ROME HOLYLAND AND EGYPT with Mount Sinai OCT/2023

Departure to Italy, night on board the flight

Arrival to Rome. Meeting with our representative at Leonardo da Vinci airport and transfer by bus to our hotel. Rest of the day free. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Transfer from the hotel with our motorcoach to the Vatican to participate at the Papal Audience with the Holy Father Francis.
Free time to visit St. Peter’s Basilica on your own (there is a long line to enter due to security). In the afternoon meeting with our guide and departure for a half day tour, we will visit St. Mary the Major Basilica (Holy Mass), St. John in Lateran, the Colosseum (outside). Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, transfer to Leonardo Da Vinci airport. Departure on our flight to Tel Aviv. Meeting with our representative at Ben Gurion airport and transfer by Bus to our hotel. Rest of the day free. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. We start our tour visiting Caesarea Maritima, we will visit the Roman Colosseum, the Crusader city and the aqueduct. Continue to Haifa. We will go up to Mount Carmel, to meet the Grotto of the Prophet Elias and contemplate the Bahai Temple and its beautiful Persian Gardens. In the afternoon visit of Acre and its Medieval fortresses. continue towards Nazareth. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Visit the Mount of Beatitudes, where do our personal meditation. Visit Capernaum, celebration of Holy Mass on the ruins of the house of St. Peter, visit to the ruins of the ancient synagogue. Continue to the site of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, then we embarked for a cruise through the Sea of Galilee, and in the middle of the sea, we will make the corresponding readings. Visit the Primacy of Peter where Jesus tells his disciples that they are returning from fishing, “Boys, bring some fish just caught“, there’s a rock on which Jesus had prepared the fire, and waited, then asked Peter, you love me more than these? Departure towards the Jordan River and continuation to visit Yardenit, where there is a place of commemoration of the baptism. Renewal of our Baptismal promises. Return to Nazareth. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. In the morning we will visit Nazareth where the Son of God became incarnate in the Blessed Lady. We will visit the Church of the Annunciation, where the Angel visited Mary, the place where the word became flesh, the Church of San José where he taught the art of wood to Jesus. We will go to the cave of the Holy Family, and continue to Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performed his first miracle (Holy Mass). Opportunity to renew the Sacrament of Marriage, for those who are married. Departure to Mt. Tabor and climb by taxi to visit the Church of the Transfiguration. Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Traveling through the Jordan Valley we will pass through Jericho, the oldest city in the world. Upon arrival in Jericho, there is a sycamore that Zacchaeus reminds us, here we will do the corresponding readings. We will continue to Bethania where we will visit the house of Martha and Maria. Continuation to Jerusalem, where we will arrive singing the psalm and in a high part of Mount Scopus, we will make a toast, as we have reached the Holy City. Arrival in Bethlehem. Visit to the Basilica of the Nativity (Holy Mass), the Church of Saint Catherin, the Grotto of St. Jerome and the Grotto of the Milk. Dinner and overnight in our Hotel.

Breakfast. This day, we begin our pilgrimage on the Mount of Olives, the place of the Ascension of our Lord. To the Cave of Our Father, to the Chapel of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept for Jerusalem, there we will celebrate the Holy Mass. Then we visit the Basilica of Gethsemane where Jesus agonized and a few meters from there is the Grotto of betrayal where Judas delivered him. We continue to Mount Zion with the Cenacle, the place where Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Priesthood and the Eucharist, the King David’s Tomb. Visit to the Abbey of the Dormition of Mary and the Church of St Peter Gallicantu, where Peter denied Christ and where Jesus was imprisoned. We will enter the Old City through the Sion Gate to visit the Wailing Wall, the most important to the Jewish religion. Return to the hotel in Bethlehem. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. Early departure to the Dead Sea. Possibility of bathing in the sulphurous waters of the lowest place on earth. After lunch (not included), departure to Eilat. Panoramic view of this seaside resort and crossing the border of Taba (Israel/Egypt), we will meet our representative on the Egyptian side to carry out the immigration procedures to enter Egypt. Continuation in our Bus to St. Catherine. Arrival in the St. Catherine area and lodging at the Hotel, at the foot of Mount Sinai. Dinner and overnight.

At dawn we will make the ascent to Mount Moses or Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Tablets of the Law of the 10 Commandments, while the Hebrew people camped at the foot of the mountain. From the top we can see the sunrise and St. Catherine Mount. Back to the hotel. Breakfast and departure with our suitcases to visit, at the foot of the mountain, the Monastery of St. Catherine, the oldest in Christendom. Already outside the temple, we will visit the Burning Bush in which Moses had the appearance of the angel of the Lord, according to the Bible. We will also know the well in which Moses met his wife. After the visit to the Monastery, we will set out for the Sharm el-Sheikh airport, in time to board our flight to Cairo. Arrival and transfer to our hotel. Rest of the day free. Dinner and overnight.

Breakfast. In the morning, departure by bus from the hotel with our guide to visit the famous Pyramids of Cheops, Kefren and Micerinos, as well as the impressive Sphinx carved into the rock. Later we will go to the Papyrus Institute, where the artisanal process used in the making of the Papyri will be shown. In the afternoon visit the Egyptian Museum, with its ancient art, where the Treasure of the Tomb of Tutankhamun is kept. You will also visit the Citadel of Saladin, the Alabaster Mosque and the Khan Khalili Bazaar. Return to our hotel. At night, farewell dinner aboard a boat on the Nile River, to enjoy the Folklore of this country, with its famous Belly Dance. Transfer back to our hotel. Overnight.

Breakfast and transfer by our private Bus to Maṭār El Qāhira airport of Cairo in time for departure of our flight back USA. Arrival same day