Itinerary

Day 1 Monday 12 November

Journeying to the Holy Land

Meet at Manchester International Airport for our morning Jet2 flight to Tel Aviv. On arrival in Tel Aviv, we will be met by our guide and driven north to the Sea of Galilee and our hotel by the lake, arriving in good time for dinner.

Day 2 Tuesday 13 November

Nazareth - Mt Tabor - Megiddo

After breakfast we drive through the village of Cana to Nazareth, the town in which the gospel story begins and visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, Mary's well and the synagogue church. Late morning we continue to the Valley of Jezreel to the ancient chariot city of Megiddo, the biblical scene of Armageddon. We will explore this wonderful site and break for lunch. In the afternoon we drive to nearby Mount Tabor, traditionally associated with the Transfiguration. We then return to Tiberias stopping at Yardenit, the baptismal site on the River Jordan, where we will have the opportunity of renewing our baptismal vows. Continue to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3 Wednesday 14 November

Galilee & Caesarea Philippi

We start our day with a celebration of the Eucharist on the summit of the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the places where Jesus lived and worked. We then proceed back to the lakeside to visit Tabgha, the church of the Loaves and Fishes, the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter and the ancient fishing village of Capernaum to view the House of Peter and the remains of an early synagogue. We then leave by boat and sail across the Sea of Galilee to kibbutz En Gev on the eastern shores of the lake where we will break for lunch (St Peter’s fish). In the afternoon we drive up into the Golan Heights to visit Banias and Caesarea Philippi in the foothills of Mount Hermon. A spring fed by the melting snow of Mount Hermon forms a source of the River Jordan. It was near here, that Jesus walked with his disciples and Peter made his great profession of faith in Him. If time permits we will visit Nimrud Castle and a nearby Druze village before returning to our hotel

Day 4, Thursday 15 November

Acre - Caesarea Maritima - Mt Carmel

Leaving our hotel after an early breakfast we drive to the Acre on the Mediterranean coast, a major Canaanite, Phoenician and Crusader city Port to visit its Fortress and Great Mosque. Late morning we drive south along the coast and around the Bay of Haifa to Mount Carmel and visit Elijah’s Cave, nearby the site where he challenged the prophets of baal. After a break for lunch at kibbutz Beit Oren we continue south along the coast to the Roman and Crusader city-port of Caesarea Maritima. Here we visit the ancient harbour, it’s fortifications, twin water aqueducts and reassembled 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. From the coast we drive back inland to our lakeside hotel. Dinner and overnight by Galilee.

Day 5 Friday 16 November

An ancient pilgrimage route

This morning we bid farewell to Galilee, and begin our journey south. We come first to the recently excavated Decapolis city of Beit Shean, biblical Scythopolis, before proceeding along the Jordan Valley to the oasis city Jericho, the city of palms and break for lunch and a spot of shopping. In the afternoon we view the Mount of Temptation, before driving up through the hills of the Judean Wilderness towards the summit of the Mount of Olives and following a detour around the new nine-metre high separation wall. We will stop briefly on the summit for a breathtaking view of the Old city of Jerusalem and its beautiful surrounding medieval walls, before finally proceeding down to our hotel and check-in to our hotel by the Old City Walls. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 6 Saturday 21 November

Incarnation and abundant life

After breakfast we drive to Bethlehem where we are confronted by the huge separation wall and after proceeding through the check-point we drive to Manger Square. During the course of the day we will visit the Shepherds Fields and the Church of the Nativity, as well as seeing the work of two remarkable Christian institutions endeavouring to bring something of the abundant life promised in the gospel to those living under the restrictions of the Occupation. We hope to visit the Holy Family Hospital, which offers the only neo-natal care in the southern West Bank, and the remarkable International Center of Bethlehem, founded by the Lutheran Pastor Mitri Raheb. We plan to have lunch at the center. In the afternoon we exit Bethlehem and return to Jerusalem to learn more about the lives of local Christians as we visit the ecumenical theological institute Sabeel, founded by Canon Naim Ateek. Return to Jerusalem and our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7 Sunday 22 November

St George’s Cathedral and Ein Karem

After breakfast we drive to visit St George’s Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, and worship with some of the local Christian community. Later in the day, we will have the chance of making a brief visit to the Western Wall, before heading to West Jerusalem to visit Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum and memorial park. We then drive to Ein Karem, a beautiful suburb of Jerusalem, 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, so that we, too, can sing Magnificat as the first day of the week draws to its close. Finally we proceed to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 8 Monday 23 November

Tears and Prayers

This morning we leave after breakfast and drive to the summit of the Mount of Olives, where we will spend the morning recalling the Palm Sunday route, and visiting 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. For lunch, we visit Bethany, the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and in the afternoon we will visit the Israel Museum, to see a model of Jerusalem as it was at the time of Jesus, Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 9 Tuesday 24 November

I do not know the man

The first part of today will be spent exploring the holy sites located on Mount Zion, where the earliest Christian community lived in the days following the resurrection. Here we will find a site commemorating both the Upper Room used for the Last Supper as well as the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and a striking abbey in honour of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. The principal focus of the morning, however, will be a visit to the church of St Peter in Gallicantu, built at the top of an ancient set of steps which leads up from the City of David to what is believed to have been the residence of the Jewish High Priest. Many believe that Jesus himself was led up these steps to his trial by the Jewish authorities after his arrest. Here we will celebrate the Eucharist, as we recall not only Jesus’ incarceration over the last night of his life, but also Peter’s faithless threefold denial of Jesus. The rest of the day will be devoted to an exploration of the Jordan Valley, visiting the Essene monastery at Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls may have originated and finally, the chance to experience the unique sensation of floating in the mineral-laden waters of the Dead Sea. We return to Jerusalem in the early evening. Dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 10 Wednesday 25 November

Taking up the Cross

If permitted, we will start our day by visiting the Temple Mount, where we can see close up (but not enter) the glorious Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque. This will lead us to the remarkable church of St Anne and the Pools of Bethesda, which we will visit, before coming to the start of the Via Dolorosa. Here we will celebrate the Eucharist, and then wind our way through the narrow alleys of the Old City, following the traditional Way of the Cross, culminating in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After a break for a simple lunch in the Old City we will visit the Garden Tomb. The rest of the afternoon will be free, to allow some time for rest, reflection, shopping or exploration. Dinner and our final nights stay in Jerusalem.

Day 11 Thursday 26 November

Telling what had happened on the road

After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel, and start heading west, towards the airport. After seven miles, we will 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 stop for lunch, we will arrive at Ben Gurion airport, to board our flight back to Manchester, and our journey to our own homes. And we hope that each one of us will continue to tell our friends all that has happened to us on the road…