Jordan SCM Tour

Welcome to Jordan! On arrival at Queen Alia International Airport you will be met and transferred to Madaba for overnight.

After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, depart for an Amman city tour. Amman, the capital of Jordan, offers both the old and new. See the Roman Amphitheater followed by the Citadel, the Archaeological Museum, Folklore Museum, and the beautiful King Abdullah Mosque. Return to Madaba to visit the St. George church, home to a stunning mosaic map of the ancient Middle East.  Dinner and overnight in Madaba. (B/D)

After breakfast depart for a full day of sightseeing to Jerash and Ajlun. In Jerash you will see the ruins of one of the grandest Roman cities in the Middle East. You will see the Triumphal Arch, the Hippodrome, the Temple of Zeus, the Forum, the mile-long street of Columns, the Nymphaeum, the Temple of Artemis and the Viaduct Church. The Amphitheater is still used for an arts festival and is remarkably well preserved. In Ajlun, above the city on the top of the hill you can see Al-Rabath Castle with its magnificent view of the Jordan Valley. It was an Arab defense fortress built in 1184 to defend against the Crusaders. Explore its warren of towers, chambers, galleries and hidden staircases, then return to Madaba for dinner at Kan Zaman and overnight. (B/D)

After breakfast, depart for Petra with a stop at Kerak and Little Petra. Kerak is a crusader fortress, built over older fortresses, located on the King’s Highway in the area known in ancient times as Moab. Explore the castles then continue on to Little Petra, a smaller version of the more well-known site of Petra. Depending on our schedule, we may do a distribution on the way. Continue to Petra for overnight. (B/D)

After breakfast we will begin our exploration of Petra, the “Rose Red City.” This incredible hidden city, inhabited by the ancient Nabateans, lay concealed from 100 AD until it was re-discovered in the early 1800’s. Take a horse ride to the “Siq” (Canyon) entrance then walk the rest of the way through the narrow, winding cut in rocks into the valley. Your first glimpse of the magnificence of the place will be of the Treasury as you round the last bend on the pathway. The Treasury and the other buildings have been carved out of the canyon walls in the pink sandstone. Continue past the Roman Theater, the Corinthian Tomb and the Palace Tomb. Afterwards transfer to the desert camp at Wadi Rum for dinner and overnight. (B/D)

After breakfast we go to the Wadi Rum Visitors Center to begin our 4×4 jeep tour (about 3-4 hours) to explore the natural beauty of the wadi, with its mountains jutting out of the pink sand, rock carvings, Bedouin camps, and landscape like the surface of the moon. After exploring the wadi, return to Madaba for dinner and overnight. (B/D)

After breakfast we will drive south to Um Al Rassas. Um Al Rassas has been a settlement of ancient times, then a Roman garrison, and home a most important discovery. An excavation of the Church of St Stephen discovered a mosaic floor, made in 785 AD (discovered 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the central panel, hunting and fishing scenes are depicted, while another panel illustrates the most important cities of the region including Philadelphia (Amman), Madaba, Esbounta (Heshbon), Belemounta (Ma’an), Areopolis (Ar-Rabba), Charac Moaba (Karak), Jerusalem, Nablus, Caesarea, and Gaza. Dinner and overnight in Madaba. (B/D

Today we will spend distributing humanitarian items to refugees. Dinner and overnight in Madaba. (B/D)

After breakfast depart for Mount Nebo, Bethany, and the Dead Sea. At Mount Nebo we will visit the church on top of the hill from where, it is believed, Moses viewed the Promised Land.  Afterwards we will descend to the lowest point on earth not under water and visit Bethany on the banks of the Jordan River where you will see the ancient baptismal pools where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, an excavation of a Byzantine church, and the banks of the river itself. Afterwards we will go to the Dead Sea for leisure time, then return to Madaba for dinner and overnight. (B/D)

Transfer to the airport for your flight home. (B)