PHOTO: All Nations Church, Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem (Courtesy Homeric Tours)
For some travelers, going on vacation means so much more than just hanging out on the beach. An estimated 300 million to 330 million people of faith visit the world's key religious sites every year and 25 percent of all U.S. travelers are interested in taking a spiritual vacation.
To meet that growing segment, Homeric Tours has extended its trips to include 56 faith-inspired itineraries (Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox) to Greece, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
Visitors of the Women of the Bible tour in Israel will meet with a Druze woman and hear about the status of women in the Druze society, followed by a visit to Nazareth, Basilica of the Annunciation, Holy Grotto, Saint Joseph's Workshop and the ancient Jewish-Christian purifying bath.
But faith-based tours are not just about visiting religious historical sites; they are also about standing in the spots where sacred events occurred. For example, Homeric Tours' Germany Reformation tour includes St. Sens Church, the Cathedral where Martin Luther said his first mass, and Wartburg, where Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German. The tour also includes Worms, the site of Luther's trial for heresy and the sites where Jesus spoke the beatitudes and fed the multitudes.
READ MORE: Learn More About Homeric's Christian Faith Tours
In Greece, tourists will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Royal Palace, Pan-Athenian Stadium, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the world famous Acropolis where Paul the Apostle addressed the Council, and the Ancient Ruins of Corinth where he arrived to spread the word.
The Presbyterian Heritage Tour starts at St. Mungo's Cathedral, the most complete survivor of the great Gothic churches of south Scotland and now the Parish Church of Glasgow. The tour includes a short crossing to the holy island of Iona, an island that inspired people since St. Columba landed here in 536 AD.
The Orthodox Pilgrimage to Russia starts with a visit to the Moscow Kremlin and the Uspenskiy (Dormition) Cathedral, once the place of installation of the Russian Patriarchs and Crowning of the Tsars. Red Square is a must-stop, as is the famous Cathedral of St. Basil and the Donskoy Monastery, and the "jail" and resting place of the Russian Patriarch Tikhon. The largest functioning Orthodox Church in the World, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, is on the agenda as is the Ancient Monastery of Pechori (Pskov Cave Monastery). A trip to Russia wouldn't be complete without a stop at Novgorod, the Medieval Kremlin.
Pilgrimages range in length from 9 days to 15 days, include land tours and cruises and include airfare, hotel accommodates, meals, sightseeing and tour costs. There are so many tours to choose from, but if the traveler doesn't find something of interest, there is also an option to fill out a customized trip request and a destination specialist will put together an itinerary just for you.
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