Holy Land 2019 ~ Dream Come True (DAY 1 ~ CAIRO)

A trip to the Holy Land is every devoted Christian's ultimate dream.  

I have dreamt of walking and living the bible too, and was truly blessed as I finally got the chance to visit the Holy Land with my husband.  

We would normally do DIYs, but wanted to make sure everything is perfect and worry free and so we decided to book a planned tour through Corporate International Travel and Tours, Inc. (CITTI). CITTI took care of all the planning and all we had to do was to cherish and live each moment!  

It was a blessing that we were only 20 (including our pilgrim chaplain and CITTI's tour leader) in our tour group, as interaction was on interpersonal level, like an extended family.

DAY 1 - We arrived in Cairo, Egypt via Dubai on Emirates Airline 

Our tour guide in Egypt, Amin was already waiting for us when we cleared immigrations. 
Amin is a zealous guide and wasted no time.  We found ourselves onboard a bus towards our first destination.

Our first order of business is lunch ~

Amin brought us to Armando, Heliopolis Branch (located very near the Cairo Airport).  Food is good, but I think was more Italian.  I was looking forward to a more authentic Egyptian cuisine (for a first taste of Egypt).

 


The Church of Mary (also known as the Hanging Church, as it was built on the ruins of two towers of the old Roman fortress of Babylon). This church became the seat of the coptic patriarch for several decades up until the 14th century.

The Church seems to mimic the shape of Noah's ark (check the ceiling, which looks like an upside down ark).

This impressive art piece is a mosaic. 

If you look closely at the top most picture below, you would see that the new church floor (where we are standing) sets on logs and layers of stone constructed above two towers. 

The Church's ceiling mimics an inverted Noah's ark.

  

In the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–23), soon after birth of Jesus, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus since King Herod would seek the child to kill him.

Matthew 2:15 cites Hosea 11:1, as prophetically fulfilled in the return of Joseph, Mary and Jesus from Egypt: "...and out of Egypt, I called My SON".

Mapping out the journey of the Holy Family through Egypt.

The Church of Mary was constructed on Roman towers similar to the ones shown here...

From the Church of Mary, we walked to oldest church inside Coptic Cairo's walls (said to be built in the 11th century with 4th-century pillars) ~ The Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus (Roman soldiers who were martyred in Syria for their Christian faith in AD 296). 

The Church was built over The Cave of the Holy Family, where Joseph, Mary and Jesus are said to have taken shelter after fleeing to Egypt to escape persecution from King Herod.

Steps leading to the Cave of the Holy Family...

Follow our DAY 2 - as we tour the land of ancient monuments, pharaohs and pyramids.  >>> click here: DAY 2


Please check also my separate post on all the hotels we've stayed at during our tour of the Holy Land.  


For Holy Land helpful tips to help you plan, your Holy Land  journey please follow this link >>> HOLY LAND TIPS

For questions and inquiries on our Tour Package with CITTI please visit their facebook page at CORPORATE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND TOURS INC