ITINERARY
Tuesday 12 June DEPART AUSTRALIA
Depart Australia (Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane) tonight on your flight to Dubai and onto Amman, Jordan
Wednesday 13 June AMMAN AIRPORT - JERUSALEM
Upon arrival at Queen Alia Airport, Amman, you will be met and assisted by your tour representative and transferred to the Sheik Hussein border where you will cross into Israel using the VIP service. You will change buses and then travel to Jerusalem where you will check the Ecce Homo Convent in the Old City of Jerusalem.
HOTEL: Ecce Homo Convent, Jerusalem
MEALS: Dinner
Thursday 14 June JERUSALEM
Early morning visit to Haram (Temple Mount) open to the public only from 8-10am then to the Western Wall and Western wall tunnel. Afternoon walking tour through the Jewish Quarter including the Burnt House and the southern steps of the Temple ruins (Davidson Center). Afternoon visit to the Church of St Anne, the pools of Bethsesda and a walk along the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross) to the Holy Sepulchre.
HOTEL: Ecce Homo Convent, Jerusalem
MEALS: Breakfast, Dinner
Friday 15 June QUMRAN, MASADA, DEAD SEA
Drive through the Judean hills to visit Qumran where the Essence sect was based, walk through the ruins of their monastery, and view some of the famous caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
Drive along the shore of the Dead Sea onto Ein Gedi spring and then to Masada, the fortress stronghold of Jewish resistance to the Romans. Return to Jerusalem via Jericho.
HOTEL: Ecce Homo Convent, Jerusalem
MEALS: Breakfast & Dinner
Saturday 16 June BETHLEHEM - GALILEE
Full day visit to Bethlehem (including a visit to a Palestinian NGO), Beit Sahour and Herodium.
HOTEL: Ecce Homo Convent, Jerusalem
MEALS: Breakfast & Dinner
Sunday 17 June BETHLEHEM - GALILEE
Morning worship with the Arabic congregation at St George’s Cathedral then travel north to Ginosar. Afternoon free to prepare for the dig tomorrow.
HOTEL: Nof Ginosar, Sea of Galilee
MEALS: Breakfast & Dinner
Monday 18 – Friday 29 June BETHSAIDA DIG
Our work requires various levels of physical conditioning, but there is a job for everyone.
Tasks include digging, sifting dirt, washing pottery and finds, and sorting and cataloguing finds.
A typical day
5.30am Depart Ginosar for Bethsaida
6.00am Work commences
9.00am Breakfast at the site (45 min break)
11.00am Popsicle break
12.30pm Depart for return to Ginosar for lunch
4.30pm Pottery reading
7.00pm Dinner
8.00pm Evening lecture
HOTEL: Nof Ginosar, Sea of Galilee
MEALS: Breakfast. Lunch & Dinner
Saturday 30 June RETURN HOME OR OPTIONAL EXTENSIONS
After breakfast, depart from Ginosar to Amman Airport for an afternoon flight back to Australia.
Flight departs Amman at 5.30pm arriving into Dubai at 9.15pm with connections to Brisbane and Sydney, departing Dubai at 2.45am and 1.40am respectively. Flights arrive back into Australia on July 2nd.
Cost $6299.00 per person twin share
Based on minimum of 25 full paying passengers
Inclusions:
- Return economy class airfare from Brisbane/Sydney to Amman flying Emirates
- Airline taxes and fuel surcharges (subject to fluctuation)
- Arrival transfer at Amman airport and VIP service at Allenby Bridge into Israel with transfer on to Jerusalem
- 4 nights Ecce Homo Convent, Jerusalem – half board IN 13JUNE OUT 17 JUNE
- Transportation, guide and admission fees as per itinerary 13-17 June
- 13 nights at Nof Ginosar – full board IN 17 JUNE OUT 30 JUNE
- Transport to/from Bethsaida dig site daily
- Transfer from Ginosar to Amman airport for flight home
- Arrival taxes and visas costs for Jordan, Israel departure tax, VIP border services in both directions, Jordan exit tax
- Tips for guides/driver
- Travel insurance (QBE Elements) for CSU Students 20 days cover
Cost Excludes:
- Lunches (except for Dig component)
- Personal items and drinks with meals
- Tips to porters, restaurant staff
- Travel insurance (except CSU students)
OPTIONAL EXTENSION #1: SOUTHERN ISRAEL AND JORDAN - 5 nights
Travel by bus from Ginosar down the Jordan Valley, and then continue to Ein Gedi to experience floating in the Dead Sea, the lowest place on the surface of the earth. Overnight at the Dead Sea at the Daniel Hotel.
