Itinerary

Day 1 Monday 6 May

Journeying to the Holy Land

We meet at London Luton Airport for our non-stop Easyjet flight to Tel Aviv. On arrival we will be met by our guide and then driven north to Galilee and our guest house in Nazareth. Dinner and overnight stay in Nazareth.

Day 2 Tuesday 7 May

Revelation and Annunciation

After breakfast we begin our Pilgrimage by driving to Mount Tabor, traditionally associated with the Transfiguration to spend time on the summit overlooking the wonderful views of the Jezreel Valley (the plains of Armageddon). We then drive to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first sign according to the Fourth Gospel. In the afternoon continue to Nazareth, the town in which the Gospel story begins. Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, the traditional site of Mary’s Well and walk through the narrow winding market streets of the souk to an old Synagogue Church. We will return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3 Wednesday 8 May

Golan Heights & Jesus’ Galilean Ministry

After an early breakfast we drive down to Tiberias pier to sail across the Sea of Galilee to Ginosar from where we will drive up to the Mount of the Beatitudes overlooking the places where Jesus lived and worked. We then proceed to Tabgha to visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes. We will celebrate the Eucharist on the shores of the lake. We then continue to the church of the Primacy of St Peter and finally to the ancient fishing village of Capernaum, the centre of Jesus’ Galilean Ministry to view the house of Peter and a partially rebuilt 4th century synagogue, built over the site where Jesus often preached. After a break for lunch we leave the lakeside and drive up into the Golan Heights (Syrian territory) to visit Banias a source of the River Jordan and Caesarea Philippi, the site where Peter made his great profession of faith in Jesus. Return to Nazareth for dinner.

Day 4 Thursday 9 May

An ancient pilgrimage route

This morning we bid farewell to the Galilee, and begin our journey south through the heart of the West Bank. Entering the Palestinian Territories near Jenin, our first stop is at the city of Nablus in which is found Jacob’s Well - a site which Jesus himself visited on a journey to Jerusalem. From here we drive through the heart of the Israeli Occupation where we will see a considerable number of illegal settlements. For lunch, we will visit the village of Taybeh, the only entirely Christian village in Palestine and learn something of the remarkable mission of its parish church. Leaving Taybeh we make our way down to the Jordan valley and the traditional site where John baptised Jesus, which has just reopened after been closed for decades and where we will have an opportunity to renew our Baptism vows. We then finally proceed up through the hills of the Judean wilderness towards Jerusalem and we will stop briefly on the summit of Mount Scopus for a breathtaking view of the old city of Jerusalem and it beautiful surrounding medieval walls, before proceeding to Bethlehem and witness first hand the huge 9-metre high separation wall. We continue through the check-point to our Bethlehem hotel. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem.

Day 5 Friday 10 May

Bethlehem & Beth Sahour

We spend the day in and around Bethlehem. We drive to Manger Square and visit the places associated with the birth of Jesus and get a sense of the lives of modern-day Christians in Bethlehem. During the course of the day we will visit the Shepherds’ Fields and the Church of the Nativity. We will also have a tour of one of the three major refugee camps in the city and see the signs of hope in the remarkable work of the Holy Family Maternity Hospital, which offers the only neo-natal care in the southern West Bank. Return to our Bethlehem hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6 Saturday 11 May

Mount of Olives, Mount Zion & Sabeel

After breakfast we drive to the summit of the Mount of Olives to recall the Palm Sunday route and visit places associated with particular events in the gospels as we slowly make our way downhill. We start at Bethphage, the traditional starting point of the procession of palms and in the course of our journey will visit the church of the Pater Noster, where we recall Jesus’ teaching of the Lord’s Prayer to his disciples and the church of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over the fate of the city. Finally, we reach the Garden of Gethsemane and the dark and brooding Church of All Nations where we recall Jesus’ agonized prayers prior to his arrest and reflect on the failure of his closest friends to keep awake and watch with him. We then proceed across the Kidron Valley to visit Mount Zion and the traditional site of the Last Supper, and Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu and view the recently excavated Roman pathway and steps that lead up from the Old City. The rest of the afternoon will be free for lunch and time to explore Jerusalem. In the evening after diner we will be joined by Canon Naim Ateek, a local Palestinian church leader who will talk to us about the present political situation. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 7 Sunday 12 May

The First Day of the Week

This morning we will visit St George’s Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem and worship with some of the local Christian community. After a break for coffee at the Cathedral we will drive over to the west side of Jerusalem, the modern Jewish side to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum and Park. In the afternoon we drive to the village of Ein Karem, venerated as the birthplace of John the Baptist and we will end the day by visiting a church associated with Mary’s meeting with her cousin Elizabeth. We will bring our day to a close with worship here, before returning to Jerusalem and our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8 Monday 13 May

The Way of the Cross

We leave our hotel and drive to Zion Gate and proceed to the Western Wall, a section of the retaining wall of King Solomon’s Temple and Judaism’s holiest site. If permitted we will climb on to the Temple Mount to view the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosque. We the proceed to the beautiful Crusader Church of St. Anne overlooking the Pools of Bethesda, before visiting the Convent of the Sisters of Zion, built on the foundations of the Antonia Fortress, the Roman Garrison of Jerusalem. After celebrating the Eucharist we will view the recently-excavated first century stone pavement (Gabbatha in the gospels) and then follow the Way of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa to Calvary enshrined within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After a break for lunch in fountain piazza (opportunity to try the local Fallafel sandwich). Our last afternoon will be free to explore the Old city and to revisit sites of particular interest Farewell dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 9 Tuesday 14 May

Emmaus & our journey home

After breakfast we leave Jerusalem and drive around seven miles in a westerly direction and stop at the village of Abu Ghosh, one of the sites associated with the village of Emmaus in the gospels, to celebrate our final Eucharist together. After a break for lunch we drive down to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and our return flight to London. We plan to arrive back at Luton late evening (22:30).