Holyland Pilgrimage: The Holyland & Egypt (12 Days) | Catholic Pilgrimages

Holyland Pilgrimage: The Holyland & Egypt
12 Day Tour

DAY 01:	BEGINNING OUR PILGRIMAGE Depart North America via jet service. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.
DAY 02:	INTO THE LAND OF THE BIBLE Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, you will be met by our representative who will assist you with formalities. Board your luxury motorcoach and on your way to Tel Aviv.
DAY 03:	ALL THE PAST YEARS WITH HISTORY Fortress at Megiddo This morning drive along the shores of the Mediterranean to Caesarea Martima on the Plains of Sharon to visit the ruins of the Crusader's City, surrounded by a moat and a city wall enclosing the ruins of the Roman city. Visit the Roman Theater. Continue to Haifa, visiting Mount Carmel and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, where *Mass* will be celebrated, and the Cave of the Prophet, Elijah. Visit the Bah'ai Temple and proceed to Megiddo, Armageddon, a very important strategic point on the Via Maris connecting Egypt and Damascus. It is a city which has witnessed many wars and suffered many destructions throughout the wars and different periods of time. Continue to Mt. Tabor, drive to the top of Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration. Proceed to Tiberias to your hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee for dinner and overnight.
DAY 04:	THE SEA OF GALILEE AND UPPER GALILEE The Jordan River In the morning, we cross the Sea of Galilee by boat from Tiberias to Capernaum, now in ruins but once a thriving town where Peter lived and where much of the public ministry of Christ took place. See the Church of the Primacy of Peter, where Christ confirmed Peter as Head of the Church. Proceed to Tabgha, the place of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish. Continue to visit the Mount of Beatitudes, where Christ taught the Eight Beatitudes to his Disciples. *Mass* will be celebrated at the Mount of Beatitudes. Continue to the ruins of Magdala where Mary Magdalen lived. Proceed to Cana, where Christ performed his first miracle and where any married couples can renew their marriage vows. Return to your hotel.
DAY 05:	ALONG THE JORDAN VALLEY After breakfast, drive to Beit Shean, an ancient city. Excavations have uncovered eighteen layers of habitation in Beit Shean. The Roman Amphitheater is the best preserved in Israel. Continue along the Jordan Valley to the ancient city of Jericho from which you can view the Mount of Temptation, where Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. Visit Elisha’s Fountain and continue along the shores of the Dead Sea to visit Ein Gedi where you may enjoy a float on the Dead Sea. Proceed to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Continue to Bethany stopping at the Inn of the Good Samaritan. Visit the new Church in Bethany, built on the site of the house ofMary and Martha, where *Mass*will be celebrated. Visit the Tomb of Lazarus. Proceed to Jerusalem for overnight.
DAY 06:	JERUSALEM Mount Zion This morning visit the Church of St. Ann, built on the site of the birthplace of Our Lady where *Mass* will be celebrated. Continue to the Pool of Bethesda, where Christ healed the paralytic. Visit the Temple area, the spot where the original temple was built and which was the scene of many episodes from the life of Christ, such as the expulsion of the money changers. Here now stands the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest spot in the world for the Moslem faith. Visit the El Aqsa Mosque and then the Wailing Wall which is the most sacred spot in the world for the Jews. In the afternoon proceed to the National Museum, the Shrine of the Book enclosing the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Knesset or the House of Parliament. Continue to Mount Zion, visiting the room of the Last Supper, Church of the Dormition and then visit the Church of St. Peter in Gailicantu built on the site of the house of Caiaphas which encloses the dungeon where Christ was kept on Holy Thursday night and where Peter denied Christ thrice.
DAY 07:	MOUNTAINS OF JERUSALEM Chapel of the Ascension Drive to the Mount of Olives and visit the Church of the Ascension, the spot where Christ ascended into Heaven; the Pater Noster Church commemorating Christ’s teaching of the Our Father to his disciples; Dominus Fievit, the spot where Christ wept over Jerusalem and onwards to Gethsemane to view the ancient Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane and to visit the Church of All Nations which houses the Rock of the Agony of Christ on Holy Thursday; in this Church is a beautiful mosaic donated by the United States. Celebrate *Mass* at the Church of All Nations. Visit the Cave of the betrayal of Jesus and the Tomb of Our Lady. In the afternoon, visit Ein Karem, the place of the Visitation where Our Lady came to visit her cousin Elizabeth. View the plaques with the Magnificat in most languages of the World. Visit the parish church of St. John the Baptist, and the Grotto of his birth. Return to your hotel.
DAY 08:	JERUSALEM AND BETHLEHEM Entrance of Humility, Church of the Nativity Drive to Bethlehem. Visit the Basilica of the Nativity, built over the site of the birthplace of Christ. Visit the Cave where Christ was bom and it is the occasion to sing the traditional Christmas Hymns. A visit is made to the Chapel of St. Jerome, who lived here for many years and translated the Bible into Latin. The nearby Church of St. Catherine is the venue for the midnight Mass which is broadcast all over the World from Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. Continue to the Shepherds field, recalling the "great throng of the heavenly hosts" who appeared to the Shepherds and told them of the birth of the Saviour. This afternoon tour the Old City of Jerusalem, visiting the Chapel of Flagellation, the chapel of Condemnation and the Lithostrotos, the site of the Antonia Fortress where Julius Caesar resided at the time of Christ and where Christ was tried and condemned to death. Beginning the way of the Cross here, join the walk along the Via Dolorosa led by the Franciscans - ending at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the site of the Crucifixion and the Tomb. Visit Calvary and the Tomb of Our Lord followed by a short tour of the Basilica.
DAY 09:	TEL AVIV/ CAIRO Depart Tel Aviv this morning through the Sinai and across the Suez Canal which cuts through the 70 mile wide isthmus between the two great land masses of Africa and Asia. The Suez Canal links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and thus opens up a shorter route between the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Proceed to Cairo for dinner and overnight.
DAY 10:	MEMPHIS / SAKKARA / GIZA The Pyramids of Giza Morning tour to Memphis and Sakkara. Located twenty miles southwest of Cairo, Memphis was one of the most important cities through the history of ancient Egypt and was once the capital of Egypt. Sakkara’s Step Pyramids are the oldest in existence and are the world's first stone tombs. This afternoon proceed to the Giza Plateau to see one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Cheops, Chephren, and Mycemius Pyramids and the Sphinx. Return to your hotel.
DAY 11:	EGYPTIAN MUSEUM / OLD CAIRO The Mask of King Tut This morning, visit the Egyptian Museum which houses the world's largest and finest collection of antiquities from the times of the Pharaohs, including precious specimens from the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amon. Enjoy a sightseeing drive along the Nile Corniche, past Kasr El Aini Hospital to Old Cairo. Then visit the Coptic Churches of Abu Sarga associated with the Flight of the Christ Child to Egypt; Ben Ezra Synagogue; AMR Mosque and the site at the Nile where Moses was found in the bulrushes. Drive via Republic Square, past Abdin Palace to Sultan Hasan Mosque, the Citadel, Mohammed Ali Mosque for a panorama of Cairo; through the City of the Dead; El Azhar University to the native bazaars of Khan el Khalili where time is allowed for browsing and shopping. Return to your hotel.
DAY 12:	CAIRO / NORTH AMERCIA Morning transfer to the airport in time to connect with your return flight. Arrival in the afternoon local time.