| Lands of the Bible Cruise Northbound - March 12, 2010 MAR 10 and 11 (Wed): USA TO CAIRO Your pilgrimage begins as you board your international flight for Cairo. Upon arrival, you will be met by our airport represenative and transferred to your hotel for dinner and overnight. MAR 12 (Fri): CAIRO Begin your tour of Cairo with a visit to the Egypt Museum which houses the King Tut treasures and many other artifacts from Egypt's long history. Continue to the Great Pyramids of Giza and see this last remaining ancient wonder which was built before the time of Moses and the Israelites in this ancient land. Continue to Port Said where you will embark the mv Orient Queen. MAR 13 (Sat): BETHLEHEM, JERUSALEM Your cruise ships docks in Ashdod this morning. Travel to Bethlehem where you'll visit the cave revered as the place where Jesus was born (Matt. 1: 18-25; Luke 2: 1-7). The church, which was constructed on the site, is the word's oldest functioning church. Nearby you'll view Shepherds' Field where the Good News was first heard. Continue to Jerusalem where you will visit the Upper Room, the traditional site of the Last Supper. Continue to the House of the High Priest Caiaphas, where Jesus was tried before the Senhedrin. Finally, visit the Western Wall, the last remains of the Herodian Temple and the holiest site in Judaism. MAR 14 (Sun): JERUSALEM From Ashdod, you'll travel to Jerusalem to pray at the Western Wall. Stand upon the Mount of Olives and view the city as Jesus did. wander among the olive trees of the Garden of Gethsemane. You'll walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Enter the Old City and visit the Pool of Bethesda. Worship together in the Garden Tomb. MAR 15 (Mon): THE GALILEE Your cruise ship docks in the port of Haifa. Travel inland to the Sea of Galilee. Much of the Gospel is centered around the Sea. You' ll stand on the Mount of the Beatitudes where Jesus gave his most famous sermon (Luke 6:12-49). At Tabgha, the traditional location for the calling of the desciples and the feeding of the 5000, you'll visit the Church of the Fish and the Loaves (Luke 9:10-17). You'll aslo visit the Chapel of the Primacy where three times Peter professed his devotion to the risen Christ (John 21). You'll travel to the shore town of Capernaum where Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John (Matt 4:13)and later Matthew, and you'll stop by the River Jordan where those who wish to be baptized may do so. MAR 16 (Tue): ANTIOCH, TARSUS After docking in the Turkish port of Iskenderun, travel to Antioch. Ancient Antioch was the center of Hellenistic civilization in the region. Christian roots go deep into Antioch's soil. It was the Antioch that many Jerusalem Christians fled after the death of Stephen (Acts 11: 19-21). Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch for a year and assembled with the church and taught many people (Acts 11: 22-26). Later, the city became the starting and ending point for for the first missionary journey from which Paul performed his missionary labors (Acts 13-18). It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians", and it was here that the first non-Jews were accepted into the early church. From Antioch continue on to Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul (Acts 22:3), a city with a resplendent history which reaches back to the 14th century B.C. Paul visited Tarsus twice during his missionary journeys. Reboard the Orient Queen from the port of Mersin, Turkey. MAR 17 (Wed): ANTALYA, ASPENDOS, PERGA This morning your cruise ship will dock in the Turkish port of Antalya. Travel by bus to the Aspendos theatre, known for its outstanding acoustics. The extremely well preserved theatre may be the best preserved theatre in the ancient world. Nearby is Perga, a Hellenistic city where Paul and Barnabas preached the Word (Acts 14:25). You will pass through the same city gates as when Paul and Barnabas visited here on their first journey. The ruins of a large stadium, baths, and a tomb give ample evidence of its former greatness. Return to Antalya from where Paul sailed to Antioch at the completion of the first missionary journey. MAR 18 (Thu): EPHESUS Journey to Ephesus, the marble city where Paul spent 3 years of his ministry. It was to this community that Paul may have written his epistle to the Ephesians. The ruins of Ephesus have been restored much like the city was in Paul's time. You will visit the ancient Agora and imagine where Demetrius, the silversmith, sold his silver shrines of the Greek goddess, Artemis. See the library of Celsus and enter the Great Theatre mentioned in the book of Acts. For those taking the Istanbul or Churches os Asia Minor extension, you will disembark today. MAR 19 (Fri): ATHENS & CORINTH Disembark the mv Orient Queen this morning and visit the architectural splendors of the ancient city of Athens are as magical as ever. Follow your guide on a journey to the ancient Acropolis where you will see the Propylaea, the Parthenon and the Erectheum. View Mars Hill where Paul preachedthe gospel to the intellectual Athenian community of his day (Acts 17: 15-34). View the ruins of the Agora, ancient market place and center of Athenian public life, where Paul preached to the skeptical Athenians. You will view the Olympic Stadium, where the modern Olympics began and where the games returned in 2004. Visit Corinth (Acts 18: 1-18), a city that inspired of St. Paul's most familiar letter. You will visit the Archeological Museum, the Market Place, and Temples. Walk among the ruins and stand on the Bema where Paul stood. Read Paul's letter to the Corinthians and visualize his address to the Gentiles as he began the task of building Corinth's church. Imagine where Aquila and Priscilla lived and where they had their tent making business. MAR 20 (Sat): RETURN TO THE USA | |