In the Footsteps of Moses Tour

Departure on your way to Egypt, the Land of the Pharaohs.

Welcome to Egypt! Upon arrival into Cairo International Airport you will clear immigration and customs formalities and be met outside customs by our representative for a private transfer to your hotel in Cairo for an evening at leisure and overnight.

After a good night's rest, enjoy a breakfast buffet, then meet your Egyptologist guide to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the three Pyramids of Giza — the Pyramid of Cheops (the oldest and largest, built around 2690 B.C.), the Pyramid of Chefren, and at its base the majestic Great Sphinx, the largest single-block sculpture in the world. Enjoy an opportunity to ride a camel by the Pyramids, followed by a visit to the Solar Boat Museum, featuring an ancient cedar-wood vessel dating back 4,500 years.

Continue to the famous Egyptian Museum for a colorful insight into five thousand years of Egypt's history. Afterward, visit Old Cairo, including the Hanging Church (Cairo's most famous Coptic church, built in the 3rd or 4th century AD), the Church of St. Sergius (a 5th-century Coptic church built on the cave where the Holy Family stayed), and the recently restored Synagogue of Ben Ezra — the oldest Jewish synagogue in Egypt, built in 882 AD. Explore the medieval bazaar of Khan el-Khalili, one of the biggest bazaars in the Middle East. Lunch is served at a local restaurant during the tour. Return to your hotel in Cairo.

After breakfast, depart by private air-conditioned mini-coach or bus to St. Catherine via the tunnel underneath the Suez Canal to the west branch of the Red Sea, following what is thought to be the route of the Biblical Exodus (Genesis 16-18). The drive through the Sinai Peninsula and the biblical Land of Goshen to the Mt. Sinai area (approx. 233 miles) takes about 6 hours. Visit Marah by the Red Sea, where the Israelites found the water bitter, continue to the oasis of Elim, then to Wadi Feiran (Rephidim) — the desert valley where the Israelites fought the Amalekites — and Mt. Serbal, a possible site where Moses held his arms up for victory. We continue inland toward the granite mountains of Mt. Sinai and Wadi El Raha, traditionally the area where the Israelites camped and the golden calf was forged (Exodus 32). Arrive at your hotel near Mt. Sinai and St. Catherine's Monastery.

At daybreak, if you wish, climb Mt. Sinai (Jabel Musa), optionally by camel 2/3 of the way, to see the sunrise and reflect on where God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush and gave the Ten Commandments. Descend to rejoin the group for breakfast, then tour St. Catherine's Monastery, built between 527 and 565 AD by Emperor Justinian at the foot of Mt. Sinai — the oldest working Christian monastery and the oldest continuously used Greek Orthodox church building in the world. Leave the Mt. Sinai area toward the eastern shore of the Sinai Peninsula and north to the Taba border crossing into Israel. A lunch box is provided for the Sinai-to-Taba drive. After crossing, you'll be met by our representatives and transferred to your hotel in Eilat.

Following a delicious Israeli buffet breakfast, depart the hotel at 7:30 AM for the Arava border crossing (Israel-Jordan) and drive to Petra. Start the tour on foot, or by horse-drawn carriage (additional cost), to the ancient Rose City — capital of the Nabataean people for over 2,000 years, forgotten for centuries and rediscovered in 1812. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Petra's most famous monument is the Treasury; the Siq, and various walks and climbs reveal hundreds of building facades, tombs, baths, funerary halls, temples, and a 3,000-seat theater from the first century AD. Lunch is included. After a short tour of the port city of Aqaba, return to the Israeli border and transfer to your hotel in Eilat, then to Eilat airport for a one-hour domestic flight to Tel Aviv, where you'll be transferred to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Depart Tel Aviv and drive north along the coastal plain to Caesarea (Acts 9:30, Acts 10:24-48), capital of Judea under the Romans — visit the excavations, Roman theater, and aqueduct. Continue to Megiddo (1 Kings 4:28, 9:15; 2 Kings 23:29; Revelation 16:16), identified as the site of Armageddon, and visit the archaeological excavations including the well-preserved water supply system. Drive to the port city of Haifa on the Mediterranean, and visit the world-famous Persian Gardens at the Bahá'í Temple. Continue to Acre (Micah 1:10), Crusader capital for over a century, then east across the Galilee plains to Kibbutz Hotel Lavi, near the Sea of Galilee, for an evening lecture on Kibbutz life.

After a short tour of the Kibbutz grounds, take a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum (Matthew 4:13, 13:54, 17:24; Luke 7; Mark 1:2; John 4:46, 4:54) and visit the remains of the 2nd-century synagogue. Proceed to Tabgha (Matthew 13; Mark 33, 45; John 21), site of the Miracle of the Fish and Loaves, and visit the Church of Multiplication with its 4th-century mosaic floor. Continue to the Mount of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-8), where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Drive to the Banias Spring and Waterfall (Matthew 16:13; Mark 8:27), where Jesus was recognized as the Messiah by His disciples, and tour the Golan Heights. Return to Kibbutz Lavi for dinner and overnight.

Begin the day with a drive to Nazareth (Luke 1:26, 4:16, 4:29; Matthew 2:23) via Cana of Galilee. In Nazareth, visit the Church of the Annunciation, St. Joseph's Workshop, and Mary's Well. Next, visit the Jordan River and the Baptismal site, then continue to Beit She'an, one of the ancient Decapolis cities (Mark 5:20, 7:31), and visit the Roman theater — the city where Saul and his son Jonathan were nailed to the walls (2 Samuel 21:12-14). Continue south along the Jordan River, passing Jericho, and climb to the Golden City of Jerusalem.

Today's visit to the Old City of Jerusalem begins with a panoramic view from the Mount of Olives, overlooking the city walls and the ancient Jewish cemetery. Enter the Old City to visit the Church of All Nations, then Mount Zion to see the Tomb of King David and the nearby Room of the Last Supper (Luke 22). Walk through the Cardo, Jerusalem's main street 2,000 years ago, view the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, and walk the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus carried His Cross. Continue to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Matthew 27, 33:57). No visit to Jerusalem is complete without a walk through the colorful Arab bazaar, and we'll also visit the Garden Tomb.

Today is dedicated to the new city of Jerusalem. Visit the model of ancient Jerusalem, then Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, entering by walking the Street of the Righteous Gentiles. Continue to Ein Karem, birthplace of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-80), where this Spanish-style church and Mary's Well mark where Mary met her cousin Elizabeth. Proceed to Bethlehem* to visit the Church of the Nativity.

Drive through the Judean Desert to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947 by a Bedouin boy, and visit the ancient city of Qumran. Drive along the shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, to Masada, the last stronghold of the Jews after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. Ascend Masada by cable car and visit the food storeroom, water irrigation system, and Herod's Palace. Descend, and — time and weather permitting — float in the Dead Sea. Return to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, by 12 noon check out of your hotel and store your luggage to enjoy a free day in Jerusalem. You can revisit the Holy Sites and colorful bazaars, visit Yad Vashem, the Davidson Center at the Western Wall, Ben Yehuda Street, Mahaneh Yehuda Market, and explore the newly renovated Israel Museum and Shrine of the Book on your own.