trip itinerary

Mar 15 - Canada / Tel Aviv

We depart Canada, bound for the Holy Land via Paris on AirFrance.

Mar 16 - Tel Aviv

On arrival at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, we meet our guide and depart for our hotel. Dinner and overnight in Tel Aviv.

Mar 17-18 - Galilee

We start our tour at Jaffa , the ancient port city just next to Tel Aviv. Here, Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. We visit the place of Simon the Tanner, the clock tower, the artist's quarter and view the Harbour . We drive north to Caesarea Maritima (where Peter met the Roman centurion Cornelius). We visit the amphitheatre and aqueduct built by Herod. Continue North to the port city of Haifa for a visit. Then to Beit She'arim, the 200 AD unofficial Jewish capital, home of the mishna. On to Muhraka (on Mount Carmel, where Elijah challenged the false Gods of Ba'al). Off to Megiddo (the source of our word Armageddon) where we peel off the layers of civilization. We drive to the Galilee, descending to the shores of the lake and its spiritual history.

After a ride to Ginnosar on a boat designed to resemble fishing boats of the time of Jesus, we stop at Magdala (home of Mary Magdalene), Tabgha (miracle of the swine), and the Mount of Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount). We visit Capernaum, where Jesus centred His Galilean ministry, and stayed in the home of Peter. Lunch is included at a seaside restaurant that features "St. Peter's Fish." We continue to Korazim, Bethsaida and Kursi (miracle of the swine). We drive through the Golan Heights around the Sea of Galilee. We drive to the Dan Nature Reserve to Banias (Caesarea Philippi) where Peter declared that Jesus is the Son of God. We see Mount Hermon, and stop at Nimrod Crusader Castle.

We drive to Mt. Tabor, traditional site of the transfiguration and where Deborah and Barak commanded the armies of Israel. We study the Jezreel Valley from this spectacular viewpoint. We drive to the home town of the Holy Family. We visit a grotto under a church that is thought to be the home of Joseph and Mary (Annunciation Basilica), we visit Mary's Well at the Orthodox Church, and we visit Precipice Point (Chapel of Fright). Then, on to Cana (place of the first miracle). We stop in Zippori (Sepphorus).

Mar 19-22 - Jerusalem

After breakfast, we start another fascinating day at Belvoir. We stop at the Jordan River (Yardenit - to tell the Baptism story and to baptize those pilgrims who wish to be baptized). We drive to Beit She'an (city of the Decapolis). We drive to the oasis of Jericho where we visit the excavation. We see the Wall of Temptation and visit Elisha's Spring. On to Wadi Qelt and the Monastery of St. George ending with a visit to Bethany. We look at the ancient walls that are the remnants of the Inn of the Good Samaritan. In Bethany, we tell the story of Simon the Leper and Lazarus. We catch our first glimpse of the Holy City as we check into our accommodation in Jerusalem for dinner and overnight .

You are introduced to the old walled city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. On the Mount of Olives we visit the Chapel of the Ascension and the Church of the Pater Noster (commemorating the teaching of Jesus to his disciples). Walk down the Mount of Olives (after viewing the Old City) toward Gethsemane and the walled city of Jerusalem. On the way down visit the chapel of Dominus Flevit, the traditional spot where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Continue to Gethsemane and the commemoration of the prayer of Jesus before he was arrested. We enter into the old city through the Lions' Gate. At each site there will be a reading of appropriate biblical passages. We spend time inside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. View the Temple Mount, the place where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac and the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim mosque built on the site of the first and second Temples. Continue to the Western (Wailing) Wall. Continue along the Via Dolorosa (the Sorrowful Way or the Way of the Cross) stopping for a visit at Pilate's Judgment Hall, also called the Antonia Fortress and the Lithostrotos, where Pilate condemned Jesus to death. Continue along the Via Dolorosa to the church of the Holy Sepulchre to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus. We visit the Upper Room for the commemoration of the Last Supper and Pentecost.

Drive to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Visit the Church of St. Catherine under which is the ancient monastery of Jerome and his companions, who lived there in the 4th century. After departing Bethlehem, view the Shepherd's Fields which commemorate an angel's announcement to the shepherds that a Saviour was born in the City of David. Drive to Ein Karem to see the birthplace of John the Baptist and the visitation site (Mary and Elizabeth). Visit the Israel Museum to see the Shrine of the Book which houses the original manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Monastery of the Cross, where tradition holds that the wood for the Crucifix was hewn. We drive past the Knesset and other main sites of modern Jerusalem.

Today we descend through the Judean Wilderness to the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the Earth. Visit Qumran, where the Essenes lived an austere lifestyle away from the city life of Jerusalem and where a Bedouin boy discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. Travel along the water's edge to Masada and ascend via the cable car to King Herod's fortress/palace built in the midst of the desert and the last hold out of Jewish resistance to the Romans in 70-73 AD. Continue to Kibbutz Ein Gedi to sample the unique buoyancy of the highly therapeutic Dead Sea waters.

Mar 23-25 - Sinai / St. Catherine's

Cross the border into Egypt to see the Sinai Desert, the land of the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, and the land in which Moses received the Ten Commandments. Your excursion will be to the barren wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula and to St. Catherine's Monastery where God spoke to Moses through the burning bush. We will make our way by bus to the Orthodox Monastery Santa Katarina which is at the foot of Mount Sinai. As we traverse the desert we will reflect on the Exodus experience, the Victory Chant (Exodus 15) and certain texts that speak of the Israelite's time in the desert. That evening, you are free for your own interests, or we will discuss the Sinai Covenant.

In the early morning hours (around 3 a.m.), we will climb the mountain and arrive at the summit for sunrise, where we will celebrate the Eucharist (led by our spiritual leader).

Mar 26-27 - Cairo

This morning we visit the three great Pyramids of Giza, considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Visit the 5000 year old Sphinx and the Temple of the Valley. Proceed to visit the ruins of the ancient capital of Egypt, Memphis, where the monumental statue of Ramses II is located. At Sakkara you visit the Step Pyramid of Zoser, representing a staircase to heaven, the Tombs of Sakkara and the amazing City of the Dead.

Spend an exciting day of sightseeing in Old Cairo. Visit the famous Egyptian museum which houses the Tutankhamen exhibition. Stop at the Citadel, the Alabaster, Sultan Hassan Mosque and visit the noisy and colourful Khan El Khalili Bazaar.

Mar 28 - Paris

Mar 29 - Fly home