“OUT OF EGYPT TO THE PROMISED LAND”

Evening Check in at the Manila airport and board the flight to Cairo, Egypt via Dubai on Emirates Airlines EK335 2330 departure.

Arrival in Cairo. After immigration and customs formali-ties, we meet our tour guide and visit the Egyptian Mu-seum in Cairo, described as the largest archaeological Museum in the world. We Proceed to Old Cairo and visit the Hanging Church. The Church was built atop the walls of the 4th Century BC Roman Fortress of Babylon, there are other churches here that date back to early Christian Era. We then Check in to Movenpick hotel in Cairo for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we drive to the Great Pyramids of Giza where the Sphinx and the Valley Temple can be seen. Drive to Memphis and Sakkara to see the step pyramids. Return to Movenpick hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we proceed to Goshen, the Land that Pharaoh gave to Joseph and Jacob. It is also the place where Moses was born, and the Israelites lived for 430 years. We will view the ruins of temple, city walls and tomb in places of Rameses and Pithom. Hotel check-in at Mercure along the Suez Canal, dinner and overnight.

Travel to Sinai. If time allows, we will visit the St. Cathe-rine Monastery, believed to be where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. We then check in to Mor-genland hotel for Dinner and Overnight.

Our day starts with a midnight drive at the foot of Mt. Sinai to make the ascent on camels or on foot to see the breathtaking view of the desert at sunrise. After Break-fast we check out of our hotel and drive through the Red Sea to Taba and cross the border there to Israel. We meet our Israeli guide and take the road to Timnah Park, where the Solomon’s quarries(mines) are found. Then we check in to our hotel at Mitzpe Ramon, dinner and overnight.

We continue through the Zin Valley for a classic desert hike in Ein Avdat, one of Israel’s most beautiful sites. The Ein Avdat National Park offers spectacular panora-mas and captivating hikes through the incredible desert scenery. Visit Beer Sheva, the largest city in the Negev Desert often referred to as the “Capital of the Negev”. In the book of Genesis, Beersheba (which means a “Well of Seven or “Well of the Oath”), was founded when Abraham and Abimelech settled their differences over a well of water and made a covenant. Pass by Tel Arad, one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel, on which were found the remains of a fortified Canaanite city and fortresses from the time of Kings of Judah. Check-in to David Dead Sea hotel, dinner and overnight.

Enjoy an “unsinkable swim” in the Dead Sea before breakfast. Hotel check-out then on to Ein Gedi, where David hid from King Saul and composed many of his famous Psalms. Visit Qasar Al Yehud believed to be the Baptismal place of Jesus, then we proceed to Jericho, take a cable car to Qarantal Monastery, it was built on the slopes of Mount of Temptation 350 meters above sea level, situated along a cliff overlooking the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley. Then we drive to Ein Harod, where Gideon chose his 300 men to defeat the Midianites. Finally, we proceed to Europa Hotel located in the center of Town in Tiberias near the beautiful Sea of Galilee. Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, we travel to a strategic City of Megiddo, which King Solomon fortified, then we drive to Tel Dan to see the water source of the Jordan River all the way from Mount Hermon. Take a short hike to view the site of the altar that Jeroboam built as well as the ruins of an old Canaanite city known as Laish. Then we will visit Nimrod Fortress, the biggest Crusade-era Castle in all of Israel, a mountaintop stronghold spanning back to 13th century. We proceed to Caesarea Philippi where the god Pan was worshipped and so there Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. Continue to Banias Falls then proceed to Olea Olive Factory. Return to Europa hotel for dinner and overnight.

We travel up North for Fruit -picking, then proceed to Magdala, believed to be the birthplace of Mary Magda-lene, it was an ancient city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, North of Tiberias, where an oldest synagogue in the Galilee were found. Visit to Capernaum the ruins of an ancient synagogue and the Byzantine chapel at the site of Peter’s house then descend to lower Galilee to visit the “Jesus Boat” museum, we then take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where we have a time of Joyful Worship! Return to Europa hotel for dinner and overnight.

Before leaving the region of Galilee we visit Kefer Ked-em, a tourist center in Israel which reconstructs the eve-ryday life in the Galilee 2000 years ago. We proceed next to Mount Carmel, where the Prophet Elijah challenged the priests of Baal in an offering. We will have a panoram-ic view of the Jezreel Valley, where the battle of Arma-geddon will take place. Then visit Caesarea Maritima by the Mediterranean Sea, this is where the first Gentile convert, Cornelius, met Peter. We then drive up to Jeru-salem for Check in, Dinner and Overnight at Leonardo Hotel.

We start our day at the Mount of Olives where we can see a picturesque panoramic view of the old city of Jeru-salem. At the foot of the mount is the Garden of Geth-semane where the Church of All Nations is built. Then we drive to Bethlehem and visit the Migdal Eder—The “Tower of the Flock”—which is mentioned in Micah 4:8-10 about the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah. In Genesis 35 it also describes as the Pillars of Rachel’s Tomb which is there to this day. We then stop by the Shepherd’s Field where birth of the Messiah was an-nounced. Return to Leonardo Jerusalem hotel for dinner and overnight.

Early start at the Temple Mount, where the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque stand. We then walk “the way of suffering” – Via Dolorosa, starting from Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man, stop by the Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We then visit the Western (Wailing) Wall, the holiest site of the Jews and where prayer requests are slipped into cracks of the wall. We make a quick stop at the Jewish Quarter to see the old Cardo of the Roman times. We proceed to the Garden Tomb at Golgotha to commemo-rate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ with a communion. We return to Leonardo Hotel for Din-ner. We then go for a night out to the Tower of David to enjoy the “Night Spectacular” – Light & Sound Show. Return to our hotel for overnight.

We drive via Bethel to the Ancient Biblical City of Shiloh, the place where the Ark of the Covenant stood for 369 years until it was taken into a battle camp. It was here that Hannah came to pray to God to bless her with a son and the Lord answered her prayer with Samuel, who be-came the last of the Judges and one of the greatest prophets of the people of Israel. We drive back to Jerusa-lem to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, which shows horrible atrocities committed against the Jews. We end the day at the Israel Museum where the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed and view a magnificent scale model of Jerusalem as it was in the time of Christ. Re-turn to Leonardo Jerusalem hotel for dinner and over-night.

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and visit the City of David, the place where King David established his kingdom and where the history of the people of Israel was written. Walk through the Jerusalem Road Tunnel to the Southern Steps of the Temple Mount, believed to be where Jesus would often teach when he was in Jerusa-lem. We then travel to the airport passing by the “the Road to Emmaus” where Jesus appeared to his disciples after His resurrection. In Luke 24:13-35 accounts how Jesus taught these two disciples about God’s Salvation story of the Messiah, it opened their “eyes and under-standing” that they hurried back to Jerusalem to share their incredible experience with the other disciples. We end the Tour in Jaffa, see the ancient streets (Biblical Joppa) where Peter saw a vision of unclean animals lead-ing him to an encounter with Cornelius. Later, when Pe-ter gave his report to the believers in Jerusalem about his experience at Jaffa, they marveled that God had granted salvation not only to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (Acts 11:1–18).We then drive to the airport to catch our flight back to the Philippines.

Returning home to Manila spiritually refreshed, we read the Bible with deeper understanding.

****Planned activities may be affected by the pace of the group, weather, and certain unforeseen events resulting in some visit to sites to be delayed. If need be, sites and activities may be replaced or switched to another day as appropriate without compromising the pilgrimage experience.