0107LX4 - Holy Land & Egypt Pilgrimage 14 days from New York, JFK


Airline Name Baggage Information
Swiss http://bit.ly/12VpehU

Special Package with this Trip :
International departure taxes of $169 plus current fuel surcharges of $550 are included (subject to change).

Tour Code Departure Date Cost per person
LX0107GS 01/07/2024 $5299.00
Trip Details

Today, we depart JFK New York to connect to our flight to Cairo. We enjoy movies, dinner & breakfast while aloft.
We arrive in Cairo, where we are met by our Tour Manager and transfer via motorcoach to our hotel for dinner and overnight. (Depending on final flight arrangements, there may be an option for Mass before checking in to our hotel).
Today we celebrate Mass nearby as we head outside Cairo to the Gianaclis Vineyards for a wine tour of this amazing winery, where we will enjoy a tasting of some of their popular offerings. Following a stop for lunch on our own, we will proceed to the Nile River region for our Nile River cruise. This fantastic cruise features a fabulous dinner as well as entertainment and music as we cruise along this historic river. We return to our hotel for overnight.
This morning we begin with a visit to the Holy Family Church, believed to be the home of the Holy Family during their multi-year Egyptian exile. We visit the Church of St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, known locally by its Arabic name “Abi Segra”. This church was built over the cave which provided refuge for the Holy Family. After our visit, we continue to the Church of Our Lady in Zeitoun, where the Blessed Mother appeared several times. We celebrate Mass here and then break for lunch on our own. This afternoon we tour the famous Cairo Museum, with its treasures of unearthed riches from Pharaonic days including the King Tut collection, the most complete display of an Egyptian Tomb ever assembled. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
Today, following Mass at the Church of St. Joseph, we drive to Giza, where the greatest of the wonders of the world dominate the horizon. We drive around the three Pyramids of Cheops, Chephren, and Mydkerinus, and enter one of them. We continue to the Sphinx, the largest single block structure of all time, where we visit the funerary Valley Temple, which the Sphinx guards. This afternoon, following lunch on our own, we visit the Citadel, the Mosque, and the El Kalili Bazaar, for perusing and shopping. We enjoy dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This morning we start our travel toward Jordan. We admire the Egyptian scenery and pray for our Coptic brothers and sisters. We break for lunch on our own along our route and reach St. Catherine in the afternoon. We conclude our day at our hotel with leisure time before dinner and overnight at our hotel.
Today, we continue our journey to Jordan, taking lunch items with us on our travels as there will be no stops along our route. We arrive at the Taba, Egypt/ Israeli border station, where our group is met by our representative that will assist with bus transfer via Eilat to the Arava border station at the Israeli/ Jordanian border. After our border transfers we head straight to our hotel for dinner and overnight near Petra.
This morning, we visit Petra, one of the world’s most famous archeological sites. It is the awesome city the Nabataean Arabs carved out of the rock during the four hundred years before roman rule. It is the site familiar to many movies goers as it was used in the third “Indiana Jones” movie. This afternoon, following lunch on our own, we drive north tracing the steps of Lawrence of Arabia along the famous Kings Highway. We see the rich collection of 3rd to 7th century mosaics found in Madaba and continue to Mt. Nebo where Moses viewed the Promised Land but was forbidden entry. We celebrate Mass here before we continue to Amman for dinner and overnight at our hotel.
Today, we visit the biblical city of Philadelphia, to view the Roman Amphitheater and Citadel. We also visit the beautiful ruins at Jerash, one of the Decapolis Cities, perhaps the best preserved provincial Roman city in the world. We stop for lunch on our own before visiting the Jordan River, where we will renew our Baptismal promises at the place visited by Pope St. John Paul II during his pilgrimage in 2000. Finally, we cross the Jordan River at the Sheik Hussein Bridge and continue to our hotel along the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias for dinner and overnight.
This morning, we cross the Sea of Galilee by boat, contemplating the mountains and the beautiful views of the public life of Jesus. We continue to Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration, where, if possible, we enjoy a lunch prepared by the sisters stationed here. We go on to Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle and the married couples with us can renew their marriage vows. We proceed to Nazareth where we visit the well of Mary and walk through the local bazaars. We celebrate Mass in the church of the Annunciation and visit the church of Saint Joseph, constructed over the workshop of Joseph. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
Today, we tour around the Sea of Galilee where Jesus exercised His ministry for three years, our first stop being the Mount of the Beatitudes, then the Site of the Multiplication of Loaves (Tabgha), the place at the Sea where Jesus appeared to Peter after the Resurrection, and lastly, the fascinating reconstruction of the ancient town of Capharnaum. We stop for lunch on our own along our route, We celebrate Mass along the Galilee and drive south along the Jordan Rift Valley and then up to make our dramatic entry into Jerusalem for dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This morning we visit the place of the Ascension and the church of the Pater Nostra (Our Father) and contemplate the beautiful City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. We descend on foot to the chapel of Dominus Flevit, where Jesus cried over Jerusalem and continue to the Garden of Gethsemane where we celebrate Mass in the Church of All Nations. We continue along the Kidron Valley to Saint Peter in Gallicantu (the cock crows), where Jesus was a prisoner. On Mount Zion, we visit the tomb of David, the church of the Dormition of Mary and the Upper Room - the Cenacle. We pray here renewing our Confirmation and asking for a Release of the Holy Spirit. Following a break for lunch on our own, we continue to the Church of Saint Anne (the Mother of Mary) and the Pool of Bethesda. From there, we go to the Judgment Hall of Pilate, the chapel of the Flagellation, the Lithostrotos, the Ecce Homo Arch, and the Convent of the Sisters of Zion. We walk along the Via Dolorosa through the streets of Jerusalem, finally arriving at the church of the Holy Sepulcher, in which is both Calvary and the Tomb of Jesus. We conclude our day as we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.
Today, we visit the ruins at Qumran, the home of the Essenes, who had contact with John the Baptist and wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. We make a stop at Ein Gedi, where we enjoy the opportunity to take a "swim" in the Dead Sea (lockers not included), the lowest spot in the world. We return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight at our hotel.
This morning we visit Bethlehem and the church of the Nativity, which commemorates the Birth of Christ and celebrate the Mass of Christmas and visit the Cloister of the Crusaders and the Grotto of Saint Jerome. We enjoy a brief visit to an authentic Olive Wood shop and view the many unique hand carved items before returning to Jerusalem, where we enter the Old City by the Zion Gate and visit the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) of the ruined Jewish Temple, and we also see the Cardo, the remains of the Roman city of the newly exposed walls of Nehemiah. We drive to the New City to pass by the Knesset and visit the Sanctuary of the Book, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are kept and the model of the Ancient City of Jerusalem from the time of Jesus. We continue with a visit to Ein Karem, where John the Baptist was born and where Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth to proclaim the words of the Magnificat. We return to our hotel for our final dinner and overnight.
Today, we transfer to the airport to board our return connecting flight back to the U.S. We arrive at our home airport later today with unforgettable memories to cherish always and listening to the gospels will never be the same again!