Jerusalem (one-day excursion)

price: 90 $ per person

Jordan

In the Old Testament

Jordan is repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament as the place of fulfillment of various events, including miraculous ones.
The Jordan was the boundary of the Promised Land.
The first miracle happened when the Israelites with the Ark of the Covenant crossed the Jordan under the guidance of Joshua, opposite Jericho (Joshua 3: 15-17).
Later, two and a half tribes of Israel who settled east of the Jordan, built a large altar on its banks, as a “witness” between them and other tribes (Joshua 22: 10-34).
Jordan crossed the dry land of the prophets Elijah (4 Kings 2: 8) and Elisha (4 Kings 2:14).
Elisha miraculously healed Naaman by ordering him to bathe in the river (4 Kings 5: 8-14), and also made the ax of one of the “sons of the prophets” come up, throwing a piece of wood into the water ( 4 Kings 6: 1-7).

In the New Testament

According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River from John the Baptist.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, also known as the Resurrection Temple, the most sacred and important Christian monument, is located in the Christian quarter of the western part of the old city of Jerusalem.

Calvary, the Tomb of Jesus and Saint Elena

In Jerusalem, the time of Christ, Calvary, as the place of execution through the crucifix, as well as the Tomb of Jesus, were outside the city wall. Jerusalem, as already mentioned above, was completely destroyed in 70 AD.
A new city, called Elia Capitolina, built by Adrian on the ruins of Jerusalem, echoed the old one.
The Roman temples were erected on the sites of the Martyrdom of Christ (Golgotha ​​and the Tomb).
With the victory of Christianity and after its adoption by the Roman Imperial court during the reign of Constantine the Great, St. Helena, the mother of the emperor, destroyed the Roman pagan temples.
Under their ruins, she discovered the places of Torment and over them the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (325-335) was built.

Basilica of the Nativity

The Christian church in Bethlehem, built, according to tradition, over the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
Along with the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is one of the two main Christian churches of the Holy Land.
One of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world.
The first temple over the Nativity cave was built in the 330s by the order of the Emperor Constantine the Great.
His consecration took place on May 31, 339 and since then the divine services have not been interrupted.
Modern Basilica of the 6th-7th cc. – this is the only Christian temple in Palestine, preserved intact from the pre-Muslim period.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is best known for the fact that in this city, according to the Gospels, the Nativity of Jesus Christ took place.
Magi saw a star above the city and came to worship the future King, bringing gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
However, after King Herod ordered to kill all the male babies, the Holy Family left Bethlehem and disappeared in Egypt.

Kuvukliya

The Kuvukliya (Greek “peace, bedchamber”) is a small (6 × 8 m) dome chapel of yellow-pink marble in the center of the Rotunda of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.
It contains the tomb of the Lord and the side-chapel of the Angel.
Entrance to Kuvukliyu from the east, it has wooden double doors, with catholicon it joins a marble platform.
Outside the west, a chapel of Copts is attached to the Kuvuklia.

Scheme of the Kuvukliya

The first Kuvuklia was built under the emperor Constantine the Great in 325-335 and was completely destroyed by Muslims in 1009.
Secondary rebuilding in 1042-1048 Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh, then in the XII century it was renovated by the Crusaders.
In 1555, the Franciscan Boniface of Ragusi rebuilt the Cuspoculum, and it stood until 1808, when it was destroyed by a devastating fire.
The existing Kuvuklia was rebuilt in 1809-1810 by the project of the Greek architect Nikolai Komin (1770-1821) from Mytilini.
Subsequently, it suffered from an earthquake in 1927 and today it is reinforced outside from the sides with steel beams and screeds.

The Wailing Wall

The Wailing Wall is the only fragment of the wall of the Temple Mount that has survived to this day. In the midrash, which was recorded 2 thousand years ago, it is said that the Creator swore: this part of the wall will not be destroyed.
In principle, the wall itself is not a shrine of Judaism. The shrine of the Jews is the Temple that was built on the Temple Mount.
The significance of this wall for the Jews living after the destruction of the Temple is that it is the only thing left of the Temple.
However, in the midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 11, 2) it is said that from this wall Divinity (Divine presence) never departs.