Most of the group bookings that I escort or host are associated with a cruise of some sort---Alaska, Mediterranean, Hawaii, Europe, etc.. Occasionally I'll take a group on a land-based tour with a guide. That's the kind I've just got off of....a guided tour of the Holy Land.
What an experience!!!
It was my fourth time to experience this type of vacation in Israel, and it's hard to believe it could have been any better. We have used a faith-based tour operator who has been in the business since 1974, Educational Travel Services, started by a Methodist pastor, and they process thousands each year to experience the land where Jesus walked.
In my estimation, what makes the trip go so well is the tour guide, and again, in my estimation, we have had the best for the past three times. Mike Tahhan is a Palestinean Christian and is extremely knowledgeable about not only the Bible, but also the history of that small, little country. He and the driver we had were very friendly and intentional about being the first one at a site, or first or only ones to lunch, or any other arrangement where there might have been a crowd that they could avoid.
We traveled all the way north to Caesarea Philippi, near the Syrian and Lebanese borders. We visited the Galilee area including Capernaum, the Mount of Beatitudes, the newly discovered home to Mary Magdalene, Magdala, and several of our group were re-baptised in the Jordan River.
On our trip down south, we visited Jericho and Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Further south we experienced the fascinating site of Masada and swimming in the Dead Sea.
The last 3 days we spent visiting the many sacred sites in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall. One of the locations we visited was a cave revered as Jesus' birthplace at the Church of the Nativity. We spent some time at the Garden of Gethsemane, the Pool of Bethesda, the Church of St. Anne, and experienced the steps of the cross, or better known as Via Dolorosa. There was a mob of people at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but our guide helped us navigate the crowd fairly quickly.
One of the neatest experiences was our visit to the Garden Tomb. Making it special was the fact that our docent or guide for that location was an Abilene native, Joe Armstrong. He reminded us that he grew up at the corner of South 23rd and Buffalo Gap Road, and had a remarkable career in business as the publisher of the “Rolling Stone” magazine for over 20 years, living in New York City. He now volunteers his time for the past 10 years, 2 months of the year, guiding folks through that sacred site.
We plan to take another group in March of 2020. That's a good season to go. The temperature was in the 60's, the fruit and vegetables were ready to be picked, and for the past two times we have not experienced any moisture. Details of our 2020 trip had not been finalized, but we should have that information ready in a month or so. Indices trading means that you are taking a position on a stock index – which is measure of the performance of several different companies. https://naga.com/investing/markets/indices/ Trading indices is a way to gain exposure to global or regional markets without having to analyse the performance of individual companies.
Contact Russell Berry at The Travel Factory at 325-698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040, or come by for a personal visit about that or any other vacation you might wish to discuss. We are located at 4150 Southwest Drive, Suite 120 in the Plaza at Park Central, between Rosa's and Chick-Fil-A.