C&M Pilgrimage Tour

The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
Psalm 118:7. http://bit.ly/bibleappkjv

King James Bible Study KJV

Dear Friends,
We are pleased that a ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday evening, August 26 and are happy to inform you that everyday life is returning to normal. The vacation season is in full swing and currently there are thousands of overseas tourists enjoying the attractions, weather and surroundings throughout Israel. Groups and individuals arrive daily and they feel safe and enjoy themselves, according to their testimonials.

The Ben Gurion Airport is open and has been operating nonstop. The Israeli Airlines and foreign carriers have maintained their regular flight schedules to and from Israel.

Tourism sites, museums, holy places, attractions and night life are open and operating. Outdoor festivals are taking place as are concerts by foreign performers.

The Directors and staff of the Israel Government Tourism Offices will be happy to assist you. To find the closest office in your area please check the site: www.goisrael.com.

Senior Deputy Director General &
Head of the Marketing Administration

Israel Wonders North America Goisrael.com Homepage

St. Catherine’s, which is believed to be the oldest continually occupied monastery in the world, is home to a community of about twenty Greek Orthodox monks. Visitors enter through massive stone walls built in the sixth century to protect the monastery from attack. Winding through a narrow passageway, they enter the Basilica of the Transfiguration, which dates back to AD 527 when the Emperor Justinian ordered that a church be built here on the remains of an even older chapel. Inside, Byzantine icons line the church’s walls and an ornate icon screen separates the altar from the sanctuary. The atmosphere here is serene and hushed, providing a welcome respite from the large crowds that often fill the monastery enclosure.

After leaving the church, pilgrims can see a huge evergreen bush that overhangs an adjacent walkway. Tradition says that the plant is descended from the Burning Bush from which the voice of God spoke to Moses. In a custom followed by many generations of pilgrims, people stand on tiptoes to touch one of its overhanging branches. Visitors also can tour the monastery’s library, whose collection of ancient manuscripts and icons is second only to the Vatican’s in importance.
Though St. Catherine’s is one of the world’s most-treasured religious landmarks, in many ways the landscape that lies outside its walls is an even more powerful draw. Above the monastery loom a set of peaks that over the millennia have been hallowed by the prayers of countless penitents and pilgrims. The most famous is Mt. Sinai (also known as Mt. Moses), where Moses is said to have spent forty days and nights before receiving the Ten Commandments. Many pilgrims walk the route at night so that they can see the sunrise from its peak, while others take a camel ride for at least part of the journey.
Even a short walk in this dramatic landscape evokes a sense of awe in visitors. In this fierce landscape, devoid of creature comforts and harshly baked by the sun, it’s possible to feel a kinship to the desert pilgrims of long ago. In the silence here, God’s voice speaks louder than almost any place on earth.