DAY 1: Wed - Departure from USA
- Board your international flight from the USA to reach Israel in the next day. Meals will be served on board of the flight.
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DAY 2: Thu - Arrival Israel
- Upon arrival to the Ben Gurion International Airport you will meet our representative and transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight in Tel Aviv
- Meal: Dinner
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DAY 3: Fri - Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Haifa, Nazareth
- Morning mass at local church or our hotel (church name to be advised).
- Begin the day with a visit to Old Jaffa. Walk through the cobblestoned alleyways and visit the home of Simon the Tanner. We continue to Rothschild Boulevard and the White City of Tel Aviv (UNESCO World Heritage Site), and learn about the Bauhaus architecture.
- We drive north along the Mediterranean coast to Caesarea, the former capital of Judea, to visit the Crusader Fortress built upon the ancient city of Caesarea, named after Augustus Caesar, who imposed the tax that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.
- We continue to Stella Maris, a Carmelite Monastery that is located above the cave where Elijah issued his challenge to the False Prophets. We drive through the Carmel Mountains to Haifa for a panoramic view of the bay and the Bahai Gardens.
- Continue along the Jezerel Valley to visit the town Jesus lived in Nazareth to the Church of Annunciation by passing Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed his first public miracle.
- Overnight in Galilee
- Dinner at the hotel
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 4: Sat - Around Sea of Galilee, Golan Height
- Morning mass at local church or our hotel (church name to be advised).
- Our day starts at the Holy Sites of Sea of Galilee. First we reach Tabgha where 5,000 were fed by Jesus who performed the miracle of the multiplication of fish and loaves. Directly on the lakeshore is the St. Peter Primacy chapel, where Jesus bestowed church leadership upon Peter.
- Then we visit Capernaum, the launching place of Jesus ministry and look at the ancient synagogue and the house of Simon Petrus.
- Continue to the Mount of Beatitudes, site of the Sermon on the Mount for lunch you have the opportunity to taste the famous Petrus fish Optional. Visit the 2000 years old ancient boat at the Jesus Boat Museum, located in Kibbutz Ginosar. We enjoy a boat ride on the beautiful and scenic waters of the Sea of Galilee. We drive to the Golan Heights for a panoramic view on the area.
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight in Galilee
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 5: Sun - Dead Sea, Qumran, Quasr El Yehud, Masada, Jerusalem
- Morning mass at local church or our hotel (church name to be advised).
- Descend through the Judean wilderness to the Dead Sea basin, lowest spot on earth and visit the ancient caves of Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
- We continue to Quasr El Yehud the traditional Baptism site on the Jordan River. Drive by Ein Gedi, David hideout from Saul, to the fortress Masada, last stronghold and stand of the zealots against Rome, on the edge of the barren Negev Desert. Ascend and descend the site by cable car. Have time to swim in the waters of the Dead Sea and relax on its shore. Before arriving in Jerusalem, we will stop at the famous Montefiore windmill in the neighborhood of Mishkenot Shaananim and enjoy a viewpoint on the Old City with a welcome drink.
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight in Jerusalem
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 6: Mon - Jerusalem Old City, Bethlehem
- Morning mass at local church or our hotel (church name to be advised).
- This morning we start the day at Mt. of Olives for an introduction to Jerusalem. Ascend the mountains of Jerusalem from Scopus to Mt of Olives for an outstanding breathtaking view of the city across the Kidron Valley to the Eastern Gate Visit the Garden of Gethsemane.
- We continue through the Christian Quarters, and then a visit to the St. Anne Church , the home of Jesus maternal grandparents and the Pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the crippled man. We will walk the Via Dolorosa, the way of the Cross at the Antonia Fortress to visit Judgment Hall of Pilate all the way to Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Well then arrive to the Garden Tomb, an ancient Jewish sepulcher which matches the New Testament description of the tomb in which Jesus was buried. Afternoon visit to Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, including the Church of the Nativity, Manger Square.
- Dinner at the hotel
- Overnight in Jerusalem
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 7: Tue - Arrive Cairo
- Transfer to Ben Gurion International Airport for flight to Egypt.
