Pray in the churches of the Nativity of Our Lady and the Holy Sepulcher, walk along Via Dolorosa (Road of Sorrow) to Golgotha, pray at the Wailing Wall, visit the Garden of Gethsemane, see the most expensive cemetery, where the burial place costs millions of dollars - all this is possible will do if you go on a trip to Jerusalem.
And for this it is not at all necessary to be a devout believer. Jerusalem is a holy place for those who profess Christianity, Judaism and Islam. But this city also gives an unforgettable experience to an inveterate atheist. Can't resist his magic.
In this article we will look at what tours to Jerusalem are. We will supplement our description with tips and reviews from tourists and photographs of the sights of the great ancient city.
What are the tours to Israel
The first thing that comes to mind is a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. But from Moscow and other Russian cities, agencies also organize secular sightseeing tours to Israel. Moreover, Jerusalem may not bethe only item on the program.
Tourists are also offered a beach holiday in the Israeli resort of Eilat or recovery on the shores of the Dead Sea. And if you really want to visit all the iconic places of the Holy Land, then you can buy a combined ticket, the program of which also includes a visit to Jordan, where John the Baptist baptized with water.
Not only from Russia (and other European countries) you can come to Jerusalem. If you bought a beach tour in Eilat, there you will probably be offered to visit the Holy City in a one- or two-day excursion.
And even in the Egyptian resorts of South Sinai (Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab and others), local travel agencies will tempt you with a trip to Jerusalem. Before embarking on such a tour, think about its focus.
The route around Jerusalem will also depend on this. Religion? Story? Whatever it was, but no one puts you to combine excursions with a trip to the sea (at least the nearest, the Mediterranean).
When is the best time to go to Jerusalem
Summer in Israel is hot and long. Warm days can be found both in March and in November. Winter in Jerusalem is also extremely mild. The average temperature of the coldest month, January, is +12 degrees during the day and +6 at night.
If you go on a trip to Jerusalem to the holy places (on your own or as part of a pilgrimage group), then you should remember that on any religious holidays, and especially on the common Christian Easter and Jewish Sukkot, the city is seething like a disturbed anthill. Prices skyrocket during this period.
Traveling on the Sabbath and during the Jewish holidays can be disappointing for the tourist. Indeed, if you believe the reviews, many services are then limited. Religion forbids Jews to work on public holidays, so transport is less frequent and most museums are closed.
"High tourist season" in Jerusalem falls on July - August. Also a lot of people during the school holidays. But in winter (with the exception of the Christmas period) it is more comfortable to explore the city. Hotel prices are dropping and crowds aren't blocking sightseeing views.
Pilgrimage to New Jerusalem
Many church communities in Russian cities offer trips to the Holy Land. But tourists warn: always get acquainted with the detailed program of such a pilgrimage.
Some travel agencies offer a trip to New Jerusalem from Moscow for only one and a half thousand rubles. Don't be fooled. New Jerusalem is not at all a heavenly city, as those who have read the Revelation of John might think. Such a lofty name was taken by the former Moscow Regional Museum of Local Lore, located in the city of Istra. A trip there also promises to be interesting and informative. During the bus tour, tourists visit the ancient city of Zvenigorod, where the Kremlin has been preserved, and the ancient Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. But this is still not Israel.
Also, under the name "New Jerusalem" there is a spiritual and educational complex of traditional religions of Russia. It is located in Moscow, in the Otradnoye district.
In one of the Gulag camps, for some reasonbearing the nickname "New Jerusalem", Alexander Solzhenitsyn was serving his term. So always check with the tour operator where exactly the excursion is planned.
Pilgrimage to Jerusalem from Moscow
From Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar - from which cities Orthodox believers do not go to the Promised Land. Such tours are also organized by synagogues and Muslim centers. After all, Jerusalem is a city of three world religions.
Let's look at the Orthodox tour program from Moscow. It is designed for 8 days. After landing at Ben Gurion Airport, the pilgrims are taken to Emmaus, where Christ, after His resurrection, met the disciples Cleopas and Luke. The faithful are waiting for a night liturgy in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. At 4 am, the pilgrims go to the hotel.
On the second day, a walking tour is planned, during which tourists will see the gates of the Old City - the Lions, Golden and Mercy, Bethesda (Sheep Font), where Christ healed the paralyzed, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, standing on the site of the house of Joachim and Anna.
