“OUT OF EGYPT TO THE PROMISED LAND”

Arrival in Cairo. After immigration and customs formali-ties, we meet our tour guide and visit the Egyptian Mu-seum in Cairo, described as the largest archaeological Museum in the world. We Proceed to Old Cairo and visit the Hanging Church. The Church was built atop the walls of the 4th Century BC Roman Fortress of Babylon, there are other churches here that date back to early Christian Era. We then check in to Movenpick Cairo hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we drive to the Great Pyramids of Giza where the Sphinx and the Valley Temple can be seen. Drive to Memphis and Sakkara to see the step pyramids. Return to Movenpick Cairo hotel for dinner and over-night.

After breakfast we proceed to Goshen, the Land that Pharaoh gave to Joseph and Jacob. It is also the place where Moses was born, and the Israelites lived for 430 years. We will view the ruins of temple, city walls and tomb in places of Rameses and Pithom. Hotel check-in at Movenpick Sharm El Sheik for dinner and overnight.

Travel to Mt. Sinai to make an afternoon ascent on camels or on foot to see the breathtaking view of the desert at sunset.  After the hike, we then check in to Morgenland hotel for Dinner and Overnight.

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and visit the St. Catherine Monastery, believed to be where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush.  We then drive through the Red Sea to Taba and cross the border there to Israel. We meet our Israeli guide and take the road and check in to our hotel at Play Boutique hotel in Eilat for dinner and overnight.   

We check out of our hotel after breakfast and drive to Timnah Park, where the Solomon’s quarries(mines) are found and a model of the Tabernacle of God at the time of Moses. Continue through the Zin Valley for a classic desert hike in Ein Avdat, one of Israel’s most beautiful sites. The Ein Avdat National Park offers spectacular panoramas and captivating hikes through the incredible desert scenery. Visit Beer Sheva, the largest city in the Negev Desert often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev”.  In the book of Genesis, Beersheba (which means a “Well of Seven or “Well of the Oath”), was founded when Abraham and Abimelech settled their differences over a well of water and made a covenant. We continue our drive to the Dead Sea and Check-in to Royal Hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, our day starts with a visit to a school in Ein Gedi, overlooking the Spring where David hid from King Saul and composed many of his famous Psalms. We continue to Qasar Al Yehud believed to be the Baptismal place of Jesus, then we proceed to Jericho, take a cable car to Qarantal Monastery, it was built on the slopes of Mount of Temptation 350 meters above sea level, situated along a cliff overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley. We return to our hotel in the Dead Sea to enjoy an “unsinkable swim” in the Dead Sea before dinner and Overnight at Royal Hotel Dead Sea.

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and drive towards Galilee, we stop at Ein Harod, where Gideon chose his 300 men to defeat the Midianites. We then proceed to Magdala, believed to be the birthplace of Mary Magdalene, it was an ancient city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, North of Tiberias, where an oldest synagogue in the Galilee were found. Recite the Beatitudes at the Mount where we remember the teaching of Jesus. Then, we proceed to Capernaum to visit the ruins of an ancient synagogue and the Byzantine chapel at the site of Peter’s house then descend to lower Galilee to the “Jesus Boat” museum, we then take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where we have a time of Joyful Worship! Finally, we proceed to David’s Harp Hotel nestled into the hills of Golan and Galilee, providing far-reaching panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight.

We travel up North for Fruit -picking. We then proceed to Gamla, also known as the “Masada of the North,”, an ancient Jewish city located in the Golan Heights region of Israel. We continue our tour to Katzrin Talmudic Village to learn the rich history and culture of ancient Jewish life in the Galilee region from Talmudic times, offering a glimpse into daily life during this period. If time allows, we will stop at the Olea Factory to have some free time shopping. We return to our hotel at David’s Harp Hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and drive through the Jezreel valley for our first stop at Nazareth Village where we experience what it was like at the time of Jesus. We proceed next to Cana and remember the first miracle performed by Jesus. We then drive up to Mount Carmel, where the Prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal in an offering. We will have a panoramic view of the Jezreel Valley, where the battle of Armageddon will take place. Then visit Caesarea Maritima by the Mediterranean Sea, this is where the first Gentile convert, Cornelius, met Peter. We then check in to Leonardo Gordon Hotel along the Mediterranean Coast of Tel Aviv for dinner and overnight.

We take our breakfast, then we check out of our hotel and have a stroll in Jaffa, see the ancient streets (Biblical Joppa) where Peter saw a vision of unclean animals leading him to an encounter with Cornelius. We then drive up to Jerusalem, visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, which shows horrible atrocities committed against the Jews. We proceed to the Western (Wailing) Wall, the holiest site of the Jews and where prayer requests are slipped into cracks of the wall, then we enter the Western Wall Tunnels (can be evening time). We then check in to our hotel in Leonardo Hotel in Jerusalem for Dinner and Overnight.

We start our day at the Mount of Olives where we can see a picturesque panoramic view of the old city of Jerusalem. At the foot of the mount is the Garden of Gethsemane where the Church of All Nations is built.  Then we experience the “hospitality” of Abraham at Genesis Land. After lunch, we visit City of David, the place where King David established his kingdom and where the history of the people of Israel was written.  Walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel ending in the Pool of Siloam. We continue to the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount, believed to be where Jesus would often teach when he was in Jerusalem. We return to Leonardo hotel for dinner and overnight.

Early start at the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque stand.  We then walk “the way of suffering” – Via Dolorosa, starting from Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man, stop by the Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We make a quick stop at the Jewish Quarter to see the old Cardo of the Roman times and a visit at the Temple Institute. We have dinner at our hotel, then head out for a night at the Tower of David to watch the “Night Spectacular” Light & Sound Show. We return to Leonardo hotel for overnight.

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and proceed to the Garden Tomb at Golgotha to commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ with a communion. We then travel to the airport passing by the “the Road to Emmaus” where Jesus appeared to his disciples after His resurrection. In Luke 24:13-35 accounts how Jesus taught these two disciples about God’s Salvation story of the Messiah, it opened their “eyes and understanding” that they hurried back to Jerusalem to share their incredible experience with the other disciples. We then finish the tour in Elah Valley, where the famous battle between David and Goliath happened. David, with God’s help, defeated Goliath in a one-on-one fight, leading the Israelites to victory over the Philistines.  We drive to the airport to catch our flight back to the Philippines.

Returning home to Manila spiritually refreshed, we read the Bible with deeper understanding.

****Planned activities may be affected by the pace of the group, weather, and certain unforeseen events resulting in some visit to sites to be delayed. If need be, sites and activities may be replaced or switched to another day as appropriate without compromising the pilgrimage experience.