"Come and see"

A 9/10 day pilgrimage led by

The Revd Dr Paul Mortimer

A visit to the Holy Land is a remarkable and life-changing experience for every Christian. The opportunity both to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, and to learn of the lives of today’s Christians in Palestine and Israel, offers profound new insights into the content and meaning of the gospel stories.

We are delighted to invite you to journey with us to experience something of the power of these remarkable places and people. As the itinerary shown below indicates, it is our hope that we will have the chance to take you to many of the sites associated with Jesus’ own life, where we will read, sing and pray together. We also hope to introduce you to some prominent Palestinian Christians, so that you might get some sense of the remarkable ministries carried out by our sister and brother Christians, often living under harsh and unjust restrictions that it is hard for us to imagine.

Andrew asked Jesus the question, “Where are you staying?”, to which Jesus’ responded very simply, “Come and see”... and changed Andrew’s life for ever. We hope that you will respond to a similar invitation, and join us on our pilgrimage.

Rev Paul Mortimer    

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Day 1     Monday

Departure to the Holy Land

Meet at London Heathrow and in the evening we board our flight to Tel Aviv

Day 2     Tuesday

Mount Tabor - Sea of Galilee

We arrive at dawn and will be met by our guide and then driven north to Galilee stopping for breakfast on route. After breakfast we start our pilgrimage by driving to the summit of Mount Tabor to visit the place of the Transfiguration. Leaving Mount Tabor we drive across the Jezreel Valley and the plains of Armageddon to our hotel by the Sea of Galilee to spend the afternoon relaxing by the lake.

 

Day 3     Wednesday

Cana and Nazareth

After breakfast we drive to Cana to visit the site of Jesus first sign - Water into Wine. Late morning we drive on up to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up, where we will meet members of the Anglican High School, before proceeding to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, Mary’s Well and the Old Synagogue Church. Return to our hotel.

Day 4     Thursday 

Sea of Galilee and Lakeside Churches

This morning we visit the sites connected with Jesus’ ministry. We visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes at Tabgha, and the Church of the Primacy, before continuing up to the church of the Beatitudes which overlooks the Sea of Galilee and the sites where Jesus lived and worked. We then return to the lake to visit Capernaum, the centre of Jesus' Galilean ministry, to visit this well excavated site, where we can view the House of Peter and the 4th Century synagogue built over the ruins of the earlier synagogue of Jesus’ era. After a break for lunch we drive south along the Jordan Valley to the oasis city of Jericho, known as the city of palms and one of the oldest cities on Earth. Here we will view the Mount of Temptation and break for shopping. Late afternoon we leave Jericho and drive on up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness towards Jerusalem. We stop briefly for a breathtaking view of the Old Walled City of Jerusalem, before proceeding through the checkpoint to Bethlehem and our hotel.

 

Day 5     Friday

Bethlehem

After breakfast we walk to the Church of the Nativity, venerated by Christians of all denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. We then drive the short distance Beth Sahour to visit the Shepherds Fields. After a break for lunch we will visit the Holy Family Hospital – the foremost neonatal and maternity hospital in the West Bank, to learn of its breathtaking work with expectant mothers in this, the city of Jesus’ birth. We then visit the International Center of Bethlehem, attached to the Lutheran Christmas Church, to learn about its remarkable projects in the fields of education, culture & media. Overnight stay in Bethlehem.

 

 

Day 6     Saturday

The Mount of Olives & Mount Zion

After breakfast we return to the Mount of Olives and begin our day at Bethphage, the beginning of the ‘Palm Sunday route’ that takes us from the summit of the Mount of Olives, to the church of the Pater Noster, the Church of Dominus Flevit, and the Church of all Nations, also known as the Basilica of the Agony at Gethsemane. After a break for lunch we drive up Mount Zion to visit the traditional site of the Room of the Last Supper, the Dormition Abbey and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. There we can view the recently excavated Roman pathway and steps that lead up from the Old City. From there it is a short drive to our pilgrim hotel in the Christian Quarter of the Old City. Overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 7     Sunday

The Via Dolorosa

This morning we begin by visiting the Crusader Church of St Anne adjacent to the Pool of Bethesda. We then continue to the Convent of the Sisters of the Zion built on the foundations of the Antonia fortress, the Roman Garrison’s Jerusalem Head Quarters, the site where Jesus was condemned by Pilate, and from where we follow the Way of the Cross along the narrow streets of the Via Dolorosa to Calvary, enshrined within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After a break for lunch we will have the option of a free afternoon for exploring the old city, or of visiting the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial museum. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

 

Day 8     Monday

Model & Taybeh

Today we leave our hotel to visit the model of Jerusalem based around the time of Jesus. Late morning we drive to the Palestinian village of Taybeh, the only Christian town left in Israel and Palestinian territories. The Gospel of John says Jesus went to Taybeh, then called Ephraim after he raised Lazarus and the Jewish Authorities planned to put Jesus to death. We return to Jerusalem in the early evening. Overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 9     Tuesday

The Dead Sea, Masada & Qumran

A day at leisure or the option of joining a Full day excursion of the Dead Sea basin. We drive down to the Dead Sea and along the shoreline to visit Masada, which we ascend by cable-car. It was on this flat-topped mountain that Jewish partisans committed mass suicide in AD73 rather than surrender to Roman slavery. On descending Masada we will stop for the opportunity to bather in the unique mineral laden waters of Dead Sea. And finally after a break for lunch we will view the Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in 1947 and the nearby Essene Monastery where the scrolls may have originated. We plan to be back at our hotel in the evening. Farewell dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. Optional cost - £39

Day 10     Wednesday

Our journey home

We leave Jerusalem after a leisurely breakfast and drive down to Abu Gosh, the possible site of Emmaus to celebrate a final Eucharist, before breaking for lunch and then proceeding to Tel Aviv Airport and our return flight home.

 

 

 

 

 

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   The Holy Land Brochure.             Booking Form.

 

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Tour Cost

 

INCLUSIVE TOUR COST - £1449

Lightline tours are carefully calculated to include all items
necessary to complete your tour at the advertised price

 

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