Our dates are September 12 through the 23rd, again traveling first to Cairo, then Israel. This time we will be going to Israel via the Suez canal, south through the desert to Taba.

I have discussed briefly, the idea of rafting the Jordan and/or renting 4 wheelers to explore some areas in Galilee. This would be an addendum to our planned tour and would incur extra costs if some choose this option. I’ll let you know more once I hear back from the tour operators.  

We have a new website in addition to this blog where you can print out your tour enrollment form, see our itinerary, get contact information and find links to related information on travel, insurance, etc. It is here: www.holytourist.com but this blog will remain active as well, and there is a link to this blog at the top of every page.

If you haven’t done it yet, get your deposit in so we can get your account set up. You can then make payments on the trip as it’s convenient for you. 

It’s been about a year and a half since you’ve gotten an update. With all that has happened in the past 19 months I hope you have had time to stop and reflect on all we saw and experienced, look over your pictures, remember, call or email your new friends.

Personally, I have lost a job, my youngest son moved to California, my youngest granddaughter can say "Chief" (my nom de guerre for all the granddaughters), I am trying to buy a business and I have acquiesced to having a dog. What about you? I’d love to catch up with you all. If you drop me a line, I’ll post it here for all to see.

But on to the purpose for posting this update:

As our header has already announced…

                                  our next trip is on the books for September, 2011!

Seems like a long time away, but it’s not so far off really. For everyone that missed the last trip - here’s your chance to see the Holy Land for yourself . I can tell you that the images you come away with are indelible, and it is cliche’ perhaps, but the scriptures really do come alive for you once you have seen that land and the places Jesus and the prophets walked.

The dates are not yet set, but it will be mid September. The cost will be about $2899 plus taxes and fuel surcharges. Again, this covers all transportation from Louisville, Kentucky, lodging, breakfasts and dinners, entry and exit fees, all tips, and entrance fees to all the sites. 

Within the next 2 weeks I’ll have some printed materials for you, I will nail down the exact dates and we will start collecting deposits. In the meantime, drop me an email: tsteiden@insightbb.com or call my NEW NUMBER: 502.657.9999 for more information.

Hope to talk to you soon! 

We only visited 2 sites our last day - the Baha’i Gardens in the beautiful city of Haifa (one of the most desireable places to live in the world) and Mt. Carmel where Elija challenged the prophets of Baal. Fire came from heaven to consume Elija’s sacrifice, but the false prophets only managed to get themselves killed that day.

Our last night was spent in Nethanya at our hotel on the Mediteranean Sea. Too bad we had to be up at 12 midnight to get to the airport and catch a 5:AM flight - It was a beautiful sunset however.

We had to say goodbye to our great guide Maher - very knowledgable, entertaining and accomodating. He was available for our every  request and had answers to all our questions. He added a lot to the trip. Our driver was Moosa - he made sure we got to every site on the itinerary by the end of the day. Our driver in Egypt was Monty and our guides were Mohamed and Yassir. Each one enriched our experience and added their own flavor to our tour. We appreciated them all.

The trip home took about 24 hours. Some of our new friends left us at the airport in Chicago to go home to Florida and Tennessee.

Here are just a few pictures to finish up. In all, I have about 5000 pictures as well as 30 gigs of digital video for each of you. I’ll get the photos on 2 DVDs. I’ll be working on how to get the video to you.

Last full day for touring. The Mount of Beatitudes, Tagbha - the the chapel dedicated to the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, Ceasarea Phillipi, the Golan Heights, Mount Hermon (maybe the real mount of transfiguration?). We visited the ruins of the temple at Capernaum where Jesus declared himself the Messiah "within your hearing". Finished the day being baptised in the Jordan river. Unbelievable.

Every person has had a beautiful attitude, has helped each other in every way and has been giving and patient with each other for the entire trip - no exception - what a delight to dwell among true bretheren like this. We are anxious to see you all.

We left Jerusalem this morning for the countryside where Jesus spent his 3 years of ministry. Our first stop was the Valley of Meggido where the last great battle between good and evil is to be fought. The valley spreads out wide and open - you can almost see the battles that have already been fought on that plain - it is an ideal battleground - plenty of retreat options and natural fortifications - what an awesome sight.

We then visited the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth where the angel revealed to Mary that she would give birth to the Christ. From there, Cana; the site of Jesus’ first miracle - the turning of water into wine. The church there has one of the 5 of extant stone jars used to hold the wine - the others are spread out from Rome to Istanbul.

Our day ended with a sunset ride on the Sea of Galilee. We are staying 2 nights here in Tiberias. I may not post again because tomorrow night we’ll begin to re-pack for the flight home which leaves very early Friday Morning (Thursday night to you). I’ll try to at least post a few pics of the day.

As I said this is a day at leisure, so i thought I’d post some pics from our previous days. I realize you don’t always know what you are seeing - we’ll explain later - they all come fast and furious while we are touring.

