Tour "At the very origins of Christianity"

Tour Duration, days: 1

In the beautiful valley, between the Jerusalem hills there is an ancient village: Ein Karem. The translation from Hebrew means: “Spring of the Vineyard”. The first reference about Ein Karem is 4000 years old. 3000 years ago it was conquered by King Saul the first King of Israel, who according to the Old Testament founded the United Kingdom of Israel. 2000 years ago Zechariah and Elizabeth (the cousin of the Virgin Mary) lived there and gave birth to John (Yohanan) the Baptist. The Virgin Mary stayed in their house until Joseph took her to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.

In Bethlehem (heb. Beit Lehem, liter. House of bread) a 1000 years before the birth of Jesus, David the most popular King of the Jews was born. According to the New Testament, David is an ancestor of Christ. In Bethlehem also unrolled the events of the biblical saint Ruth, the foremother of Jesus.

I invite you to see these biblical places with your own eyes. I will tell you stories, which are 4000, 3000, 2000 years old, show you What happened and Where happened, and we’ll try to find out Why it happened.

Route:
We will meet in Jerusalem. The trip will be by public transport and will be paid by you. One-way ticket costs 7 shekels per person. The road in one direction takes about an hour.

At Ein Karem we will examine the Mary’s spring, the house of Zechariah, Elisheva and John the Baptist, where in the 20th century was built the Church of the Visitation by Antonio Barluzzi. We will visit also the Church of St. John the Baptist at the site where he was believed to have been born. By wish we can visit the Gorny Monastery - a Russian nun village.

At Bethlehem we will visit the Church of the Nativity, which was constructed by Helena the Emperor, the mother of Constantine the Emperor. Its an ancient church, which was not once destroyed from the 4th century! Also ahead of us are famous places of pilgrimage - the Milk Grotto, and the Shepherd's fields.

Since there is no public transport in Bethlehem we can choose: we can take a taxi (200 shekels and more) or we can visit the pilgrim center, where you can buy souvenirs. They will provide the transportation for the tour in Bethlehem.

Organization Details:
• The duration of the tour depends on the rout - from 6-8 hours.
• To entry to Bethlehem you must have a passport.
• I recommend a delicious lunch in the best restaurants of Ein Karem.

When is the tour held:
By prior arrangement.