- Arrival in the Land of the Pharaohs, at Cairo International airport, Right Travel Representative will be waiting for you after you get
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 8: Wed - Cairo, Pyramids Tour
- Drive to the Giza Plateau, home of Egypt signature attractions, the Great Pyramids, proclaimed by the Greeks to be among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The largest among these is the Great Pyramid of Cheops, probably built more than 2,600 years before the time of Christ. Standing 480 feet tall this is the last of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world that still standing. Little is known of Cheops, you`ll also see the inscrutable and mysterious Sphinx, known in Arabic as Abu al-Hol ("the Father of Terror") and carved almost entirely from one piece of limestone.
- After lunch at Local restaurant, continue to Memphis. Founded around 3,100 BC, is the legendary city of Menes, the King who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Early on, Memphis was more likely a fortress from which Menes controlled the land and water routes between Upper Egypt and the Delta. Having probably originated in Upper Egypt, from Memphis he could control the conquered people of Lower Egypt. However, by the Third Dynasty, the building at Saqqara suggests that Memphis had become a sizable city.
- Proceed to Sakkara site, Sakkara is one section of the great necropolis of Memphis, the Old Kingdom capital, and the kings of the 1st Dynasty as well as that of the 2nd Dynasty. are mostly buried in this section of the Memphis necropolis. It has been of constant interest to Egyptologists. Three major discoveries have recently been made at Sakkara, including a prime minister tomb, a queen&rsquos pyramid, and the tomb of the son of a dynasty-founding king. Each discovery has a fascinating story, with many adventures for the archaeologists as they revealed the secrets of the past.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 9: Thu - Cairo, City Tour
- Start your day with a visit to the Egyptian Museum you`ll stroll through the halls highlighting each historical period of this ancient land, Marvel at the glittering treasures of King Tutankhamen, unparalleled in their variety, exquisite beauty, and sheer weight in gold. Seeing this treasure of more than 1,700 fabulous items buried with a young and relatively unimportant king, who can even imagine what the tombs of great and long-lived pharaohs must have contained.
- Continue to the Old Cairo explore some of the early religious monuments of the city. You`ll visit the El Muallaqa Church, dating to the late fourth and early fifth century. This basilica was named for its location on top of the south gate of the Fortress of Babylon. Muallaqa means suspended or hanging. Destroyed in a ninth-century earthquake, the church became the center of the Coptic (or Christian) Church of Egypt from the time it was rebuilt in the eleventh century until the 14th century. Make a stop at the Ben Ezra Synagogue, built sometime between the sixth and ninth centuries AD. The temple contains a Jewish Heritage Library, containing documents found here in 1896 that describe the economic and social conditions of Jews under Arab rule as well as descriptions of relations between various Jewish sects.
- Lunch at local restaurant
- End the day at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, a large museum in the ancient city of Fustat, now part of Cairo, Egypt. The museum partially opened in February 2017 and will display a collection of 50,000 artefacts, presenting Egyptian civilization from prehistoric times to the present day.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
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DAY 10: Fri - Cairo, Aswan, Cruise Sightseeing
- Early morning transfer to Cairo airport, for your flight to Aswan.
- Upon arrival you will be escorted to your luxury cruise ship where you will spend the next 3 nights / 4 days relaxing and enjoy the sailing from Aswan to Luxor. After Lunch, the Nile cruise shore excursion will start. Visit the High Dam, located near Aswan, the world-famous High Dam was an engineering miracle when it was built in the 1960s. It contains 18 times the material used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops. The Dam is 11,811 feet long, 3215 feet thick at the base and 364 feet tall. Today it provides irrigation and electricity for the whole of Egypt and, together with the old Aswan Dam built by the British between 1898 and 1902`, 6km down river, wonderful views for visitors. From the top of the two-Mile-long High Dam you can gaze across Lake Nassar, the huge reservoir created when it was built.
- Proceed to The Unfinished Obelisk is a rare opportunity to consider what this process might have been like and just how difficult it was to shape and carve the great stone blocks that make up Egypt&rsquos many monuments. This huge obelisk would have stood 140 feet in height, the largest even in Egypt. It was to be carved from the Red Aswan granite that decorate many of Egypt&rsquos greatest monument and for which the city is famous. This greatest of all of Egypt&rsquos monoliths, however, was never finished. At a late stage in its formation, a flaw in the rock was discovered and it was abandoned.
