Pilgrimage Circuit in Israel – In the Footsteps of the Savior

A journey to the Holy Land, following in the footsteps of Jesus, but also of the apostles and other biblical characters, is an event. All the stories you have known since childhood practically come to life when you walk in the footsteps of Jesus’ martyrdom on the Via Dolorosa or of the Virgin. In the past, pilgrims to the Holy Land faced long journeys and numerous dangers to fulfill their dream and become hagi, that is, pilgrims to Jerusalem and the other holy places. Now it is very simple… We invite you to gather and discover all the corners.

Why choose this trip? Because… -you will truly discover the biblical places; -you will follow in the footsteps of Christ; -you will see one of the most beautiful gardens in the world – the Bahai temple garden; -you will discover one of the most important historical cities on the Planet – Jerusalem, a sacred place for three religions.

Day 1. Bucharest – Ben Gurion Airport – Bethlehem

Meeting with the agency representative at Henri Coanda Airport at 16:55, for boarding formalities on the Tarom flight at 19:55. Takeoff to Tel Aviv, arrival at Ben Gurion Airport at 22:30. After completing the formalities we will travel to Bethlehem for accommodation. We continue with transfer to the hotel in the Bethlehem area. Accommodation in the Bethlehem area

Day 2. Bethlehem – Haifa – Cana of Galilee – Nazareth

Breakfast. Our pilgrimage to the Holy Land will begin in Haifa, a Mediterranean port located in a beautiful bay at the foot of Mount Carmel. Here we will discover one of the most beautiful gardens in the world – the garden of the Bahai temple, an earthly paradise. The Bahai religion is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahaullah (Glory of God) in Persia, in the 19th century. According to this belief, all the main prophets of other religions (Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Muhammad, Zoroaster) are messengers of God with equal rights, Bahaullah joining this select list, but he declared that he would not be the last (unlike the vast majority of monotheistic religions, which predict that the Messiah-Mahdi will appear on Earth at the end of the world). Consequently, the BahaI recognize absolutely all the religions of the world as equal and holy manifestations. Obviously, Bahaullah and his followers were accused of blasphemy and banished – he wandered throughout the Ottoman Empire after being expelled from Persia and died near Haifa, then part of the Ottoman Empire. In the temple in Haifa, the Bab, the forerunner of Bahaullah, is buried, having a role similar to that of John the Baptist for Christians. After admiring the temple and gardens of the Bahai Temple from the panoramic point at the top of the complex, delighted by such beauty, we will stop at the impressive Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) monastery. Founded during the Crusades, it was destroyed several times, the current complex dating back to 1836. Occupied and used as barracks by both the British and Israeli armies, it was returned to the Catholic Church after numerous pressures. After Haifa, we will travel to Cana of Galilee, with the Church of the Miracle and the Wedding House, where Jesus performed the first of the seven miracles that revealed His true identity, at the request of His mother, turning water into wine, and then to Nazareth, where Jesus was a child and where we will visit the Orthodox Church of Saint Gabriel, the Fountain of the Virgin, but also the Catholic Church of the Annunciation, in the basement of which is part of Joseph’s house (the Cave of the Holy Family). In the evening, dinner and accommodation in the Nazareth/Tiberias area.

Day 3. Mount Tabor – Capernaum – Tabgha – Mt. Beatitudes – Jordan – Bethlehem

Breakfast. We climb Mount Tabor, where the Lord was transfigured, with special minibuses, on the winding serpentines of the mountain and visit the Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration. We continue the route to Capernaum, the city where Jesus lived after leaving Nazareth. Here we visit the ruins of the white limestone synagogue, the place where Jesus preached, the ruins of the house of Saint Peter’s mother-in-law and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George. We continue with Tabgha – a place that recalls the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, where we admire a church built in Byzantine style, then we make a stop on the Mount of Beatitudes, where we will visit the octagonal chapel that was built on the place where the Savior Jesus Christ preached the sermon on the Beatitudes. From Tiberias – optional and depending on time -, ride in a copy of Jesus’ boat on the waters of the Sea of ​​Galilee. We are heading to the Jerusalem area for dinner and accommodation in Bethlehem or Ramallah. Dinner and accommodation in the Bethlehem/Ramallah area.

