DAY 1 —USA • CAIRO
Depart from the USA on our flight to Cairo, Egypt. Meals and overnight on board. After dinner relax and enjoy the on-board entertainment.
DAY 2 — CAIRO
Arrive in Cairo where we are met and transferred to our hotel where we will stay for the next three nights. The afternoon is at leisure to get acquainted with our surroundings. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 3 —CAIRO • GREAT PYRAMIDS
Morning visit to the Egyptian Museum which includes a collection of antiquities and the golden mask and treasures of Tut-Ank-Amon. In the afternoon drive to Giza to visit the Great Pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and the Sphinx Valley Temple. The most adventurous will be invited to ride a camel. Dinner at the hotel. Evening optional Sound & Light show by the Pyramids.
DAY 4 —CAIRO • (Optional Full Day Luxor)
Full day at leisure for shopping and sightseeing or take an optional excursion to Luxor. Depart early morning on our flight to Luxor. Upon arriving in Luxor we cross the Nile River and tour the West Bank with the Valley of the Kings and the Queens, final resting place of Egypt’s “New Kingdom” pharaohs. In the afternoon, visit Luxor and Karnak Temples, built in the 20th Century B.C. with the impressive Avenue of the Sphinx. Depart on our return flight to Cairo. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 5— CAIRO • MT. SINAI
Depart today for biblical Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. We travel through the Sinai Desert situated between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. At the southern end of the peninsula is a mass of granite mountains, some of which are 8,000 feet above sea level. The chief peak is Jebel Musa, “Mountain of Moses” or Mt. Sinai. Proceed to our pension-like hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 6— MT. SINAI • RED SEA • PETRA
Very early this morning we will climb part way up Mt. Sinai’s slope to the 1,400-year-old Monastery of St. Catherine. It is named after a 4th century martyr whose bones were supposed to be carried here by angels after her death. The heartiest will climb to the top to welcome the sunrise. Depart later this morning for the city of Petra, in Jordan, via the Red Sea. Lost to the world for centuries, Petra the “Rose-Red City Half as Old as Time”, lay hidden in the mountains of southern Jordan. It had been a stronghold and capital for the Nabateans until 106 A.D. when it fell to Rome. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 7— PETRA • TIBERIAS
This morning we travel part of the way on horseback and the rest on foot through the deep and narrow passages which occur naturally, carved millions of years ago by erosion. (As a great deal of walking is included in the visit, we suggest good walking shoes.) The Treasury finally appears magnificently and immediately in front of us after we emerge from what seems like a hundred turns in the ravine. Now we begin our exploration of what both the Nabateans and Romans left for us to witness. The most adventurous will be invited to hike up to the spiritual “High Place”, site of the sacrificial alter and offering a spectacular view of the ancient city and environs. In the afternoon we depart Petra for Tiberias, Israel by motorcoach. En route we visit Mt. Nebo which is reputed to be the burial place of Moses and from where he looked upon the Holyland. Even though Moses never entered “The Promised Land”, our journey will carry on from where his ended. Cross the Allenby Bridge into Israel and drive along the Jordan Valley to Jericho. Continue driving north to Beit She’an to see the expansive excavations taking place at this ancient Roman City. Proceed to the Sea of Galilee and our hotel in the area.
DAY 8—SEA OF GALILEE
This day alone is worth the trip! We are now literally walking in the footsteps of Jesus. We will take a most memorable boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, in a replica of the ancient wooden boats used in Jesus’ day. We walk into old Capernaum with the ancient synagogue; on to the site of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes (Tabgha) and up to the site of the Sermon on the Mount, the Mount of Beatitudes. You will have an opportunity for a lunch of St. Peter’s fish (optional). In the afternoon we will journey north to Caesarea Phillipi, (Banias Spring) where Jesus decided to return to Jerusalem. Return via the Golan Heights to the area around the Sea of Galilee where we will visit the Jordan River and have the opportunity for a baptismal service, if so desired. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 9—JORDAN VALLEY • JERUSALEM
This morning we travel through the rolling hills of the Galilee to Nazareth, site of Mary’s Well, and Cana, site of His first miracle. Continue to Mukraka on Mt. Carmel and Elijah’s Cave. It’s on to Megiddo, inspiration for James Michener’s “The Source”, and prophesied site of Armageddon. Archaeological digs reveal 20 layers of civilization, including fortifications of King Solomon and the water tunnel of King Ahab. Megiddo provides a magnificent view of the fertile Jezreel Valley, at the crossroads of the ancient Via Maris. Pass newly settled towns en route to Caesarea, site of major events in the lives of Peter and Paul. It’s now time to enter Jerusalem. We will enter the city as pilgrims did since ancient times to fulfill the words of the prophet “I was glad when they said unto me: ‘Our feet shall stand within thy Gates, O Jerusalem’.” (Psalms 122:1-2). Dinner and overnight.
DAY 10—JERUSALEM • BETHLEHEM
Start the day with a view of the Old City from the top of the Mt. of Olives. Walk to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of All Nations and drive across the Kidron Valley. Enter the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate (Lions’ Gate) to the Moslem Quarter, visit the beautiful Church of St. Anne and the Pool of Bethesda, Pilate’s Judgment Hall, and the Ecce Homo Arch. Walk along the Via Dolorosa, into the Christian Quarter, and see the Stations of the Cross and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Drive to Mt. Zion to see the House of Caiaphas and the Upper Room of the Last Supper. We will visit Bethlehem and see Manger Square, the Church of the Nativity, and view Shepherds’ Fields and the Fields of Boaz and Ruth. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
DAY 11—JERUSALEM
We will begin the day with a visit to the reconstructed Jewish Quarter, walk through the Cardo, the original Roman street, and see the amazing Israelite wall. See the important excavations taking place at the Western Wall and the Southern Temple Staircase. We have an opportunity to observe Jewish Bar Mitzvahs at the Western Wall (Mondays and Thursdays only). Then on to the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock, where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, and now the site of a mosque. Visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and continue on to the miniature model of Jerusalem as it was in the 2nd Temple period (circa 68 A.D.). End the afternoon at Golgotha (Gordon’s Calvary) and the Garden’s Empty Tomb. Special time is planned for worship, communion, meditation and inspiration. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.
DAY 12— JERUSALEM (Optional Masada & Qumran)
Today is at leisure for shopping and relaxing. Or some may choose to depart to Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea, where we ascend by cable car to visit the remnants of Herod’s Palace and where from 70 to 73 A.D. the Zealots made their last stand against the Roman Legions. Visit Ein Gedi, fabled Spring of David, and proceed to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947. Time permitting, we will go for a swim, rather a “float”, in the salted waters of the Dead Sea. This evening we will share in a Farewell Dinner and the presentation of a Certificate of Pilgrimage to each tour participant.
DAY 13— ISRAEL • USA
Today we transfer to the airport. Our guide will assist us with check-in procedures. We arrive home today with wonderful memories of a visit to the Land of the Bible!
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