Church Pilgrimage to Israel

Day 2 Jerusalem
Old city walk to Der Sultan Monastery to participate in church service. In the afternoon, drive to Ein Kerem to visit the Church of Visitation and Church of St John the Baptist. Continue your visit to Yad Veshem (The World Holocaust Remembrance Centre). Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 3 Jerusalem
Old city walk to Der Sultan Monastery to participate in church service. Then follow the Eger Atebet foot washing service. After Mass (Kidasse) service return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 4 Jerusalem
At 7:00 am drive to the Old City and Gethsemane. Visit Virgin’s Tomb, Grotto of Jesus’ Arrest Garden and Church of Gethsemane. Continue with a walking tour of the Old City. Visit St Anne Church and the Pool of Bethseda. Trace the final footsteps of Jesus as you walk the Via Dolorosa (Fenote Meskel). See the Church of Flagellation, Ecce Homo Arch, Church of Resurrection (Calvery and Holy Sepulchre). Then follow the ‘Segdet’ service at Der Sultan Ethiopian Monastery. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 5 Jerusalem
At 7:00 am start the day with a walking tour of the Old City Der Sultan Monastery to participate in the ‘Optima’ ceremony, then have lunch with Fathers in the Monastery in Alazar Gedam. In the afternoon, drive to Mount of Olives: Visit Betfaje, Ascension Place, Church of Paternoster, Dominus Flevit, visit St Peter in Gallicantu, the Cenacle, Dormition Abbey and the Kings Tomb. Then walk the Temple Area, see the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa Mosque and back to your hotel for lunch. At 1700 hr, walk to the Old City Der Sultan Monastery to participate in the Easter Church service and ceremony until 3:30 am. Then back to your hotel.

Day 6 Jerusalem
Spend the morning at leisure. After lunch at your hotel, visit the Holy Sepulchre. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 7 Jerusalem > Bethlehem > Jerusalem
At 6:00 am drive to Debre Genet Kidan Mehret Ethiopian Church to participate in the church service. After the service, return to your hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, drive to Bethlehem. Visit the Basilica of Nativity, Chapel of St Jerome and the Crusader Cluster and the Milk Grotto, the Debre Selam Eyesus Ethiopian Monastery and the Shepherds field. Have lunch at Ramat Rahel Hotel and then return to your hotel in Jerusalem.

Day 8 Jerusalem > Tiberias
6:00 am: After breakfast, you will check out from the hotel and start a full-day drive along the Jordan,Valley to Jericho desert and on to Tiberias. Visit the Baptismal place in the Jordan River, continue drive to upper Nazareth. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Tiberias.
Three Nights Stay in Tiberias: Royal Plaza Hotel Tiberias or similar

Day 9 Tiberias
After breakfast you will start the day with boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to see St Peter’s Memorial, St Peter’s House and the VI Century Synagogue. On to Mt Beatitudes, where Jesus gave his most famous address: the Sermon on the Mount. Continue to Tabgha, the site of Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish. Then return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 10 Tiberias
After breakfast, drive to Mt Tabor and visit the Church of Transfiguration. Visit the place of Jesus’ first public miracle: changing water into wine. In the afternoon, visit the Basilica of Annunciation, the excavation under the Basilica, the Franciscan Museum and St Joseph’s workshop. Continue then with the Souk, the Synagogue, Mary’s Well and St Gabriel’s Church. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 11 Tiberias > Haifa > Tel Aviv > Jerusalem
After breakfast you will check out from the hotel, drive to Haifa and ascend Mt Carmel. Visit Stella Maris Convent with Prophet Elijah’s Grotto, continue to Tel Aviv via the Mediterranean Sea, and visit St George and St Peter’s Churches. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Jerusalem.
Two Nights Stay in Jerusalem: Prima Park Hotel Jerusalem or similar

Day 12 Jerusalem
En route visit the Sanctuary of Bethany (The village of Mary Martha and Lazarus), visit Lazarus’ Tomb. Visit the ancient city of Jericho, Elisha’s Spring, the Mt of Temptation and St Gebreal Ethiopian Monastery, then the Sycamore-fig tree of Zacchaeus. Later on the day you will visit the Dead Sea for a swim. Back to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Day 13 Jerusalem
6:00 am drive to Jerusalem Der Sultan Ethiopian Monastery to participate in the 2nd Easter Ceremony and the Church Mass (Kedasse). After breakfast, 9:30 am visit Debrlibanos, St Mary’s Birthplace.

Day 14 Jerusalem
Spend the day at leisure.

Day 15 Jerusalem
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your departure.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Jerusalem
Prima Park Hotel
2 Vilnay Street, 95435 Jerusalem
Phone: +972-2-6582222

Tiberias
Royal Plaza Hotel
Menorah Gardens Blvd, Tiberias
Phone: +972-04-6700000