Sunday
March 18, 2007: Depart US
Board individual overnight commercial flights to Rome.
In Flight

Monday, Tuesday
March 19 & 20, 2007: Rome, Italy & Vatican City
Meet your traveling companions at a welcome dinner. Rome's enormous Colosseum, completed in A.D. 80, hosted gladiatorial combats, public executions and even naval battles. The marble façade was later reused for the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, one of Christendom's holiest sites. After Emperor Constantine officially recognized Christianity, he ordered a great basilica built on the spot where Peter was believed to be buried.

Also within Vatican City is an overwhelmingly rich art collection. Enjoy a museum tour and exploration of the Sistine Chapel and upper galleries.
Hotel Exedra, Rome

Wednesday & Thursday
March 21 & 22, 2007: Bethlehem & Jerusalem, Israel
Throughout its tumultuous history, Jerusalem and its myriad historic monuments have held rich spiritual meaning across several faiths.

Jews revere the Western (Wailing) Wall, a remnant of King Herod’s temple. Against the legendary stones, Jewish pilgrims lament the sorrows of Israel and leave prayers. Muslims reaffirm their faith beneath the Dome of the Rock, where the Prophet Mohammed left his footprints as he ascended into heaven to join Allah. For Christians, holy sites include Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, birthplace of Jesus, and Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where it is believed Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected.
King David Hotel, Jerusalem

Friday & Saturday
March 23 & 24, 2007: Varanasi & Sarnath, India
Hinduism, the world's oldest major religion, has as its hub the holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the sacred Ganges River. Over the past 3,000 years, Hindus have come to Varanasi to wash away their sins in the Ganges. Daily life is suffused with the chant of priests, the sound of temple bells and the fragrance of flowers and incense.

Rise early to watch the crowds of pilgrims lining the ghats (river banks), performing their sacred rituals as the sun rises above the Ganges. Visit Sarnath, revered by Buddhists as the place from which Buddha's first teachings flowed. Later, cruise the Ganges to a beautifully restored private mansion for an evening of traditional Hindu ceremonies, music and dancing.
Taj Ganges Hotel, Varanasi

Sunday, Monday & Tuesday
March 25, 26 & 27, 2007: Kyoto & Nara, Japan
The center of Japanese culture for more than 1,000 years, Kyoto epitomizes the beauty of Japanese wooden religious architecture and gardens. Visiting shoguns were entertained in the elegant Ninomaru Palace within Nijo-jo Castle. The Buddhist goddess of mercy is honored with 1,001 gilded statues at Sanjusangen-do Temple, and Ryoan-ji Temple boasts masterful Zen gardens.

Nara enjoyed great prosperity, emerging as the fountainhead of Japanese culture during the 8th century. Todai-ji Temple, the world’s largest wooden building, contains an enormous bronze statue of the Great Buddha. In Nara-koen Park, approach Kasuga Taisha Shrine by pathways lined with thousands of suspended bronze and stone lanterns. The nearby Treasure Hall displays Shinto ceremonial regalia and bugaku masks.
Miyako Hotel, Kyoto

Wednesday
March 28, 2007: Nara, Japan/Chengdu, China
The Treasure Hall of Todai-ji Temple displays Shinto ceremonial regalia and bugaku masks. After exploring these cultural riches, our private jet carries us to Chengdu for dinner and overnight before we board a local flight to Lhasa the following morning.
Kempinski Chengdu Hotel, Chengdu

Thursday & Friday
March 29 & 30, 2007: Lhasa, Tibet
Located on one of the highest plateaus on Earth. Potala – "Buddha's Mountain" – was the site chosen for the world's largest Buddhist monastery and palace of the Dalai Lama.

Countless paintings, murals, shrines and statues adorn the Potala's 100 chapels, and the palace includes an enormous jeweled statue of Buddha. We offer alternate excursions to Xi'an or Kunming for travelers who wish to avoid the high altitudes of Tibet.
Lhasa Hotel, Tibet

Saturday
March 31, 2007: Delhi, India
Actually two cities in one, Old Delhi’s maze of narrow streets and crowded bazaars has evolved for more than 3,000 years, while New Delhi’s broad boulevards, lush parks and gardens were designed by the British Raj less than a century ago. Visit Humayun's Tomb, erected in 1570 and modeled after Islamic paradise gardens, using innovative architectural styles that later influenced the design of the Taj Mahal.
The Oberoi, Delhi

Sunday
April 1, 2007: Golden Temple of Amritsar, India
The beautiful and serene Golden Temple of Amritsar is the most sacred of Sikh sites. Within the sanctuary lies the Sikhs' sacred scripture, a collection of devotional poems, prayers and hymns which are chanted all day long and induce a reverie in the pilgrims strolling the grounds. Following an afternoon in Amritsar, we fly to Addis Ababa to overnight.
Sheraton, Addis Ababa

Monday
April 2, 2007: Lalibela, Ethiopia
Board a local flight to Lalibela this morning. The towering edifices of Lalibela’s eleven extraordinary Christian churches, carved from solid bedrock during the 12th and 13th centuries, are almost completely hidden in deep trenches and caves. Legend has it that King Lalibela traveled to heaven in a dream and saw a city of rock churches, which he vowed to replicate on Earth. Explore the labyrinth of tunnels and passageways that connect crypts, grottoes and galleries. The churches retain their exquisite embellishments and traditional religious art. Late in the afternoon we return to our hotel in Addis Ababa.
Sheraton, Addis Ababa

Tuesday & Wednesday
April 3 & 4, 2007: Cairo, Egypt
Modern Cairo – the largest city on the Africa continent – is the cultural heart of Islam. Explore the Mohammed Ali Mosque, lavishly adorned in alabaster, visit the historically-rich Ben Ezra Synagogue and discover the 4th-century Church of Saints Serguis and Bacchus.

Nearby on the Giza plateau sit the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx, enduring symbols of ancient Egyptian strength and wisdom.
Four Seasons, Cairo

Thursday & Friday
April 5 & 6, 2007: Yerevan, Armenia
Armenia, an island of Christianity in Central Asia, has a history deeply rooted in religion, preserved in pink stone architecture, illuminated manuscripts and sacred music. Near Mount Ararat visit Khor Virap, where St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned until his king accepted the unifying power of Christianity.

Discover thousands of ancient texts in Yerevan's Matenadaran Museum, and explore1,700-year-old Echmiadzin Cathedral.
Hotel Marriott Armenia, Yerevan

Saturday & Sunday
April 7 & 8, 2007: Istanbul, Turkey
Its skyline a jumble of domes and minarets, exotic Istanbul is a crossroad for Christianity and Islam, and an amalgam of East and West. The capital of the Eastern Roman Empire under Constantine the Great, it remained the capital through 16 centuries of Byzantine and Ottoman rule.

Explore the sixth-century Hagia Sophia, an architectural jewel and the greatest church in Christendom until Saint Peter's Basilica was built in Rome a thousand years later. Also marvel at the vivid Iznik tiles of the Blue Mosque and discover sumptuous harem rooms in Topkapi Palace.
Swissotel the Bosporous, Istanbul

Monday
April 9, 2007: Rome / Return home
Return to Rome aboard our private jet, then connect with regularly scheduled commercial flights home.

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