Jordan Discovery

Upon arrival at Queen Alia Amman International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

Overnight in Amman

*Please note transfer hours are between 8.00 AM and 8.00 PM only

Enjoy a morning tour of Amman. Visit the Roman Theater, the Citadel, the Archeology and the Folklore Museums, old and modern Amman, and one of the many art galleries in this capital. Spend the afternoon at leisure. In the evening you may enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Amman

In the morning you will travel to the Dead Sea at 400 meters (1,312 ft.) below sea level. This is one of the most magnificent natural and spiritual landscapes in the world and the lowest point on Earth. Find out that you can float without trying! From there, travel north to Pella in the Jordan Valley before continuing your journey to Um Qais, Gedara of the Bible (Mathew 8:28-43), for a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk River, and the Golan Heights. Return to Amman in the late afternoon.

Overnight in Amman

Enjoy a late morning tour of Jerash. Head north to Jerash [ancient Gerasa], the Graeco-Roman city, and a close second to Petra on the list of top-rated destinations in Jordan. Boasting an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years back in history, this city was hidden in the sand for centuries before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years. Jerash serves as a fine example of the grand, formal, and provincial Roman towns found throughout the Middle East. One may walk beneath the four imposing gates or down the \"Street of Columns\" north from the “Oval Plaza” while stepping over the tracks of chariot wheels which continue to be visible in the paving stones. From there, continue to Ajloun and tour the 12th-century Qallat ar-Rabadh, the Saracen Castle built by one of Saladin’s lieutenants in the campaign against the Crusaders.

Overnight in Amman

After breakfast, begin your trip south from Amman along the 5,000-year-old King's Highway, one of the most memorable journeys in the Holy Land, passing through a string of ancient sites. The first city you pass will be Madaba (Saint George’s Church), \"the City of Mosaics\". Ten minutes to the west you will find the most revered site in Jordan: Mount Nebo, the memorial of Moses, the presumed site of the prophet's death and burial place. A small, square church was built on the spot by early Byzantine Christians and later expanded into a vast complex. Continue further south to Kerak, famous for its crusader fortress with underground galleries, rooms, secret passageways, and its thick defensive walls pierced by narrow arrow slits where crusader archers held out bravely but in vain for over 100 years. It was the crusaders who made Kerak famous. The fortress was built in 1142 by Payen Le Boutellier, the lord of Montreal. He made Kerak the new capital of the province because it was situated on the king's highway, where it could control all traffic from north and south. Enjoy an optional lunch in Kerak (not included). Upon arrival at Wadi Musa, check in to your hotel.

Overnight in Petra

Spend a full day exploring the many sites of Petra; carved into the rose-red Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to Civilization until it was re-discovered by the Swiss Burkhardt. Around 11,000 BC Stone Age man was already exploiting the abundant natural resources of the Petra region —, particularly wild goats. By 7,000 BC some of the world’s earliest farmers were living in a walled village at Beidha, cultivating cereals and collecting nuts and fruits. But Petra really came to prominence in 7C BC when the Edomites settled on Umm al-Biyara and other mountain strongholds and built a town at Tawilan above ’Ain Musa, in the hills to the north.  Subject to Assyria, Babylonia, and then Persia, Edom in the 3C BC became the nucleus of an Arab state, the Nabateans Kingdom, and its capital at Petra.  Originally from North Arabia, the Nabateans were first mentioned by the 1C BC historian Diodorus, who relates that in 312 BC Antigonus, the One-Eyed sent his general Athenaeus against ‘the land of the Arabs who are called Nabateans’, at that time a nomadic people who raised cattle and sheep and could survive for long periods in the desert, where they created a network of secret underground reservoirs.  Athenaeus attacked a certain strong, though un-walled rock — perhaps the great massif of Umm al-Biyara at Petra, where the Nabateans had left their valuables, elders, women, and children while celebrating a festival, killed some of the Arabs there and made off with vast quantities of frankincense, myrrh, and silver.  Some 150 years later the Nabateans had settled, and Petra was the capital of an organized state. Walk through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs, to reach the Treasury, the Roman Theater, the Courts, Qasr Bint Pharaon, the Temple of the Winged Lion, and other monuments. Enjoy a break for an optional lunch (not included), or you may wish to climb up to the Monastery.

Overnight in Petra

After breakfast, depart for Wadi Rum on a 1.5-hour Bedouin jeep ride. Stunning in its natural beauty, Wadi Rum epitomizes the romance of the desert. With its \"moonscape\" of ancient valleys and towering sandstone mountains rising out of the sand, Wadi Rum is also home to several Bedouin tribes who live in scattered camps throughout the area. Climbers are especially attracted to Wadi Rum due to its sheer granite and sandstone cliffs, while hikers enjoy its vast empty spaces. Wadi Rum is probably best known because of its connection with the enigmatic British officer T.E. Lawrence, who was based here during the Great Arab Revolt of 1917-18. Much of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia was filmed in Wadi Rum. Afterwards, you will be transferred back to Amman and check in to your hotel.

Overnight in Amman

Today you will be transferred back to Queen Alia Amman International Airport to check-in for your onward flight.