Pilgrims will walk the Road of Sorrow from Pontius Pilate's Pretoria to Calvary, and also climb Mount Zion with its temples.
Holy places near Jerusalem
On the third day of their stay in Israel, the group will travel to Jaffa (ancient Joppa), Cana of Galilee and Nazareth. The pilgrims will spend the night in Tiberias. The next day, the trip to Jerusalem to the holy places will continue. Pilgrims visit an Orthodox monasteryTransfiguration of the Lord on Mount Tabor, Tabgha, Capernaum.
Bus tours will end with an overnight stay at a hotel in Jerusalem. In the following days, pilgrims will travel to the Jordan River, to Jericho, they will see the desert where Satan tempted Christ during His 40-day fast, Bethany, where the tomb of the resurrected Lazarus is located. They will also climb the Mount of Olives and see the site of the Ascension of Jesus.
A lot of time in the program is dedicated to visiting Russian Orthodox monasteries in the Holy Land. The cost of such a pilgrimage trip starts from 44 thousand rubles.
It includes a flight to Israel, bus and walking tours, accommodation in tourist class hotels or monastic hospices, breakfasts and dinners. You can buy a tour in the pilgrimage centers of the dioceses.
Secular trips to Israel
You don't have to be a devout believer to see Jerusalem's holy sites. The social trip program is no less intense. You will not need to participate in the vigil and eat in the refectory of the monasteries. Yes, and you will live in hotels of a higher class.
But the cost of such a trip to Jerusalem from Moscow will be more expensive. The minimum duration of the tour is 5 days. If you take only breakfast in a three-star hotel, then such a trip will cost 31 thousand rubles. If we want to take a whole package of services, which includes accommodation in a 4hotel, meals on the All Inclusive system, then it will already cost from 100 thousand rubles for a week.
At the same time, tourists are offeredexplore the city on your own. Maybe it's for the best? After all, some people are also interested in Jewish shrines, such as the Wailing Wall, and the tomb of King David, and the Golden Gate, through which they expect the coming of the Messiah, as well as Muslim mosques, primarily Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Ascension Rock.
Atheists who went to Jerusalem for historical monuments will be interested to see the excavations at the site of Herod's palace, walk along the walls of the city, which the Romans stormed, explore the catacombs and sights dating back to the time of the Crusades to the Holy Land.
What the Solo Traveler Needs to Know
If you're looking for affordable accommodation, head to West Jerusalem. It appeared relatively recently, after the formation of the State of Israel. Accordingly, this is how new sights are located - the Knesset (the Central body of the state), the Hadassah hospital, Yad Vashem.
You can rent a three-star hotel room for five nights with breakfast in this area for 23,000 rubles. For such money in the eastern part of Jerusalem, you can only find a hostel. But you will not need to spend money on transport, and you can plunge headlong into the magic of the ancient city.
Excursion tour program
If you are afraid of an independent trip to Jerusalem, you can see the sights of the city as part of a Russian-speaking group. The program of secular excursions is built in such a way that it would be interesting for all participants, and not just for Christian believers.
Here is a rough plansuch a tour. On the first day, the group makes a sightseeing bus and walking tour (Mountains of Olives, Temple, Zion, Garden of Gethsemane, Wailing Wall, Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosques, walls and gates of the city).
On the second day, tour participants are given free time. You can go to the Mediterranean Sea or book an optional tour along the Road of Sorrow, to the Governor's Palace with a trip to Bethlehem.
The next day, the tour participants travel through the Judean Desert to the Dead Sea.
The fourth day of the stay is devoted to the sights of the Galilee (Nazareth, Cana, Tabh, Capernaum).
The next day, sightseers visit Jaffa.
And finally, another day is allotted for independent exploration of the city. The cost of such a tour starts at $1,140 (70,915 rubles).
To the Holy Land from Egypt
Vacationers in Sharm el-Sheikh and other resorts in South Sinai have a very cheap opportunity to see all the sights of Israel in one day. Such a trip to Jerusalem costs only $110 (6843 rubles) per person.
The bus picks up sightseers in the evening from their hotels. At night, the border is crossed, and in the morning tourists find themselves on the shores of the Dead Sea. Two hours are allotted for bathing and purchasing healing cosmetics.
Then tourists will also have a bath in the Jordan River. In Jerusalem, the group is met by a Russian guide, who conducts a sightseeing tour of the city.
