Diocese of Chester

DIOCESE OF CHESTER

ITINERARY*

28th March – 6th April 2017

Day 1: Tuesday 28th March Manchester - Jerusalem

Flight details to be announced. Depart for Ben Gurion Airport and on to our hotel Dan Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Wednesday 29th March - Old Jerusalem

After breakfast, we begin today's programme from the Mount of Olives for a breathtaking view of the entire city. Following the Palm Sunday route, halfway down the Mount of Olives is the teardrop shaped church of Dominus Flevit. The Garden of Gethsemane lies at the bottom of the hill, and nearby is the Church of All Nations. In the afternoon the tour will then split into two options – option one will continue with a visit to Ein Karem, birthplace of John the Baptist, ending with paying our respects at Yad Vashem, the emotive Holocaust Memorial and option two will spend the afternoon at the Israel Museum, which is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums; there you will visit the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea scrolls are housed.

Day 3: Thursday 30th March - Temple Mount & Bethlehem

After breakfast, we enter the Old City to see the Wailing Wall and the Golden Dome of the Sacred Rock - a magnificent gold and turquoise shrine, built on the site of Solomon's Temple and later Herod's Temple. Although the walls have been repaired, the ground plan and colonnades have remained unchanged. We will visit St. Peter in Gallicantu, then onto the 'Upper Room' where traditionally Jesus and His disciples shared the Last Supper. After lunch we will visit Church of the Nativity and Shepherds’ Fields in Bethlehem.

Day 4: Friday 31st March - Via Dolorosa & Garden Tomb

After breakfast we shall go to St Anne's Church for a Eucharist. The Church is strikingly peaceful and has amazing acoustics and close by is the Pool of Bethesda. We then walk along the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross) ending at the Church of The Holy Sepulchre, Tomb of the Kings and at the end of the day we will visit the Garden Tomb by Skull Hill

Day 5: Saturday 1st April - Dead Sea & Masada

Today’s programme will take you to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea. Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to the base of Masada, the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots against the Romans. Ascend by cable car and tour the famous archaeological site including Herod’s Palace. After descending, we drive to the shores of the Dead Sea for a ‘swim’ and enjoy floating in these unique waters. When we return to Jerusalem we will visit Qumran where the Essene Community wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in 1947. We shall visit Bethany, the Church of Mary & Martha and the Tomb of Lazarus.

Day 6: Sunday 2nd April - Jerusalem - Tiberias

After breakfast and check out from the hotel, we celebrate the Eucharist in St. George's Cathedral. We then travel onwards to The Galilee area via The Inn of the Good Samaritan passing Jericho. Drive through the great Jordan Rift Valley and visit Beit Shean a very important Roman city during biblical times; visit the excavations. Afterwards onto Nazareth, where Jesus spent His early years and visit the Basilica of the Annunciation. Continue to Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee for dinner and overnight stay at the Caesar Premier Hotel.

Day 7: Monday 3rd April – The Sea of Galilee and Cana

Begin the day with a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee from Tiberias to Nof Ginosar, which lies at the foot of Mount Arbel with a magnificent view of the Golan Heights. In the museum next to the hotel you will find fascinating evidence of the Galilee’s long history, including the 2000-year-old boat recently discovered on the bed of the lake. Visit Mount Tabor, the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus and visit the village of Cana, site of Jesus’ first miracle.

Day 8: Tuesday 4th April – Sea of Galilee

Early in the morning, we go to the Mount of Beatitudes, to celebrate the Eucharist, at one of the most beautiful Gospel settings, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and where Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount. Time will be given afterwards for reflection. Onwards to Tabgha, where the Church of the Multiplication commemorates Jesus' miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. We'll visit the little chapel of Mensa Christi, 'Table of the Lord' with a breathtaking view over the Sea of Galilee. The chapel is built over an enormous rock depicting the traditional site where Jesus cooked breakfast on the fire of coals for the disciples. Continue to Capernaum, centre of Jesus' Ministry, located here are the ruins of an ancient synagogue and the site of Peter's house. We shall have an opportunity to enjoy a very special lunch of St Peter's fish at Kibbutz Ein Gev. Before going back to our hotel we will visit Yardenit, the Baptismal site on the River Jordan, where there will be a renewal of Baptismal Promises.

Day 9: Wednesday 5th April - Galilee - optional tours*/ Day of Leisure.

* No reservations required first come first served basis

There will be two optional tours: The first departs 08.00 hrs will visit Megiddo (Armageddon), of great strategic importance and battlefield throughout the ages. Megiddo was one of King Solomon's chariot cities. Proceed along the coastal road to Caesarea, the Roman capital of Israel, built by Herod the Great and see the Roman Theatre. It was here that St. Paul was imprisoned and tried and where he converted Cornelius.

The second tour, departing 09.00hrs will travel north to Caesarea Philippi, experience the Hermon Stream at Banias Nature Reserve, this is where Jesus said according to St. Mark Chapter 8 … and Jesus went on with his disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he charged them to tell no one about him. View Mount Hermon in the distance, and pass Tel Dan and the Golan Heights. Return to Tiberias for overnight stay.

Day 10: Thursday 6th April - Tiberias Manchester

Depart Tiberias for your flight back home to Manchester leaving from Ben Gurion Airport.

* The itinerary is subject to last minute changes