Trips to the Middle East
Interested in Pilgrimage and Advocacy-Oriented Travel?
Plan Your Next Trip with CMEP
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) partners with MEJDI tours to offer custom group travel to Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey, and other destinations in the Middle East. Trips to the region offer pilgrimages and advocacy-oriented travel. If you travel to the Holy Land, trips provide the chance to hear multi-narrative perspectives through the use of two local guides, one Israeli and one Palestinian. They offer various perspectives on the history and current realities of the land. Get in touch with us by filling out this form or emailing Adysen Moylan our CMEP Trips Coordinator at adysen@cmep.org.
Israel / Palestine
Encounter the Holy Land and the “Living Stones”
- Experience multi-narrative perspectives on the complex Holy Land
- Travel that combines pilgrimage and advocacy-oriented learning
- Visit the sites where Jesus walked, taught, and lived
Egypt
Visit key Christian sites and faith leaders
- See key sites in from Joseph, Mary, and Jesus’ Flight into Egypt
- Visit Mount Sinai, where Moses recieved the Ten Commandments
- Visit the 6th century St. Catherine’s monestary
- Experience the rich, long Christian tradition in Egypt which lives on today
- Engage with local Copts and other Christian minority groups who keep the faith alive in Egypt
Extensions
Travel to Turkey, Jordan or Greece
- Walk the footsteps of Paul in Turkey
- Visit the Hagai Sophia and the centuries of Muslim and Christian history represented within its walls
- See the 6th century Basilica of St. John in Ephesus and visit the Christian community which is still active in the region
CMEP Offers:
- Itinerary building and consultation for group tours – let our experts help you plan a tour that includes visits to historical and holy sites, as well as meetings with the people who live and work for peace in the land. All trips offer pre-trip orientation and a post-trip debrief.
- Invite a CMEP staff member to travel with you – based on availability, a CMEP staff member may be available to join and serve as a leader to help your group connect what they are seeing on the ground with tangible action steps to continue working for peace at home.
- CMEP-planned open tours – great for individuals or small groups (less than five) who want to travel. Individuals can purchase a spot on these trips without needing to plan an entire group tour. These opportunities, when available, will be shared below on this page!
- Opportunities for experts to meet with you and your church community for orientation and debrief meetings via video conference or in-person in order to be educated about theological considerations, the spiritual significance of the land, the current geopolitics of the region, and other areas of interest so that you and your community may be best prepared for your journey.
Who Should Travel with CMEP?
Anyone is welcome to travel on CMEP’s open tours. If you’d like to plan a custom group tour, here are some guidelines on the type of groups that best fit a CMEP-designed tour:
Groups that include 15-45 people
Trips that last between 8-20 days
The desire to meet people who live in the land, Middle Eastern Christians, peace activists, and others; and to explore beyond the standard itinerary for a trip to the Holy Land
Plan to travel to the region within the next 10-24 months
Already Planning a Trip?
You can still meet with our staff based in Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. Get in touch with us by filling out this form or emailing adysen@cmep.org and we will work to arrange a meeting, or even have them speak to your group! CMEP you can meet with us on the ground to hear about what we do and learn about next steps in engagement through advocating, elevating, and educating your home community.
About MEJDI Tours:
Dedicated to providing customized itineraries for travel groups as diverse as our destinations, MEJDI Tours is a full-service tour company-differentiating itself from the crowd through exclusive access, authentic experiences, extraordinary customer service, and much more – founded on the belief that tourism should be a vehicle for a more positive and interconnected world.
MEJDI-which translates to “honor” and “respect” in Arabic – was established to achieve one goal: change the face of tourism through a socially responsible business model that honors both clients and communities.
CMEP’s Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, serves as MEJDI’s Chief Advisor for Christian engagement. We are grateful for the constructive partnership between MEJDI and CMEP.
After going on a trip with CMEP and Peace Not Walls, Anthony and Mary reflect on what they learned on the “Counter Stories” podcast.
Rev. Charlie Lewis says his life has been deeply impacted by his visit to the Nassar Farm in the West Bank. This is just one of the many spots we visit on CMEP trips to Israel/Palestine.
After their trip to the Middle East, Overlake Church in Washington reflected on their time in this short video.
“As someone from a non-Christian background, it was really meaningful to me to learn about Christ by actually going where he lived and moved around – and then to see how that history shaped the people and the lands. I felt very privileged to have this be my first in depth look at His story.”
— Former CMEP Trip Member
Best part of the trip: “Connecting with a couple young boys in Hebron by playing soccer in the street with them for about an hour.”
One trip participant described his time in Hebron as his favorite part of the trip, as he was able to play soccer in the streets of Hebron with young boys for an hour. Our trips allow you to not only experience the places, but truly encounter the people of the land.
Want more info? Get in touch with us by filling out this form or emailing Adysen Moylan our CMEP Trips Coordinator at adysen@cmep.org.
