Holy Land Food and Faith Pilgrimage Tour

This afternoon we will depart the USA for our connecting flight to the Holy Land.  Breakfast and Dinner will be served aboard the Transatlantic flight.

Our Professional Guide will welcome us and assist us with our luggage and boarding the bus for a drive to our hotel along the Mediterranean Coast, where we will check in and into the hotel and, after a buffet dinner, have a well-deserved night of rest. Overnight at our Hotel in the heart of Tel Aviv overlooking the Mediterranean.   Dinner in the hotel dining room.

We start our day with a visit to Caesarea Maritima to see the superb remains of the city that Herod built. Our next stop is Mt. Carmel to see the Shrine to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Here we will have Mass over the Cave where Elijah the prophet once lived. After Mass, we will have lunch in the Druze Village atop Mt. Carmel. Enjoy the rich ethnic tradition of openness and hospitality as we share a traditional lunch at the home of a local Druze family who serves lunches. You will be able to join the family members as they demonstrate how they make their foods.  Lunch in Druze Village at a family-owned restaurant. 

After lunch visit the site of Mukhraka, where Elijah confronted the false prophets and you can enjoy a stunning view of the Jezreel Valley.  Continue on to our hotel Tiberias. Tonight we will enjoy a special Welcome Dinner at TBA restaurant. Here we will meet the chef/owner of the restaurant who will prepare a menu based on the 7 foods of the Bible. We will learn of the symbolism of these foods and their use in holy rituals, and there will be a wine-tasting station and a food preparation station at this festive meal.  

Today we travel to Nazareth, where we visit the Basilica of Annunciation, which stands over the cave that tradition holds to be the home of the Virgin Mary. We will visit Mary’s Well where the Angel Gabriel announced to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Son of God, and the Byzantine Church of St. Joseph, which tradition identifies as the workshop and home of the Holy Family. Continue on to Cana, the village of Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine; here couples may renew their wedding vows. This afternoon we will enjoy a delicious lunch, at the best restaurant in Nazareth, followed by a visit to an ancient spice shop in Nazareth. We then return to the Sea of Galilee where we enjoy a later afternoon boat ride on the lake.   Buffet dinner at the hotel.

We drive up to the Golan Heights to visit the site of Banias, where Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah. We then visit one of the top wineries in the Golan Heights. 

Lunch will be at one of the area’s top steak houses with beef sourced from the region and meet the chef who makes cures his own meats and makes his own sausage.  

In the afternoon we visit Jesus’ home town Capernaum. In Tabgha, we will visit the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish We end the day with Mass at Mt. of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Return to our hotel in Tiberias.  Buffet dinner tonight. 

Depart for Mt. Tabor where we will have Mass at the site of the Transfiguration. Here we will have some time to reflect on Christ’s Humanity and Divinity while overlooking the valley below. 

We then travel through the heart of Samaria to the village of Sebastia. It is here that legend says that John the Baptist was buried. At this ancient site, we enjoy a traditional farmers’ feast consisting of dishes that go back centuries and with ingredients sourced locally. 

After lunch, we visit Taybeh village, the only All-Christian village in the Holy Land. We are greeted by the town’s former mayor, who is an American from Boston, and the owner of Taybeh Beer production, which we tour.

We drive to Jerusalem where we spend the next 6 nights. Where we enjoy a welcome drink and small reception before our buffet dinner at the hotel.

We start the day with a drive to  Ein Kerem, to see the Church of Visitation and Birthplace of St. John the Baptist.  Then visit the Israel Museum to see the Model of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Jesus. We also see the Dead Sea Scrolls.

We depart for Bethlehem where Lunch will be at a local Kebab restaurant where we can watch as they prepare our meal. In the afternoon we visit the Church of Nativity. Celebrate Christmas Mass in the cave at the Shepherds’ Fields. As an expression of our solidarity with the local Christian population, we shop here to help support the local Christian families. Dinner at our hotel.

Start the day with a visit to Ascension Chapel and Bethpage where Our Lord Jesus Christ started His Palm Sunday walk. Stop at the Church of Pater Nostre where Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer. Then on to the Mt of Olives for a walk down Palm Sunday Road stopping at Dominus Flevit, where Jesus wept over the city. Visit the Garden of Gethsemane and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of Agony. Visit the empty tomb of the Virgin at the Church of the Assumption. For lunch, we will go to a local restaurant for a Shawerma lunch. 

In the afternoon we go to Mt Zion to visit the House of Caiaphas, now the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Here we will descend to the dungeon where Jesus was imprisoned on the night of His capture. We will visit the Upper Room and talk about Biblical Food and what could have been served during the Last Supper, and visit the Dormition Abbey.  Dinner tonight will be at the Legacy with Chef Johnny Goric. 

Early this morning we pray the Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa and celebrate Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It is here that we will visit Calvary where Christ was crucified, and visit the Tomb where He was buried. We continue with a visit to the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, the Church of St Ann’s, and the Pools of Bethesda. 

For lunch, we go to Lena’s, the place that Old City locals rate as the best Humous and falafel in the Old City. There we meet the chefs for peace, who give us a personal tour of the Old City food scene. This will include time for shopping at the local food market. We then walk to a restaurant in the heart of the Old City’s Armenian Quarter where together we will cook our dinner, guided by our local chef. 

We drive down the Jordan Valley to the ancient town of Jericho where we see the Mt. of Temptation. Near Jericho, we will experience traditional Bedouin life in an authentic Bedouin Tent, and enjoy a presentation on Bedouin customs and hospitality while sampling Bedouin coffee. After lunch, we’ll stop at the Baptismal site at the Jordan River before driving to the Dead Sea for a float. 

Tonight we will dine on local, fresh, seasonal cuisine with the Jewish-Muslim husband-and-wife team of Yakub and Michal, at their little restaurant, Majda, located in the Judean Hills. 

This morning we visit the renowned Cheese Maker, Shai Seltzer to sample some of his award-winning Goat Cheese while learning about goat farming, cheese making, and his organic vegetable garden based on the ancient technique of terrace farming.

In the afternoon we visit the vibrant and diverse Mahna Yahuda market where we break up into smaller groups for an intimate tour of the market with tastings and samples presented to us by an expert market guide. 

Tonight we will enjoy a Special Dinner prepared by Chef Moshe Basson, who will serve a modern interpretation of biblical cuisine, at his Eucalyptus Restaurant located in Artist Quarter. 

Free day in Jerusalem to revisit some of your favorite sites. Lunch is on your own.  In the late afternoon, we leave Jerusalem to head to ancient Jaffa where we walk through the cobbled alleyways before a simple dinner at St. George Jaffa.

After dinner, we depart for the airport and our overnight flights home.

 Arrival USA early in the morning, with a connecting flight home.