Jerusalem and Bethlehem day tour

Day 1: Day Outline

Tour:

Following breakfast at our hotel, we’ll take a drive to Mount of Olives. We will start our day with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem. Here we will admire the city and all it has to hold, including the Dome of the Rock.

 

As we continue on the Mount we’ll stop at The Church of Pater Noster. Getting closer to the church we’ll notice on the walls around the Church and its vaulted cloister, translations of the Lord’s Prayer in 140 languages are inscribed on colorful ceramic plaques.

 

Our next stop is the tear shaped church of Dominus Flevit. Here you can look down at the city as had Jesus once looked down at the city and wept.

 

For our last stop on the Mount, we’ll visit the Garden of Gethsemane. We’ll explore its surroundings and view the gnarled trunks of eight hoary olive trees. Here we’ll feel the spiritual atmosphere of the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

As we leave Mount of Olives we’ll walk to the old city of Jerusalem and enter from the Lion’s Gate. Entering this ancient Gate we’ll explore the 4 quarters of the city: the Christian, the Muslim, the Armenian and the Jewish quarters. We’ll start with the Via Dolorosa then visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall.

 

After exploring the 4 quarters of Jerusalem, we’ll journey to Bethlehem were we first visit the Nativity Church. It is one of the oldest, standing Churches in the world built in the Byzantine time; 5th century. We’ll enter the Byzantine Basilica through the main entrance also known as “The door of humility.” Upon entering we’ll notice the original floor of the first Church of Constantine from 326 AD. While inside the church we’ll find ourselves proceeding to steps that take us down to the grotto; experiencing the spot where Jesus was born from Virgin Mary.

 

We’ll walk to Saint Catherine Church and explore the Saint Jerome’s Cave where the Bible was translated to Latin.

 

As our day comes to an end and our experiences becoming so many, we’ll visit Shepherd’s Field. Here the Angel of the Lord appeared before shepherds bringing them good tidings of the Birth of Jesus. And they joined with a multitude of heavenly hosts, the Angel sang ‘Glory to God in the Highest and on Earth, Peace among men.’

 

At the end of our day we’ll drive back to the hotel in Jerusalem.