Day 1 – To Amman: Fly from London
Heathrow to Amman with Royal Jordanian
Airways. Transfer to the Marriott Amman
Hotel for 3 nights. (N)
Day 2 – Jerash: Today, drive north through the
hills of biblical Gilead for a full day’s tour in
Jerash, one of the most beautiful and bestpreserved
provincial Roman cities in the Middle
East. Explore magnificent monumental arches,
the oval plaza, colonnaded streets, temples,
theatres and fine Byzantine churches. (B, D)
Day 3 – Amman & desert castles: Explore the
ancient citadel of Amman, including the small
archaeological museum, and visit the splendid
Roman theatre. Drive into the eastern desert to Azraq, a Roman fort rebuilt in the 13th century
and later used by TE Lawrence. Visit the early
Islamic Umayyad castle of Kharana and the
baths complex at Amra, home to the most
outstanding wall paintings of the period. (B, D)
Day 4 – To Petra: Drive along the King’s
Highway to Madaba, renowned for its Byzantine
mosaics. Visit the Greek Orthodox Church of St
George, which contains the famous sixth-century
mosaic map of Palestine and the archaeological
park, with the Church of the Virgin and the
Hippolytus Hall. Stop at Mount Nebo, from
where Moses viewed the Promised Land, and see
the Moses Memorial Church and its fine floor
mosaics. Continue to the little known Shobak
castle, an early 12th-century crusader castle built
by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to guard the
road from Egypt to Damascus. Drive to Petra
and stay 3 nights at the Marriott Petra. (B, D)
Day 5 – Petra: Full-day exploration of Petra,
the remote desert stronghold of the Nabatean
Arabs who created a city in their sandstone
valleys unique in the ancient world. Walk
through the Siq, the narrow gorge that leads
into the city, to the Treasury, with the stunning
Hellenistic-style facade. Continue past the
theatre, carved out of solid rock, to see tombs,
temples and churches. Visit Al Deir monastery,
the largest of Petra’s monuments, which is
essentially a whole mountainside carved into a
temple overlooking Wadi Araba. Evening visit
to Petra by candlelight*. (B, D)
Day 6 – Wadi Rum & Batn Al-Ghoul: This morning, drive to Wadi Rum, a spectacular desert made up of ancient valleys and towering
sandstone mountains, once the site of the
many exploits of TE Lawrence during the
1917-1918 Arab revolt. Continue by 4x4
across spectacular desert scenery to Batn
Al-Ghoul for an exclusive visit to a British
archaeological project’s newly excavated
forti. cations, tented encampments, and
standing buildings, which continue to shed
new light on the conflict. (B, D)
Day 7 – To the Dead Sea: Morning visit to
the less well-known, peaceful, Little Petra.
Continue through spectacular mountain
scenery to Wadi Araba and climb up to the
Sanctuary of Lot, which contains the cave
where Lot and his daughters took refuge from
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Drive along the shores of the Dead Sea to the
Jordan Valley Marriott Dead Sea Resort & Spa
for 1 night. Remainder of day at leisure with an
opportunity to swim in the Dead Sea. (B, D)
Day 8 – To London: Transfer to Amman
airport and fly to London Heathrow with
Royal Jordanian Airways. (B)
*Petra by candlelight: Please note this
excursion will take place on day 6 of the
October departure.
Accessibility: This tour involves walking over
rough terrain and bumpy drives in the desert. At Petra, visiting the Monastery requires a
steep climb of 800 rock-cut steps.
Extensions: If you wish to extend your stay
in Jordan, perhaps to relax beside the Red or
Dead Seas, please contact us for further details.
Meal Basis: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner, (N) = No Meals