Day 4. Jericho – Dead Sea – Hozeva – Bethlehem

Breakfast. Free time at your disposal or excursion (optional) to the monasteries of St. Sava and St. Theodosius in Hozeva. We start with a visit to the Monastery of St. Sava (a monastery from the 5th century, the place where the rules of Orthodox services were established) and St. Theodosius, founded in the same period, on the place where the three wise men from the East stopped and rested. We continue with a visit to the Church of the Nativity, the birthplace of the Lord, in Bethlehem. Departure to Jericho, the city with the oldest history in the world, where we visit the Romanian Settlements and Zacchaeus’ Mulberry Tree. Next, at the Jordan River, the original place of baptism, arranged to allow pilgrims to enter the holy waters. Visit to the Monastery of St. Gerasimos, a Greek Orthodox monastery near Jericho, erected in honor of the saint at the foot of the mountains in the Judean Desert. It is the first monastery founded in the Jordan Valley. In the evening, arrival for dinner and accommodation at the hotel in Bethlehem or Ramallah. Accommodation in the Bethlehem/Ramallah area.

Day 5. Jerusalem: Mount of Olives – Via Dolorosa – Mount Zion

Breakfast. The long-awaited moment follows – we enter the Holy City, Jerusalem, a sacred city for three religions, the city that has most influenced the history of mankind. We will start slowly, with the Mount of Olives area, from where we have a permanent panorama of historic Jerusalem, with the Al-Aqsa mosque and its golden dome shining in the sun. On the Mount of Olives we will visit: the Chapel of the Ascension of the Lord, which commemorates the Ascension of the Lord to heaven (there is a footprint of Jesus’s foot in the stone), the Pater Noster Catholic Church, the place where, according to tradition, the Savior taught His disciples the Our Father Prayer, the Dominus Flevit Catholic Church (the Lord wept), built in the shape of a teardrop, where it is said that Jesus foretold the destruction of the Second Temple, the Garden of Gethsemane with the Church of All Nations, built on the place where the Savior prayed before being arrested, the Church of the Tomb of the Mother of God, where we find the Chapel of St. Joachim and Anna and the Grotto of Betrayal. We end the visit with: the Wailing Wall, the only remaining wall of the Second Temple, a place of worship for Jews, Mount Zion, the Last Supper Pavilion, the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Tomb of David. In the evening we will return to the hotel (in Bethlehem or Ramallah). Accommodation in the Bethlehem/Ramallah area

Day 6. Jerusalem

Breakfast. Crossing the Kidron brook, we enter the city of Jerusalem through the St. Stephen’s Gate and walk the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross), with the 14 stops of the Savior Jesus Christ, where we will worship at all the holy places: Golgotha, the Stone of Anointing, and we will end the journey at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, probably the most important church in all of Christendom. The church was built in the 4th century, immediately after the legalization of Christian worship, but over the millennia several changes, demolitions and constructions have been carried out. The interior is fascinating, because each Christian church has its own corner – the most important areas are owned by the Orthodox, Catholic and Armenian Churches, but there are also areas controlled by the Syrian, Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox churches. According to tradition, the church was built on the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, but also of Jesus’ tomb which was found empty, heralding the Resurrection. In the evening, we return for dinner and accommodation at the hotel, in Bethlehem or Ramallah. Accommodation in the Bethlehem/Ramallah area

Day 7. Bethlehem – Ein Karem — Tel Aviv

Breakfast. Travel to Ein Karem, the place of the meeting of the Virgin Mary with Elizabeth, the mother of Saint John the Baptist. Here we visit the church of St. John the Baptist, built on the birthplace of the greatest man born of a woman. Visit to the old city of Lod, where we admire the church that houses the relics of Saint George. Transfer to the airport for the flight to the country. Takeoff at 23:30 from Tel Aviv, landing in Bucharest at 02:15.

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