JERUSALEM HALF DAY TOUR
Daily Tour
Duration: 1/2 day

A brief overview of the tour

After a panoramic overview of Jerusalem we will walk along the Byzantine Cardo, in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. From the Kotel - the Western Wall, we will follow the Via Dolorosa, the Stations of the Cross, ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Important and useful notes

• The tour ends in the Old City of Jerusalem.
• Change of vehicle required for transfers of pick up / drop off destinations to save time, avoid traffic and delay!
• Please be at your pick up point on time. There might be some delay (up to 20 minutes) due to traffic or other operational issues
• Modest dress: Covered shoulders/ No shorts required.
• Business class - small groups in luxury van / minibus.

A detailed description of the tour

We start with a breathtaking overview of Jerusalem. As if in the palm of our hand, we see the Old City and the Temple Mount area spread before us and imagine the Second Temple destroyed in 70 CE and Solomon’s Temple before that, destroyed in 586 BCE.

As we drive along the Kidron Valley we have an excellent view of the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations as well as of the monumental ancient Jewish burial tombs. We enter the Old City through the Zion Gate, passing the Armenian Quarter to the excavated Byzantine Cardo. Although this fifteen hundred year old main street of Jerusalem was partially destroyed and unused during the Moslem conquest it had a brief new lease of life during the Crusader period and the excavated Crusader shops are now modern stores.

Continuing through the Jewish Quarter we proceed to the Kotel - the Western Wall. This two thousand year old wall is part of the encircling and supporting wall built by King Herod when the Temple Mount area was enlarged.

As we walk along the Via Dolorosa we join the many pilgrims who are following the Stations of the Cross ending at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church built over the place of the crucifixion of Jesus and the burial tomb. Originally built in the Byzantine period, it was partially destroyed during the Persians and Moslem conquests and then rebuilt and slightly altered by the Crusaders.

Finally we stroll through the market alleys.