BLOYD

Obrat Tours is not a conventional tourism company. Our job is not to take you from one hotel to the next. Your comfort and the quality of your stay are important to us, and we aim to bring you as close as possible to the destination that you are visiting, and that includes the choice of your accommodation. It is our firm belief that food and drink are important when trying to gain a better understanding of a destination's heritage, culture and way of life. An exciting vegan cuisine that showcases distinctive local ingredients is already included in the price of your stay.

RELAXING – DISCOVERING TOUR-

8 DAYS / 7 NIGHTS

1 PERSON / 3* hotels

Day I

Tel Aviv

Arrival to Ben Gurion International Airport, welcome and assistance with border formalities. Board the air-conditioned coach with your Arabic-speaking guide, who will assist you throughout your stay. Transfer to the hotel in Tel Aviv or its region.

Depending on flight arrival times, walk in the new and bustling Sarona district. This new and renovated district is quite ancient, as it was built by the German Templars colony, German Christians who came to settle in Israel in the 19th century. Today, the former agricultural colony is a modern district with many cafes and restaurants, and a museum where you can discover the history of the place.

Dinner & overnight @ Tel Aviv

Day II

Tel Aviv – Caesarea - Haifa

After breakfast, spend the morning visiting Caesarea, the city built by Herod the Great, capital of the Roman procurators; discover the theatre, the Roman city and the city of the Crusaders. Drive to Zichron Ya’acov, located on Mount Carmel, a city built by Baron de Rothschild who invested in the vineyards that were beginning to develop in the region. Visit of a cellar and tasting of regional wines. Lunch en-route. Visit a Druze village, meet some of the people here, and discover this population that lives in 3 countries, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Proceed to Haifa, where Mount Carmel is the home of the World Centre of the Baha’i faith: view of the astonishing Shrine of the Báb, the mausoleum with the golden dome, where the remains of the Báb, founder of the Bábí Faith and forerunner of Baha’u’llah in the Baha’i Faith, are buried; it is considered to be the second holiest place on Earth for Baha’is, after the Shrine of Baha’u’llah in Akko. Marvel at the spectacular and largest hanging gardens in the world.

Dinner & overnight @ Haifa

Day III

Tiberias - Galilee

After breakfast, departure for Akko, visit of the old town, the district of the Order of the Hospitallers, the Caravanserai and the Templar tunnel. The city boasts 5,000 years of history. This old port city is the former capital of the Crusader kingdom. Akko was one of the most important cities of ancient times. Various cultures found refuge there, the Crusaders conquered it and the Ottomans lived there for many years. Napoleon Bonaparte himself wanted to conquer the city, but after two months of siege and several assaults, he failed and had to leave the place inglorious; once there, you will understand why. Visit the el-Jazzar Mosque, also known as the White Mosque, which is located on el-Jazzar Street inside the walls of the old city of Akko, overlooking the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and is named after Ahmad Pasha el-Jazzar ("the Butcher"), the Ottoman governor of the Sidon and Damascus provinces. El-Jazzar ordered the mosque's construction in 1781 and had it completed within the year. Proceed to the Adir Winery, for a wine tasting and salad lunch. Re-board the bus and continue to the region of Safed, the city of the Kabbalah and one of the four holy cities in Israel (with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias). Stroll through its picturesque alleys and visit an old synagogue. Drive down to the Sea of Galilee, and finish the day with a cruise on the lake before sunset.

Dinner & overnight @ Tiberias

Day IV

Tiberias – Nazareth – Dead Sea

Breakfast at the hotel,. Then head out to the Mount of Beatitudes to enjoy a splendid panoramic view. Proceed to Capernaum, the adopted city of Jesus. Visit Nazareth, Jesus’ home during his childhood, and see the Church of the Annunciation. Then, cross the Jordan Valley for a view of Jericho, the oldest city in the world. Continue to Qumran, the location of the caves where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Finally arrive to the Dead Sea, the surface and shores of which are 430.5 metres below sea level, which makes it Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Dead Sea is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With a salinity of 34.2% (in 2011), it is one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, which makes swimming similar to floating! This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name.

Dinner & overnight @ Dead Sea

Day V

Masada - Jerusalem

Morning swim in the salty waters of the Dead Sea and relaxation at the hotel spa. After lunch, drive to the fortress of Masada, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an ancient fortress occupying a breathtaking, strategic location high on a flat plateau above the Dead Sea. The fortress of Masada was built in the year 30 BCE by King Herod, whose architectural feats have left their mark throughout the country. Discovery by cable car of the palaces, warehouses, residential areas and the water supply of the impressive fortified system. Enjoy one of the most fascinating panoramas of the Judean Desert. Then transfer to Jerusalem for a view from Mount Scopus.

Dinner & overnight @ Jerusalem

Day VI

Jerusalem

After breakfast, drive to the Israel Museum for a visit of the Shrine of the Book, built as a repository for the first seven Dead Sea scrolls discovered at Qumran in 1947. The unique white dome embodies the lids of the jars in which the first scrolls were found, and the Holyland Model of Jerusalem, also known as the Model of Jerusalem, a 1:50 scale model of the city of Jerusalem in the late Second Temple period.. Proceed to the Yad Vashem Deportation Memorial, moment of meditation and visit of the Memorial. Lunch en-route. Drive to Ein Kerem, John the Baptist’s birthplace. Visit Mary’s Well, the Catholic Church of John the Baptist with its beautiful ancient mosaic floor, and the Grotto of John the Baptist (where he was born), and stroll through its picturesque streets. Return to Jerusalem and stroll in a real oriental souk, the renowned Mahane Yehuda market, which brings together more than 250 vendors.

Dinner & overnight @ Jerusalem

Day VII

Jerusalem

After breakfast, board the bus again for a further exploration of Jerusalem. With its 827m altitude, the Mount of Olives offers a marvellous panoramic view of the old city. Descend to see the ancient olive trees of the Garden of Gethsemane, and visit the Kidron valley, also known as Josaphat valley. Visit of the Church of the Agony (Church of all nations). Discover the main sites of the old city on foot. Visit the Western Wall, the most sacred place in Judaism. Follow part of the Stations of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa, with its last station located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the most sacred of the Byzantine and Crusader basilicas. Lunch en-route. End the day on Mount Zion: visit the Cenacle, the Tomb of David and the Basilica of the Dormition.

Dinner & overnight @ Jerusalem

Day VIII

Jerusalem – Tel Aviv

After breakfast, transfer to Tel Aviv or Amman International airport for return flight.

Please be advised that the sequence of the program detailed in the preceding pages may change,

according to the circumstances; however, all sites will be visited.