Destination: Holy Land
Transportation: Air-condition Deluxe Bus
HOTELS & Meals arrangement: Rimonnim hotel Nazareth August 12 – 15, 2018
The Diamond Hotel Bethlehem August 15– August 20, 2018
Meals are on half board basis (breakfast and dinner)
Lunches are Included
LOCAL GUIDE SERVICE Christian tour guide from arrival till departure.
ENTRANCE FEES Included (Dead Sea, Mt. Tabor, Boat Ride, fees to the shrines, etc per itinerary)
Mass: Booked and confirmed according to itinerary.
Day By Day Lunch and Mass included as per Itinerary.
Itinerary:
Saturday, August 12
we land in Tel Aviv where we are met by our tour guide. Like so many pilgrims over the centuries we begin or holy journey in Jaffa where we visit St Peter’s Church and the nearby house of Simon the Tanner, where St Peter had his famous dream.
We then proceed to Nazareth, hometown of Our Lord. Dinner and Overnight Rimonnim hotel.
Lunch, Mass
Sunday, August 13
In Nazareth we visit the Basilica of the Annunciation with the grotto where the Archangel greeted Mary with the words “Hail Mary, full of grace”, and the nearby church of St Joseph, or Carpenter’s Workshop. We see Mary’s Well, where Our Lady drew water, and other sites associated with the Holy Family. We then visit Cana, site of Our Lord’s first miracle, where couples can renew their wedding vows. We visit Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration, from where we can survey the Jezreel Valley. Dinner and overnight Rimonnim hotel. Lunch, Mass
Monday, August 14
After breakfast we go to the Sea of Galilee, around which most of Jesus’ public ministry took place. At Capernaum we can see the remains of Peter’s house and of a fourth-century synagogue built on top of the one in which Jesus probably preached (the foundations of which we can still see). At Tabgha a church recalls the miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, and the nearby chapel of Peter’s Primacy marks the place where Christ entrusted the Church to St Peter. We drive up Mount of Beatitudes, on the slopes of which Jesus delivered his famous sermon. A highlight of the pilgrimage is the boat-ride on the Sea of Galilee on a recreation of a first-century fishing vessel, a time for both fun and for prayerful reflection. We invite you for lunch today,with an opportunity to eat the St Peter’s fish from the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight in Rimonnim hotel. Lunch, Mass
Tuesday, August 15
Today we cross Samaria, visiting Jacob’s Well, where Our Lord had that memorable encounter with the Samarian woman. At Sebastia , where the head of St John the Baptist was kept, we see the remains of the Roman city and of Jezebel and Ahab’s palace. We visit Taybeh, the last 100% Christian village, where an old house shows us how people lived in ancient times. Dinner and overnight at Diamond hotel Bethlehem . Lunch, Mass
Wednesday, August 16
After breakfast in our hotel, we explore Bethlehem, where He was born. In Bethlehem we visit the ancient Basilica of the Nativity, where a silver star marks the place of Jesus’ birth. Shepherds’ Field, where the angels announced the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds, is one of the Holy Land’s loveliest sites. In Bethlehem we have the opportunity to do some souvenir shopping. Dinner and overnight at Diamond Hotel. Lunch, Mass
Thursday, August 17
Jerusalem! We begin our pilgrimage to the Holy City on top of the Mount of Olives at the small chapel, now a mosque, which marks the spot from which Catholics believe Christ ascended into Heaven (see His reputed footprint in a stone there). As we walk down the mount we visit Paternoster Church, where the Lord’s Prayer is displayed in hundreds of languages, including several South African versions, and Dominus Flevit Church, which is on the spot where Jesus looked at Jerusalem and wept for its impending destruction. At the foot of the mount we arrive at the Gethsemane with its ancient olive trees, and the magnificent Church of All Nations with the Rock of Agony, on which Jesus is believed to have prayed before His arrest. Across the street we visit Mary’s Tomb, from which Our Lady was assumed into heaven. On Mount Zion we visit the impressive Dormition Abbey, where Our Lady fell asleep, the Cenacle (Upper Room) which commemorates the Last Supper, and the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, where Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, kept in a dungeon, and where Peter denounced Our Lord three times. Next to the church we can see the steps on which we know Jesus actually walked! Dinner and overnight at diamond hotel. Lunch, Mass
Friday, August 18
After breakfast we visit Bethany, the town where Jesus often stayed with his friends Mary and Martha, and where he raised Lazarus from the dead in the tomb which still exists today. We then drive to visit the Qasr El-Yahud baptismal site on the River Jordan, which the Vatican recognizes as the authentic site of the baptism. There we renew our baptismal vows. We pass through Jericho, with a view on the Mount of Temptation, the place where Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert. On the Dead Sea, where we can float on the mineral-rich water. Today we invite you to lunch at the lowest point on earth. Dinner and overnight at the Diamond hotel. Lunch, Mass
Saturday, August 19
This is the day we follow the Stations of the Cross, the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. The Way of the Cross culminates in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, our faith’s most sacred site. Here you can touch the rock where the cross stood and pray in the tomb from which Our Lord rose from the dead.
We also visit the birthplace of Our Lady, the lovely St Anne’s Church, a Crusader church on the site of the home of Saints Anne & Joachim, parents of the Blessed Virgin. At the Pools of Bethesda Our Lord cured the lame man.
At Ein Kerem, today a part of West Jerusalem, we remember in two beautiful churches the birth of John the Baptist and Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth during which Our Lady recited the Magnificat. Dinner and overnight at diamond hotel Lunch, Mass, Farwell dinner
Sunday, August 20
We leave the Holy Land today and take the short flight to Cairo. There we visit the 4500-year-old Pyramids of Giza and see the Sphinx. We have an opportunity to visit a papyrus factory or perfume shop, have lunch and enjoy small cruise on the Nile before we transfer back to Cairo International Airport where we make our way home.