In the Footsteps of Jesus and Moses

On arrival at Amman airport you will be met by our representative at the airport and transferred to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

After breakfast transfer to visit Bethany. For Christians, the most significant event associated with the River Jordan is undoubtedly the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. Interestingly enough, this also took place very close to Beit ‘Abara, where Joshua, Elijah and Elisha crossed the river. In New Testament times, it became known as Bethany, the village of John the Baptist. This Bethany is not to be confused with the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, where the Bible says Lazarus was raised from the dead. The Bible clearly records that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13-17), and that John the Baptist lived, preached and baptized in the village of Bethany, on “the other side of the Jordan” (John 1: 28). The baptism site, known in Arabic as al-Maghtas, is located at the head of a lush valley just east of the Jordan River. After Jesus’ baptism at Bethany, he spent forty days in the wilderness east of the River Jordan, where he fasted and resisted the temptations of Satan (Mark 1: 13, Matthew 4: 1-11).

Following this you will return to Amman to visit the King Abdulla Mosque, built between 1982 and 1989. It is capped by a magnificent blue mosaic dome beneath which 3,000 Muslims may offer prayer. Then you will transfer back to you hotel in Amman for overnight.

Proceed to the North of Amman for a 45 minute drive to the best preserved example of Roman civilization, the city of Jerash. Jerash, part of the Decapolis (the ten big Roman cities of the East) has been called the Pompeii of the East for its unique state of preservation. The city features theaters, churches, temples (Zeus and Artemis), a Nymphaeum and colonnaded streets. After the visit, proceed to Anjara the biblical city and features on most biblical tours of Jordan, were the shrine of the Lady of the Mountain at the Roman Catholic Church.The church consists of a large hall to receive pilgrims who come to honor the list size wooden statue of Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus placed within a newly built grotto. It is believed that Jesus Christ and his disciples including Virgin Mary passed through Anjara once and rested in a cave there during a journey between Jerusalem and Galilee.The cave in Anjara has long been a holy place for pilgrims and has now been commemorated with a modern shrine, the Church of Our Lady of the Mountain. Continue on to Umm Qais, or Gadara of antiquity. Gadara commands a magnificent view over the northern Jordan Valley, the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the Yarmouk River gorge and the Golan Heights. Then to Pella, another city of the Decapolis, in the Jordan Valley. Most of the visible structures date from the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods (2nd to 14th Centuries A.D.) and there is ample evidence of human occupation during the earlier Hellenistic, Persian, Iron, Bronze, Chalcolithic, Neolithic and Paleolithic periods. In the evening return to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

After breakfast you will transfer to Um Al Rasas the archeological site in Jordan which contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim civilizations. Despite the fact that the majority of the site is still to be excavated it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is one of the most significant Mosaics in the region. The most important discovery on the site was the mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen. It was made in 785 (discovered in 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. Continue to Kerak, this 12th Century hill top fortress featuring galleries, towers, chapels and ramparts that recall the gallantry of the Crusaders themselves. Then on to Petra for check in at your hotel for overnight.

Once the ancient Nabatean capital, this city gently reveals itself as you walk through its hand carved facades. Starting at the visitors center, each person is assigned a horse guided by a local Bedouin who will lead you to the once hidden entrance to the lost city. After passing some tombs which are located outside the city, the visitor passes through the SIQ, an immense crack in the Nubian sandstone. It is a winding, one-kilometer-long fissure between overhanging cliffs that seem to meet more than 300 feet overhead. Near the end of the passage, the SIQ, with great style, makes one last turn and out of the gloom in towering brightness appears Petra’s most impressive monument, el Khazneh – The Treasury. This is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity, carved out of the solid rock from the side of the mountain and is nearly 140 feet high and 90 feet wide.

Beyond el Khazneh the visitor is surrounded on both sides by hundreds of Petra’s carved and built structures, soaring temples, elaborate royal tombs, a carved Roman theater, large and small houses, burial chambers and much more. The Victorian traveler and poet, Dean Burgon, gave Petra a description which holds to this day – “Match me such a marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time.” Then back to your hotel in Petra for overnight.

In the morning depart Petra for Wadi Feynan, an eco- lodge that was constructed in 2005 by renowned architect Ammar Khammash at the western edge of the Dana Biosphere Reserve. Feynan Ecolodge is owned by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and is the first of its kind in Jordan. Before the lodge was built, the land was utilised as a campsite by archaeologists conducting studies and digs in the area. The RSCN developed the campsite into an eco – lodge to provide economic opportunities for local communities and generate revenue for the conservation of Jordan’s wild places. In September 2009, Eco Hotels took over the management and operation of the lodge, offering travellers an unparalleled opportunity to experience Jordan’s wilderness, meet its native people and explore its ancient history, with minimal impact on the environment. Lit entirely by candles and run on solar power the Eco – lodge is a fantastic experience set in the rugged Araba Valley that was once home to the early Christian as they were forced to work in the local copper mines. Overnight at Fynan Eco-lodge

Depart Wadi Fynan to visit The Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth The Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth is designed and managed by Greek Archaeologist Konstantinos Politis, who discovered Lot’s Cave. Lot, the nephew of Abraham, features repeatedly in the colourful annals of the Dead Sea’s southern shores. Lot’s Cave, just past the Lisan Peninsula, is where he and his daughters apparently lived after fleeing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s wife famously turned into a pillar of salt after looking back at the smouldering city. In an eyebrow-raising incident of incest that’s remarkable even for the Bible, Lot’s two daughters spiked their father’s drink, had sex with him and then nine months later gave birth to his grandsons/sons Moab and Ben-Ammi, the forefathers of the Moabite and Ammonite peoples. The cave, a 10-minute climb up a steep flight of steps, is surrounded by the ruins of a small Byzantine church (5th to 8th centuries), a reservoir and some mosaics, which were excavated by the British Museum. Remains from the cave date to the early Bronze Age (3300-2000 BC) and an inscription in the cave mentions Lot by name.

After visiting the museum head to Zikra for a opportunity to volunteer in a rural community. Spending and afternoon in Zikra is an incomparable Rural Experience in Ghor Al-Mazra’a, where you will get to learn, share, give, receive and experience the captivating riches of the Dead Sea community. Then back to your hotel at Dead Sea for overnight.

After breakfast at your hotel transfer to the Christian town of Madaba, known as the City of Mosaics. Here you will visit the oldest map of the Holy Land on the floor of Saint George’s Church. Madaba, or Medeba in antiquity, features many famous mosaics that exist in public and private buildings. After Madaba, a short drive will bring you to Mt. Nebo, the alleged burial site of Moses overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. From this mountain top Mosaic had his first glimpse of the Holy Land, a land he was never allowed to enter. Here Franciscans have built a structure that protects a 4th and 6th Century Byzantine church. Back to your hotel at Dead Sea for overnight.

Transfer to Amman airport to fly back home