Destinations > Asia > Jordan > Jordan
Destination:
Jordan
- Overview
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- Getting Ready
- Itinerary
- MLS Signature Trips
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Nature and Culture
Because we loved our trip so much, we’ve asked our on-the-ground operator in Jordan to put together two signature itineraries just for our members. This one features Jordan's signature sights – Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash and the Dead Sea – but also offers deep immersions into the country's culture, and areas of nature that few visitors see. You'll explore the lush Ajloun forest in northwest Jordan, and spend a morning with the Zikra Initiative in the Jordan Valley, learning about their traditional handicrafts and helping them prepare a meal. You'll also visit Bethany, where John the Baptist lived and baptized, and enjoy an exclusive talk by the site's Director. The itinerary includes a private, permanent guide and five-star hotels throughout your adventure.
You will be met at Queen Alia International Airport by our professional representative, who will assist you with visas, luggage, and customs. Transfer in modern air-conditioned vehicles to your hotel. Pre-check in will be arranged, and guests can go directly to their rooms. Luggage will follow immediately.
Three overnights at the Four Seasons Hotel, Amman. (Superior Room)
Buffet breakfast at your hotel.
Enjoy a guided tour of Amman, capital of Jordan, known in history as Rabbath-Ammon, and in Greco-Roman times as Philadelphia. High above the city, at the ancient Citadel, study the traces of Amman’s many lives: the regal columns of a roman temple in silhouette against the sky, the elegant capitals of a Byzantine church, endlessly inventive carvings in the Umayyad Palace, fascinating displays in the Archaeological Museum, and digs and ruins everywhere you step. At the foot of the Citadel, take a seat in the Roman Theatre, a deep-sided bowl carved into the hill and still used for cultural events.
After the Citadel, head to one of the oldest areas in Jordan – “Rainbow Street.” This is a public space in the historic area of Jabal Amman, near the center of downtown Amman. The street runs east from the First Circle to Mango Street, and contains several landmarks including the Embassy of Saudi Arabia and the British Council building, as well as the headquarters of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company and the cinema after which the street is renamed. It is also home to sites of Jordan's history, such as the al-Mufti House, the residence of King Talal and the home of former military commander and Prime Minister Zaid ibn Shaker.
Following your tour, transfer back to your hotel.
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Amman.
After breakfast, start your tour at 8:00 AM with a stop to visit Ajloun castle. Back to your vehicle and transfer to Rasun Village, located in the lush Ajloun forest. Walk part of “The Abraham Path,” which here is called “Al Ayoun Trail" and takes about 4 hours to complete. Options include:
• Hiking in the wood
• Visiting caves from Iron Age
• Visiting olive trees museum (about 1000 years old trees)
• Calligraphy class (where guests can get their names written in Arabic letters).
• Olive Oil Soap factory
From there, drive to Orjan Village and have lunch with a local family. After lunch, drive to the Greco-Roman city of Jerash for a visit.
Second only to Petra in tourist appeal, the ancient city of Jerash is remarkable for its long chain of human occupation. Here at a well-watered site in the hills of Gilead, remains from Neolithic times have been found, as well as Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad and others. Jerash’s golden age, however, arrived with Roman rule.
Today it is acknowledged as one of the best-preserved provincial cities of the Roman Empire. Jerash was a member of the Decapolis, a dynamic commercial league of ten Greco-Roman cities. When Emperor Hadrian visited Jerash in 129 AD, it was already thriving. To honor its guest, the city raised a Triumphal Arch, just one part of a massive building program. Today you can walk beneath the imposing south gate and then make your way up the "Street of Columns" – the Roman Cardo – running 600 meters north from the Oval Plaza. As you step over the tracks of chariot wheels, still visible in the paving stones, imagine prosperous citizens window-shopping along a covered sidewalk.
Return to Amman for the night.
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Amman.
Check out of the hotel and board your vehicle for a chance to meet local Jordanian people from the Jordan Valley area (in Arabic it is called Al Ghor). You will visit a non-profit organization near the Dead Sea called the “Zikra Initiative” (around 1.5 hour drive). Guests will learn how to pick tomatoes with the local community and then make their own lunch with them, while learning many other things as well.
In exchange for the ticket price, which will generate funding to equip a community center in the Village, you will get to experience the serenity of al-Ghor as well as interact and exchange resources with the local Ghor al Mazra’a community. This exchange denotes an ‘equal relationship’ where the Ghor al Mazra’a community will host you and:
• Teach you the art of bandora picking
• Connect you with our Jordanian roots and history as the local community teaches you traditional crafts and skills such as:
- Bread-making (shraq)
- Kohol (eyeliner)
- Kuffieh tassels
- Gallayet bandora (traditional vegetarian dish)
- Henna
- Basket-weaving
- Ornaments
Your visit will conclude with a lunch cooked and prepared by the local community and yourselves!