- Our last visit today will be to the Temple of Philae, was dismantled and reassembled (on Agilika Island about 550 meters from its original home on Philae Island) in the wake of the High Dam. The temple, dedicated to the goddess Isis, is in a beautiful setting which has been landscaped to match its original site. It`s various shrines and sanctuaries, which include The Vestibule of Nectanebos I which is used as the entrance to the island, the Temple of the Emperor Hadrian, a Temple of Hathor, Trajan`s Kiosk (Pharaohs Bed), a birth house and two pylons celebrate all the deities involved in the Isis and Osiris myth. The Victorian world fell in love with the romance of the Temple. Overnight in Aswan.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 11: Sat - Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Luxor
- Early Sail to Kom Ombo and visit Kom Ombo Temple (the Ptolemaic Temple of Sobek & Haroeries). Located in the town of Kom-Ombo, about 28 miles north of Aswan, the Temple, dating to the Ptolemies, is built on a high dune overlooking the Nile. The actual temple was started by Ptolemy VI Philometor in the early second century BC. Ptolemy XIII built the outer and inner hypostyle halls. The outer enclosure wall and part of the court were built by Augustus sometime after 30 BC and are mostly gone. There are also tombs from the Old Kingdom in the vicinity of Kom-Ombo village.
- Sail to Edfu to Visit Edfu Temple. Dedicated to Horus, the falcon headed god, it was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies. We have a great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas. It was begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 BC. Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V Epiphanes. This is not only the best-preserved ancient temple in Egypt, but the second largest after Karnak. It was believed that the temple was built on the site of the great battle between Horus and Seth. Hence, the current temple was but the last in a long series of temples build on this location.
- After that Sail to Luxor via Esna for dinner and overnight.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 12: Sun - Luxor, East Bank Tour
- After breakfast visit the East Bank including the visit Karnak Temple, in ancient Egypt, the power of the god Amun of Thebes gradually increased during the early New Kingdom, and after the short persecution led by Akhenaten, it rose to its apex. In the reign of Ramesses III, more than two thirds of the property owned by the temples belonged to Amun, evidenced by the stupendous buildings at Karnak. Although badly ruined, no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest temple complex ever built by man and represents the combined achievement of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak is three main temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples located about three kilometers north of Luxor, Egypt situated on 100 ha (247 acres) of land. Karnak is the sites modern name. Its ancient name was Ipet-isut, meaning "The Most Select (or Sacred) of Places". This vast complex was built and enlarged over a thirteen-hundred-year period. The three main temples of Mut, Montu and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls.
- Proceed to visit the Temple of Luxor, built by the two pharaohs, Amenhotep III and Ramses II. Ancient Thebes was a center of festivals, and the Temple of Luxor was the setting for the most important-the festival of Opet, designed to merge the ruler`s human and divine aspects. The temple was dedicated to Amun-Ra, whose marriage to Mut was celebrated annually, when the sacred procession moved by boat from Karnak to Luxor Temple.
- Back to the cruise for lunch.
- Overnight in Luxor.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 13: Mon - Luxor (Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride), West Bank, Cairo
- (Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor). As the sun rises over Luxor, so can you, aboard an optional hot-air balloon ride. The sights, sounds, and sheer spectacle of seeing these antiquities from the sky will surely make for a morning you will remember forever.
- After breakfast, check out from your Nile Cruise. Then you will visit Valley of the Kings, with its many tombs chiseled deep into the Cliffside. From the 18th to the 20th Dynasty, the Memphis area and pyramid-style tombs were abandoned in favor of the West Bank of the Nile in Thebes. Several great leaders as well as many less important rulers are buried here, and more tombs are being discovered even today. This is where Howard Carter discovered the treasures of Tutankhamen and was struck "dumb with amazement" when he beheld its "wonderful things" in 1922.
- Proceed to the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari. The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the most dramatically situated in the world. The queen`s architect, Senenmut, designed it and set it at the head of a valley overshadowed by the Peak of the Thebes, the "Lover of Silence," where lived the goddess who presided over the necropolis.
- Last stop for our morning tour will be at the Colossi of Memnon. Amenhotep III (18th Dynasty) built a mortuary temple in Thebes that was guarded by two gigantic statues on the outer gates. All that remains now are the 23 meter (75 ft.) high, one-thousand-ton statues of Amenhotep III. Though damaged by nature and ancient tourists, the statues are still impressive.
- Transfer to Luxor airport for your flight back to Cairo. Arrival and transfer to your hotel.
- The rest of the day free at your leisure.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 14: Tue - Departure
- After early breakfast, transfer to Cairo airport for your international flight back to USA.
- Meal: Breakfast
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