Abrahamic Faith Tour World Peace Travel

Abrahamic Faith Tour

World Peace Travel


Petra, Jordan

*Actual dates of travel to be determined*

Estimated Tour Fee $1980/per person, not including airfareThis fee does not include registration for the IIPT Interfaith Tourism Conference scheduled at the end of the tour.Day 1--Depart Day 2-- Arrive in Amman. Drive to Petra for overnight. Day 3-- Visit Petra, where the Nabataean Arabs, ancient masters of the desert, carved breathtaking temples and monuments, 800 in all, out of the multi-colored sandstone.

Petra

Mount Nebo

Drive to Mount Nebo, from which God showed Moses the Promised Land. Overnight in Amman.Day 4-- Cross the Allenby Bridge. At Jericho, we visit the tell of this oldest city and view the traditional mountain of Jesus' temptation.

Then we drive north through the Jordan Valley to the mound of Beth Shean, hearing the story of Saul and viewing the ruins of Roman Scythopolis. We end the day, if time permits, at the Arbel cliff, which affords a view over the Lake of Galilee and the main sites of Jesus' ministry. Lodging near Sea of Galilee.

Arbel cliff

Church at Mt. of Beatitudes

Day 5-- We drive along the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, where we visit the synagogue and the place where early Christians remembered Peter's house. Ascending the Mt. of Beatitudes, we listen to Jesus' teachings. On an ancient trade route, we pay a brief visit at Hazor.

We then ascend to Safed, where Jewish mysticism flowered in the 16th century. We visit some of the synagogues and hear about the teachings of the legists and mystics who lived here. We return to our lodging near the Sea of Galilee.Day 6--We start at Nazareth, visiting the area of the ancient village (Church of the Annunciation)

Safed

Mt. Tabor

and taking in a view of Mt. Tabor and the Jezreel Plain. Then on to Akko (Acre), where we shall visit the Jazzar Mosque, as well as sites connected with the bizarre history of this oriental city, from the Crusader period through Napoleon’s siege. Overnight in the Haifa area.

Day 7-- We visit Muhraka on Mt. Carmel, site of Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Then we drive south along the coast toCaesarea Maritima. We explore this Roman bridgehead to the East, which became the Christian springboard to the West.

Mt. Carmel

Jerusalem from the Mt. of Olives

From here we ascend to Jerusalem. Atop Mt. Scopus, we behold the piece of land that has become so central to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Lodging in Jerusalem through Day 11.Day 8-- We start the day early with an orientation toJerusalem from the Mt. of Olives.

We then follow the traditional Palm Sunday route to the church known as Dominus Flevit ("the Lord weeps"). We continue downhill to Gethsemane, where we hear the Gospel text. We then drive to theexcavations south of the al-Aqsa Mosque, where we pass through the remains of Omayyad palaces and see traces of the Temple’s destruction by the Romans(the great historical watershed, which resulted, some believe, in the split between Judaism and Christianity.

Gethsemane

Western Wall

We visit the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. From here we walk to the 5th Station of the Via Dolorosa, following it to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. After a late lunch in the Old City, we visit the Garden Tomb. Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Day 9--We ascend to the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest sanctuary of Islam, located on the traditional site of the ancient Temple Mount. Then, conditions permitting, we shall drive south to Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque,

Dome of the Rock

Church of the Nativity

where the patriarchs and matriarchs are believed to be buried. Later we head north to Shepherds' Fields and Bethlehem, walking through its alleys and markets to the Church of the Nativity.

Day 10-- Back across the Allenby Bridge to Jordan.  Visit Bethany beyond Jordan, site of Christ’s baptism, where IIPT launched the Global Peace Parks program in 2000. Visit Jerash,which boasts more Roman columns than Rome.  Overnight in Amman. Day 11—IIPT conference and dinner. (Additional Cost) Day 12--Depart For more information and to join the tour, please contact:  Donald King iiptambassador@swissmail.org                  International Institute for Peace Through Tourism