N.V. is an international company and a commercial provider of high-resolution, satellite earth-imagery collected by Earth Remote Observation Satellite (EROS A and B)..
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Tours During the Symposium
| ST1 : Half Day Tour in Haifa (Monday, 15th March, 13:00) |
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The tour sets out from the University and proceeds to the Louis Promenade located in the central Carmel overlooking the panoramic view of Haifa, which will give us an understanding of Haifa and its geography. We continue to the Bahai Gardens and Shrine (this requires minimum fitness as there are approximately 200 steps to descend.) From there we walk through Wadi Nisnas to see the art presentations of Jewish and Arab artists. Haifa is a city of mixed populations where Jews and Arabs of all religions and ethnic groups live together in mutual respect and tolerance. |
| The Wadi Nisnas neighborhood is characterized by its originality, the beauty of its alleys and houses, the Mediterranean aroma and the connection amongst its inhabitants.
From Wadi Nisnas we will walk to the German Colony built by the Templars who came from South Germany in 1860.
We return to the University for the Ice Breaker Reception. |
Free for Accompanying persons.
Extra tickets for $20
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| ST2 : Half Day Tour Druze Villages (Tuesday, 16th March 09:00) |
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Departs from the hotels,
Visit Stella Maris Monastry and view point and see the smallest Basilica in the world, at the northern tip of Mt. Carmel. From there drive to the Muhraka, a small Carmelite monastery on the highest summit of the Carmel Range the place where the prophet Elijah is said to have challenged the priest of Baal. Free time to browse through the Druze Village Dalya after a visit to an oil press. Return to the University for lunch |
Free for Accompanying persons.
Extra tickets for $20
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| ST3 : Half Day Tour Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve and Carmel Wildlife Preserve Nature Reserve (Wednesday, 17th March 9:00) |
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Departs from the hotels to Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve
These caves contain evidence of inhabitation by prehistoric human beings. They are particularly significant because the articles discovered in them indicate that the caves were settled continuously for 200 thousand years, something almost unheard of. The tour of the reserve begins with a visit to the large Oven Cave, where archeologists have identified three different prehistoric cultures, and continues to the smaller Camel Cave, which has an exhibition of tools used during the Mousterian culture period. The third cave, the 70-meter-deep Stream Cave, has an audiovisual presentation about life during prehistoric times. |
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From here we take a scenic drive up the mountain to Carmel Hai-Bar (Wildlife Preserve) Nature Reserve.
By the turn of the twentieth century, many of larger animals who had once made their homes in the land of Israel disappeared from the landscape, largely because of large-scale hunting. These animals had been an important link in the ecosystem. The Hai-Bar (wildlife preserve) was established so that the animals that are suited to life in the Mediterranean scrub forest can return to this region. We will hear and see how this re-acclimation was done. |
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Free for Accompanying persons.
Extra tickets for $30
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Post-Symposium Tours
| ST4 : One Day Tour Galilee (Thursday, 18.3.2010)- Beit Shearim, Nazareth, Zippori, Acre. |
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Leave Haifa for Beit Shearim. the ancient city situated on the edge of the Jezreel Valley that flourished in the 2nd century ADC. Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi, head of the Sanhedrin was buried in the underground cemetery dug into the slopes of the hill. This then became the main cemetery for Jews from the land of Israel and abroad. |
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Nazareth: Visit the Church of Annunciation, (Greek Orthodox): Next to Mary’s well. Also known as St. Gabriel’s Church and Mary’s Well, This 18th-century Church is built on the site of three much older Churches. The underground crypt actually dates back to crusader times. The freshwater spring inside the crypt leads by underground aqueduct to the site of the ottoman fountain. It is the same underground spring that provided Nazareth with its water 2,000 years ago.
Church of St. Joseph: Also known as Church of the Nutrition and Joseph’s workshop, because it is believed that the cavern in the basement was Joseph’s carpentry shop, it was built in 1914, on the foundations of a Crusader church with Romanesque influences. We then walk through the market to the Church of St. |
Gabriel of the Annunciation. This is the site where the Greek Orthodox tradition maintains that the Angel Gabriel revealed to Mary knowledge of the impending birth of Jesus. The church houses many interesting icons and wall paintings, as well as the holy spring.
Synagogue Church (Greek Catholic):
A little up the road from the sisters of Nazareth Convent. This humble structure of very thick carved stone dates back to the time of the Crusaders, and is believed to be the site of the synagogue where Jesus preached as a young man. The Church was originally in the hands of Franciscans but passed to Greek Orthodox during the rule of Daher El-Omar in the 18th century. In 1887, the adjacent Greek Catholic Church, with its magnificent dome and two bell-towers, was added on to the old crusader structure. Lunch (included) at Nazareth or Acre. |
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Zippori “the Ornament of all Galilee” was once the administrative centre of the Romans in the 1st century ADC, the centre of Jewish religious and spiritual life in the 2nd century. During Byzantine times the Christian community in Zippori grew considerably. Rich figurative mosaics and impressive water cisterns attest to the Roman character of the city’s population. |
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Acre: The Maritime Capital of the Crusader Kingdom (12th and 13th Century ADC) a well protected fortified city with a deepwater port. We will visit the fortifications, walk through the narrow alleys and lanes, see the Caravanserai built in the 18th century. Following the crusader’s path from the old citadel refectory through the underground tunnel that lead to the excavation posts under the Muslim ruled city.
