Itinerary

Day 1 Monday 7 May

Journey to the Holy Land

We gather at Manchester Airport for our morning flight to Tel Aviv. On arrival we will be met by our guide and driven north along the Mediterranean coast to Galilee and our hotel by the overlooking the lake. .

Day 2 Tuesday 8 May

Mount Tabor, Nazareth & Cana

We begin our pilgrimage by driving to the foot of Mount Tabor from where we continue by taxi to the summit for Mass in the Basilica built on the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John. From the roof top one can look across the green and fertile Valley of Jezreel and the plains of Armageddon. On descending Mount Tabor we drive up to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up. Here we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the traditional site of the home of the Holy Family, before breaking for lunch. In the afternoon we continue to the Greek Orthodox Church, built over Mary’s Well and the old Synagogue-Church. Late afternoon we drive to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first sign to visit the Wedding Church, built to commemorate Jesus First Miracle and, before finally returning to the lake and our hotel by Galilee for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3 Wednesday 9 May

Jesus’ Lakeside Ministry “Sami’s Project”

After breakfast we drive to the Church of the Primacy for meditation and then to Tabgha and the church of the Loaves and Fishes, which commemorates the miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. We then continue along the shoreline to the ancient fishing village of Capernaumfor Mass over the House of Peter. We then visit the excavations of the old synagogue there with its foundations that date back to the time of Jesus and quite possibly the site where Jesus may have often preached.

We leave Capernaum by boat and sail across the Sea of Galilee to Kibbutz En Gev where we will break for lunch. In the afternoon we will visit our guide, Sami’s project which “The Friends of the Holy Land” are supporting. The project supports disabled and disturbed children in Galilee (details of the visit will follow). We return to our hotel for dinner.

Day 4 Thursday 10 May

Jericho, the Judean Desert, The Dead Sea & Jerusalem

After celebrating an Mass in the open air on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the places where Jesus lived and worked we leave Galilee and drive south along the eastern shores of Galilee and follow the Jordan River as it meanders its way along the Jordan Valley towards the ancient oasis town of Jericho, the oldest inhabited city on earth. We will break here for coffee and hopefully meet the local priest. After an opportunity for a spot of shopping we will view of Qarantal, the Mount of Temptation monastery, which clings precariously to the cliff face of the mountain. We then continue to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the earth’s surface to visit Qumran, the site where the De Dead Sea scrolls were discovered, by a Bedouin Shepherd boy. We will also visit the excavations of the Essene monastery where the scrolls may have originated. We then have the opportunity to take lunch and to bathe in the unique mineral-laden waters of the Dead Sea. In the afternoon, leaving the Dead Sea we drive up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness towards Jerusalem, stopping briefly in the town ofBethany, the home of Jesus friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Finally we arrive in Jerusalem. We will stop briefly on the summit of Mount Scopus for a breathtaking view of the Holy City of Jerusalem and its beautiful surrounding medieval walls, before proceeding to check-in to our hotel situated within the Old Walled City. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 5 Friday 11 May

Bethlehem & Ein Karem

After breakfast we drive a short distance to the city of Bethlehem, situated on the outskirts of the city and entered through a nine-metre high “separation wall”. In begin by visiting the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in Christendom and built over the cave that marks the spot where Jesus was born. We will be celebrate Mass by St Joseph’s altar close to Jerome’s Cave below the Church of the Nativity. We then continue the Milk Grotto and finally the Shepherds Fields. We will visit various projects including The International Center of Bethlehem (ICB), an ecumenically-minded institution that serves the entire Palestinian community, with an emphasis on children, youth, and women, where we hope to break for lunch and an opportunity to listen to a short lecture by its founder Dr Mitri Raheb or another member of his staff. Late afternoon on exiting Bethlehem we will drive to the village of Ein Karem, to visit the church of the Visitation and home of John the Baptist. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6 Saturday 12 May

Mount of Olives & Mount Zion

Today we drive to the top of the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view of Jerusalem, before visiting Beth Phage, the starting point of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We then walk down the Palm Sunday path to the Garden of Gethsemane and on route we visit the Church of Pater Noster which attests to the existence of a cave on the Mount of Olives associated with Jesus’ teaching and the Ascension to the Church of Dominus Flevit, commemorating the site where Jesus wept over the destruction of the city, before visiting Gethsemane, where Jesus was betrayed by Judas. The Church of All Nations is located on the traditional site where Jesus prayed and built over the Agony Rock. Late morning we drive across the Kidron Valley and drive up Mount Zion to visit St Peter in Gallicantu, the House of Caiaphas, the church of the cock–crowing and view the recently excavated steps that lead to the Old city, and possibly the very steps Jesus walked. We then visit the Cenacle, Franciscan Room of the Last Supper, and where we will celebrate Mass. Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 7 Sunday 13 May

Jewish Quarter, Western Wall, Temple Mount and City of David

This morning we will leave our hotel after an early breakfast and drive into to the Occupied Territories and the town of Nablus to join members of a local Catholic community for Sunday Mass. Returning to Jerusalem we will visit the Western Wall and continue to the beautiful Crusader church of St Anne’s by the pools of Bethesda, before beginning the Way of Cross along the narrow street of the Via Dolorosa including the Ecce Homo Arch and convent, the Lithostratus “the pavement. View from the roof of the Antonia Fortress the Temple Areas. Proceed through the Souks and over the roof of the Holy Sepulchre and through the Ethiopian Monastery to the Holy Sepulchre. Visit the Basilica built over the tomb on Calvary. After a break for lunch we will be free to spend time in and around the Holy Sepulchre and the Old City, or we will have the opportunity to drive over to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum and park, before returning to Jerusalem. Farewell dinner and our final nights stay in Jerusalem.

Day 8 Monday 14 May

Abu Gosh & our journey home

This morning we will have the option of revisiting the Holy Sepulchre early in the morning and returning to our hotel for breakfast. Late morning we leave Jerusalem and drive towards Tel Aviv, stopping on route for our final act of worship in the Holy land with the celebration of Mass in Abu Gosh, Emmaus of the Resurrection story. We will stop briefly for a snack lunch before proceeding to Ben Gurion airport and our return flight to Manchester. We expect to arrive back in Manchester at around 9:30pm