Egypt - Israel Tour

DAY ONE:EGYPT

Assemble at JKIA at 1400 hrs. Check-in and immigration formalities follows. Board your Ethiopian Airlines to depart for Cairo.

Arrival in the land of Plenty and the land of Refuge - where

  • Abraham took refuge when there was drought in Canaan (Genesis 12:10),
  • Joseph prospered after being sold by his brothers (Genesis 37:12),
  • The people of Israel were enslaved for 400 yrs.
  • Moses was born (Exodus 2:1) and
  • The Lord Jesus Christ took refuge from the threat of King Herod (Mathew 2:13)

At Cairo International airport you will be welcomed by our tour coordinator and assisted through immigration and customs. Transfer to your hotel for the night

Overnight: PYRAMID PARK RESORT

Meal plan: Dinner on flight

DAY TWO:EGYPT

Breakfast at the hotel Then proceed for the days sites.

THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZA The great Pyramids of Choeps, Chepren and Mysterious are the only ones surviving of the seven wonders of the ancient world. They are Egypt’s most visited monuments and among the world’s greatest tourist attractions.

THE SPHINX is carved from a single piece of stone. It is a lion with the head of a pharaoh thought to be the portrait of Chepren.

The hanging church (AL MUALLAQA) - was built in the 4th century over southern gate of the fortress of Babylon. Dedicated to Virgin Mary, its treasures includes a 14 the century wall painting of the Nativity,

CHURCH OF ST SERGIUS (ABU SERGA) - A 5th century basilica built over crypt where the Holy Family is believed to have stayed during their flight into Egypt,

CHURCH OF ST MERCURIUS (ABU SEFEIN) - boasts a unique collection of Coptic art including 175 icons that depict scenes from the old and new testaments, wall paintings, etching and stained glass.

BEN EZRA SYNAGOGUE - Modest in appearance, delightful in interior and boasting of legends, the Ben Ezra synagogue is the supreme Jewish monument in Cairo. Legends claim that the synagogue is built on the spot where pharaoh's daughter found Moses in the bulrushes and where Jeremiah spoke to survivors after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

The most important recent event is the finding of medieval manuscripts in 1894. The collection, called Geniza, counted more than 250,000 pages, dating to the period between 1002 and 1266

Return to hotel
Overnight: PYRAMID PARK RESORT
Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

DAY THREE:EGYPT

Breakfast at hotel. Transfer to Alexandria and proceed for the sites

ST MARK CATHEDRAL -The cathedral is said to stand on the site of the church founded by St. Mark the Evangelist in AD 60. St. Mark the Evangelist (author of the second Gospel) has been connected with the city of Alexandria since earliest Christian tradition. Coptic Christians believe he arrived in Alexandria around AD 60 and stayed for about seven years. During this time, Mark converted many to Christianity and performed many miracles. He is considered the founder of the church in Alexandria and the first Bishop of Alexandria. According to tradition, St. Mark was arrested during a festival of Serapis in AD 68 and martyred by being dragged through the streets. He was buried under the church he had founded.

POMPEY’s PILLAR : A 25 meters red granite column constructed in honour of the Emperor Diocetian, originally from the Temple of Serapis, once a magnificent structure rivaling the Soma and the Caesareum. Nearby are subterranean galleries where the sacred Apis bulls were buried, and three sphinxes.

FORT QAITBEY : On the northern tip of the Eastern Harbour, Sultan Qaitbey's fort is an Alexandrian landmark. The Fort is on the original site of Pharos, Alexandria's ancient lighthouse, built in 279 BC to a height of 125 metres and topped with a statue of Poseidon. Although Pharos was rostored at various times it had finally crumbled by the time that the original Fort was built here, in the 1480s. Today, the Fort contains a mosque and the Naval Museum and provides wonderful views of the city and the Mediterranean sea.

MONTAZAH PALACE and GARDENS : Acres of formal gardens and a beautiful beach make Montazah the foremost city pleasure grounds. Montazah palace, a grand structure built in a mixture of Turkish and Florentine styles, is now a state guesthouse. Pleasant afternoons can also be spent in Shallalat Gardens which include rockeries and an artificial pond, Nouzha Gardens, near Alexandria Zoo, and Antoniadis Gardens, where classical statuary is set what were once the private grounds of a Greek family.

Transfer to hotel, at leisure

Overnight:  PYRAMID PARK RESORT

Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

DAY FOUR:EGYPT

After breakfast check out of the hotel to transfer to Sinai, Sites seen on the way

THE SUEZ CANAL that separates Asia and Africa, this tunnel is under the sea and an adventure in itself,sometimes the huge ships crossing the canal can be seen, continue to Sinai .
Arrive St Catharine check in hotel,have an early dinner and retire early to be ready for the early morning climb.

Overnight: Morgan land St Catharine

Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch on tour / Dinner

DAY FIVE:EGYPT

At 0200 hrs. Start the climb of Mountain of St, Catharine

Return to hotel for rest and breakfast. Checkout and visit sites in St. Catherine which is the place Moses climbed up the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. In the same area, there is the famous Greek Orthodox Monastery which is built around the Burning Bush and the well where Moses met his wife Zebura (daughter of Jethro, the priest of Median).

Transfer to the Egypt/Israel border and cross over to Eilat to enter Israel. Cross through the border- check and immigration. Meet and assistance by our guide in Israel.

