Come out to REI to discover outdoor adventure opportunities in Israel, a tiny country with a big history and a huge network of hiking and mountain biking trails! Israel offers a host of outdoor opportunities for the trekker, pilgrim and historian, including:

• The Israel Trail, a 600-mile cross-country sojourn from desert to snow-capped peak
• The Golan Trail, 80 solitary miles through lush and hotly-contested landscape=
• The Jesus Trail, 40 miles of spiritual history in the Galilee region

About the Presenters:
David Landis and Anna Dintaman have been adventuring and trekking in the Middle East for over two years, working with responsible tourism and writing a guidebook to the Jesus Trail.  They will bring insight into trekking tourism in Israel, anecdotes and stories from the trails, and reflection on the positive role adventure tourism can play in bridging relationships between diverse cultures and religions.

Dates:
February 4, 2010 at REI Marlton, 7pm
February 9, 2010 at REI Conshohocken, 7pm

Price:
FREE!

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=251206327790

Check out:
http://israeltrail.org
http://jesustrail.com

Click here to view and download the free Jesus Trail Map (PDF)

The map features:

• Practical information about where to sleep, buy food and supplies, get water, catch a bus, etc.
• Descriptions of points of interest
• Elevation chart with distances and difficulty ratings
• Description of how to use Jesus Trail markings for navigation
• List of accommodations contact info, price and amenities
• Chart of bus numbers and schedules

If you would like us to mail this free map to your home address, send us an email to freemap@jesustrail.com.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors who helped to make this map possible!

Jesus Trail Free Map Sponsors:

Fauzi Azar Inn
Al Mutran Guest House
ILH Hostel Guide
Abraham Path
BLESS—Biblical Lands Educational Seminars and Service
Jerusalem University College
Nazareth Village
Go Eco Volunteer Program
Shavit’s Family B&B Arbel
VeloIsrael
Kibbutz Lavi
Moshav Zippori B&B
Tiberias Hotel Association

The ride shows that it is possible to mountain bike the Jesus Trail route, with only short sections where it is necessary to walk or carry the bike. For a list of these sections, visit the mountain biking thread on the Jesus Trail Forum (see below).  The new guidebook will also describe the biking alternatives.

“The only way to define your limits is going beyond them”
- Nazareth Mountain Bikers

View photos from the ride on Jesus Trail’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125674&id=64330873837&l=6ffe7ab93d

Mountain Biking thread on the Jesus Trail Forum: http://forum.jesustrail.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=10

Visit Nazareth Mountain Bikers on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Nazareth-Israel/Nazareth-Mountain-Bikers/148863526218?ref=ts

Middle School students from public schools in Nazareth, Cana and Mash’had thronged the streets of their towns armed with trash bags and gloves to clean up their neighborhoods.  International volunteers from the US, Russia, South Africa and Germany participated as well, forging friendships with the enthusiastic and curious children.

Trash is a major environmental problem in Israel, where over 90% of the country’s waste is buried in landfills, which are reaching maximum capacity.  Only about 5% of Israel’s waste reaches recycling facilities.

The Jesus Trail and Jewish National Fund plan to make this trash pickup activity a monthly ritual, hoping to instill in these youth a sense of pride in caring for the environment and making the Jesus Trail a clean and pleasant place for locals and international visitors alike.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=124511&id=64330873837&l=47d0467841

So far the project has been selecting and developing small sections of the route in each country along it.  Each country team is working separately on their segment of the path, in parallel, but not in cooperation with each other.  Trail sections in Turkey, Jordan, and Palestine have already been inaugurated.  The project is working to promote economic development and ecological preservation along the trail, as well as to foster mutual respect between the Abrahamic faiths centered around the shared common narrative of Abraham.

As part of the inauguration, a delegation walked a small portion of the trail near the south Hebron hills, ending in the Bedouin town of Derijat.  The group also visited important archeological sites associated with Abraham, such as Tel Arad and Tel Be’er Sheva, lead by the renowned archeologist Avner Goren.  The program featured a stroll through Be’er Sheva River Park, a huge green area being developed as part of a renaissance of Be’er Sheva as a tourist destination.

The delegation met with some of the unique and diverse people of the Negev, including the Cochin community of Jews from India, who trace their ancestry back to one of the ten lost tribes of Israel, as well as a group of Ethiopian Jewish women potters, who create and sell beautiful traditional clay sculptures.  The group also heard from a young Bedouin woman realizing her dream of creating a line of cosmetics made of natural local ingredients.

Jesus Trail representatives enjoyed learning more about the Abraham Path and comparing notes with a project that connects to similar goals.

Check out the Abraham Path web site for more information about how you can be involved or walk a portion of the trail: www.abrahampath.org

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Also, a print piece by ABC:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7480208&page=1

An article by the Agence French-Presse also ran in several different venues, including this one:
http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20090506-139704.html

This route includes the following improvements:

• Adjustments for the newly blazed orange route from Nazareth to Golani junction
  • More direct route from Nazareth to Zippori with a stoplight crossing of Rt. 79
  • More scenic route from Cana to Golani junction on the top or the ridge with great views to the north and south
  • Increased number of footpaths
• Full Google Earth files and GPS tracks for the return loop (Arbel, Tiberias, Yardenit, Tel Rekhesh, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Deborah, Mt. Precipice, Nazareth), 76.1km.
• All GPS tracks are now under 500 points per section for improved compatibility with older GPS units (in response to user feedback)
• Small route improvements around Cana, Kibbutz Lavi, and the Arbel Valley
• Increased lodging and transportation options on the route including a great new guesthouse in Cana and camping area at Golani Junction
• Additional sites in the surrounding area stored as waypoints, which may be used for side trips or to navigate by bike or car.  Hiking routes to these sites are in the works…
• The Jesus Trail route network v3.0 now includes a total of 138.1 km.

