Holyland Pilgrimage: The Holyland, Egypt, Sinai & Jordan (15 Days) | Catholic Pilgrimages

Holyland Pilgrimage: The Holyland, Egypt, Sinai & Jordan
15 Day Tour

DAY 01:	BEGINNING OUR PILGRIMAGE Depart North America via jet service to Cairo, Egypt. Meals will be served in flight.
DAY 02:	INTO THE LAND OF THE OLD TESTAMENT Upon your arrival in Cairo you will be met by our representative and assisted through immigration and customs formalities. You will be transferred by private motor coach to your hotel for overnight.
DAY 03:	GIZA/OLD CAIRO The Pyramids of Giza Morning visit to Giza Plateau to see one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Cheops, Chephren, and Mycernius Pyramids and the Sphinx. Continue to the Church of St. Mary where 200,000 people witnessed many miraculous apparitions of the Blessed Mother on the roof of the Church. In the afternoon we will proceed to Old Cairo. Visit the Coptic Church of Abu Sarga associated with the Flight of the Christ Child to Egypt. Continue to the native bazaars of Khan el Khalili. Return to your hotel.
DAY 04:	CAIRO/ST. CATHERINES St. Catherine's Monastary Today we travel from Cairo through the Sinai to the world famous St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of the steep granite walls of Gebel Musa (Mount of Moses or Mount Sinai). This is the site where Moses had his famous conversation with God and received the Ten Commandments. Overnight at St. Catherines.
DAY 05:	ST. CATHERINES/ JERUSALEM Morning sightseeing of the Monastery before proceeding to the border at Taba where you will cross into Israel. Continue to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.
DAY 06:	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 born 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 of the birth of the Saviour. We will have an opportunity to meet the local Christians. Dinner and overnight.
DAY 07:	JERUSALEM This morning visit the Church of St. Ann, built on the site of the birthplace of Our Lady. 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. 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.
DAY 08:	NEW CITY OF JERUSALEM Beginning the way of the Cross here, walk along the Via Dolorosa - 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. Proceed to Mount Zion, visiting the room of the Last Supper and Church of the Dormition. Then visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu 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. Visit Ein Karem. Visit the parish church of St. John the Baptist, and the Grotto of his birth. Return to your hotel.
DAY 09:	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 Flevit, 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. Visit the Cave of the betrayal of Jesus and the Tomb of Our Lady. Continue to Beitphage, a village on the Mount of Olives to which Jesus sent two of his disciples to take the donkey which he was to use for the triumphal entry into the city. This is where the Palm Sunday Procession began, as it does today. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 10:	ALONG THE JORDAN VALLEY Depart Jerusalem to Jericho and view Mount of Temptation, where Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. Continue to the Dead Sea. Continue to Mt. Tabor. Drive to the top of Mt. Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration. Proceed to the Sea of Galilee for dinner and overnight.
DAY 11:	CANA AND NAZERTH We depart this morning for Cana, where Christ performed the first miracle and where married couples can renew their marriage vows. Continue to Nazareth to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation enclosing the remains of the House of Joachim and Ann and the site where the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she was to become the Mother of God. Visit the Home of the Holy family, St. Joseph’s workshop, Mary’s well and the Synagogue where Jesus preached. Proceed to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
DAY 12:	THE SEA OF GALILEE AND UPPER GALIEE The Jordan River In the morning, 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 Primacy of Peter, where Christ confirmed Peter as the Head of the Church and visit the Mount of Beatitudes where Christ taught the Eight Beatitudes to his disciples. Continue to Tabgha, the place of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish. Continue to the ruins of Magdala where Mary Magdalen lived. In the afternoon, drive to the Golan Heights in Upper Galilee. Visit the Sources of the Jordan, view Tel Dan, and visit the exit of the River Jordan from the Sea of Galilee. Return to you hotel.
DAY 13:	TIBERIAS / AMMAN / MADABA / MT. NEBO Depart from Tiberias Continue to Madaba, the biblical Medeba, for a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church which houses the 6th century mosaics. Drive to Mount Nebo commemorating the site where Moses saw the Promised Land and died. Overnight in Madaba.
DAY 14:	PETRA, THE RED ROCK CITY Petra, Jordan This morning, depart Amman enroute to Petra, the Red Rock City. It is considered the eighth wonder of the world, a complete city carved in colored sandstone, rediscovered in 1812. An unforgettable experience on horseback through a narrow canyon, you will enter the Nabatean city of Petra to visit the Treasury, the theater, the Palace of Justice and other marvels. Refresh yourself at the Fountain of Moses from the fatigue of exploring. Return to your hotel in Madaba.
DAY 15:	AMMAN / NORTH AMERICA Transfer to the airport for flight home.