By the way - if you’re enjoying the pictures, hit the comments button below and leave us a message.

We start our day with a devotion from one of the group - each day has been great - there’s a picture of this morning’s devotion led by Judy. (we also wrap up the day with a share time where each person reflects on the day).

Todays tour focused more on the historic sites in Israel. Our day started with a visit to Lazarus’ tomb in Bethany. There is a church built over the tomb which is deep underground. We could actually go into the tmb itself. Next we headed to Masada, the site of the Roman seige of Herrods mountain top palace which was occupied by Jewish rebels resisting the invasion of Jerusalem by Rome. The soldiers and families held out there for 3 years, but elected to die rather that live under Roman slavery.

We then visited Jericho for lunch and to observe the ongoing excavations of the walls of the old city. We also saw the Zachias Tree. Next stop was he Dead Sea where we floated about a bit. (You can see some of the ladies doing a synchronized swimming routine below) then headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow is a free day. We’ll probably do some shopping and some of us may visit the Holocaust Museum. We may just take a cab into town and nose around to see what we see. I’ll post again tomorrow. After that we move to Netanya for 2 nights. It’s supposed to be a beautiful hotel on the Mediteranean.

Our second day in Jerusalem. We started out the day walking the path of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Every step of the last days of his life are marked by monuments, churches, buildings, etc, but as the guide at the garden tomb said, it’s not about the place, it’s about The event - the man. Did these thing actually occur on the very spots where they are memorialized? Maybe. On some spots, almost surely and others, absolutely.

We visited the High Priest Ciaphas’ House, the jail where Jesus was held, the open courtyard where he was condemned and scourged. We walked the Via Dolorosa, stopping at certain significant memorials along the way. We saw sweeping views of Jerusalem, visited Golgotha and ended our day at The Garden Tomb where we shared communion.

There is so much to tell. What a funny, strange, maddening, wonderful place this is and it seems to reflect all that is great and petty about humanity. There is so much to obscure the man Jesus and yet at the end of the day, He is what we celebrate and strive to be more like.

We all miss you, but there is much more to see and experience. See our itinerary to see what we are up to next.

OK, we’re back to civilization now. After a long day traveling through the desert stopping at a few spots where the children of Israel camped and dug wells, we checked into "Morganland Village" which is at Mt. Horeb in the Sinai. It is somewhat off the beaten path to say the least - look for it on a map. We visited St. Catherine’s Monestary, the location of Jacob’s well and the burning bush. No Internet access…or phones….or TV…or A/C for some of us. We had dinner and then were invited to a Bedouin tent for tea, water pipe, dancing and of course you can buy some souveniers.

We got very little sleep, then 12 of our 17 left at 1:AM, yes - AM to begin a climb up Mt. Horeb. Whatever you imagine it to be, you are probably wrong - You’ve never seen anything as beautiful as the desert in the black of night with a full moon, no light pollution to block out the stars. You would not imagine how hard a climb it was - rocky, uneven and steep. Soon we all hired camels to ride. We all made it 5 miles. Then we had to go the rest of the way by foot.

Along the next few miles we lost a few. The last surge was VERY steep, the air was thin and sunrise was coming fast. 7 made it. Look at a few pics for just vague idea of the experience. The first thing we heard was "How Great Thou Art" being sung by a group of Korean Christians, then some Hispanics. Can’t wait to tell you about it.

Then another long travel day throught the Sinai to Jerusalem for overnight. Today we went to the Palestinian are to visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherds Field where the angels heralded Jesus’ birth. Plenty more to tell, but we’ll get to that later.

Everyone is well, healthy, happy, touched and moved.

Sorry to be late getting started - free Internet access turned out to be $8 USD per hour and I didn’t get a card yesterday - so I’ll try to catch you up:

Long flights, we were beat, but determined to make the Light and Sound show at the Pyramids; remarkanble - a full moon in the sky, a warm breeze off the Giza Plains and the call to prayer was sounding all over the city. In addition, meals and celebrations were starting after a day of fasting for Ramadan ( no food, alcohol, smoking or sex from sunup to sundown, then, as our guide, Yassir says "we go crazy".

Today we rode camels to the Sphinx and the Pyramids on the plain. Then to the museum ( too much to tell, but there was ALL of Tutankhamans treasures in one place). We then went to a Synagogoue marked as the site of the beginning of the exodus and a church noted as the hiding place of the holy family whe they fled Herrod.

This evening we cruised the Nile and had dinner. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore as Dorothy might say.

Lots to tell about all this. Suffice to say - it’s been a full and amazing few days and we’re just starting. Everyone is healthy , happy, safe and thankful we have you all at home to watch after tings after the storms - we owe you!

Tomorrow we leave Cairo for St. Catherine following the Exodus route through the Sinai to Mt. Horeb where Moses received the 10 comandments.

Don’t know about internet access in the desert, so I’ll post as soon as I can.

Click for larger pics.