So let it be written-So let it be done. So let it be traveled-So let it be fun!

Petra - The Kazneh

I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday weekend. Today is Easter Sunday; and in addition to celebrating remembrance and gratitude with our loved ones, we also reminisce about special Easter Sundays from our childhood. My mom, Betty, was a Sunday school teacher for about 13 years. One of my favorite and vivid memories was when my mom took my entire Sunday school class to a special showing of Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments at the movie theatre. I’m not sure how she got away with this, but she also brought bags of homemade popcorn for each child. Can’t do that anymore…Anyway during the following Sunday’s class, Mom had each child create a picture (with crayons and/or paint) of one of the most memorable parts of the story of Moses. By the collection of our pictures, the most memorable scenes where the parting of the Red Sea, the burning bush, Moses holding the tablets and the Angel of Death creeping through the Egyptian streets in a glowing green cloud. What a movie! They usually play The Ten Commandments at least once, if not half a dozen times over the Easter weekend. I never get tired of seeing it. In fact, I just watched it last night.

So my mind is on religious travel today. There are many wonderful religious tours to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Greece. You will experience the world’s most spiritual & inspiring destinations matched with history, culture, landscapes & cuisine. These regions are rich with experiences, providing travelers meaningful – and fun – vacations. You can literally walk the walk of our religious forefathers. Some significant highlights while journeying through the Holy Lands:

Nazareth in Galilee, chief scene of the ministry of Jesus Christ
Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount
Jerusalem and its most biblical sites
The Church of the Nativity which stands on the site where Jesus was born in Bethlehem
Bethany Beyond-the-Jordan, the wilderness home of John the Baptist and where Jesus was baptized
Mt. Nebo, where Moses saw the Promised Land
Ancient Philippi and Corinth, where the Apostle Paul preached
Patmos Island and the cave where the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation
Ephesus and the house where the Virgin Mary spent her last days
The cliff-dwelling Meteora Monasteries in Greece
Tel Aviv: Visit Mini Israel, a miniature park. See Habimah National Theatre, Rabin Square and Carmel market.
Jaffa: Visit the ancient port.
Nazareth: Visit the Church of the Annunciation.
Galilee: Enjoy a morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. An insight into the history and contemporary life on a Kibbutz. Visit Capernaum & Mount of the Beatitudes.
Dead Sea: Enjoy a dip in the mineral rich waters. See where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
Masada: Take a thrilling cable-car ride up to the fortress.
Jerusalem: Walk the Stations of the Cross and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Garden of Gethsemene, Room of the Last Supper, Pool of Bethesda, Ecce Homo Arch. See the Temple Mount. Visit the Jewish sites of King David’s Tomb, Western Wall, Holocaust Museum and Shrine of the Book.
Amman: See the Roman Amphitheatre and Citadel Hill.
Jerash: Visit the finest surviving example of a Greco-Roman city in the world.
Petra: Journey through the winding dark passageway between rock walls 300 and 600 ft high to the ancient hidden city.
Shobak: Visit the Crusader fortress.
Madaba: View the mosaic that is believed to be the earliest surviving map of the Holy Land.
Mount Nebo: Look down upon Moses’s Promised Land.
Tel Aviv: Visit Mini Israel, a miniature park. See Habimah National Theatre, Rabin Square and Carmel market.
Bethlehem Excursion – Sightseeing tour of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus and Christianity itself. We visit Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity.
Jerusalem by Night – Drive through floodlit Jerusalem and see major ancient sites and monuments beautifully illuminated. Enter the walled old city and walk through the ancient Jewish quarter to the Wailing Wall.
Cairo: See Tutankhamun’s treasure in the Egyptian Museum. Visit Tahrir Square, the ‘beating heart’ of the 2011 Revolution. Visit Mohammed Ali Mosque and view Cairo from the Citadel.
Giza: Enjoy a Sound & Light Show at the Great Pyramids. See the Sphinx and venture inside one of the Pyramids
Memphis: See the statue of Rameses II & Alabaster Sphinx.
Sakkara: See the Step Pyramid of Zozer, oldest in the world.
Luxor: Visit the awe-inspiring Temples of Luxor and Karnak. See the Colossi of Memnon, visit the Temple of Hatshepsut and some of the Pharaoh’s tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
Kom Ombo & Edfu: Visit the riverside temples.
Aswan: Enjoy the sunset and high tea in colonial English style at at Agatha Christie’s Old Cataract hotel. Sail on a traditional ‘felucca’ around the Botanical gardens . Visit the Aswan High Dam and the unfinished obelisk. Board a motorboat to the Philae Island temple complex. Abu Simbel excursion by air from Aswan to visit the fabulous reconstructed temples of Ramses II and Nefertari.

