Holy Land

Depart via scheduled air service. The destination is Tel Aviv.

Arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. Meet your Faith Journeys Tour Manager who will assist the group to an awaiting chartered motorcoach for a transfer to Bethlehem. Late afternoon hotel check-in. Evening Welcome Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. This morning we will travel to the Shepherd’s Fields to rejoice over the glad tidings of the birth of Jesus. We will return to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Chapel of the Massacre of the Innocents. Visit Milk Grotto and Mamre, site of God’s promise to Abraham. Lunch, on own. Take an excursion to Hebron where we will visit the 2000-year old Herodian building marking the Tomb of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their wives. Return to Bethlehem for time at leisure to shop for famous Bethlehem crafts. Meet with a prominent member of the Palestinian Catholic community, to hear the struggles of Christians to maintain their faith in difficult times. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to the Judean Desert via Bethany to stop at Wadi Qelt for a short devotion by the road of the Good Samaritan. Continue to Jericho, the world’s oldest city, climbing the ancient Tel to view the Mount of Temptation. We then drive through the Jordan Valley to Nazareth. Lunch, on own. Visit the Church of the Annunciation and view the ruins of the ancient churches and remains of Nazareth of Jesus’ day. Continue to the Church of the Wedding at Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle of turning water into wine. Visit the baptismal site on the Jordan River. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes then descend the hillside to Tabgha and visit the Church of Loaves and Fishes, marking Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the Five Thousand as well as the Church of the Primacy of Peter. Lunch, on own. Continue to the headwaters of the Jordan at Banias – Caesarea Philippi, where Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Christ. Return to the Sea of Galilee and board a wooden boat for Tiberias – sailing in the footsteps of Jesus. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Ascend Mount Tabor for a breathtaking view over the Valley of Jezreel, Galilee, Gilead, and Samaria. Visit the Church of the Transfiguration. Travel across the Valley of Jezreel to ancient Har-Megiddo or Armageddon. Lunch, on own. Continue to Caesarea to visit the aqueduct, the ancient Herodian harbor, the remains of the seaside palace of Pontius Pilate, and the theater. Continue through the Sharon Plain to the Holy City of Jerusalem. As we catch our first glimpse of the city from Mount Scopus, your guide will welcome you with a short ceremony of bread and salt. Evening dinner and overnight

Breakfast at the hotel. We begin our day with a birds’ eye view of the Old City from the Mount of Olives and descend the traditional Palm Sunday Road, to the Church of Dominus. Continue to the Western (Wailing) Wall, a remnant of the Temple in which Jesus preached. Lunch, on own. Continue to the Temple Mount, viewing the Muslim Dome of the Rock, built on the site of the Holy of Holies of the Temple. Visit the Crusader Church of St. Anne and the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the man paralyzed for 38 years. This evening we will walk through the underground tunnels to see the remnants of the Temple Mount of Jesus’ day. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Journey to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the face of the earth, to enjoy a float and mud bath. Along the way, see the Qumran Valley where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947. Lunch, on own. Return to Jerusalem and visit the Garden of Gethsemane. We will marvel at the gnarled ancient olive trees and meditate in the Church of the Agony. Drive to Mount Zion to visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, where Jesus may have been questioned before the High Priest Caiaphas, and visit the Upper Room, the traditional site of the Last Supper. Hear from a peace activist on the current situation in the Holy Land and the prospects for peace in the future. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Rise early and proceed up the Via Dolorosa, the “Way of Sorrows.” Make our way past 14 Stations of the Cross and reflect on Christ’s suffering and sacrifice, and the gift of his life. Visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, proceeding to the Hill of Golgotha, the Chapel of the Skull of Adam, and the empty Tomb. Lunch, on own. Afternoon at leisure for shopping, additional sightseeing, or reflection. Evening dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning at leisure to explore the Old City. Lunch, on own. Transfer to Emmaus where our journey will end. Here we will visit the site of the post-resurrection revelation of Jesus to his disciples. Continue to Tel Aviv for Farewell Dinner continue to the airport for a late night or early morning return flight home.