St Mary’s Church Whitegate

© 2010 St Mary’s Church Whitegate Cheshire

Forthcoming Events

Chester Diocese

LANDS OF THE PHARAOHS

& THE EXODUS

9/11 – 22/24 APRIL 2010

Note at present we are finding it difficult to book 48 seats on a flight as many airlines are in difficulty and changing schedules.  We will give exact times as dates as soon as these become available.

Day 1  UK  – CAIRO

Fly from UK to Cairo. On arrival in Cairo we will be met and driven to our hotel. Late afternoon we will drive up to the great plateau of Giza to witness the breathtaking scale of the Pyramids and Sphinx and if time allows visit a papyrus workshop.  Dinner and overnight stay in Cairo.

Day 2  THE PYRAMIDS - OLD CAIRO

After breakfast we visit the famous Egyptian Museum - a treasure store of gold jewellery and exquisite statues from upper and lower Egypt at the time of the Pharaohs. Among the highlights will be the glittering funerary equipment crammed into the Boy King Tutankhamun’s tomb, and sculptures of kings and courtiers ranging from the pyramid age to the Greco-Roman era. We drive to the Old City to visit the Coptic area including the Church of the  Holy Family. It was near this church that the Holy Family found a haven for nearly four years after their flight for fear of persecution by King Herod. We return to our hotel in the early evening for dinner. Then we drive to Cairo’s Railway station to board our overnight train to Upper Egypt.

Day 3  KARNAK & VALLEY OF KINGS

We arrive in Luxor for breakfast. We visit the Colossi of Memnon and the Valley of the Queens to see the lovely terraced Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Then on to the imposing Valley of the Kings which contains the secretive tombs of the New Kingdom Pharaohs. Tour the vast Karnak Temple Complex built by generations of Pharaohs over a 2,000 year period. Continue to the Avenue of the Sphinxes and the Temple of Luxor with its grand colonnades. Dinner and overnight stay in Luxor.

Day 4  LUXOR – HURGHADA

After breakfast we leave Luxor and then drive east to the Red Sea and the beach resort of Hurghada. Rest of day at leisure to relax by the Red Sea. Dinner and overnight stay in Hurghada.

Day 5  THE DESERT MONASTERIES

This morning, after an early breakfast we leave for  Ain Sokhna, a new resort centre on the Red Sea. On route we will visit two of the oldest monasteries in Egypt - St. Paul's and St. Anthony's. Dinner and overnight stay in Ain Sokhna.

Day 6  INTO THE SINAI DESERT

A fairly early start after breakfast as we drive north to cross the Suez Canal and then we continue south into the Sinai Desert, where Moses and his people wondered for 40 years. The Bedouin still live the way of the ancient nomads, their black goat-hair tents sheltering from the intensity of the sun. We may see a caravan or two as the Bedouin 'up camp' with their camels and sheep and travel from oasis to oasis. We plan to arrive by Mount Sinai in the afternoon in time to check-in to our Desert hotel and to enjoy the spectacular sunset over the Sinai mountain range. For those who wish, there will be an opportunity to climb to the chapel of Moses which commemorates Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. Dinner and overnight stay by Mount Sinai.

Day 7  ST CATHERINE’S MONASTERY

For the fit and able (very early rise!) there will be an opportunity of climbing to the summit of Mount Sinai to witness a breathtaking sunrise over Sinai. After breakfast we will visit the St. Catherine’s Monastery. Situated at the foot of Mount Sinai, this beautiful monastery was built on this site where Moses witnessed the burning bush before receiving the Ten Commandments. The museum here houses a priceless collection of icons and manuscripts. We then return to our desert hotel to relax by the pool before dinner.

Day 8  THE RED SEA - PETRA

We leave St Catherine’s after a leisurely breakfast and drive to Nuweiba or Taba and break for lunch. In the afternoon we drive to the nearby ferry terminal to board a fast-ferry to cross the Red Sea to Aqaba in Jordan. On completion of border formalities we will be met and driven north to the rose-red city of Petra in the mountains of Edom and our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Petra.