The story highlights that the trail is being marked with paint blazes by the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel and is on schedule to be completed by the Pope’s visit to Nazareth next month.

Several other related stories came out this week, including from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20politics/Walk_footsteps_Jesus_5-Mar-2009.htm

Also, from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/10/pope-commits-to-holy-land_n_173610.html

The Pope leads Mass in Nazareth on the previous Papal
visit to Nazareth in 2000. (Photo from BBC News)

Nazareth, Israel, April 1, 2009— One year ago, the Jesus Trail, a Galilee pilgrimage hiking route, con-
sisted of little more than a track of GPS points and an idea.  Now, just one year later, the Society for the
Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) is marking the trail with painted blazes, hundreds of diverse hikers
have come to hike the trail, and locals are launching business initiatives in preparation for an increase in
hikers.

Developed by local hostel owner and tourism developer Maoz Inon and outdoor adventure specialist
David Landis, the trail offers an alternative for travelers and pilgrims to experience the steps of Jesus
in a way that is authentic, adventurous and educational by trekking through the rugged and beautiful
landscape of the Galilee the same way that Jesus did—by foot.

Painted blazes have already been added to 30 kilometers of the 65-kilometer trail, with plans to com-
plete the blazing by the Pope’s visit to Nazareth in May.  The Society for the Protection of Nature in Is-
rael is marking the trail using the Israeli blaze system and will include the trail on future official hiking
maps of the region.  “This is the first trail in Israel that has been blazed with foreign trekkers in mind,
and our first historic long-distance trail,” said Gili Greenbaum, Marking Coordinator for SPNI.  “Mark-
ing the trail serves both to improve accessibility to hikers and also to limit environmental impact to one
path,” added Greenbaum.

As word spread about the trail in the past year, over 300 hikers have made their way to Nazareth to
hike all or a portion of the trail. Many are taking advantage of free guiding on the first day of the trail
provided by volunteers in Nazareth. An experienced pilgrimage hiker from South Africa came to expe-
rience the feel of the land and visit historical sites of the beaten track. One pastor from England came
to pray from the high points of the trail.  A group of four hiked the trail as part of a much larger trek
from Germany to Israel.  A conservative Mennonite family hiked the first day of the trail with their six
children, including a 3-year-old. After running half the trail in one day, an American man reflected that
his experience was, “quite surreal as [his] mind often drifted to the religious history [he] learned from
the Bible.”

Hikers experience the diversity of the Galilee and rich hospitality of local culture.  A group of six
American volunteers camping near a bedouin village had a surprise evening visit from a local man who
brought them food and dry firewood. Many locals have been supportive of the project, including Abu
Yusuf, a resident of the Arab village of Meshhed, who was eager to welcome hikers into his home.

Daniella Fields, an Israeli trailblazer for SPNI, met two little boys calling themselves, “the kings of
Meshhed” as she painted blazes through their town.  One of them helped her to carry her painting sup-
plies.  As she left town she thanked him for letting her “paint in [his] kingdom.”  As a Jewish Israeli,
Fields commented, “There’s so much I don’t know about the different people in my own country.”

In addition to giving hikers the opportunity for a unique experience, the trail serves as an economic
stimulus for local businesses.  In Cana, several family-run bed and breakfasts have sprung up in re-
sponse to the need for hiker accommodations.  New restaurants opened in the old city of Nazareth to
provide for the influx of pilgrims. The slower-paced travel of hiking ensures that pilgrims will patronize
local businesses for food, accommodations and other necessities along way. With the marking of the
trail already underway, hopes are high that the number of Jesus Trail hikers will continue to rise.

Jesus Trail hiker Richard Stetenga wrote, “The good thing about this trail is that it combines visiting
some important religious sites with natural beauty. It gave me some time to reflect on things that hap-
pened there long ago, and their meaning now, for me.”

The Jesus Trail Web site—www.jesustrail.com— provides links to tour operators and features informa-
tion on the religious and geographic sites, accommodations and food, and general resources on hiking
the region.

The Jesus Trail is a 65-kilometer hiking trail connecting sites from the life and ministry of Jesus.  The
entire Jesus Trail can be walked in 3-5 days, or any section can be walked as a day hike using public
transportation.  Travelers can camp out or stay in a variety of accommodations, ranging from simple
dorms to five star hotels.  The trail begins in Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, and continues to the
Sea of Galilee by way of Zippori, Cana, the Horns of Hattin and Arbel Cliffs.  Around the Sea of Galilee
the trail connects Tabgha, the church of the Primacy of St. Peter, Capernaum, and the Mount of Beati-
tudes.  An optional return loop connects back to Nazareth via Tiberias, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor
and Mount Precipice.  More information is available at http://jesustrail.com.

High resolution images available for download at: http://jesustrail.com/downloads/jesus_trail_press_photos.zip.  These images are intended only for press purposes and may not be used for commercial reasons of any kind.

For further details contact:

David Landis
david@jesustrail.com
+972-52-6284582

Maoz Inon
maoz@jesustrail.com
972-54-4322352

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