JERUSALEM & DEAD SEA

JERUSALEM & DEAD SEA: Pick up at your hotel for a fascinating tour of the holy city of Jerusalem. Start with a great panoramic view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, pointing out the important sites with a short explanation of the city’s past and present. Continue for a walking tour of the Old City. Enter the old walled city on foot through one of the main gates from ancient times. The tour includes visits to Mount Zion and the ancient Cardo, an integral component of city planning lined with shops and vendors that served as a hub of economic life. Walk along the Via Dolorosa (Way of Sorrows), passing the Stations of the Cross on the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, incorporating both Calvary and the Resurrection Tombs. Visit the Western (Wailing) Wall, a section of the supporting wall of the Temple Mount that has remained intact since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. Continue the day with a drive through the Judean Desert to the northern shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth at almost 1300 feet (400 meters) below sea level. Spend the afternoon relaxing and enjoying the therapeutic qualities of the Dead Sea mud, as well as the unique experience of floating on the sea itself. At the end of the day, drive back for drop off at your hotel.