12 Days, 11 Nights Holyland Pilgrimage

Group check-in at NAIA, FLIGHT DETAILS: EK 335 MNLDXB 2355-0440H and EK 927 DXBCAI 0815-1005H

Upon arrival at CAIRO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, meet & assist by local guide. Then proceed to your quick lunch at local restaurant. Thereafter, enjoy your guided tour & visit Old Cairo including Church of Abu Serga where the Holy Family hide and rested in their plight into Egypt. Next we will visit Memphis – the ancient Egyptian capital and Sakkara – a vast burial ground in Egypt with numerous pyramids including the world famous Step of Pyramid of Djoser or Step Tomb. Proceed to hotel for check-in. In the evening, enjoy your NILE RIVER DINNER CRUISE. Overnight in Cairo.

After breakfast at the hotel, visit The Great Pyramids, which was constructed over 4,500 years ago and shows us the power and wealth of the pharaoh in the Old Kingdom and Sphinx of Giza, which was believed to be a form of a Sun God and was worshipped in ancient days. The Egyptian Museum, offers artifacts, relics, statues and jewelries from all of the Pharaohs that reign in Egypt. In the afternoon, long distance travel to St. Catherine. Hotel check-in at St, Catherine.

In the early morning ( 2AM ), climb the Moses Mountain and catch the sunrise (OPTIONAL). This is where God spoke to Moses. Start your descent after sunrise & enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Tour the St. Catherine Monastery. Proceed to Taba border to cross Israel. Upon arrival, meet our Israeli guide and drive north towards the Dead Sea into Bethlehem. Dinner at local restaurant. Overnight in Bethlehem.

Breakfast at hotel. Visit the Church of Nativity, one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus. Also see St. Jerome’s Cave and Milk Grotto. Continue to Shepherd’s Fields, spoken of in the Bible where an angel of the Lord appeared.

Visit to Jerusalem’s Old City from St. Stephen’s Gate (The Lion’s Gate) stopping at St. Anne’s Church, regarded as the birthplace of the Virgin Mary and the Home of St. Anne and Joachin. Continue to the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus told the lame man to take up his bed and walk. Have the chance to carry a cross while meditating as you go through the 14 Stations of the Cross (Via Dolorosa). Visit the Church of Holy Sepulchre the burial place and resurrection of Jesus. It was built over the site of the place called Golgotha. Drive to Jericho which is one of the oldest city in the World. Continue to see the famous Sycamore Tree which is believed to be the same tree that was climbed by the tax collector Zacheus. Head onto Qumran, the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found for a short film showing and visit of the site. Last stop will be a visit to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. Return to hotel. Dinner and overnight, Bethlehem.

Breakfast at hotel. Drive to Mt. of Olives from which Jesus ascended to heaven after his resurrection. We visit the holy shrines including the Chapel of Dominus Flevit (where Jesus wept) enroute to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations where Christ prayed on the night of his betrayal. Also visit Pater Noster Church where Jesus have taught the Lord’s Prayer. Continue to the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus told the lame man to take up his bed & walk. Experience carrying a cross like Jesus did while meditating through the 14 Stations of the cross (via Dolorosa) starting at Ecce Homo where Pontius Pilate wash his hands. Proceed to Flagellation until the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the burial place of Jesus. It was built over the site of the place called Golgotha, which means “ a place of skull “. Next visit Western Wailing Wall, the retaining wall of Herod’s Temple. Back to Hotel. Dinner and Overnight, Bethlehem.

Breakfast & hotel check-out. Drive towards Mt. Zion the highest point in ancient Jerusalem. Visit the Upper Room (Last Supper Room) which according to tradition is the place where Jesus and his disciples held the Passover feast – the last supper before he was taken away to be tried. Also visit the tomb of King David, the site traditionally viewed as the burial place of King David, the second king of Israel. Visit Church of the Dormition. The location is identified in Christian tradition as the place where the Virgin Mary died or “fell asleep”. Continue to Church of Galicantu, the place of the palace of high priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was brought to jail after his arrest.

