Jerusalem in a Day with Western Wall and Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Jerusalem in a Day Tour Description

This full day tour includes:

• Hotel Pickup and Roundtrip Transportation

• Maximum Group Size of 18

• Local English Speaking Guide

• Visits to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Western Wall

• Admission to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum (on Friday and Saturday, alternate sites will be visited)

Hotel Pickup within Jerusalem, Meet Your Guide

The day begins in style with a hotel pickup in our luxury air-conditioned vans. Meet your guide who will describe the itinerary for the day as you begin the drive to the Mount of Olives.

Mount of Olives

The first stop of the day is the scenic hill on the edge of the city, the Mount of Olives. Take in the best vistas of the Old City with stunning views of the Dome of the Rock and the ancient Temple Mount where Solomon's temple stood in antiquity.

A top the Mount of Olives, your guide will point out the sights you will encounter throughout the day. As you descend towards the Zion Gate to enter the Old City, pass the Garden of Gethsemane; the Church of All Nations and the Kidron Valley with its ancient Jewish burial tombs.

Enter Old City Jerusalem through the Zion Gate

Built in 1540, the Zion Gate is one of the newer entranceways into the Old City of Jerusalem. Grand walls have protected the square mile citadel for millennia. In the middle of the 16th Century, the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, built the walls still standing today, including the new Zion Gate opened in 1540.

Inside the walls, your guide will describe the four quarters that occupy the ancient city. Beginning with the Armenian Quarter you will visit each area with the subsequent Jewish Quarter, Christian Quarter and Muslim Quarter. As you head through the narrow alleys immerse yourself in the history and culture that have shaped the world today.

Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall

As you move from the Armenian Quarter to the Jewish Quarter, you will be transported back to the Byzantine Period. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the Eastern Byzantines stayed strong for centuries. Ruling from Constantinople, Jerusalem was a crucial market city and fortress for the Empire. Explore the 1,500 year old Cardo, the medieval market that is currently being renovated to its original glory.

From the time of the Byzantine Empire travel back another five centuries to the height of the Roman Empire. In 70 AD, during Roman Rule, the entire Second Temple save for the Western Wall was destroyed in retaliation for the Great Jewish Revolt. Since 516 BC, the massive reconstructed Temple had stood on the Temple Mount, the same location where King Solomon's First Temple stood before.

The last accessible piece of Judaism's holiest site, Jews have been praying at and visiting the Wall for nearly 2,000 years. You will have the opportunity to place a prayer note into a crack in the walls as has been tradition for centuries. Also known as the Kotel or Wailing Wall, take a moment of remembrance as your guide explains the wall's importance.

Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulcher; a Journey into Jesus' Life

Just 40 years before the fall of Judaism's great Second Temple, Jesus Christ was crucified on the Golgotha. For the last two millennia, Christian pilgrims have been traveling to Jerusalem for the Stations of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa.

Walk the path Jesus took towards his passion and crucifixion concluding at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Built atop the site where Jesus was crucified, the church is one of the holiest sites in Christianity.

Unlike most churches which are run by a single denomination, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is divided into areas run by the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Armenian Apostolics. The Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox are also involved through the 1757 agreement known as the Status Quo.

Your guide will describe the strong history of the church. From its construction under the first christian Emperor Constantine the Great to renovations and destructions throughout Jerusalem's hectic past.

Jerusalem New City and the Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum

After a visit to Jerusalem's local markets for food, shopping and maybe even some light haggling, head out of the Old City through the Jaffa Gate. Learn about the tragedies of the Holocaust at the Yad Vashem Museum to observe documents and photographs laying out the discrimination, persecution and genocide of Jewish communities by Nazi Germany. The museum honors those who worked and risked their lives to protect the Jewish people.