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HAIFA-JERUSALEM-ASHDOD
DAY 1 - Haifa to Jerusalem
You will be met at the port in Haifa by your private guide. Drive to Mt. Carmel in the city of Haifa and enjoy panoramic views of the largest port of Israel and a view of the Shrine of the Bahai and the Persian Gardens from Zionism Square.
Continue to the ruins of Caesarea, a large port city built by Herod the Great to honor Roman Caesar Augustus. In order to supply water to the city’s ever-growing population, he built an aqueduct system stretching from the springs of Mt. Carmel to Caesarea. Part of this system is still visible today.
Drive to Mt. Herzl to visit the Military Cemetery including the tombs of Theodor Herzel, Golda Meir and Itzhak Rabin.
Continue to Jerusalem and visit the Hadassah Medical Center to see the Chagall Windows in the synagogue there. Next, visit Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, including the Children’s Pavilion and the Valley of the Communities.
Transfer to your hotel for overnight.
DAY 2 – Jerusalem to Ashdod
Drive to Mt. Zion in Jerusalem and visit David’s Tomb, the second holiest site in Judaism.
Enter the Old City through the Zion Gate, used by the Israel Defense Forces in 1967 to enter and capture the Old City. The stones surrounding the gate are still pockmarked by weapons fire. See the Burnt House and the Herodian Quarter, vivid reminders of the Roman conquest and the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 CE.
Lunch on route. Walk down to the Western Wall, the only visible remains of the Second Temple and the holiest site in Judaism. Visit the Davidson Center and view a multi-media presentation about 1st century Jerusalem. Experience the new Jerusalem Through the Generations display. Then, walk through the huge arched spaces of the Western Wall Tunnel.
You will be transferred to the port in Ashdod to rejoin your cruise.
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