Day 1      Monday , 29 November

TRAVEL TO THE HOLY LAND

We gather at London Heathrow to join an evening flight to Tel Aviv Meals served in-flight.

Day 2      Tuesday, 30 November

NAZARETH & CANA

On arrival we will be met and driven north to Tiberias by the Sea of Galilee and our hotel. The rest of the morning will be free to rest and acquaint ourselves with our new surroundings. In the early afternoon we drive to Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up beginning with a break for lunch at the Anglican Hostel of St Margaret and after we visit the Church of the Annunciation, the Orthodox church of Mary’s Well, and the Old Synagogue-Church. We return to Tiberias via the little village of Cana and the site which commemorates Jesus’ first sign – Changing of Water into Wine. Finally we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 3      Wednesday, 1 December

GALILEAN MINISTRY - GOLAN HTS

We begin our day by sailing across the Sea of Galilee to Ginosar, to view an ancient boat (from the time of Jesus) and a film about its discovery and preservation, then drive to Tabgha to visit the Church of the Loaves and Fishes and the Primacy of Saint Peter. Continue to the Mount of the Beatitudes to visit the beautiful church on the summit that overlooks the places where Jesus lived and worked. We then drive on 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 lake and drive up in to the Golan Heights to visit Caesarea Philippi, in the Banias nature reserve. View a source of the River Jordan and the place where Peter made his great profession of faith in Jesus. We will stop to view the Syrian town of Kuneitra, before returning to our hotel.

Day 4      Thursday, 2 December

MT TABOR - CAESAREA MARITIMA

After breakfast we drive to Mount Tabor, to visit the Basilica on the summit which commemorates the Transfiguration of Jesus before Peter, James and John. On descending Mount Tabor we drive across the plains of Armageddon to the Mediterranean coast and travel south to Caesarea Maritima to visit this beautiful Roman and Crusader Port City. View the ancient harbour, fortifications, twin water aqueducts and theatre, which is still used today as a venue for major concerts including the Israel Symphony Orchestra. 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 return to Tiberias via the Jordan River baptismal site at Yardenit, Dinner and overnight in Tiberias.

Day 5      Friday, 3 December

JORDAN VALLEY - MT OLIVES

This morning we leave the rolling hills of the Galilee after an early breakfast and drive south along the Jordan Valley to visit Bethany, the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, then on to Bethphage, the start of the traditional Palm Sunday procession on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. From there we will continue to the Pater Noster Convent, before walking down the Mount of Olives to visit the Church of Dominus Flevit, which commemorates the site where Jesus wept over the destruction of Jerusalem, the Church of All Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. Finally we proceed and check-in to our hotel within the old walled city. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

Day 6      Saturday, 4 December

MOUNT ZION - VIA DOLOROSA

We begin our day by driving up Mount Zion and visit the traditional site of the Room of the Last Supper, the beauti ful Abbe y of the Dormition, and the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. There we will view the recently excavated Roman pathway and steps that lead up from the Old City. We then proceed down to the Old Walled city and visit 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. Here we can view the excavated first century stone pavement (Gabbatha in the gospels), before we follow the Way of the Cross along the narrow streets of the Via Dolorosa to Calvary enshrined within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Return to our hotel for dinner and overnight stay in Jerusalem.

Day 7      Sunday, 5 December

WESTERN WALL - BETHLEHEM

After breakfast, we will visit the Western Wall, the only remaining section from Solomon’s Temple, before driving on to Bethlehem. Entering the city, we will have the opportunity for seeing the stark reality of the vast wall being built around the West Bank. In the City, as well as visiting the Basilica of the Nativity, we will also visit the Holy Family Maternity Hospital, to learn about its vital work in and around the municipality, before arriving at the Lutheran Christmas Church. We hope to meet the Lutheran Pastor, the Revd Mitri Raheb, author of Bethlehem Besieged and to see the remarkable work undertaken in the educational centre attached to the church. Return to our Jerusalem hotel or optional visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and park. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem. .

Day 8      Monday, 6 December

THE DEAD SEA - QUMRAN

Today we leave Jerusalem after breakfast for a tour of the Dead Sea basin. Driving down the Old Roman Road we stop in Wadi Kelt (valley), for an amazing view of St. George's Monastery, which clings precariously to the valley wall. We then proceed to the shores of the Dead Sea where we will have the opportunity to bathe in it’s unique mineral laden waters, before we continue to visit 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. We will break for lunch, before returning to Jerusalem to spend our last evening at leisure to explore the old city. Farewell dinner.

Day 9      Tuesday, 7 December

OUR JOURNEY HOME

After breakfast we leave Jerusalem for Tel Aviv Airport and our return flight to London Heathrow.