Pilgrimages
This is the site for AMI Travel who manages most of my Holy Land Pilgrimages.
http://www.amitravel.com/sitePage.aspx?pageID=349
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It is one thing to metaphorically "journey through the Bible" by reading and studying the texts of the Bible. It is quite another to actually journey through the Bible on foot and by bus! The lands of the Bible convey an understanding of the Bible like nothing else! The biblical texts can never be fully understood outside of the ancient
contexts that produced them and the most fundamental context for the Old and New Testaments is the land itself. To read in the Psalms, "Let us go up to Jerusalem!" means something quite new when one actually walks, literally, up into the Old City. this climb up to the mount brings home the fuller meaning of the texts; texts like these that we read so often that we are often dulled to their fuller meaning.
The word of our salvation, the history of our
salvation, comes from this land, these cities,
this ancient countryside. God chose to reveal
Himself first here, in this place. Coming to the
Holy Land awakens in us the thirst and hunger to reconnect to God, to understand better our relationship to Him and to one another as we experience first hand the lands where prophets preached and Jesus walked, healed, and
taught.
In no other place can we bring to mind the
stories of God's action in the world like we
can in Jordan, Egypt and the Holy Land. No-
where but among the ruins of Ancient Egypt
- still magnificent even in their ruins - can we
appreciate the most ancient history of the Bible. Where else can one actually feel the experience of the Exodus of the Jews from Egyptian slavery but in the ancient cities of Egypt. Nowhere else will the story of the destruction of the first Temple mean anything like it does when you are actually standing at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. Nowhere else will the story of Jesus' cures mean as much as when you are visiting the site of ancient Bethsaida. Nowhere else does the account of Christ's Resurrection mean as much as when you are actually standing inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which en-shrines both Golgotha and Jesus' tomb.
And even the history of the preservation of
the Bible itself means something quite real
and vivid when your are standing in the
middle of the ancient scriptorium that
produced the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Join us for a prayerful, spiritual and
enlightening journey in the lands that
witnessed the story of our Salvation from
the patriarchs of Genesis to the earliest
Christian communities! I promise you
that you will never read the texts of the
Bible in the same way, after spending
time in the lands from which the Bible came!
Below, please find some information
about pilgrimages and a typical itineraries for a Holy Land Pilgrimage and for a planned (but unscheduled!) trip to Egypt.
Contact information for the AMI Travel agency is given below.
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Pilgrimage the Holy Land
AMI Travel
5809 N. Cicero
1st Floor
Chicago, IL 60646
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(800)821.8947 or (773) 777.4900 or by Fax (773) 777.4921
Itinerary
Day 1 - Depart Chicago on our way
to Tel Aviv, Israel.
Day 2 - Welcome Home! Arrive at
Tel Aviv’s airport where our repre-
sentative greets us and gives us an
introduction about the forthcoming
program. Proceed to our hotel along
the shore of the Mediterranean, for
the overnight stay.
Day 3 - Drive along the coast to
Caesarea where Paul was impri-
soned and Cornelius baptized, visit
the Roman Theatre, Aqueduct and
the Crusader ruins. Drive via Megiddo,
the biblical Armageddon, to Na-
zareth. Visit the magnificent
Church of the Annunciation built on
top of Virgin Mary's house. Over-
night stay in Galilee.
Day 4 - Tour the Sea of Galilee. Visit
Capernaum and Simon Peter's House,
the Mount of the Beatitudes and Tabgha -
the site of the feeding of the multitudes.
Take a boat ride across the Sea of
Galilee and enjoy a St. Peter's fish lunch
in Tiberias. Later, walk along the Jor-
dan River where Jesus was baptized
and renew your baptismal promises. End
the day with a breathtaking view from the
top of Mt. Arbel - hiking down to our
Kibbutz hotel. Overnight stay in Galilee.
Day 5 -Drive south through the beautiful
Jordan Valley and visit the newly exca-
vated Beth-Shean, capital of Roman
Palestine. Visit Jericho, view the Tel,
Zacheus's Tree, Elisha's spring and
the Mount of Temptation. Ascend to
Jerusalem for an overnight stay.
Day 6 - Walk into the old city of Jeru-
salem. Visit the various quarters and
the underground excavations. See the
Templeruins and the new Citadel
Museum amidst the buildings of old
Jerusalem. Later continue along the
Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. Then, on to Mt. Zion to see
David's Tomb, the Room of the Last
Supper and the Dormition Abbey.
Overnight stay in Jerusalem.
