CHRISTIAN ORIENTED TOURS OF ISRAEL
Sample itineraries for Christian oriented tours of Israel
CHRISTIAN SITES IN JERUSALEM
Jerusalem is the City where Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. Here are the places you will visit on a Christian Orientated Tour of Jerusalem with Leon Gork, who has more than 30 yeart experience in guiding Christians around their holy places.
Here are brief desctiptions of the site thats you will visit on a walk in Jerusalem with Leon Gork there are also useful links to articles written by Leon Gork with more details and giving you his own interpretation of the sites and the wonderful events that happened there.
Example itinerary1: 3 Day itinerary
Day 1
Full day tour of Jerusalem.
AM: visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Via Dolorosa, The Wailing Wall, Visit a synagogue in the Jewish Quarter, Archaeological remains of Jerusalem from the time of Jesus, The Upper Room
PM: Visit Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity, Shepherd's Field, Herodion (Tomb of Herod the Great)
Day 2 Overnight in the Galillee
Full day tour Dead Sea and Galillee
Visit the Baptismal site of Jesus on the Jordan River, Capernaum, Mt. of Beatitudes, Miracle of the Loaves and the fishes, Nazareth.
Day 3
Full day tour along the Coast of Israel
Visit Acre (Crusader Castle) Haifa, the Bahai gardens, Mt Carmel, Caesarea, Joppa (Tel Aviv)
Via Dolorosa- Way of the Cross
Walk through the traditional 14 stations of the Cross, as Jesus walked, from the Church of the Flagelation, to the tomb from where He rose.
Itinerary:
3 hr walk: Damascus Gate Stations of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Cardo, Wailing Wall.
1/2 day tour: As above plus The Upper Room, Synagogue Visit.
Full day tour; As above plus Pool of Bethesda, Ecce Homo Convent, Mt.Olives, Garden of Gethsemane
For more pictures visit my page of pictures of Christian sites in Jerusalem
Bethlehem the birthplace of Jesus
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century over the cave where the holy family stayed overnight, being then used as a stable for an ox and an ass, two mute but true witnesses together with the shepherds and the wise men from the East who witnessed the birth of Jesus who was laid by Mary in the manger.
Itinerary:
1/2 day tour: Church of the Nativity (Bethlehem) The Milk Grotto, Shepherd's Field
The Upper Room
Itinerary:
!/2 day tour: Damascus Gate Stations of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Wailing Wall. Cardo, Upper Room,
The Upper Room is the name of the place selected by Jesus to celebrate the Passover meal.It is located on Mt. Zion, a residential area of wealthy inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time of the 2nd Temple. It is believed that the appearance of the Holy Spirit to the disciples also took place here.
The present beautiful structure was built by the Crusaders in the 12th century.
Itinerary:
!/2 day tour: Mt. Olives, Garden of Gethsemane, Stations of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Wailing Wall. Cardo,
Full day tour: As above plus, The Upper Room, House of Caiphas, Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter.
The Garden of Gethsemane
At the foot of the Mt. of Olives there is a garden of olive trees, known as the Garden of Gethsemane. According to the Gospels this is the place where Jesus frequently met with His disciples and prayed and suffered bearing the sins of all mankind.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre
This church commemorates the resurection of Jesus from the dead and the exact spot where this amazing event happened (Station No. 14 of the Via Dolorosa), is naturally the most important part of the church.
Therefore the builder of the church, Constantine the Great, named the entire church after this spot, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Although there are 4 additional events which are commemorated here also, namely:
The gambling for Jesus' cloak (Station 10 of the Via Dolorosa)
The nailing of Jesus to the cross (Staion No. 11)
Jesus death on the cross (Station 12) and
The embalming of Jesuse body (station 13).
Candle sellers Str. jerusalem
Street leading to the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem. gorktours.comSt. Helena Str
Candles, incense, rosaries for sanctifying in the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem. gorktours.comSt. Helena Str candle market
Candles for lighting in the Holy Sepulchre Church Jerusalem. gorktours.comGateway Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem
Arched gateway at the entrance to the courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem. gorktours.comEntrance Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem
Pilgrims entering the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem.gorktours.comcolumn entranch holy sepulchre
A crack in the column where the miraculous fire escaped, now a place for leaving prayer notes.gorktours.comHoly Sepulchre church door
Ancient door, probably from Crusader times at the entrance of the Holy Sepulchre Church Jerusalem.gorktours.comHoly Sepulchre Jerusalem
Pilgrims in the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem. gorktours.comHoly Sepulchre Jerusalem
Pilgrims wait to enter the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem. gorktours.comJerusalem 2 day Christian study walk
The objective: To study the role played by Jerusalem in the development of early Christianity.
Program: An in depth 2 day study tour of Jerusalem. Each day the tours consist of a walk and topics for discussion.
Time for each day's touring 7 hours
Day 1
Walk: Start at the Jaffa Gate, walk through the Christian Quarter:
Way of the Cross
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
David's Tower Museum
Armenian Quarter
Panoramic Views of the Old City of Jerusalem
Topicsfor discussion:
1. The topographical layout of Jerusalem as it relates to the history and the development of Christian religious customs.
2. Christianity in the Byzantine, Crusader and The Ottoman periods.
3. A short explanation of Jerusalem in Roman times leading to the destruction of the city and the temple
4. Hadrian and Constantine and how that lead to the development of Christianity.
5. The different Christian groups associated with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Day 2.
Synagogues in the Old City
Walk the ramparts
Walk down the Mt. Olives
Panoramic view of Jerusalem fromt the Mt. of Olives
Church of the house of Caiphas
The Upper Room (Room of the Last Supper)
Walk to the Gate of Mercy
View of the Mt. of Olives from the Kidron Valley
Topics for Discussion:
1.Comparison between the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
2.The separation of Judaism and Christianity.
3. Comparison between Jewish and Christian Customs
