Itinerary

Day 1, Saturday 4th August

Journey to the Holy Land

We gather at London Heathrow for our flight to Israel. Dinner served in-flight.

Day 2, Sunday 5th August

Nazareth - Cana

We arrive in Tel Aviv at dawn where we will be met by our guide and then driven north to Galilee and our hotel. The morning will be free to relax. At midday we leave our hotel and drive to the town of Nazareth and begin our pilgrimage with the celebration of the Eucharist. We will spend the afternoon in this town where Jesus grew up. Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, built over a cave, believed to be the home of Mary and Joseph. A short walk through the suk brings us to the Synagogue Church recalling Jesus’ preaching from Isaiah and proclaiming the Good News to the Poor. We then visit the traditional site of Mary’s Well. We finally continue to our hotel by the Sea of Galilee in good time to relax before dinner. Dinner and overnight stay by the Sea of Galilee.

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Day 3, Monday 6th August

Mt Tabor - Cana - Golan Heights

After an early breakfast we drive to the foot of Mount Tabor and continue by taxi to the summit of Mount Tabor, one of the highlights of our visit. We will celebrate the Eucharist near the traditional site of the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John. We will have an opportunity to look across the plains of Jezreel and the site of Armageddon. On descending Mount Tabor we proceed to the village of Cana, the site of Jesus’ First Sign. Late morning we drive up into the Golan Heights to visit Banias and Caesarea Philippi, the site where Jesus walked with His disciples and where Peter made his great profession of faith in Jesus. Banias is a source of the River Jordan and we will have an opportunity of renewing our baptismal vows. Return to our hotel in the afternoon. Time to relax before dinner. Overnights stay by the Sea of Galilee.

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Day 4, Tuesday 7th August

Jesus’ Lakeside Ministry

We spend today exploring the sites connected with Our Lord’s Galilean Ministry. We begin by visiting the nearby church of the Multiplication at Tabgha and the Primacy Church, before driving up to the summit of the Mount of Beatitudes for an open air Eucharist overlooking the places where Jesus lived and worked. We then return to the lake to visit the "Jesus boat" a recently discovered fishing boat that dates back to the time of Jesus, before breaking for lunch. In the afternoon we drive to the ancient fishing village of Capernaum to visit this well excavated site including the House of Peter and an early synagogue, foundations date back to the time of Jesus and possibly the site where Jesus often preached. We leave Capernaum by boat and sail across the Sea of Galilee and then return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight by Galilee.

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Day 5, Wednesday 8th August

Jericho - Bethlehem

We leave Galilee after breakfast and drive down the Jordan Valley south to the oasis city of Jericho, where we will stop for a breathtaking view of the Mount of Temptation.. After a short break for coffee we drive up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness towards Jerusalem. We drive around and the 9-meter high partition wall to the check-point and through the wall into the town of Bethlehem. We begin with lunch and then proceed to the Church of the Nativity, the oldest church in Christendom, built over the cave where Jesus was born. We then visit the Shepherds’ Fields, before meeting members of the local Christian community including the International Center of Bethlehem, founded by the famous Lutheran Pastor Dr Mitri. Early evening we leave Bethlehem and proceed to Jerusalem and our hotel within the Old walled city. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

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Day 6, Thursday 9th August

Mt of Olives & Mt Zion & Ein Karem

This morning we drive to summit of the Mount of Olives for a breathtaking panoramic view of Jerusalem and its beautiful surrounding medieval walls before taking the Palm Sunday path from Bethpage to the Garden of Gethsemane. En route we visit the Church of the 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 where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, before finally reaching Gethsemane where Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Adjacent to the Garden is the Church of All Nations located on the traditional site where Jesus prayed and built over the agony rock. We then cross the Kidron Valley and drive up Mount Zion to visit St Peter in Gallicantu, the house of Caiaphas and the Room of the Last Supper, before breaking for lunch. In the afternoon We drive to Ein Karem on the outskirts of Jerusalem to visit the birthplace of John the Baptist and the place where the risen Jesus walked with two of His disciples. Return to our hotel in good time for dinner and overnight stay

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Day 7, Friday 10th August

The Old Walled City

After breakfast we begin our tour of the he Old City. We begin by visiting the Western Wall, a section of the retaining wall of Solomon's Temple and if permitted we will ascend Mount Moriah to the Temple Mount to view the Dome of the Rock and Al Aksa Mosque. We then proceed to the Crusader church of St Anne’s by the pools of Bethesda. We then begin the Way of Cross along the Via Dolorosa including the Ecce Homo Arch, the Lithostratos “the pavement where Jesus was condemned. View from the roof of the Antonia Fortress the Temple Areas, before proceeding 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. The afternoon will be free in the Old City for shopping or to revisit sites of particular interest. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

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Day 8, Saturday 11th August

DEAD SEA - MASADA - QUMRAN

A day at leisure or we have the option of a full day excursion to the Dead Sea basin. Optional Excursion - The tour leaves Jerusalem after an early breakfast for a fll day tour of the Dead Sea basin. Drive down to the shores of the Dead Sea and 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. After a break for lunch 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 in good time for dinner and overnight.

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Day 9, Sunday 12th August

Emmaus & journey home

Our last day in the Holy Land. We leave our hotel after a leisurely breakfast and drive to the village of Abu Ghosh, a possible site of Emmaus, where we will celebrate a final Eucharist together, before breaking for lunch. Finally we continue to Tel Aviv airport for our return flight to London.