Day 1: Amman
Welcome to Jordan and the start of a wonderful holiday! Arrive Amman Airport and included onward transfer to our hotel. Overnight - Amman
Day 2: Take a dip in the Dead Sea
Amman - Jerash - Dead Sea - Petra - breakfast. Driving north, we visit the stunning Roman ruins of Jerash. Second only to Petra in touristic appeal, Jerash is recognised as one of the best-preserved member cities of the Decapolis, a confederation of 10 Graeco-Roman cities. When Emperor Hadrian paid a visit in 129 AD, the place was buzzing. The citizens threw up a Triumphal Arch for him, which still stands today. Exemplifying the finesse of Roman urban life, the town boasts a hippodrome, the old sports field that once held 15,000 spectators, a stunning amphitheatre with amazing acoustic abilities, the forum which gracefully links the main north-south axis of Jerash, a colonnaded street paved with original stones and the rut marks of chariots, a nymphaeum replete with ancient fountains trimmed with dolphins and various temples.
Afterward we travel onward to the Dead Sea. Straddling the border between Israel and Jordan, the Dead Sea is the lowest spot on the Earth’s surface. The mineral content of this 75km long and 10km wide saltwater lake tops out at 33%. Think of a glass of water a third full of salt! Opt for a dip, no life rings needed here!
Overnight - Petra
Day 3: The rose red City of Petra
Petra - breakfast. Today, we take a classical guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Rose City of Petra, with a local Jordanian guide. The city was first settled around the 6th century BC by the Nabataean tribe from Western Arabia. A succession of habitation, leadership and further development followed, but as the caravan trade routes were gradually displaced by the advent of sea trade routes, the city’s importance gradually declined and Petra passed into obscurity. Rediscovered in 1812 by the young Swiss explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt, it remains on the list of many travellers. The approach to Petra is very undulating.
The town itself is set across some rather steep hills that wend downwards to the star attraction, the Rose City. We access the hidden archaeological treasures of the Rose City on a walk through a narrow, deep siq, where the rocks finally give way to reveal the famous facade of the Kazneh - the Treasury of Petra. It’s natural to have an Indiana Jones moment here as it was this building that served as the Holy Grail’s resting place and the prize Indy so coveted. As the Treasury is passed, the hidden valley widens to reveal the remains of the city proper. Tonight, you will visit Marguerites house in Um Sehun (the Bedouin village outside Petra) for a traditional Bedouin dinner, where you will have the opportunity to ask her questions about her experiences. Dinner and overnight - Petra
Day 4: Petra through the eyes of Marguerite
Petra - breakfast. Today we meet with Marguerite Van Geldermalsen at Petra and explore chunks of this fantastic once-lost city. In all, there are some 800 registered sites in Petra, including some 500 tombs.
Today is a truly unique experience, not only will you explore this ancient city, but you will also have the opportunity to learn about the lives of the Bedouin who lived in Petra, as revealed by your host, Marguerite Van Geldermalsen.
Marguerite’s love-affair with the Rose City and the Bedouin people began in 1978, where as a 22-year old backpacker she met and fell in love with Mohammad Abdallah Othman, a Bedouin souvenir-seller. They married, had a family and Marguerite lived as one with the Bedouin. Her unique experience of Bedouin life will allow you a true glimpse into the traditions of this native culture. You will also visit the cave dwelling where she lived with her family, the valley where she did her laundry, as well as the sites where she ran the clinic and where she had her traditional Bedouin wedding. Overnight - Petra.
Day 5: Lawrence of Arabia's Land
Petra - Wadi Rum - breakfast. Today there is a chance to revisit Petra and explore on our own, before driving south to Wadi Rum. A vast, silent landscape of ancient riverbeds, pastel coloured stretches of sandy desert and amazing rock formations known as jebels that rise from the desert floor, the desertscape of Wadi Rum represents some of the most stunning countryside on the planet. The world’s mountain climbers and hikers, attracted by it’s many as yet unscaled peaks, have recently discovered Wadi Rum’s spectacular natural scenery and comfortable year – round climate. Wadi Rum possesses unspoiled natural beauty forged by millions of years of geological formation, erosion and evolution. The region is also home to the semi - nomadic Bedouin living in their great goat’s hair tents, tending their herds of sheep and goat and preserving an ancient lifestyle that has been practiced in the Arabian desert for thousands of years. Boarding 4 x 4s jeeps we can get up close and personal to the surrounding scenery at Wadi Rum. Tonight, we enjoy a Jordanian dinner. Camp under a blanket of stars or in the relative comfort of our permanent tents. Dinner and overnight - Wadi Rum desert camp
Day 6: Lot's Cave & Mt Nebo
Wadi Rum - Madaba - breakfast. Leaving Wadi Rum we travel to the Red Sea resort town of Aqaba where we enjoy a city tour and some free time before striking north via Wadi Araba to Lot's Cave and take in views across the Promised Land from Mt Nebo. Continuing our journey, we arrive at Madaba, a bustling Muslim-Christian market town. Dinner and overnight - Madaba
Day 7: Explore 6th century Madaba
Madaba - breakfast. Famed for it’s Byzantine mosaics, including the fascinating map of the Holy Land made in the 6th century out of two million stone pieces and now housed in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, Madaba, its mosaics and little shops offers us gentle respite. Overnight - Madaba
Day 8: Madaba & Amman
Madaba - Amman - breakfast. Our tour concludes after breakfast, bid farewell to Jordan and onward departure transfer to Amman airport.
Tour Information
(+ Wadi Rum desert camp)
