Bethlehem and the monasteries of the Judean Desert

Organizational details

• From Jerusalem to Bethlehem half an hour drive.
• The excursion day will take 8-9 hours.
• Monasteries of St. Theodosius and St. Sava is closed to visitors on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Kremizan Monastery is closed on Sunday.

From the capital of Jerusalem, we will go to Biblical Bethlehem, where we will visit local iconic locations:

• The monastery of Kremizan with an ancient winery Delicious wine can be tasted and purchased.
• The Queen Helena Pilgrimage Center, where you can buy icons, crosses and souvenirs. The purchased symbols can be illuminated on the Christmas Star in the Church of the Nativity!
• The temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. In the temple is kept a relic – a piece of his relics, brought here from the Italian city of Bari.

Departure to the Jewish Desert

• Monastery of St. Theodosius,
• The Monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified - located right in the gorge of the Josophate Valley, is an active male monastery, one of the most inaccessible. In which you will be given the opportunity (worship-attach) to the particles of the relics of 12 holy ascetics, among them are particles of the relics of John Damascene, Gregory Palamas, the holy healers John and Cyrus.
• The Church of the Nativity, the Christmas Star is the birthplace of Jesus Christ. The miraculous icon of the Bethlehem Mother of God.