Welcome to ISRAEL…Land of the Bible….Land of the faith…. the Holy Land, revered throughout recorded history as the cradle of monotheistic religion. For a person of faith whose beliefs are rooted in the Bible there is no place on earth like the Holy Land –Israel

Continue to Bethlehem .Checkin the hotel and rest of evening at leisure

Overnight: Shepherds Hotel , Bethlehem

Meal plan: Breakfast / Lunch on tour / Dinner

DAY SIX:ISRAEL

Breakfast at the hotel. Proceed for the days sites

EIN KAREM: Christian tradition places the birth of John the Baptist — who announced the coming of Jesus Christ, his cousin — in the picturesque village of Ein Karem 7.5km south-west of Jerusalem.

CHURCH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST - A Catholic church and monastery built over Byzantine and Crusaders chapels, and dedicated to John the Baptist. Inside the church is a cave where according to tradition was the birthplace of John the Baptist. John is an important figure in Christianity, and regarded as the "forerunner" - since John Baptized Jesus, and proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah.

MOUNT OF OLIVES: Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem's landscape. From the 3rd millennium B.C. until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city. The two-mile long ridge has three summits each of which has a tower built on it.

DOME OF THE ASCENSION: The Church of the Holy Ascension was taken by Saladin in 1187 and converted into a mosque and remains such today. It contains what is traditionally the last footprint of Jesus on earth before he ascended into heaven.

Two other places are claimed to be the location of the ascension. Constantine's mother Helena built a church under the modern Paternoster Church to commemorate this event. A much later tradition connects the Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension to Christ's return into heaven.

Scripture indicates that the Jesus ascended into heaven in the vicinity of Bethany. This village is down the east slope of the Mt. of Olives about 1.5 miles (2.2 km). In this case, none of the traditional locations for the ascension are correct.

PATER NOSTER to witness the “Lord’s Prayer’ written in several languages.

DOMINUS FLEVIT CHURCH: Built in 1955 to commemorate the Lord's weeping over Jerusalem, Dominus Flevit features a beautiful view of the city through its distinct chapel window. Excavations during construction of the church uncovered a number of ossuaries (bone boxes) from the time of Jesus with numerous inscriptions Palm Sunday Road

GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE: Early Christian pilgrims located the Garden of Gethsemane at the bottom of the slope of the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple Mount. Byzantine, Crusader and a modern church were built successively on the site where it is believed that Jesus prayed to the Father hours before his crucifixion. The modern Church of All Nations has a beautiful mosaic on its facade.

DORMITION ABBEY: Crowning the summit of the modern Mount Zion is Dormition Abbey. Commemorating the rest that Mary entered into, this complex was constructed by Kaiser Wilhelm II beginning in 1900. The church was built in response to a request to have a German Catholic church in the city following the Kaiser's support for the construction of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in 1898.

CENACLE - The Cenacle (from Latin cenaculum), also known as the "Upper Room", is a room in Jerusalem traditionally held to be the site of The Last Supper. The word is a derivative of the Latin word cena, which means dinner. In Christian tradition, based on Acts 1:13, the "Upper Room" was not only the site of the Last Supper (i.e. the Cenacle), but the usual place where the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem, and according to the Christian Encyclopedia "the first Christian church".

DAVIDS TOMB -King David's Tomb is a site viewed as the burial place of David, King of Israel, according to a tradition beginning in the 12th century. It is located on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, near the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey. The tomb is situated in a ground floor corner of the remains of the former Hagia Zion, a Byzantine church. Older Byzantine tradition dating to the 4th century identified the location as the Cenacle of Jesus and the original meeting place of the Christian faith. The building is now part of the Diaspora Yeshiva.

ST. PETER IN GALLICANTU - On the southeastern slope of the hill is one of the traditional locations for the house of Caiaphas. Gallicantu means "cock crowing" and it remembers the three denials of Peter. Built atop the ruins of a Byzantine church and monastery, Catholic pilgrims believe that the prison in which Christ was held is located inside the church. Others believe that a more likely location for Caiaphas' house is in the Armenian property outside Zion Gate.

CHURCH OF NATIVITY: The Church of the Nativity is a basilica located in Bethlehem, Palestinian territories. The church was originally commissioned in 327 AD by Constantine and his mother Helena over the site that is still traditionally considered to be located over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. The Church of the Nativity site's original basilica was completed in 339 AD and destroyed by fire during the Samaritan Revolts in the sixth century AD. A new basilica was built 565 AD by Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, restoring the architectural tone of the original. The site of the Church of the Nativity has had numerous additions since this second construction, including its prominent bell towers. Due to its cultural and geographical history, the site holds a prominent religious significance to those of both the Christian and Muslim faiths.

THE SHEPHERDS FIELDS: Caves where shepherds “kept watch over their flock” still abound in the area east of Bethlehem. Here, the Gospel of Luke tells us, an angel announced the birth of Jesus. The angel’s good news was not given to the noble or pious, but to workers with a low reputation. Jewish literature ranked “shepherd” as among the most despised occupations of the time — but Christ was to identify himself with this occupation when he called himself “the Good Shepherd” (John 10:11).

Overnight: Shepherds Hotel , Bethlehem

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch on tour/Dinner