Highlights Of Israel & Jordan

Join tour today in Amman, the capital of Jordan. It is a fascinating city of contrasts – a unique blend of old and new. The Temple of Hercules is in the commercial heart of the city along with ultra-modern buildings, hotels, smart restaurants, art galleries and boutiques that rub shoulders comfortably with traditional coffee shops and tiny artisans' workshops. Everywhere there is evidence of the city’s much older past. Due to the city’s modern-day prosperity and temperate climate, almost half of Jordan’s population is concentrated in the Amman area. The residential suburbs consist of mainly tree-lined streets and avenues flanked by elegant, almost uniformly white houses in accordance with a municipal law, which states that all buildings must be faced with local stone. The downtown area is much older and more traditional with smaller businesses producing and selling everything from fabulous jewellery to everyday household items. The people of Amman are multi-cultural, multi-denominational, well-educated and extremely hospitable. They welcome visitors and take pride in showing them around their fascinating and vibrant city.

Overnight Standard Hotel

This morning we visit the cultural heart of the Hashemite kingdom with a tour of its vibrant capital. The origins of this remarkable city have been traced back some 9,000 years but it was the arrival of the Ammonites in 1200BC that saw the city begin its rise to prominence as the great city of Rabbath Ammon. The intervening centuries saw it fall under the influences of the Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Ptolomids, Seleucids and the Romans, under whose auspices it thrived as one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis. Our tour this morning will take in some of the highlights of ancient Amman (Philadelphia), including the Citadel and the Temple of Hercules, the 8th century Ummayad Palace and the Roman Theatre and Nymphaeum. This afternoon we depart the city and head north, towards ancient Jerash, located in the Gilead Hills. One of Jordan’s major attractions, this beautifully preserved Roman city is considered to be the best preserved of the Decapolis, a confederation of ten Middle Eastern cities under the Emperor Pompey. One of the highlights of the Middle East, a triple arch gateway gives way to colonnaded streets, theatres, temples and baths and it is estimated that this represents only about 10% of the entire city, the rest is still to be uncovered. We will tour this magnificent site this afternoon with a local guide.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today we venture south to the Dead Sea. We will take some time to enjoy and float in the remarkable saline waters. At 418m below sea level this salty expanse of mineral rich water has been revered for centuries for its beneficial properties, and we will have an opportunity to experience a little something of its remarkable buoyancy as we enjoy a dip in its unique waters. We then continue on to the haunting vistas of Wadi Rum. We enter another world, one inhabited by the nomadic Bedouin peoples for generations and steeped in the legend of Lawrence of Arabia. Indeed scenes from the remarkable film of his life were shot here, deep in the fabulous purpleblack mountains that rise from the sand of the desert. On arrival we transfer into 4 wheel drive vehicles and cross the dramatic desert landscape, to marvel at the panoramas of what must surely be some of Jordan’s most dramatic wilderness. Words struggle to adequately convey the beauty of this special place and, as dusk settles on our tiny Bedouin camp, dwarfed by the surrounding mountains, we can understand why this landscape was for Lawrence of Arabia so humbling and yet so inspiring. We arrive at our camp in time to watch the golden glow of the sunset cast its pall over the desert landscape and settle in to enjoy dinner and a night under the stars.

