Jordan Adventure: Beyond Petra; Cultural Journey & Hiking

Upon arrival at Queen Alia International Airport you’ll be met by an MTS representative and be transferred to your hotel. As your plane descends over Amman, be sure to notice the city’s unique geography, which spreads out to cover the slopes and valleys created by nineteen different hilltops. After you get situated in your room, we’ll have a welcome dinner and an orientation in the hotel restaurant.

Dinner / Hotel TBA

After breakfast we’ll head out for a city tour of Amman. This is an ancient city, with the first known archeological findings dating back to 8,500 BC. This area has been ruled by the Assyrians, the Persians, and the Greeks, who renamed the city Philadelphia. More recently, Amman became the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921. All of this makes for a treasure-trove of architectural diversity, ranging from Roman amphitheatres to whitewashed modern mosques, where the call to prayer echoes from slender minarets. We’ll visit Citadel Hill, which is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited places, with records of occupation dating back to the Neolithic period. We’ll also spend some time at Jordan’s renowned Archeology Museum, which has on display some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, among other things. An invigorating walk will bring us from the Citadel to the Roman Theatre and the nearby Folklore Museum.

After this whirlwind morning we’ll get into vehicles and head for the town of Jerash, just to the north of Amman, where we’ll have lunch at the Lebanese House Restaurant. After we eat it’s time to take in the great sights found here, including the Greco-Roman ruins known as ‘Antioch on the Golden River’. Jerash is also home to Hadrian’s Arch, as well as massive temples dedicated to Zeus and Artemis. After an afternoon of sightseeing we’ll head back to Amman and a lovely dinner at Fakhr el-Din, the best Lebanese restaurant in town, where many heads of state have dined.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Hotel TBA

After a breakfast buffet and a little time to pack up our luggage, we’ll get into cars and set out. Along the way we’ll stop at Mt. Nebo. The view from the summit of Nebo is exquisite; from here you can see the Jordan River, the West Bank city of Jericho, and on a clear day, Jerusalem off in the distance. According to the Bible, it was here that God gave Moses a view of the Holy Land of the Jews, and many scholars even claim that Moses is buried here. After coming down from the mountain, we’ll head for Madaba, a city known for its Byzantine-era mosaics, including intricate maps of Palestine and the Nile Delta. Afterwards, we’ll head to our guest house near the Dana Nature Reserve. We’ll have time to stretch our legs with a short hike before dinner.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Guesthouse

This nature reserve stretches from the highlands of Jordan’s Rift Valley to the Wadi Araba lowlands. Red and white sandstone cliffs frame a small but vibrant nature area that is home to numerous rare and endangered species, including the Blandford’s fox and the Syrian Serin finch. We’ll pack up our luggage at the Dana Guest House and send it ahead of us in a vehicle so that we can have the entire day to explore on foot. This full-day hike takes us down through the Dana Valley towards the area known as Feynan. Some of the hiking is on loose gravel, and we’ll spend about six hours on the trip with a stop for a sack lunch at some scenic spot along the way. We’ll spend the night at the Feynan Eco-lodge, which is fully solar powered, and lit only by candlelight after the sun goes down.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Feynan Eco-lodge

After we pack up our gear, we’ll motor down the King’s Highway—one of the most ancient and storied routes on Earth. Lined on both sides by prehistoric villages, this was the road that Moses hoped to use as he led his people towards the Promised Land. It has also been suggested that this was the route taken in the Bible by the Kings of the North as they went to do battle with the Cities of the Plain, including the iconically sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

We’ll arrive in Petra in time for a buffet lunch at the Basin Restaurant before we check in at the Petra Mövenpick Resort. Tonight’s dinner requires a bit of participation, since it will include an Arabic cooking lesson at the Petra Kitchen.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Petra Mövenpick Resort

Anyone with a passion—or even just a casual interest—in archeology will find Petra to be one of the most awe-inspiring locales anywhere on the planet. Petra was the most important city in ancient Nabataea, and a major player in the international spice trade. The city was renowned for its ability to control water, and early engineers built impressive dams, spillways, and irrigation channels to harness and utilize the spring floods.

