In the evening we visit Kan Zeman Village to
enjoy a delicious traditional meal and a
folklore show from a local group. We stay
overnight in our hotel in
Amman.
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Day 2
Amman - Jerash - Umm Qais (Gadara) – Taqabat
Fahl (Pella) – Amman
Today we will take a tour of
Jerash
(Gerasa of
antiquity), located 48 kilometers north of
Amman.
Jerash
has been dubbed the 'Pompeii of the East'
due to it being one of the world's largest
and most well-preserved sites of Roman
architecture outside of Italy.
Jerash's colonnaded streets, baths,
theatres, plazas, and arches remain in
exceptional condition and make the city an
extremely interesting place to look around.
We will then take the scenic road north to
Pella (Taqabat Fahl)
in the Jordan Valley. Pella, known in Arabic
as Taqabat Fahl, is magnificently set in a
fold of the hills that rise from the Jordan
valley.
Besides the excavated ruins from the
Hellenistic-Roman period, including an Odeon
(theatre) built in a curve of the hillside
Pella
offers visitors the opportunity to see
several artifacts of a
Chalcolithic Age
settlement from the 4th millennium BC; the
remains of Bronze and Iron Ages walled
cities; Byzantine churches, and houses; an
Early Islamic residential quarter, and a
small medieval mosque.
We will travel on to visit
Umm Qais
(Gadara), which
was one of the most brilliant ancient
Hellenistic-Roman cities of the Decapolis.
Called Gadara in the bible, this was the
spot where Jesus cast out the devil from two
demoniacs (mad men) into a herd of pigs.
Umm Qais
is on a broad promontory 378 meters
above sea level which enjoys a magnificent
view over the Golan Heights, Lake Tiberius
(Sea of Galilee) and Jebel al Sheikh in both
Lebanon and
Syria.
On return to
Amman, our evening
will be free to wander through the many
lively and colorful bazaars of Jordan's
Capital city.
Day 3
Amman – Bay of Bethany Baptism Site - Dead
Sea
After breakfast, we will drive down to the
Bay
of Bethany Baptism
Site and
Dead Sea,
the lowest spot on earth lying some 400
meters below sea level.
The
Bay of
Bethany Baptism Site
is the famous Christian pilgrimage Jordan
Valley river that Jesus was baptized in.
John the Baptists preached here to the five
apostles at the time before he was beheaded
by King Herod at
Machaerus ( Mukawir )
near
Wadi
Al Mujib Nature Reserve.
Then we will drive to the Dead Sea for a
full day spa retreat for dinner and
overnight.
Visitors to the
Dead Sea
have an
unforgettable experience as the high density
of the water makes sinking virtually
impossible!
We will spend a few hours floating in the
healing waters of the
Dead
Sea
and take a
recuperative mud treatment.
Day 4
Dead Sea – Mount Nebo – Madaba - Greek
Orthodox Church of St. George –Karak Castle
- Petra
Today we will drive south along the Kings'
Highway to the ancient lost city of
Petra.
We will stop at
Mount Nebo,
Madaba,
and
Karak Castle.
It was here, on the edge of a ridge
overlooking the
Dead Sea,
that Moses first caught sight of the Holy
Land, having led his people from
Sinai.
It is said that Moses also died and was
buried here.
The West Bank city of
Jericho is usually
visible from the summit
Mount Nebo, as is
Jerusalem
on a very clear day, it is also a very
important Christian site, recently visited
by the Pope.
From
Mount Nebo it is a
very short drive to
Madaba.
Madaba
is a Christian town which has many superb
mosaics. We will view the
most famous mosaic, which is housed at the
contemporary Greek Orthodox Church of St.
George, and which depicts the Holy Land.
This is a wonderfully vivid 6th Century
mosaic map, comprising two million pieces of
colored stones showing the entire region
from
Jordan,
Palestine
in the north, and
Egypt
in the south.
It is fun to spend a while picking out the
various cities and admiring the little
vignettes the artist incorporated into the
map.
Karak Castle
soars above its valleys and hills like a
great ship riding waves of rocks.
It is a typical crusader fortress, with
dimly lit stone-vaulted rooms and corridors
leading into each other through heavy arches
and doorways. In truth the castle is more
imposing than beautiful.
The ruins of the upper level are attributed
to the Crusader period, and the staircases
leading to the underground level of the
upper courtyard provide access to
Mamluk
architecture
complexes, most of which were probably
associated with a palace.
From
Karak we will drive
through breathtaking scenery, passing
Dana
Nature Reserve,
until we arrive in
Petra
in time for our evening meal and stay
overnight in a hotel.
Day 5
Petra
Petra
is a treasure of the ancient world and
definitely a highlight of any trip to
Jordan.
It is hidden behind an almost impenetrable
barrier of rugged mountains and boasts
incomparable scenes making it perhaps the
most majestic and imposing ancient site
still standing today.
It is the legacy of the
Nabataeans, an
industrious Arab people who settled in
southern Jordan more than 2,000 years ago
and who carved their new capital out of the
rose-red Sharah Mountains.
The site contains refined culture, massive
architecture and an ingenious complex of
dams and water channels.
For our first hours in
Petra you can have
an English speaking guide who will show you
around the numerous highlights including the
Treasury (El-Khazneh) which has an
intricately carved façade that glows in the
sun, the theatre and the Royal Tombs.
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For the remainder of the day you will be
able to wander at your leisure; one monument
leading to the next for kilometer after
kilometer.
The sheer size of the city and quality of
the beautifully carved facades at
Petra
is staggering, almost overwhelming and there
are over 800 individual monuments in total,
including buildings, tombs, baths, funerary
halls, temples, gateways, and colonnaded
streets to admire, mostly carved from the
kaleidoscopic sandstone by the technical and
artistic genius of its inhabitants.
At the end of the day you will walk back
past gift shops where you can buy a souvenir
or gift to accompany your treasured
memories. We will drive to a hotel in
Petra for our
dinner and an overnight stay.
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Day 6
Petra - Siq Al Barid (Little Petra) – Al
Beidha - Wadi Rum – Aqaba - Amman
After your breakfast at your hotel in
Petra.
We will visit
Siq Al
Barid (Little Petra)
and
Al
Beidha, then we
will take the scenic drive to
Wadi Rum
where we enjoy
a Jeep Safari amongst its enchanting pink
and white desert sands.
Travel in
Wadi Rum is a journey
to another world, where one can escape the
worries of everyday life and return to
nature and the simple life. In this immense
space, man is dwarfed into insignificance.
Vast, silent and timeless,
Wadi Rum possesses one
of the most beautiful desertscapes in the
world.
Rock carvings mark the passage of ancient
tribes in pre-history.
Thamudic inscriptions,
burial mounds, ancient megaliths, ruined
buildings abound,
Nabataean rock carved
stairways, dams, and temples can still be
found throughout the area.
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Wadi Rum is perhaps
best known because of its connection with
Lawrence of Arabia and we follow in the
enigmatic British officer's footsteps as we
drive through the surreal moonscape.
If time permits we will make a short visit
to
Aqaba, Jordan's only
seaport city.
This is a great place to relax with a drink
on the beach, or if you are feeling more
active perhaps a spot of snorkeling or
diving in the unbelievably clear water to
see the myriad coral reefs and colorful fish
up close and personal?
Early evening we will drive to our hotel in
Amman on the Desert
Highway in time for our evening meal.
Day 7
Amman - Queen Alia International Airport
After breakfast we will transfer you to
Queen Alia International Airport in time for
your flight check-in.
