Jerusalem.-

Arrival at Tel Aviv airport (Ben Gurion). After customs our transfer will be waiting for you to continue by road to JERUSALEM. Accommodation.

Jerusalem.-

TODAY´S HIGHLIGHTS: Full day visit of Jerusalem.

Breakfast. Full day visit. We will start going up the Mount of Olives, where we will appreciate a magnificent view over the city. We will also visit the Garden of Gethsemane. We will enter the Old City, where we will walk the Via Dolorosa to reach Golgotha, place of the crucifixion of Jesus and the Holy Sepulchre. Already in the Armenian quarter, we will discover the legends that are hidden in the tower and citadel of David, where we will explore some of the most exciting archaeological treasures of this ancient settlement, the first foundations of present-day Jerusalem. Free time for lunch. Next, visit to the complex of the four Sephardic synagogues. We will visit the upper part of the Hurva synagogue (allowed for non-Jewish tourists), where we will have the possibility to learn their customs and traditions. From its terrace we will have an unparalleled view of the Jewish quarter of the city. We will admire the exterior architecture of this group of temples, which also treasure a very particular history, to finish the route we will approach the Western Wall, where we will also know the Tunnels of said Wall with its huge quarry stones that today are part of the foundation of ancient Jerusalem 2000 years ago. We can even see some grottoes that make improvised churches or sacred rooms that serve for the prayers of the most religious. Return to the hotel. Accommodation.

Jerusalem.-

Breakfast. Departure to the Sanctuary of the Book in the Israel Museum, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are exhibited, and where the Model of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus is located. Visit the neighborhood of Ain Karen where the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist is located, and visit of Yad Vashem, Museum and Holocaust Memorial. Visit the lively Mahane Yehuda Market where Orthodox Jews, Palestinians, Armenians, Arabs mingle with tourists creating a multicultural atmosphere. Free time for lunch. In the afternoon we enter PALESTINE to visit the city of Bethlehem. We will visit the Mosque of Omar (exterior) and the Church of the Nativity with the Grotto of the Manger, the Basilica of Santa Catarina and the Grotto of Saint Jerome. Short walk through the old city before returning to Jerusalem. On the outskirts of Bethlehem stands the Salesian monastery of Cremisan where the only Palestinian wine is made. Return to the hotel Accommodation.


Note: Don´t forget to bring your passport to cross into Palestine.

Jerusalem – Eilat – Saint Catherine.-

Saint Catherine- Well of Moses- Cairo.-

At the foot of Mount Sinai, we visit the impressive walled monastery of SAINT CATHERINE. According to tradition, this is where Moses saw “the Burning Bush that burned without being consumed”. The monastery, which is a sacred place for Jews, Christians and Muslims, belongs to the Orthodox Church and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We then continue on through the Sinai Desert’s picturesque landscapes. Lunch included in route. Stop at the WELL OF MOSES, a biblical site that looks like a small oasis. We will leave Sinai through the tunnel under the SUEZ CANAL. Arrival in CAIRO at the end of the afternoon. Accommodation.

Cairo.-

Full day visit where we explore the famous Pyramids of Cheops, Kefren and Micerinos (tickets to go inside the pyramids are not included), and also the impressive Sphinx, which is sculpted from rock. Visit to the Egyptian Museum with its ancient art and where the treasure of the Lost Tomb of Tutankhamen is kept. Lunch included. Citadel of Saladin and the Alabaster Mosque. We will take a walk through the Coptic neighborhood where we visit the Hanging Church built above a Roman fortress.

Cairo – Wadi Natrum – Alexandria

Distance: 280 km

Landscapes: Stretches of deserts and the rich agricultural region of the Nile Delta.
Notes: Please dress appropriately for the visit of the monasteries. On certain religious festivals monasteries may remain closed to tourist visits.


07.30 hrs- We leave Cairo, traveling to the Wadi Natrum region, an area known for its Coptic monasteries since thousands of Christians, fleeing in the fourth century from Roman persecutions, settled in the area. The monasteries, fortified because of the attacks suffered in different historical periods, are places that receive the visit of many pilgrims and will allow us to discover their traditions. Coptic popes are chosen from among the monks of these monasteries.


09.00 hrs- Monastery of Saint Macarius. Entrance included to the monastery, founded in 360, where one of its monks will guide us through the enclosure.


10.00 hrs- Saint Macarius, departure.
10.45 hrs- Anba Bishoy´s Monastery. Entrance included. The fortified tower of this monastery, founded in 340, is accessed by a drawbridge. We will visit - also guided by a monk - the church, the refectory and the fortress, where several Coptic Popes are buried. Time to stroll through the lively area and visit the huge new cathedral.


11.45 hrs- Anba Bishoy, departure. We continue our route to the north of the country.
13.45 hrs- Alexandria, arrival in this port city of more than 5 million inhabitants. Lunch included. We visit this afternoon the great fortress Qaitbey (entrance included), built in 1480 on a narrow peninsula where the Hellenistic lighthouse was located, which was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. After that, by coach we travel the cornice, chaotic, noisy, commercial or elegant according to the areas. Free time. Accommodation.

Alexandria – Rashid- Rosetta – Cairo

Distance: 350 km.
Landscapes: Landscapes of the Nile Delta, with its fertile lands, small towns and thousands of palm trees.
NOTE: The fortress of Rashid is not very visited, sometimes it can be closed (in that case we will see it externally and walk through the picturesque village of fishermen and farmers)


08.30 hrs- We continue our visit of Alexandria, entering the impressive Catacombs Kom Shuqqafa (entrance included) , the largest Roman cemetery in Egypt, we will be surprised by the fusion of Pharaonic and Greco-Roman style. From here we will walk with our guide between narrow, very commercial and bustling alleys to the Pompey Column, an immense column 30 meters high that rises on the ruins of a temple. Afterwards we will stop to photograph externally the new Library of Alexandria, inaugurated in 2002 with a very modern architecture and that reminds us that this city, in the third century BC. was one of the greatest cultural centers in antiquity. The Library of Alexandria at that time guarded more than half a million papyrus scrolls. Lunch included.

13.00 hrs- Alexandria.- departure. Continuation of our route to Rosetta. In this small city, very close to the mouth of one of the tributaries of the Nile, the Rosetta Stone was found, just over a meter high, which was key to deciphering the hieroglyphic writing of the Egyptians since it contains the same text written in hieroglyphics, demotic and ancient Greek.

14.15 hrs- Rashid Fortress, located within walking distance, in a picturesque small village of streets full of local life and with numerous multi-colored fishing boats on the banks of the Nile. Inside its fortress (entrance included) we can see a replica of the Rosetta Stone.

15.00 hrs- Fortress of Rashid- departure
15.30 hrs- Rosetta. Arrival in this pleasant small town next to the Nile where we will walk through the center seeing (externally) the old Ottoman houses with their brick and wood architecture. We will also include a ride on the Nile by boat to admire the views and activity of the fishing boats in the area.

17.00 hrs- Rosetta- Departure.
21.00 hrs- Cairo. Arrival at the end of the day.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and end of our services.