Jordan Extension - Journey to Ancient Petra

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Day 1: Arrive in Amman

You are met on arrival at Amman Airport and transferred to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Amman.

Day 2: Amman, to Petra via Jerash

After breakfast, depart for Petra, visiting Jerash en route. Jerash is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. Within the remaining city walls, archaeologists have found the ruins of settlements dating back to the Neolithic Age, indicating human occupation at this location for more than 6500 years. Jerash is a wonderfully complete record of the layout and architecture of a typical Roman city of its time. Arrive in Petra and check-in your hotel.

Dinner and overnight in Petra.

Day 3: The Rose City of Petra

After breakfast, set off to see the Rose City of Petra. Approach the ancient site from the impressive eastern entrance through a dark and narrow gorge called the Siq (the shaft), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (the Treasury) hewn directly out of the sandstone cliff.

Jordan's most famous attraction, the 2,000-year-old red sandstone city of Petra is an extraordinary and compelling sight. Carved from sandstone cliffs by the ancient Nabateans in the third century BC, it was forgotten for 1,000 years and only rediscovered in 1812. Dinner and overnight in Petra.

Day 4: Wadi Rum, Return to Petra

After breakfast, depart for a full day excursion to Wadi Rum including a 2-hour desert safari by jeep. "Rum the magnificent ... vast, echoing and godlike" is how a captivated T.E. Lawrence described Wadi Rum. Massive pillars of sandstone rock rise from the rosered desert floor. Uniquely weathered, these majestic cliffs tower over 4, 900 feet (1,500 m) high. Dawn and dusk bring an amazing spectacle of changing colors of light on the rock and sand. Wadi Rum is a protected area, with plans in place to create a 500-square-kilometre (193-square-mile) national park.

Opportunities for climbing and trekking abound in the area, and the flora and fauna is exquisite and numerous. Dinner and overnight in Petra.

Day 5: The Dead Sea, Madaba, Mt. Nebo

Check out of your hotel after breakfast to return to Amman with stops en route at the Dead Sea, Madaba and Mt. Nebo. The Dead Sea is famous geographically as "the lowest point on earth," lying some 1,312 ft (400 m) below sea level. In addition to the historical significance of the "Salt Sea," as it was referred to in the Bible, the Dead Sea is today an important and rich source of minerals essential for agricultural and industrial development, as well as for the treatment of various medical conditions such as psoriasis.

Visitors to the Dead Sea come away with an unforgettable swimming experience, as the high density of the water makes sinking virtually impossible. Indeed, swimming is also difficult, as one is lifted too high in the water to be able to stroke properly. The town of Madaba, located 30 kms southwest of Amman, is most famous for its exquisite 6th-century mosaics. Its history dates back at least 3500 years. Madaba's most famous mosaic is located in the Church of St. George in the middle of town.

The Mosaic Map of Palestine represents the Holy Land and its surrounding regions. Clearly visible on the map are al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, Nablus, al-Khalil (Hebron), Ariha (Jericho), Egypt and the Nile River, Turkey and Lebanon. The mosaic was made around 560 BC, originally composed of over 2.3 million pieces, and measured a staggering 25 by 5 meters. It is thought that 11,500 man-hours would have been required to lay the entire mosaic.

West of Madaba is Mount Nebo, where the Bible says Moses lived out his remaining days and viewed the Promised Land which he would never enter (Deuteronomy 34: 1-8). Mt. Nebo offers a fantastic view westward, with a vista that includes the Dead Sea, the West Bank, the Jordan River, and, on a clear day, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Dinner and overnight in Amman.