The Best of Jordan

Jordan in Five Days
With a one night stay at one of the Dead Sea Resorts

See the top sights in Jordan on this fully escorted tour, including Amman, Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, in only 5 days (4 nights)

Enjoy one night stay at one of the Dead Sea Resorts

Back to Jordan Main home page . Add Istanbul

Compare with the 6 day version with a home hosted family dinner.

Combine this tour with any Travel in Style tour to Egypt, Syria or Turkey for an even more exciting vacation adventure. Compare with the 7-Day Dead Sea Version. Add Israel & Palestine .
Dubai & Jordan in 7 Days . Add Jerash and the Dead Sea ?

DAY 1 - AMMAN - Wednesday - Weekly - Year Round

Arrive on a Wednesday for group travel or any other day of the week for an additional supplement.
Our staff will meet you upon arrival and help with the transfer to your hotel in Amman .Complimentary visa is issued upon arrival for American & Japanese passport holders. Passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival. Add an extra day in Amman ? Arriving at Aqaba by sea from Egypt, Sinai ? Please click here

DAY 2 - MADABA, KERAK & PETRA - Thursday (BL)
We drive south along the King's Highway, an ancient caravan route, to Madaba to visit the church containing the oldest known map of Palestine and the Holy Land. Continuing to Mount Nebo, we enjoy the panoramic view of the Promised Land the way Moses saw it for the first time. Further on, at Kerak, we tour the ruins of its romantic Crusaders' castle of Renaud de Chatillon, one of a line which stretched from Aqaba to Turkey. Finally, we arrive to PETRA .Lunch is included enroute .

DAY 3 - PETRA - Friday (BD)
Today the fabulous Nabatean City of Petra awaits us. Made famous in the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," its ancient temples, tombs and striking Khazneh (Treasury) were hewn right from the pink and violet sandstone. We spend a full day here, and another night.
In the evening we will call on you for a unique experience :
Dine as a local : The Petra Kitchen is a delightful way to round out your Jordan travel experiences. Like any home kitchen, The Petra Kitchen is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where you’ll gather to prepare an evening meal, working alongside local women under the supervision of our chef.

Each evening meal includes soup, cold and hot mezza ( appetizers ) and salads, and a main course—all typical Jordanian dishes. You will have get an inside glimpse of the secrets behind the famous regional cuisine of the Levant.

The Petra Kitchen offers an evening of learning, fun and a very special dining experience, with each dish gaining the special flavor of a reward well-earned. Great care has been taken to make The Petra Kitchen a truly Jordanian experience—right down to the furnishings, all crafted in Jordan, the tableware, all produced by the Iraq al Amir Women’s Co-operative, and the aprons and table linens, all hand-embroidered by the Jordan River Foundation.

Tour experience tonight includes the cuisine course, meal and all non-alcoholic beverages as well as take-home recipes for all dishes prepared that evening.

DAY 4- Petra / Dead Sea / Baptism Site - Saturday (BD)
Breakfast at the hotel then off to a very full day :
The Baptism site in Jordan , is considered a very important pilgrimage holy site.
The Baptism site is on the east bank of the Jordan river , less than 30 miles from Amman and very close to the Dead Sea . Bethany (Baptism site) is about 45 minutes drive from Amman and the visit to the sites takes usually two hours, on to the DEAD SEA / GALILEE
After breakfast, drive down to the lowest spot on Earth and experience floating in the waters of the Dead Sea. Continue northwards to Pella in the Jordan Valley. Visit Um Qais, Gedara of the Bible (Matthew 8:28-34) for a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmouk River . Return to one of the Dead Sea Resorts such as the Mövenpick or SAS Radisson

BAPTISM SITE IN JORDAN:
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. It is now protected and by early 1999 it will be accessible to visitors. 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). En EspanoL ?

DAY 5 - Departure - Sunday (B)
From the Dead Sea , we will escort you back to Amman, Queen Alia Airport . Jordanian departure tax is included in our rate. Salam & Bon Voyage

For guests that are going on to Syria with us. You will continue on to The Syrian border, visit Bosra before continuing to Damascus. Or if you are touring Syria on your own, we'll be glad to arrange for the transfer to Bosra in Syria ( Supplement $65 per person, minimum 2 guests, private car/driver to Bosra), Do you Speak THE LANGUAGE OF THE JESUS IN THE LAND OF THE BOOK ? Visit Maaloula in Syria . Extend to Dubai & the United Arab Emirates

RATES per person: in US

This tour operates each Wednesday from Amman, year round

Your fully escorted tour includes:

• All transfers, and guided sightseeing as per itinerary.
• Accommodation with breakfast and dinner daily (as indicated in the itinerary)
• Services of local professional guides throughout the tour
• Admission fees to museums and sites as detailed in the itinerary .
• Jordanian departure tax.
• Complimentary visa is issued upon arrival for EU , Australian, NZ, Canadian, American & Japanese passport holders. Passport must be valid at least for 6 month beyond the date of your arrival.

The tour does not include:

• International airfare.
• Travel Insurance
• Personal expenditures (beverages, laundry, special meals, etc.)
• Tips to hotel and restaurant staff, drivers and guides in Jordan

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THE LANGUAGE OF THE JESUS IN THE LAND OF THE BOOK

Syria is truly the Land of the Book. The ancient alphabets of the Near East grew into Aramaic and then Hebrew, and finally Arabic and the modern Latin script that you're reading!

Jesus spoke to His Disciples in Aramaic. And nowhere else in the Holy Land does His language live as in Maaloula, where His words may still be heard exactly
as He spoke them. For the believer, or for anyone who values traditions of faith, it is a deeply moving experience.

Maaloula is just a short drive from Damascus, and home to Christian community that thrives after 2000 years.

As much as any land, Syria is the birthplace of the Christian faith. St. Paul converted on the road to Damascus, and in the early centuries of the Church,
six Syrian bishops were elevated to the Holy See as popes. The grand Omayyad Mosque is built on a sacred site shared by Muslims and Christians for centuries,
expressing the true brotherhood at the center of both faiths. Two million Syrians worship as Christians.

The full panoply of the Christian experience in the Near East has been played out in Syria. The Krak des Chevaliers is the unique never conquered Crusader fortress
that stands intact as if ready to host the Knights of the Cross once again––and is a must stop for the visitor of faith to the holy sites.

Extend your stay in Syria for one day and visit Maaloula