Day 9    THE ROSE-RED CITY OF PETRA

We wake to the sunrise in the mountains of Edom and after breakfast we leave our hotel and follow a narrow path through towering rock walls into ancient Petra. Here one is confronted by a stunning spectacle of temples, tombs and monuments carved by the Nabateans from the red sandstone of Petra. We plan to spend the entire day exploring this magnificent city that lay hidden from the world for centuries and that was only rediscovered by explorer Johann Burckhardt in 1812. Two sites worth exploring, are the Roman High Place of Sacrifice and the Monastery, the largest of these monuments, reached after a climb of over eight hundred steps - but well worth the effort. Return to our Petra hotel. Early evening there will be an opportunity to visit Wadi Rum, the haunt of Lawrence of Arabia to watch the sunset over the moonscape like desert with mountains rising sheer from the desert sands. Return to Petra for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 10       KINGS’ HIGHWAY - MADABA

After breakfast, we leave Petra and drive north along the Kings Highway, one of the most historic and scenic roads in the Middle East. The route runs through the ancient lands of Ammon, Moab and Edom and is spectacular as it winds through the gorges of Wadi Mujib and Wadi el Hasa. Our first stop is Kerak, where we visit the great crusader castle of Krak de Moab. We continue to Madaba, biblical Medba to view the famous mosaic map of the world at the time of the Emperor Justinian. Dinner and overnight stay in Madaba. (Note this hotel is regarded as 4* in Jordan but being town centre  is not as luxurious as those elsewhere.)

Day 11  MOUNT NEBO, THE DEAD SEA & AMMAN

After breakfast we drive to nearby Mount Nebo and stand on the site where Moses is said to have stood and surveyed the Promised Land.  Leaving Mount Nebo we drive down to the Dead Sea for a well-earned days relaxation and an opportunity to bathe in the Dead seas unique mineral-laden waters. In the afternoon we will drive to Amman, biblical Philadephia  before returning to  Madaba and our hotel. Dinner and overnight stay in Madaba.

Day 12   JERASH, PELLA & UMM QUAIS

This morning we continue north along the King’s Highway to Jerash. The city was founded in the Hellenistic Period and Josephus makes reference to a second century B.C. event in Jerash. Like Pella it attracted followers of Christ and was also one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. Much of the present remains date from the first and second centuries AD. and include a Hippodrome, North and South Gates, Temples of Zeus and Artemis, North and South Theatres, Baths, Churches, Cathedral, Triumphal Arch, Forum (Oval Piazza), Cardo Maximus, City Walls, Nymphaeum and Bridges. Late morning we continue to Pella, settled as early as the Neolithic Period Destroyed and re­built several times it became one of the ten cities of the Decapolis and the city where Jewish believers fled to in 66 A.D. It became a Christian city during the Roman and Byzantine Periods and there are the remains of four churches containing a mixture of Jewish and Christian symbols  And in the afternoon we drive on to Umm Quais, the site of the Biblical Gadara, hoping to see the stunning views over the Sea of Galilee.  Finally we return to Madaba and our hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 13  BAPTISM SITE & DESERT CASTLES

This morning after breakfast we drive to Wadi Kharrar (Bethany beyond the Jordan) on the River Jordan, where Jesus was baptised. We visit the archaeological ruins of several churches at this important location close to the Hill of Elijah, where Elijah is said to have ascended into heaven. Late morning we drive  north east for a tour of the Desert Castles :Qasr Amra Bath and its Zodiac Dome, the Fortress like Qasr Karana, and the Roman Fort , turned into residence by the Ummayds : Qasr El Hallabat, and the black basalt Roman/Medieval fort at Azraq, returning to Madaba and our hotel in time for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 14  OUR JOURNEY HOME

An early breakfast and then we drive to Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport and check-in for our return flight.

Cost £1,579 includes flights and taxes, Accommodation half board in 4-5 star hotels (meals normally buffet style), overnight train in twin berth cabins, all entrance fees and local taxes, licensed English-speaking guides.   

Not included Visas and border tax, Single room supplements (£289 limited places), lunch, gratuities, travel insurance.

The mosaic at Madaba

Qasr  Amra Bath

Hadrian’s gate at Jerash

Statues at the

Karnak Temple

St Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mt Sinai

The Treasury at Petra