8-Day Break

Day 1 – Fly from London Luton or Manchester to Tel Aviv where you will be met and transferred to your overnight hotel in Tel Aviv. Free time to acclimatise to your surroundings and to have dinner. D
Day 2 – We depart after breakfast and drive south gaining an insight into the Arab-Israeli conflict. Our first visit will be to the Israeli Air Force Museum in Hazerim. We will have time to meet a pilot who
participated in the Six-Day War in 1967 when the Israeli Air Force surprised the Egyptians. Later we continue to a museum in Kibbutz Revivim which exhibits the settling of the Negev area by Jewish pioneers and the War of Independence of 1948, the beginning of the Arab – Israeli conflict. We dedicate our time this afternoon to the First World War battle of Beersheba, the capital of the Negev region, where
General Allenby’s plan of deception at the end of October 1917 culminated in one of the last major cavalry actions in modern history and the taking of Beersheba. This was to be the beginning of the end for the Turkish Eighth Army as the New Zealanders, some two weeks later, rode into Jaffa cutting links between Jerusalem and the coast. Jerusalem was now within Allenby’s grasp. We stay tonight in a Kibbutz in the Northern Negev and will be joined by a guest from the area who will speak about the 1948 war. B,D
Day 3 – This morning we travel to the Dead Sea and firstly visit Massada, the last stronghold of the Jewish zealots against the Romans. You ascend by cable car imagining how the siege unfolded. Once on Massada you can visit the ancient synagogue and bathhouses, learn how the inhabitants retained water and ultimately faced their fate. We descend back down to the Dead Sea and have time to enjoy a swim in the mineral rich and therapeutic waters. Continue north to the Galilee area for dinner and a two night stay in a Kibbutz.B,D
Day 4 – his morning we travel on to the Golan Heights where after their victory at Megiddo in 1918 the allied forces crossed on their way to taking Damascus. We will also view the bunkers that strategically
covered the north of Israel until 1973. An army expert who participated in the 1967 war will tell you about the Israeli Armoured Corps who fought on the Golan in the 1967 war. He will also describe how the Syrian forces were pushed back having advanced to the Tiberias area in the Yom Kippur war of 1973. We will see Mt Hermon the highest mountain in Israel also known as the eye of the Golan and frequently mentioned in the Bible. In the afternoon we drive down to the coast to visit Acre - an ancient city
fought over for centuries and captured in turn by Saracens and Crusaders, including Richard the Lionheart. We’ll visit the Old Town, the harbour and the Crusader Crypt before returning to our Kibbutz. B,D
Day 5 – After breakfast we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee admiring the scenery and looking back to the Golan Heights. We then travel the short distance to Megiddo (Armageddon) where archaeological digs have unearthed twenty layers of civilisation. The whole valley is steeped in history and battles have raged here throughout the centuries. The first battle in recorded history took place here in 1460BC. It was here in Sept 1918 that the climatic battle of the British campaign in Palestine took place. Two entire Turkish armies were defeated in what was to be the culminating victory in Allenby’s conquest of Palestine. We continue to Latrun and return to the Arab/Israeli conflict as we visit the Armoured Corps museum and meet a member of the Hagana (Israeli underground military organisation during the time of the British Mandate) who participated in the battle that freed Jerusalem from the blockade by the Jordanian army in 1948. We then head to Jerusalem for dinner and a two night stay.B,D
Day 6 – We will spend the day in the city of Jerusalem known as a Holy City by the world’s three main religions. It is one of the most extraordinary cities in the world with its many contrasts and diversities and
yet because of its importance, battles have taken place here for centuries. We begin with an overview of the city from the Mount of Olives. Then start our tour in the West of the city where Allenby attacked the Turkish defence forces on Dec 8th. Then via the Jaffa Gate where he entered the city with Lawrence of Arabia on Dec 11th 1917, fulfilling the instruction of the Prime Minister David Lloyd George ‘to deliver Jerusalem by Christmas`. We will enter the Old City and hear an account of the battle for the city by the
Israeli Paratroopers in 1967 that fought street by street against the `Legion` the Jordanian elite forces.
Later we view the Temple Mount, one of the Islam’s holiest sites and the Western Wall, Judaism’s most sacred site. We follow in the footsteps of Jesus along the Via Dolorosa with the Stations of the Cross until we arrive at the Holy Sepulchre built on the site of the Crucifixion. Time permitting we’ll fit in a visit to King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion and the Room of the Last Supper. B,D
Day 7 – Another opportunity to see some of the sights of Jerusalem this morning as we head to Mount Herzl and the military cemetery via the Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) and the Supreme Court.  We
then visit Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust victims. This afternoon we leave Jerusalem and travel to the ancient port town of Jaffa. The town has commanding views of the coastline, hence its strategic importance in Military history. Today Jaffa is part of the municipality of Tel Aviv. Overnight tonight is in Tel Aviv. B,D
Day 8 – After a fascinating insight into some of the battles and history of this amazing land we must sadly say farewell as we transfer to the airport for our return flight home. B

B=Breakfast D=Dinner

All hotels and Kibbutz hotels are of a 3-star European standard. All rooms have en suite facilities,air conditioning, and satellite/cable T.V. They all have a restaurant and bar and some have swimming pools.

• Mercure Hotel, Tel Aviv (nights 1 and 7)
• Kibbutz Mashabim, Negev (night 2)
• Kfar Giladi, Northern Galilee (nights 3 and 4)
• Park Hotel, Jerusalem (nights 5 and 6)

Extras
Optional Excursions.
Single room supplement £225
Travel Insurance- from £44.95