Itinerary
Welcome to Jordan! You will be met on arrival at the airport and transferred to your hotel in Amman for dinner.
We will be sightseeing north of Amman taking in Ajloun Castle, Umm Qais (Gadara), and the Hellenistic-Roman City of Jerash before returning to our hotel in Amman for dinner and an overnight stay. Jerash is located 48 kilometers from Amman and 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. The colonnaded streets, baths, theatres, plazas, and arches remain in exceptional condition and make the city an extremely interesting place to look around. Next, we will visit Ajloun to see the 12th Century Saracen Castle built by one of Saladin's lieutenants and used in the military campaign against the Crusaders. This superb example of Arab and Islamic architecture was built as a rectangle with four square towers and an entrance on the south side dominating a wide stretch of the north Jordan Valley and passages to it. From its hilltop position, the Castle of Ajloun protected the communication routes between south Jordan and Syria, and was one of a chain of forts which lit beacons at night to pass signals from the Euphrates as far as Cairo. Then we head on to Umm Qais, situated 110km north of Amman and once known as Gadara (meaning fortification). Umm Qais was once one of the most brilliant ancient Hellenistic-Roman cities of the Decapolis and, according to the Bible, the spot where Jesus cast out devils from two demoniacs (mad men) into a herd of pigs. Umm Qais is on a broad promontory 378 meters above sea level that enjoys a magnificent view over the Golan Heights, Lake Tiberius (Sea of Galilee), and Jebel al Sheikh in both Lebanon and Syria. We will stay overnight at a hotel in Amman.
After breakfast, we will drive to the Dead Sea where we will spend a few hours floating in the healing mineral waters and take a recuperative mud treatment. Visitors to the Dead Sea have an unforgettable experience as the high density of the water makes sinking virtually impossible. Next, we will head to Mt. Nebo. It was here, on the edge of a ridge overlooking the Dead Sea, that Moses first caught a glimpse 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 of Mt. Nebo, as is Jerusalem on a clear day. Our next stop is Madaba, a Christian town with many superb churches and mosaics. We will view the most famous mosaic housed at the contemporary Greek Orthodox Church of St. George. It is a 6th century map comprised of two million pieces of colored stone depicting the entire region from Jordan to Palestine in the north and Egypt in the south. From Madaba we will drive to the Crusader castle at Kerak. 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. 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. Next, we move on to Dana wild reserve and stay overnight.
We'll start with a walk in Dana nature reserve, enjoying the natural beauty of the wooded highlands, rocky slopes, gravel plains and sand dunes, as well as the diverse wildlife that it supports including many rare species of plants and animals. Next, we'll drive to Shobak Castle, situated mid-way between Karak and Petra, 190km south of Amman. It was built by King Baldwin I circa 1115 to guard the road from Damascus to Egypt and commands an imposing position, crowning a cone of rock which rises above a wild and rugged landscape dotted with a grand sweep of fruit trees. The castle's exterior is impressive, with a forbidding gate and encircling walls three layers thick. The walls and projecting towers are reasonably intact but inside the castle mainly consists of tumbled stones with a few walls and arches. We will arrive in Petra in time for our dinner and overnight at a hotel in 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 we will have an English speaking guide who will show us around the numerous highlights including the Treasury (El Khazneh) which has an intricately carved façade that glows in the sun, the amphitheatre, and the Royal Tombs. 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 the bazaars 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.
In the morning we will drive to Siq Al Barid (Little Petra), a suburb of the main ancient city. Little Petra provides a summary of Nabataean architecture. The area was once a caravanserai stop for the capital and comes complete with its own mini-Siq, a 350 meter fissure in the rock crammed with tombs, triclinums, water channels, and cisterns. It is still easy to imagine the sounds and smells of the old days when traders, caravan masters and drovers lived and traded here. We drive a short distance on to Al Beidha, or 'the white one' on account of the color of its rock. Al Beidha contains the remains of a Neolithic site, dating back to 7,500 BC which makes it one of the earliest known co-operative villages on earth. Next we head on to Wadi Rum, staying overnight in a deluxe campsite with clean comfortable beds and hot showers.
After a sustaining buffet breakfast we enjoy a Jeep Safari amongst Wadi Rum's 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. In this immense space, man is dwarfed into insignificance. Vast, silent and timeless, Wadi Rum possesses one of the most beautiful desert landscapes in the world. Rock carvings mark the passage of ancient tribes in pre-history. Thamud inscriptions, burial mounds, ancient megaliths and ruined buildings abound and Nabataean's rock carved stairways, dams, and temples can still be found throughout the area. 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. We will stay in Wadi Rum until the late afternoon to explore the area in detail and to watch the gorgeous desert sunset. We will then drive to a hotel in Aqaba in time for dinner and overnight in Aqaba.
Aqaba is Jordan's only port city and beach resort. The majority of today is free to do as you please. Perhaps you would like to simply relax on the beach with a drink? Maybe take a boat ride on a glass-bottomed boat? We would recommend that you take advantage of the unbelievably clear water in the area to snorkel or dive to see the myriad coral reefs and colorful fish. Late afternoon we drive north to Amman in time for dinner and overnight in Jordan's capital city.
Day 9 In the morning, depending upon your flight, we will provide transportation to the airport in time for check-in.