Overnight Basic Bedouin Camp Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning we have the option to take a camel trek to enjoy Wadi Rum in the early morning light. We then head back to the main road to drive to Petra, the most famous of Jordan's treasures. Abandoned centuries ago Petra was the rock cut stronghold of the Nabateans, a fortress city built to protect the lucrative levies its citizens imposed on the rich caravans heading north. Surrounded by imposing mountains and approached through a deep, narrow cleft in the rocks, known as the Siq, it is a unique and unforgettable place and, enhanced by the play of light and shadow, an altogether overwhelming experience. Entering the Siq on foot we follow its towering sandstone walls towards the site of the captivating and iconic splendour of the beautiful Khazneh (The famous Treasury). A guided orientation tour will then take us to some of the key parts of this remarkable and ancient site, one of the most impressive and exciting anywhere in the world, where we’ll take in the Colonnaded Street and the Royal Tombs and enjoy the site of its amazing theatre, with its 8,000 seats carved from the solid rock. After our guided tour there will then be free time to explore and enjoy this amazing site.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today you have a full free day at Petra (‘rock’ in Greek). Returning to the city you can climb steep paths to the sacrificial ‘High Places’ (altars) and hike to the top of Jebel Harin (1396m) for a stunning view over Wadi Araba and the Negev Desert. The Monastery is the largest of Petra’s monuments and certainly worth the steep climb up to it. Towering to a height of 40m its doorway alone measures 8m in height, dwarfing anyone framed within it. It is a place to lose oneself in the atmosphere of the past. We also recommend a trip to El Beidha (or ‘Little Petra’ as it is known) or to an excavated Stone Age village where you can see the remains of houses, fireplaces and workshops dating from around 6000BC. After a full day’s sightseeing, what better way to relax than with a traditional Ottoman Bath or perhaps return to the city this evening and enjoy an enchanting tour of the city by night (both optional). 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we drive to Aqaba and have a day to enjoy the red sea. The day is your own but the tour leader will be on hand to help organise optionals to maximise your time here. You can explore both above and below the waves, taking a boat trip or hiring snorkelling equipment.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

We leave Jordan behind and cross into Israel and the Palestinian terretories. Our first stop will be the isolated hilltop fortress city of Masada. The last stronghold of the Zealots, against the Romans during the First Revolt AD70. Originally fortified by Herod the Great the fortress gained renown for withstanding a further two years of assault after the crushing of the Jewish resistance in Jerusalem by the Romans. Rather than surrendering, the entire population (around 1000 people), all commited suicide. Taking a cable car up to the citadel we get some stunning views of the surrounding desert, Mount Moab and the Dead Sea. We will explore the ruins before heading back to the bus. Our next stop on the journey towards Jerusalem takes us to Qumran, home of the Essenes, a strict and devout Jewish sect who lived in the area until early in the 1st century AD and who are believed to have been the authors of the 2,000 year old manuscripts found amongst the hillside caves in 1947. The Dead Sea scrolls are amongst the most important biblical records ever discovered, providing historians and archaeologists with an incredible insight into the development of the Bible and its historical context. Our night stop is in a traditional Kibbutz.

Overnight Simple Kibbutz Included meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning we travel through the Jordan Valley to the ancient city of Jericho, lying amidst the hotly contested settlements of the West Bank. This was the first city to fly the flag of the newly formed Palestinian state and its antecedents stretch back some ten millennia, making it not only one of the oldest cities on earth, but at 250m below sea level also the lowest. We drive on to Bethlehem where we will have the chance to visit the Church of the Nativity. We travel up to the Mount of Olives for a superb view down over the Old City, before descending down into the Josaphat Valley to visit the Pater Noster Church, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. Journeying to Jerusalem from here we take the opportunity to visit the new Western part of the city, spending time at the Israel Museum and Parliament House before checking into our hotel. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

 Today we take a walking tour of this most hallowed of settings, passing through Herod’s Gate and making our way along narrow winding streets that overflow with street vendors and shops to the Via Dolorosa, traditionally believed to be the route taken by Christ on the day of his execution. We will follow the ‘Stations of the Cross’ to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest site in Christendom itself and the reputed place of the crucifixion, burial and eventual resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jerusalem is unique in that it is a place held sacred by the three great monotheistic religions of the world and after having visited Christendom’s most sacred site we move on to that of Judaism, the Western Wall. Believed by Jews to be the last remaining remnant of the second Temple, the wall is considered the most revered of all sites for the Jews and is a place of constant prayer. From here we continue, if access is allowed, onto the Dome of the Rock and Islam’s claim to this holy trinity. This is believed to be the site of Mohammed’s ascension to heaven and is the third holiest site in Islam, not to mention one of the most impressive examples of Islamic architecture in the world. Our final visits of the day is to Mount Zion visiting the Last Supper rooms and to King David's Tomb. After a full and exciting day we return to our hotel to relax.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today you have a full free day to explore more of Jerusalem or to take an optional trip to Tel Aviv or Jaffa and Caesarea. Again your tour leader will be there to help organise the last full day of you Middle Eastern adventure.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

We transfer to Tel Aviv where the tour ends.

Included meals: Breakfast