Return to Haifa |
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Tickets for $80 |
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| ST5 :One Day Tour Galilee (Friday, 19.3.2010)- Sea of Galilee Churches, Tiberias, Gamla, Kibbutz Degania. |
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Leave Haifa. Drive along the Water Carrier Road to Golani Junction then via the Netufa Valley to Migdal ( Magdala), the home town of Mary Magdalene.
Visit the Churches overlooking the Sea of Galilee: The Church of Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount), Tabgha (Heptapegon) and Capernaum.
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Tiberias: Walk along the promenade and see the Old City walls built in the 18th century.
Lunch (included) on the promenade overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
Drive along the east shore of the Sea of Galilee to Gamla, en route make a short stop at Yardenit the site of modern day baptisms in the Jordan river. Visit Kibbutz Degania on the way.
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Gamla, situated in the centre of the Golan Heights is a hill shaped like a camel with remains of the ancient city surrounded by steep ravines, river beds, nesting colonies of the Griffon Vultures, fields of Dolmens and a Byzantine village.
Drive along the Golan Heights to the “Peace Vista” overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Valley, Mt. Tabor, and Safed. We continue driving southwards with Jordan and Syria to the east, Israel to the west. Drive down past Hamat Gader, ancient natural hot springs and drive along the Yarmuk River.
Return to Haifa via Har Megiddo (Armageddon)
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| Tickets for $80 |
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ST6 :Three Day Tour (Saturday, 20.3.2010 - Tuesday, 22.3.2010) – Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
Hotel fees excluded. Please contact us if special room are needed.
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Day 1 Sunday 20th March
Depart Haifa for Caesarea. Roman city built by King Herod the Great 1st Century B.C.E. Visit the sights of the Roman city – theatre, Herod’s Palace, Hippodrome, Bathhouse, Byzantine buildings, Old port and Harbor and aqueduct.
View the new Multimedia presentation of Caesarea.
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Jerusalem: Drive to Mt. Scopus to get an overview of the Old City and see the proximity of the Judean Desert to the city of Jerusalem.
Drive to Mt. of Olives for a closer view of the Temple Mount. Walk down to
Dominus Flavit (The Lord Wept) Church opposite the Temple Mount. Visit the Church and the 1st Temple burial tombs. From there, walk down to the Church of Gethsemane, see the garden with ancient olive trees and visit the Church.
Drive to Mt. Zion. Visit the Tomb of David, the Coenaculum the Room of the Last Supper and (optional) the Dormition Abbey.
Drive to Hotel Mount Zion overlooking the Old City - Built during the British Mandate (renovated) with local Middle Eastern décor and magnificent view over the Old City. Check in to hotel.
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Day 2 Monday 21th March
Leave hotel and enter the Old City through the Zion Gate.
Walk through the Jewish Quarter and the Roman Cardo. Continue through the market to the Holy Sepulchre .Visit the last 4 Stations of the Cross and the chapels built by St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine.
Shopping and walking around in the market, then walk to the Western Wall through the Christian Market place.
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Drive to Ein Karem, a picturesque village west of Jerusalem, nestled in a deep valley surrounded by high mountains and adorned with many olive and cypress trees.
Visit the Church of the Visitation and the Church of St. John the Baptist. Walk around the village.
Drive around modern Jerusalem – see different architectural aspects: such as the Israel Museum, Knesset, Supreme Court, YMCA, and Jerusalem Theatre. (If time allows visit the Islam Museum) – Take a short walk along the Sherover Promenade – landscape architecture.
Drive through Judean Hills towards Dead Sea, 400 meters below sea level.
Check into Hotel – Novotel
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Day 3. Tuesday 22th March
After breakfast drive to Masada. Using the cable car we reach the top of Masada, the stronghold of the Zealots before the destruction of the Temple.
From Masada Drive along the Dead Sea to Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in caves and where the Esseans are believed to have lived an ascetic life.
Visit the site and caves.
Drive to Kalia, a beach on the Northern side of the Dead Sea.
Lunch (included) and a swim and mud pack in the Dead Sea.
If time permits: drive to the cosmetic factory where cosmetic products “Ahava” are made based on Dead Sea salts and minerals.
Return to Haifa/Tel Aviv/other destinations.
Lunches and dinners are included.
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Tickets for $ 290 (per person. Hotels in Jerusalem excluded)
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