Consider an epic tour of the Holy Lands, incorporating Biblical sites, colossal structures, lost cities, stunning panoramas and a generous insight into everyday life. And there is no better way to build community, enrich fellowship, and deepen faith than through group travel. Imagine standing with your family, friends, or church members at the very sites where religious history has unfolded and sharing these experiences together!

To peruse some special current offers for Holy Land vacations go to: http://www.signaturetravelnetwork.com/signature-destinations/special-offers.cfm?so_page=land&destinationID=523&agency_id=1559&UTP=consumer&user_id=0

So let it be written-So let it be done. So let it be traveled-So let it be fun!

Nazareth in Galilee, chief scene of the ministry of Jesus Christ

Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered his Sermon on the Mount

Jerusalem and its most biblical sites

The Church of the Nativity which stands on the site where Jesus was born in Bethlehem

Bethany Beyond-the-Jordan, the wilderness home of John the Baptist and where Jesus was baptized

Mt. Nebo, where Moses saw the Promised Land

Ancient Philippi and Corinth, where the Apostle Paul preached

Patmos Island and the cave where the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation

Ephesus and the house where the Virgin Mary spent her last days

The cliff-dwelling Meteora Monasteries in Greece

Tel Aviv: Visit Mini Israel, a miniature park. See Habimah National Theatre, Rabin Square and Carmel market.

Jaffa: Visit the ancient port.

Nazareth: Visit the Church of the Annunciation.

Galilee: Enjoy a morning boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. An insight into the history and contemporary life on a Kibbutz. Visit Capernaum & Mount of the Beatitudes.

Dead Sea: Enjoy a dip in the mineral rich waters. See where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Masada: Take a thrilling cable-car ride up to the fortress.

Jerusalem: Walk the Stations of the Cross and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Garden of Gethsemene, Room of the Last Supper, Pool of Bethesda, Ecce Homo Arch. See the Temple Mount. Visit the Jewish sites of King David’s Tomb, Western Wall, Holocaust Museum and Shrine of the Book.

Amman: See the Roman Amphitheatre and Citadel Hill.

Jerash: Visit the finest surviving example of a Greco-Roman city in the world.

Petra: Journey through the winding dark passageway between rock walls 300 and 600 ft high to the ancient hidden city.

Shobak: Visit the Crusader fortress.

Madaba: View the mosaic that is believed to be the earliest surviving map of the Holy Land.

Mount Nebo: Look down upon Moses’s Promised Land.

Tel Aviv: Visit Mini Israel, a miniature park. See Habimah National Theatre, Rabin Square and Carmel market.

Bethlehem Excursion – Sightseeing tour of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus and Christianity itself. We visit Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity.

Jerusalem by Night – Drive through floodlit Jerusalem and see major ancient sites and monuments beautifully illuminated. Enter the walled old city and walk through the ancient Jewish quarter to the Wailing Wall.

Cairo: See Tutankhamun’s treasure in the Egyptian Museum. Visit Tahrir Square, the ‘beating heart’ of the 2011 Revolution. Visit Mohammed Ali Mosque and view Cairo from the Citadel.

Giza: Enjoy a Sound & Light Show at the Great Pyramids. See the Sphinx and venture inside one of the Pyramids

Memphis: See the statue of Rameses II & Alabaster Sphinx.

Sakkara: See the Step Pyramid of Zozer, oldest in the world.

Luxor: Visit the awe-inspiring Temples of Luxor and Karnak. See the Colossi of Memnon, visit the Temple of Hatshepsut and some of the Pharaoh’s tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

Kom Ombo & Edfu: Visit the riverside temples.

To peruse some special current offers for Holy Land vacations go to: http://www.signaturetravelnetwork.com/signature-destinations/special-offers.cfm?so_page=land&destinationID=523&agency_id=1559&UTP=consumer&user_id=0

Happy Travels!

~Marianne Cook Windham

Windham Travel & Leisure

http://www.windhamtravelandleisure.com