Hydraulic wonders aside, Petra is best known for the temples carved directly into the rose-colored walls. The ancient structures were repurposed and remodeled by the Romans in the 4th century AD. In the mid 6th century a massive earthquake caused the total evacuation of the city, which was forgotten until its rediscovery by a Swiss explorer in 1812. We’ll spend the day wandering through this ghostly city of rock, marveling at the majestic ruin of Al-Khazneh (the Treasury) through the dramatic narrow entrance of the As-Siq’s red rock gorge, and sit at the massive amphitheatre built by the Nabataeans. Carved mostly out of living rock, the entire city has the feeling of a great tomb, and indeed the eastern entrance to the city requires travelers to pass through a gorge that is only three to four feet wide at points, emphasizing the foreboding feeling of arriving here. We also have the special opportunity to experience Petra at night, giving us ample time to get the feeling for this special place and imagine what life must have been like for early denizens of this once-great city.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Petra Mövenpick Resort

After breakfast we’ll pack up and head out for Wadi Rum, where we’ll board 4x4 vehicles to explore this remarkable desert. T.E. Lawrence, the legendary figure better known as “Lawrence of Arabia,” based his operations here during the Arab Revolt, and much of the movie Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here. More recently, this alien scenery has also stood-in on film for the surface of Mars. We’ll spend the day exploring by 4x4, getting out for short hikes, and feeling the eerie stillness of the desert all around us. This is like no landscape you have ever seen, with sandstone and granite towers framing a deep desert valley. The area has become quite popular with rock climbers, and if you keep your eyes peeled you may see a climber or two clinging to tiny handholds far above the ground. Our 4x4’s will bring us to MTS’s private mobile camp, where we’ll watch the night sky darken before slipping into our Bedouin tents.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / MTS Private Mobile Camp

We’ll spend another day exploring Wadi Rum, only this time we’ll do it on camelback. This area has been inhabited by Bedouins for centuries. Today, the Zalabia tribe of Bedouins calls it home, and we’ll pass by villages full of goat-hair tents and a few rudimentary concrete buildings. Rock art is visible in certain spots, and we’ll hunt for traces of the ancients who used to make their way through this difficult landscape. Like the Bedouins, we’ll pack up our tents and spend a second night in the Wadi, though at a different location than the night before.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / MTS Private Mobile Camp

We’ll leave Wadi Rum in our 4x4’s and make the almost 3½- hour drive to the Dead Sea, at a spot near the Jordan River. In addition to being hyper-saline, the Dead Sea is the point of lowest elevation on earth, at 1,378 feet below sea level. Because the sea is 30% percent salt—eight times saltier than the Atlantic Ocean—little in the way of plant or animal life can survive here, hence the appellation “Dead.” Nonetheless, this is a beautiful area and the mountains surrounding the sea are rich in plant and animal life. There is also a long history of human habitation and use of this area, and this location makes repeated appearances in the Bible. Here we’ll visit the spot thought to be the place where Jesus was baptized before heading into the wilderness.

After a day of exploring we’ll check in at the Dead Sea Mövenpick Hotel, a luxury resort and spa.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Dead Sea Mövenpick Hotel

After a leisurely breakfast we’ll have a full day to enjoy the hotel and indulge in legendary Dead Sea spa treatments. Travelers have long attributed many different health effects to the air and water of the Dead Sea, perhaps because of the abundance of minerals in the water, along with low levels of pollen and other allergens. This is your day to relax and be pampered, so be sure to take full advantage of the unique natural features and the talents of the hotel’s staff!

If you aren’t thoroughly absorbed in wet wraps and hot mud, you have the option for a short and easy hike to Wadi Mujib, a nature reserve located in a steep gorge that feeds into the Dead Sea. In addition to thickets of Acacia, Tamarisk and Phoenix palms, this gorge is an important stopover spot for many species of birds, including numerous species of raptor.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Dead Sea Mövenpick Hotel

After one last breakfast within sight of the Dead Sea, it’s time to transfer to Queen Alia airport for flights home. One of our staff will assist you with airport check-in and immigration formalities.

Breakfast