During this fun and unique experience you will create new friendships, meet the local community and bridge social gaps. Make memories with the local community and exchange to change!
After lunch, back to your bus and continue on to Bethany (the Baptism Site). We will arrange for the Director of the Site to make an exclusive visit for the guests and talk about the site.
Then transfer directly to your hotel at the Dead Sea and enjoy free time for swimming and using the spa (if there is still daylight).
Two overnights at Moevenpick Resort, Dead Sea. (Deluxe Room)
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Dead Sea.
At 400 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is infinite in what it has to offer. Ever since the days of Herod the Great, people have flocked to the Dead Sea in search of its curative secrets. Due to high annual temperatures, low humidity and high atmospheric pressure, the air is extremely oxygenous, and the high content of oxygen and magnesium in the air make breathing a lot easier.
With the highest content of minerals and salts in the world, the Dead Sea water possesses anti-inflammatory properties, and the dark mud found on The shores have been used for over 2000 years for therapeutic purposes.
Today you are at leisure to float in the Sea and take advantage of the spa at your hotel.
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Dead Sea.
Check out of the hotel and board your vehicle to start your day's adventure. Your first stop is Mount Nebo, the mountain where Moses was allowed to see the Holy Land (but not allowed to enter it). Nowadays the mountain is a memorial site, home to the “Church of Moses”, built by the first Christians. Ever since the first days of Christianity this mountain has been a holy place and a destination for pilgrimage. Like Moses, you can have a great view over Jordan, the Dead Sea and Israel. When the weather is clear, you should even be able to see Jerusalem, which is about 60 kilometres away.
Continue to Madaba (15 minutes’ drive from Mt. Nebo). South of Amman proudly stands the “City of Mosaics,” perched on an archaeological site with more than 4000 years of history buried beneath it. The quality and quantity of mosaic flooring has made Madaba one of the most prominent cities in the world for mosaics. St. George’s Church houses the world-famous mosaic floor depicting a large mosaic map of Palestine. Centrally located on this mosaic floor is a detailed map of Jerusalem as it was during the sixth century AD. At the Church of the Apostles, at the southern entrance of the city, is a mosaic floor attributed to the craftsman Salamanios, depicting the Sea, with the central figure of a woman encircled with a selection of creatures, vegetation and an inscription.
Proceed to Petra. Two overnights at the Moevenpick Resort, Petra. (Standard Room)
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Petra.
Start the visit with an optional horse ride from the main gate of Petra to the entrance of the old city. Then walk on foot along the "Siq" to enter the legendary ancient city. Petra was built from 800 BC to 100 AD by Nabatean Arabs. In this era Petra was a fortress, carved out of craggy rocks in an area, which was virtually inaccessible. In the first and second century, after the Romans took over, the city reached the peak of its fame.
Petra covers an area of about 100 square km, where over 800 monuments can be found. When shipping slowly displaced caravan routes, the city’s importance gradually dwindled; it fell into disuse and was lost to the world until 1812, when it was re-discovered by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burkhart. Nowadays Petra is Jordan’s number 1 tourist attraction, known as the “rose-red city half as old as time." The Khazneh (the Treasury) starred in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Walk back to your hotel for overnight.
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Petra.
Check out of your hotel in Petra and board your vehicle to start your tour of Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum, otherwise known as Valley of the Moon, creates an almost supernatural atmosphere with its immensity, color and awe-inspiring shapes. It was the setting for the film Lawrence of Arabia and the actual location where T.E. Lawrence set his camp. His book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom was named after the seven natural columns of varying height located en route to Wadi Rum. Bedouin camps are evident in the Wadi, which is still home to a number of Bedouin families, who welcome visitors with the hospitality and generosity that Bedouins are so famous for.
Explore the desert in a 4x4 driven by a local Bedouin for 2 hours.
After your amazing tour inside the desert, head back to Amman.
One overnight at the Four Seasons Hotel, Amman. (Superior Room)
Buffet breakfast at your hotel in Amman.
After breakfast, check out of your hotel. Luggage will be stored at your vehicle.
Transfer to Queen Alia International Airport for your departure flight. Our representative will assist the guests with check-in and immigration procedures.
Cost: $2,630 per person. Single Supplement: $725. High Season Supplement: $270*
Price valid July 1, 2012-Oct 31, 2013
To book one of these exciting itineraries, or to have us create your own bespoke Jordan experience, contact our Travel Advisor, Ana Maria Pickens.
*2012 High Season: Aug 19-Nov 30, Dec 24-Jan 6; 2013 High Season: Feb 21-May 31, Aug 7-12, Sep 1-Oct 31
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