Day 7 - Today we begin our journey
to the lowest point on Earth; the Dead
Sea area. Drive to Massada, site of the
Jewish zealots' last stand against the
Romans. Continue our journey to the
Qumran Caves, where the Dead Sea
Scrolls were found. Back to Jerusalem
for an overnight stay.
Day 8 - In Jerusalem we visit the Mount
of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane,
the Garden Tomb, the room of the Last
Supper and the Church of Peter in Galli-
cantu (cock-crowing), built over the
palace of the high priest Caiaphas.
Drive to Bethlehem to visit the ancient
Church of Nativity, Manger Square, and
view the beautiful Shepherds' Fields.
Overnight stay in Jerusalem.
Day 9 - Morning at leisure. Your
guide directs you to places you
may visit at your own pace, or do
your last shopping. Afternoon drive
to Jaffa, to visit St. Peter's Church
and the House of Simon the Tanner.
Enjoy our farewell dinner and transfer
to the airport for our late flight back to
the USA, or stay overnight for an
early morning transfer to airport
(pending flight schedule).
Day 10 - Arrival back to the USA.
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Upcoming trip to Egypt! (Yet to be scheduled)
Ancient Egypt captures the imagination like no other place on earth! For students of the Bible it is especially fascinating…AND important for Biblical history!
Surprisingly, even though Egypt is hardly mentioned in the historical books of the Old Testament after the book of Exodus, Egypt is always in the background of most of the books of the Old Testament. How?
Because of Egypt’s great wealth in antiquity, she is the target of any and every ambitious world power. Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome will all seek to dominate Egypt - the land of the two kingdoms. In pursuing their conquest, these military adventurers will have to pass through the land of Israel and Judah.
This is because of Israel’s strategic location on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. The two ancient roadways that connect Egypt to the rest of the world pass through Israel and Judah. Armies from Assyria, Babylonia and Persia must pass through Israel and Judah on these two ancient roadways to reach Egypt. Consequently, Egypt, seeking to defend herself, will seek to dominate the territory of these two land routes. Israel is simply “in the way” of shifting world powers.
It is these constant political power shifts, disastrously involving Israel and Judah in great historical crises that form the backdrop for all the prophetic books of the Bible as well. So, mentioned or not, Egypt is always simmering or boiling on the Biblical back-burner. For anyone interested in biblical study, Egypt is a necessary “text book” that must be visited and understood.
Join us as we visit this most ancient land and study its history, its archeology; reading God’s word, written on its stones.
Please call AMI Travel at 773.777.4900 or 800.821.8947 or email AMI at: tours@amitravel.com to reserve your spot today for this wonderful travel/study/prayerful pilgrimage!
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Day 1 – Departure
Depart from the USA and fly to Cairo International Airport.
Day 2 – Cairo
Arrival at Cairo International Airport, greeted by our representative and transfer by our deluxe coach to hotel for check-in. Overnight at hotel.
Day 3 – Cairo
Full day tour of the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, the Egyptian Museum and Khan El Khalili Bazaars. Overnight at hotel.
Day 4 – Cairo/Aswan/Abu Simbel/Aswan
Check out after breakfast, transfer to Cairo Airport for flight to Aswan. Arrival Aswan greeted by our representative and transfer to Abu Simbel by bus. Visit Abu Simbel temples and back to Aswan. Arrival Aswan. Check in and overnight at hotel.
Day 5 – Aswan/Nile Cruise
Check out after breakfast and transfer to Nile Cruise for check in. Visit the High Dam, Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple. Overnight on board.
Day 6 – Nile Cruise
Early sail to Kom Ombo, visit Kom Ombo Temple. Sail to Edfu and visit Edfu Temple. Sail to Luxor and overnight on board.
Day 7 – Nile Cruise
Morning visit to the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut Temple and Colossi of Memnon. Visit Semnejem tomb in Deir El Medina. Evening visit to Karnak and Luxor Temples. Overnight on board.
Day 8 – Nile Cruise/Luxor/Cairo
Check out after breakfast, transfer to Luxor airport for flight to Cairo. Arrive Cairo – greeted by our representative. Transfer to hotel for check in. Overnight at hotel.
Day 9 – Cairo
Full day tour of visits to Old Cairo Churches (Abu Serga and Hanging Church), Synagogue, Coptic Museum and St. Virgin Mary in Maadi. Overnight at hotel.
Day 10 – Cairo/Final Departure
Early check out and transfer to Cairo International Airport for departure from Egypt back home.