Drive south through the arid Negev desert to the port city of Eilat by the Red Sea for a free afternoon and overnight in Eilat at the Daniel. Overnight at the Magic Palace Hotel.
Depart Eilat for a short drive to the Arava border where we will cross into Jordan and proceed to Wadi Rum (Wadi means valley). This valley is spectacular with an expanse of pink sandy desert and a whole network of wadis which you will recognize from the best known scenes in Lawrence of Arabia. There will be a chance to see some of the wildlife that still inhabits this strange terrain and to see the village of Wadi Rum, Jabal Burdah, and Jabal Kharaz. We will go to the Visitor’s Centre where we will pick up our 4 wheel drive vehicles and tour more of this beautiful landscape. Continue to Petra for dinner and overnight at the Beit Zaman, Petra.
Enjoy a full day to explore “the rose - red city” of Petra which, from 300 BC was inhabited by Nabateans. Take a horse ride through the dramatic “ciq” or canyon. See the Treasury, carved in the pink stone, and continue past the Roman theatre, the Corinthian Tomb and Palace Tomb to the Roman road. If time permits, climb up to the High Place or the Deir or Monastery. Dinner and overnight in Petra at Beit Zaman.
We depart Petra and drive north along the Kings Highway mentioned both in Genesis and Exodus at the routes of Abraham and Moses. We will visit Karak’s impressive Crusader Castle with its many dark passages, deep holes and sheer drops. We will pass through the impressive Wadi Mujib and on to Madaba where we will see the remains of the mosaic map of the Middle East and Jerusalem. We will visit Mt. Nebo where Moses viewed the Promised Land and we can see the Jordan Valley, Jericho and the Judean Hills beyond. Tonight we will enjoy our farewell dinner in a lovely restaurant with a Bedouin theme. Overnight at the Geneva Hotel.
Enjoy a brief orientation tour of Amman including the Roman Theatre and Museum. Enjoy a light lunch before departing to the airport for your flight home or your onward journey.
Cost per person based on minimum of 15 is $1299 per person twin share
Including admission costs, guides, accommodation, breakfast & dinner.
OPTIONAL EXTENSION #2 1- 13 JULY 2012
LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAM – MODERN HEBREW OR ARABIC
This optional extension to the Bethsaida Excavations Project will especially appeal to anyone with an interest in language studies and a close encounter with either Jewish or Arabic culture. Participants in the SFC 2012 Bethsaida Experience will have the opportunity to take a two week intensive program offered by two experienced professors from the University of Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
This program is available in two streams: Arabic, and Modern Hebrew.
The programs begin on Monday, July 2 and will conclude with a final examination on Friday, July 13. Each day except Saturdays the morning is spent in language instruction, from 8.00am until 1.00pm. After lunch we visit local communities for a deep exposure to the culture and language. Each evening there is a homework lab for an hour, beginning at 8.00pm, to consolidate the learning.
Following the conclusion of this program participants will transfer to Amman for return to Australia or onward travel to other destinations.
For further information about the immersion language program and possible academic credit, please contact Dr Greg Jenks, Senior Lecture, School of Theology, Charles Sturt University (gjenks@csu.edu.au, 0408 767 344).
The faculty for this program are: Dr Richard Freund, Director of the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, University of Hartford (Modern Hebrew), and Maha Darawsha, Adjunct Professor of Arabic Language and Culture and Archaeology, Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, University of Hartford (Arabic).
Cost:approximately USD1500 A firm price will be available shortly.
Inclusions:
- 14 nights at Nof Ginosar including full board
- Tuition fees
- Local travel
To reserve a place on this tour, please contact Audrey Warren at Mission Travel Group audrey@missiontravel.com.au or call 1300 554 654.
Additional information and application forms can be found at www.missiontravel.com.au/bethsaida
