Day 1 - DEPART USA – Today, we depart for Beirut, Lebanon from our local Airport. We enjoy in-flight movies, dinner and breakfast aloft

Day 2 - ARRIVE BEIRUT –– We are met this afternoon by our Tour Manager and transfer to our bus for our drive to the hotel.  We enjoy our welcome dinner & overnight in Beirut.

Day 3 – BEIRUT – This morning, we visit Harissa, the magnificent statue of our Lady of Lebanon. We take the cable cars down to Jounieh, enjoying its unique and spectacular bay view. We then proceed to Annaya for our visit St. Charbel, Lebanon’s first Saint, formally acknowledged by the Roman Catholic Church. We celebrate Mass while there. We enjoy lunch on our own before our guided tour of the archeological site at Byblos. This site features; The Crusaders’ Castle, the Phoenicians’ temples, the Roman theatre, and the royal Necropolis. We then visit the old souk and baptistery of the Crusader church of St. John, as well as the old harbor, before we return to our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 4 – BEIRUT/AMMAN – Today, we transfer to the airport for the flight to Amman, Jordan. We are met at the Queen Alia International Airport by our Tour Manager as we transfer to our couch bus on our wat to visit the city of Jerash. Jerash, part of the Decapolis (the ten big Roman cities of the East), has been called the Pompeii of the East for its unique state of preservation. The city features theaters, churches, temples (Zeus and Artemis), a Nymphaeum and colonnaded streets. We continue to Amman where we celebrate Mass at the Cathedral of St. George and conclude the day at our hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 5 - PETRA - This morning, we leave Amman and travel south tracing the steps of Lawrence of Arabia, along the famous Kings Highway. We stop at Mt. Nebo where Moses viewed the Promised Land but was forbidden entry. We see the rich collection of 3rd to 7th century mosaics and celebrate Mass while there. We then continue to the wonderful Rose City of Petra, the awesome city the Nabataean Arabs carved out of the rock during the four hundred years before roman rule. It could be defended by a handful of men because access was limited to the narrow fissure known as the ‘sig.’ We travel this same way, as the character Indiana Jones did, in his search for the Holy Grail in the Stephen Spielberg classic, The Last Crusade . We can either walk, or travel part way by horseback (if it is a younger crowd). Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Petra.

Day 6 - PETRA/JERUSALEM – Today, we drive north through Jordan to the Allenby Bridge and cross into Israel.  Our first stop is Jericho, and then the Mount of Temptations and on route to Jerusalem. We stop at the town of Bethany, where we visit the tomb of Lazarus and the church of Martha and Mary. We celebrate Mass while there and then continue for our exciting entry into Jerusalem for dinner and overnight at our hotel.