Discovery of Jordan

Overnight flight from Toronto to Amman with a connection.

Welcome to Jordan! Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met by our driver and transferred to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

Today you will start your sightseeing tour of Jerash, the most beautiful and preserved Roman city in existence. Beneath its external Graeco-Roman veneer, Jerash also preserves a subtle blend of east and west. Its architecture, religion and languages reflect a process by which two powerful cultures meshed and coexisted – The Graeco-Roman world of the Mediterranean basin and the ancient traditions of the Arab Orient. Continue to Ajloun Castle, a 12th century Muslim castle built by the Ayyubids overlooking the west bank of Jordan river mountains. Once surrounded by a moat, arrow slits were incorporated in its thick walls. A fine example of Islamic architecture, the fortress dominated a wide stretch of the northern Jordan Valley and passages to it. Return to Amman and overnight at your hotel. (B)

After breakfast, begin your city tour of Amman. A sprawling city spread over 19 hills, or “jebels,” Amman is the modern – as well as the ancient – capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Amman, often referred to as the white city due to its low size canvas of stone houses, offers a variety of historical sites. There are a number of renovations and excavations taking place that have revealed remains from the Neolithic period, as well as from the Hellenestic and late Roman to Arab Islamic Ages. Continue to the King Abdullah Mosque. Completed in 1989 as a memorial by the late King Hussein to his grandfather, this blue-domed landmark can house up to 7000 worshippers, with a further 3000 in the courtyard. Afterwards, visit the Royal Automobile Museum. You really don’t have to be a car enthusiast to enjoy this museum, which displays more than 70 classic cars and motorbikes from the personal collection of King Hussein. Vehicles range from pre-1950s glories to modern sports cars, taking in chrome-clad American cruisers to regal Rolls Royces along the way, with accounts of presidential visits, Hollywood stars and defunct Middle Eastern monarchies enlivening the narrative. Return to your hotel. (B)

After breakfast, begin your day with sightseeing of Jordan’s Umayyad desert castles (Azraq, Amra, Kharaneh) – beautiful examples of early Islamic art and architecture and stand testament to a fascinating era in the country’s rich history. The structures are called “castles” because of their imposing stature. The desert complexes once served various purposes as caravan stations, agriculture and trade centers, resort pavilions, and outposts that helped distant ulers forge ties with local Bedouins. Continue to Azraq, a unique wetland oasis located in the heart of the semi-arid Jordanian Eastern Desert, one of several beautiful nature reserves managed by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN). Its attractions include several natural and ancient built pools, a seasonally flooded marshland, and a large mudflat know as Qa’a Al-Azraq. Return to Amman. (B)

After breakfast, start your drive south from Amman along the 5,000-year-old Kings Highway, one of the most memorable journeys in the Holy Land, passing through a string of ancient sites. The first city to encounter is Madaba, “the City of Mosaics.” The city, best known for its spectacular Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, is home to the famous 6th century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. With two million pieces of coloured stone, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns as far as the Nile Delta. Also see Mount Nebo, overlooking the Dead Sea, the Jordan River Valley, Jericho and the distant hills. Overnight at the Dead Sea. (B)

Enjoy a day at leisure. No services. Overnight at your hotel. (B)

After breakfast, drive again on the Kings’ Highway, winding its way through the different ecological zones of the country, including forested highlands, open farmland plateaus, deep ravines, the edge of the Eastern Desert, and the warm tropical Gulf of Aqaba. Drive to Kerak, the fort itself is a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways. The best-preserved are underground, and to be reached through a massive door (ask at the ticket office). The castle in itself is more imposing than beautiful, though it is all the more impressive as an example of the Crusaders’ architectural military genius. Continue to Dana Biosphere Reserve, an area of staggering beauty, history, and biodiversity. The only reserve in Jordan that encompasses the four different bio-geographical zones of the country (Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian, Saharo-Arabian and Sudanian), it is a melting pot of species from Europe, Africa and Asia. En route to Petra, see Shoback Castle, once a Crusader glory. Once called “Mont Real,” Showbak dates from the same turbulent period as Karak. The castle’s exterior is impressive, with a foreboding gate and encircling triple wall. Overnight at your hotel. (B)

The ancient city of Petra is one of Jordan’s national treasures and by far its best known tourist attraction. After breakfast, start sightseeing of Petra’s unique city: Red-Rose City. Start at the gate via a horse ride and make your way through the Siq to reach this city, built by the Arab Nabateans who carved their monumental tombs, palaces, temples and treasury (Al -Khazaneh) from the desert rocks sandstone in its natural hues of rose and gold. Used in the final sequence of the film “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” the towering façade of the Treasury is only one of myriad archaeological wonders to be explored at Petra. Return to your hotel. (B)

Time and season permitting, visit Little Petra, a northern suburb of Siq al-Barid, 9km north of Wadi Musa town, with its short, high gorge and familiar carved facades. Drive to the famous Wadi Rum, with its moonlike landscape of Wadi Rum is unique to the world. The desert of Rum is dotted with massive mountains, coloured in shades of red, yellow, and orange. Their hues spill over to colour the sand dunes around the desert and the horizon of its breathtaking panorama. This is a place where you can become one with nature, where visitors are humbled by the towering mountains and overwhelmed by the serenity and quiet ambiance of this magnificent place. Overnight in Wadi Rum at your camp. (BD)

After breakfast, drive to Aqaba City. See the Cornish street, the old markets of the city, the Flag of The Arab revolt, and the public beach. Enjoy some time at leisure. Continue to your hotel. (B)

Enjoy a day at leisure. No services. Overnight at your hotel. (B)

Hotel check-out. Drive to the airport for your flight to Toronto with a connection. (B)