Jerusalem excursion from Sharm

Highlights

Holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, Jerusalem’s Old city is one of the world’s foremost pilgrimage destinations. This is the place where you will walk the ‘living history’ of a city which has over the millennia been destroyed twice and captured and recaptured 42 times. The soundtrack is of church bells, the muezzin's call and the shofar (ram's horn), and the street smells of everything from church incense to the heady aromas of the spice market. It's a sensory and spiritual experience unlike any other.Wander the streets and see The Dome on the Rock, Temple Mount, The Wailing Wall, Al Aqsa Mosque and finish your tour with a visit inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and the holiest site in Christianity. After all of the sightseeing of the morning, we will travel on to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth, for a float and a photo or two.

Pick up

You will be picked up by A/C mini bus at about 8pm and driven to the Egyptian border crossing with Israel at Taba Port. Once you cross the border on foot and clear immigration control, you will be met on the Israeli side by your guide for your trip in Jerusalem.

Mount of Olives

Our first stop will be at the Mount of Olives, named aptly because of the olive groves that cover its slopes. This mountain is associated predominantly with Jewish and Christian traditions but also contains several sites important in Islam. Part of the mountain has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves, some of which hold the tombs of Biblical kings.

The stop serves as a good introduction to the city, as here you will be able to get panoramic views over Old Jerusalem.

Old Jerusalem

Your guide will give you a quick tour of old Jerusalem so that you can familiarise yourself all of the most important monuments: Al-Aqsa Mosque, Temple Mount, the souq and the old city wall.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Then we make our way to the site of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and the holiest site in Christianity: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We will have a guided tour of the inside of the church lasting about 45 minutes.

The Wailing Wall

Our next stop will be at the Wailing Wall whichrepresents the last remnants of the Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans.

It is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the Jewish Temple's courtyard, and is one of the most sacred sites in Judaism outside of the Temple Mount itself. It has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries, the earliest source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dating from the 4th century.

The Dead Sea

After all of that sightseeing, you will welcome the next stop on the trip which is at one of the Dead Sea’s many beaches. The Dead Sea is called ‘dead’ because no marine species are able to survive in its waters.  At over 400 metres below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on planet Earth. Due to the extremely high salt content approximately, 1.24kg per litre of water, it is almost impossible to swim here, only float and relax. The Dead Sea’s salt and mud are very beneficial for skin and are said to be useful for healing a range of ailments.

Return to Sharm

In the early evening, you will be escorted back to the Israeli border crossing and make your way back to Taba, Egypt. You will be met again by your Egyptian guide, who will drive with you back to your hotel in Sharm.