Itinerary

Day 1, Monday 21st May

DEPARTURE FOR ISRAEL

We meet at London Heathrow to join an afternoon flight to Tel Aviv on El Al Israel Airlines. On arrival we will be met and driven to our hotel situated on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Day 2, Tuesday 22nd May

JESUS’ GALILEAN MINISTRY - GOLAN HEIGHTS

After breakfast we begin exploring the sites connected with Our Lords Ministry. We drive to Tabgha to visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes, then on to the Primacy of Saint Peter, before continuing to the summit of the Mount of the Beatitudes, which overlooks the places where Jesus lived and worked. We then return to the shores of the lake and proceed to the ancient fishing village of Capernaum, the centre of Jesus Galilean Ministry to view the House of Peter and a partially reconstructed 4th century synagogue with foundations that date back to the time of Jesus and is probably the site where Jesus often preached. We then leave Capernaum by boat and sail on the Sea of Galilee to Kibbutz Ein Gev, where we break for lunch. In the afternoon we leave the Lake and drive up into the Golan Heights to visits Caesarea Philippi (Banias), a source of the River Jordan and the place where Jesus walked with his disciples. It is also the place where Peter made his great profession of faith in Jesus (Matthew 16:13 "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."). We return to our lakeside hotel. Dinner and overnight stay by Galilee.

.

Day 3, Wednesday 23rd May

NAZARETH - SACHNE - BAPTISMAL SITE

After breakfast we drive to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first miracle, then to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up, to visit the Church of the Annunciation, Mary's Well and the Old Synagogue-Church. Leaving Nazareth we drive across the Jezreel Valley to the excavated site on the summit of Mount Tabor to visit the Basilica, which commemorates the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John. After a break for lunch we proceed to Gan ha’Sholsha National Park (Sachne) for a relaxing afternoon to enjoy the beautiful hot spring pools. Return to Tiberias via the baptismal site at Yardenit. Dinner and overnight by Galilee.

.

.

Day 4, Thursday 24th May

CARMEL - CAESAREA - JERUSALEM

This morning we leave the Galilee for the Holy City of Jerusalem. After breakfast we drive across to Mount Carmel to visit Mukhraqa, where Elijah defeated the prophets of Ba’al. We then continue to the ancient city of Megiddo, Solomon’s Chariot city. Strategically placed it overlooks the plains of Armageddon. After a break for lunch we travel south along the Mediterranean coast line to Caesarea Maritima to visit this beautiful Roman and Crusader Port City. View the ancient harbour, fortifications, twin water aqueducts and theatre. Paul was imprisoned here for almost two years before his trial in Rome. For Christians it is a place of great significance, as it was here that Peter baptised the first Gentile, Cornelius the Roman Centurion. Finally we drive inland and up to Jerusalem. We will stop at the summit of Mount Scopus for a breathtaking view of Jerusalem and its beautiful surrounding medieval walls, before proceeding to our hotel.

.

Day 5, Friday 25th May

JERICHO - DEAD SEA – MASADA - QUMRAN

Today we leave Jerusalem after an early breakfast for a full day tour of the Dead Sea basin. We drive down to the oasis of Jericho, one of the oldest cities on earth to view the Mount of Temptation and the traditional Sycamore tree connected with the story of Zacchaeus. After a break for coffee and shopping we then drive along the shoreline to visit Masada. We ascend the summit by cable car to visit Herod’s stepped Palace complex. It was on this flat-topped mountain that the Jewish Partisans committed mass suicide during the Jewish revolt against Rome. Afterwards we will have the opportunity to bathe in the unique mineral laden waters of the Dead Sea at a hotel with lunch and towels included. In the afternoon we return north to Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947, excavations uncovered the nearby Essene Monastery, where the Scrolls may have originated. Return to Jerusalem dinner and overnight stay.

.

.

Day 6, Saturday 26th May

MOUNT OLIVES - MOUNT ZION - BETHLEHEM

After breakfast we drive to the summit of the Mount of Olives and begin our walk down Olivet visiting the Church of Dominus Flevit, the church which commemorates the site where Jesus wept over the destruction of the Temple, Pater Noster, the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. We then drive across the Kidron Valley and up Mount Zion to visit the traditional site of the Room of the Last Supper, The tomb of King David, and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. View the recently excavated Roman pathway and steps that Jesus would have walked down. After a break for lunch we drive to Bethlehem on the outskirts of Jerusalem to visit the Church of the Nativity, the Grotto, venerated as the birthplace of Jesus and the Shepherds Fields. We then return to Jerusalem to visit the Garden Tomb for Communion, before continuing to our hotel.

.

.

Day 7, Sunday 27th May

THE OLD CITY OF JERUSALEM

We begin our day with worship, then start our tour of the Old City. Visit the Jewish Quarter, the Roman Cardho and Nehemiah’s Wall. Visit the Western Wall of Herod’s Temple. Pass through the Temple Area (if permitted) to the Crusader Church of St. Anne overlooking the Pools of Bethesda. We then visit the Convent of the sisters of Zion built on the foundations of the Antonia Fortress, the Roman Garrison of Jerusalem. Here we visit the recently excavated first century stone pavement (Gabbatha in the gospels) to follow the Way of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa. After a break for lunch we visit the City of David and Hezekiah’s Tunnel. The rest of the afternoon will be free to explore the Old City and its labyrinth of narrow markets. Farewell dinner final nights stay.

.

Day 8, Monday 28th May

OUR JOURNEY HOME

We leave Jerusalem after breakfast to visit Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist and the site where the risen Jesus walked with two disciples and it here we bring our pilgrimage to a close as we make our way to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and our afternoon return flight to London.

.