Ancient Jordan Uncovered

Fly from London (regional connections available) to Amman with Royal Jordanian Airways. Transfer to the Boulevard Arjaan Hotel (or similar) for 3 nights. (N)

Drive north through the hills of biblical Gilead for a full-day’s tour of Jerash, one of the most beautiful and best-preserved provincial Roman cities in the Middle East. Welcome dinner. (B, D)

Explore the ancient citadel of Amman including 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 outstanding wall paintings of the baths complex at Amra. (B)

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 and see the Moses Memorial Church and its fine floor mosaics. Continue to the little-known, but stunning, 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 Mövenpick Resort Petra (or similar). (B, D)

Enjoy a full-day’s exploration of Petra, the remote desert stronghold of the Nabatean Arabs. Walk through the Siq, the narrow gorge leading into the city, to the Treasury, with its stunning Hellenistic facade. Continue past the theatre, carved out of solid rock, to see tombs, temples and churches. Visit Al Deir monastery, a whole mountainside carved into a temple overlooking Wadi Araba and the largest of Petra’s monuments. Evening visit by candlelight to Petra. (B, L)

In the morning, drive to Wadi Rum. From there, travel by 4x4 along the same route across the desert that was taken by Lawrence of Arabia and bedouin guerrillas to attack the Hejaz railway. Visit wartime sites including an overnight campsite used by Lawrence, tented encampments used by the Turks, and the blockhouses and breastworks of fortified stations and hilltop redoubts.* (B, L)

Morning visit to the less well-known and peaceful Little Petra. Continue through spectacular mountain scenery to Wadi Umruq and visit the Sanctuary of Lot, which contains the cave where Lot and his daughters took refuge after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the biblical narrative. Visit the Museum at the Lowest Place on Earth, which explains the ecology and history of the Dead Sea region. Drive to the Mövenpick Dead Sea Spa (or similar) for 2 nights. (B, D)

Day at leisure in a Dead Sea resort. (B)

Transfer to Amman airport and fly to London with Royal Jordanian Airways. (B)