Join a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
18th - 26th June 2024
Led by Reverend Adedayo and Mrs Jadesola Ige
£1450.00 per person / based on sharing in a twin or double room
Single room supplement (if required) £265.00 per person
Email info@special-pilgrimages.co.uk to request a brochure pack / more information!
Tuesday 18th June
LONDON HEATHROW
Fly from London Heathrow directly to Tel Aviv on a direct EL AL service departing on the LY318 at 22:20 hours. You will have one hand luggage and one check in luggage per person.
Wednesday 19th June
TEL AVIV / MOUNT OF CARMEL
Breakfast is served inflight. We arrive to Tel Aviv at 05:05 hours. Assistance on arrival by smile representatives. We will meet our guide and driver in arrivals and transfer directly to Mount Carmel, where we start at Muhraka, where the Prophet Elijah’s firelighting challenge took place against the Prophet’s of Baal. We then continue to Stella Maris Monastery. A small cave under the monastery is held by a Christian tradition to be a place where Elijah occasionally lived Opposite the monastery, a footpath down towards the Mediterranean leads to another grotto called Elijah’s Cave. Here the prophet is said to have meditated before his encounter with the priests of Baal. The cave is also thought to be where Elijah established a “school of prophets”. Lunch in the vicinity (not included). In the afternoon, we transfer to our guest house in Tiberias for check in, dinner and overnight stay.
Thursday 20th June
CANA / NAZARETH / MT. TABOR
After breakfast, we will drive to Cana of the Galilee, the traditional site where Our Lord performed His first miracle by turning the water into wine at the wedding feast (John 2: 1-11). We will have a renewal of wedding vows service and celebrate Communion at 09:00 hours. We then continue to Nazareth, where the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to give birth to the Son of God. Visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, the Old Synagogue, the Church of St. Gabriel (Mary's Well), which is built over the only freshwater spring in Nazareth, a place where Mary and Jesus must have visited to draw their daily water supply. Lunch in Nazareth at 13:00 hours (not included). After lunch, we drive to Mount Tabor, where we ascend to the top by taxi to visit the Basilica of the Transfiguration. We then descend by taxi to our coach. Dinner and overnight stay in Tiberias.
Friday 21st June
SEA OF GALILEE / MAGDALA
In the morning, we visit the Sea of Galilee (refreshment stop en route) starting at the Mount Beatitudes, which commemorates Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:1-12). We celebrate Communion on Mount Beatitudes at 09:00 hours. We then proceed to visit Mensa Christi, which commemorates the miracle of the loaves and fishes and the Primacy of St. Peter for a visit. Continue to Capharnaum "The Town of Jesus" where He carried out the major part of His Ministry and Messianic Work. It was also here that our Lord made the promise of the Eucharist (John 6: 22-71). Take a cruise on the Sea of Galilee including a pause on the water for prayer and reflection at 12:30 hours. Enjoy a St. Peters fish lunch at a lake side restaurant at 13:15 hours (included). In the afternoon, we visit Magdala, a unique site in the Holy Land. Here one can find a first century synagogue, a complete first century city and remains of a once prosperous fish processing industry. Complete with shops, marketplace, residential areas, and wharf, this is a city where Jesus himself visited and taught. Dinner and overnight stay in Tiberias.
Saturday 22nd June
BETHLEHEM
In the morning, we check out early and drive to Bethlehem starting at the Manger Square where we visit the Basilica of the Nativity and the Grotto, venerated as the Birthplace of Jesus. We also visit the Church of St. Catherine, the Crusader's Cloister, the Chapel of St. Jerome, the Grotto of the Holy Innocents. Time and queues permitting, we will visit inside the grotto. We then continue to the Bethlehem Milk Grotto, where Mary is said to have spilled drops of her milk, so that the cave turned from a reddish stone to chalky white. It has long been believed the "milk powder", which is ground from the limestone and saying a special devotion to Mary can heal health problems; especially those related to infertility. Lunch at the Grotto Restaurant at 14:00 hours (included). In the afternoon, we proceed to a Christian Cooperative in Bethlehem, selling locally made souvenirs including the Olive Wood Biblical carvings that Bethlehem is renowned for. We then continue to the Shepherds Fields for a visit and to celebrate Communion at 16:00 hours. We then proceed to our hotel in Bethlehem for check in, dinner and overnight stay.
Sunday 23rd June
BETHANY / QASR AL YAHUD / JERICHO / DEAD SEA
After breakfast, we drive to Bethany to visit the Tomb of Lazarus. We then continue through the desert, stopping at the Good Samaritan Inn for a visit before we continue to Qasr Al Yahud the Baptismal Site on the River Jordan where we have the opportunity to renew our Baptismal vows. We then continue to Jericho, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world and an Oasis in the desert. We will view the sycamore tree where traditionally Zacchaeus is said to have climbed, Elijah’s spring and the Mount of Temptation. We will also visit a shop selling seasonal fruit and locally made products. Lunch at Al Rawdeh restaurant at 14:00 hours (included). In the afternoon we will have some time to ‘float’ on the Dead Sea. We then return to Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.
Monday 24th June
BETHPHAGE / Mt. OLIVES / MT. SION / WESTERN WALL
In the morning we will leave our hotel and drive to the Chapel at Bethpage. It is from here that the Lord started His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We will then continue to the top of the Mt. Of Olives to receive an explanation of the view and to visit the Place of the Ascension. We then descend the Mount of Olives first visiting the Pater Noster, where the Lord's Prayer is written in more than 110 languages, followed by Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem and foretold its destruction. Continue to the Gethsemane to visit the Garden for a time of prayers at 11:00 hours and visit the Church of All Nations. We will have lunch in Jerusalem at 12:30 hours (not included). In the afternoon, we will proceed to Mt. Sion to visit the Upper Room, also known as the Cenacle. This room is venerated in memory of the Institution of the Eucharist. This was the site of the High Priest Caiaphas' house and the dungeon where the Lord was imprisoned before his trial. We will also visit the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Jesus. We then return to Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay. We will finish our day at the Western Wall and Jewish Quarter for a visit, before we return to our hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.
Tuesday 25th June
GARDEN TOMB / STATIONS OF THE CROSS
In the morning, we will leave our hotel early and proceed to the Garden tomb where we will have a tour and celebrate Communion at 08:30 hours. We then enter the Old City of Jerusalem, starting our tour at the Church of St. Anne’s and the Pool of Bethesda. Lunch on your own, in the vicinity (not included. We then walk the Stations of the Cross, ending inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre enshrining Calvary and the Holy Tomb (visit inside the tomb subject to time and queues permitting). and time permitting you will have some time for shopping. We then return to our hotel in Bethlehem for dinner and overnight stay.
Wednesday 26th June
ABO GOSH / EIN KAREM / TEL AVIV / HEATHROW
In the morning, we check out of our hotel and drive to Abo Gosh, one of the possible sites of Emmaus, where we will visit the Crusaders Church. We then continue to the village of Ein Karem for a visit, the birth place of John the Baptist where we will visit the Church of the Visitation and the Church of St John the Baptist. We will then make our way to the airport (lunch en route not included) for our return flight with El Al on LY317 departing at 17:15 hours returning to London Heathrow at 20:45 hours. LAST DAYS ACTIVITIES ARE SUBJECT TO FLIGHT TIMES PERMITTING.
THE TOUR INCLUDES: -
NOT INCLUDED: -