Drive to Ein Karem in Jerusalem to visit The Church of the Visitation which honors the visit paid by Mary, Jesus’ mother, to Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother. (Luke 1:39-56). This is the site where tradition tells us that Mary recited her song of praise, the Magnificat, one of the most ancient hymns to Mary. Nearby, also visit St. John the Baptist Church, contains the grotto in which the birth of St. John is believed to have taken place.
Transfer to hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight, Bethlehem.

Drive to Nazareth, the hometown of Mary and Joseph. It was here that Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and told she would conceive a child by the Holy Spirit. Lk 1:26- 38. Visit the Church of Annunciation which stands on the traditional site of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary. Also visit Mary’s Well, where it is believed to be where Mary may have fetched water regularly and St. Gabriel’s Orthodox Church.

Proceed to Cana, the most popular tradition identifies it with the modern village of Kefr’ Kenna, about 7 km northeast of Nazareth. The Franciscan “Wedding Church” celebrates the miracle of Cana. Here a lot of couples choose to renew their marriage vows as part of their Holyland Pilgrimage. Continue to Mt. Tabor, a hill rising above the Jezreel Valley has been identified as the Mount of Transfiguration. There are Franciscan and Greek Orthodox churches at the top. Drive to Tiberias Hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight in Tiberias.
Drive to Haifa for a visit to The Stella Maris Monastery or Monastery of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a 19th-century Carmelite nunnery located on the slopes of Mount Carmel. Colorful paintings on the dome depict episodes from the Old Testament, the most dramatic being the scene of Elijah swept up in a chariot of fire. The statue of the Virgin Mary, carved from cedar of Lebanon, is also notable. The cave situated below the altar, which you can walk down into, is “Elijah’s Cave,” where the Old Testament prophet is believed to have lived. Next will be the viewing of Bahai Shrine, a place of worship of the Bahai Faith located in Haifa. Dinner and Overnight, Nazareth.

Breakfast at hotel. Start your day with a drive to Mt. of Beatitudes which is the place where Jesus gave his important sermon on the mountain (Mt 5, Lk 6:20) to the multitude that assembled to see and hear him. Continue to Capernaum, a spaceship-like modern Franciscan church stands on the site of the House of St. Peter in Capernaum, where Jesus lived, healed a paralytic, and healed Peter’s mother-in-law. Then onto Tagbha, where the famous miracle of multiplication is commemorated by the Church of the Loaves and Fishes. The church features 5th-century mosaics, including one basket of bread with two fishes.

Drive to nearby Church of the Primacy of Peter (Mensa Christi), a modest Franciscan chapel that incorporates part of a 4th-century church. It commemorates Jesus’ reinstatement of Peter after a fish breakfast on the shore. Continue to Yardenit where Jesus was baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist on the shores of the Jordan River. Here John identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, and a dove was seen to land on Jesus as he came up out of the water.
In the afternoon, enjoy a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. It was here that Jesus met SimonPeter, James and John, His first disciples, and it was here that He performed many miracles like when He stilled the raging storm, that was about to swamp their boat, when He walked on the stormy water and many others. Cross the SHEIKH HUSSEIN border to Jordan and drive all the way to Petra. Dinner and Overnight, Petra.

After breakfast, Meet our local guide and drive to Petra, “a rose-red city half as old as time”, the place in the desert that is prepared by God for the Jewish people. Walk through the picturesque SIQ, and visit the Treasury, a rose colored monumental building artfully carved out of sheer rock. Petra, a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE is the capital of the Nabatean Empire. Proceed to Amman. Hotel check-in. Dinner & Overnight, Amman.

Early morning breakfast & check-out from the hotel. Transfer to MADABA – famous for the unique mosaic of the Holyland, which can be found at the Saint George floor. Then proceed to MOUNT NEBO, the place where Moses looked over the Holyland & Dead Sea. This is also the place where Moses was last seen and is considered as the burial place of Moses. If the sky is clear you can see Jerusalem, Jericho and Bethlehem at the other side of the Dead Sea. After dinner, proceed to Queen Alia International Airport ( QAIA ) for departure flight. Flight Details TBA.

DEPARTURE (B,D), FLIGHT DETAILS: EK 906 AMMDXB 0300 0700H and EK 334 DXBMNL 0920 2210H