8 Days Jerash, Umm Qais, Madaba and Kerak Forest Holiday Package

Arrival at Amman Queen Alia International airport, our airport representative will be waiting for you with a name sign; he will arrange for you the visa 5 persons and up arriving and departing on the same flight get a group visa and will walk with you through the customs. Your driver will be waiting outside also holding a name sign. Transfer to Amman for overnight. Overnight at a hotel in Amman, based on double/twin rooms.

At 09. 00 am you will start your city tour of Amman. The Jordanian capital, Amman, was known in the Old Testament as Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of the Ammonites around 1200 BC, it was also referred to as "the City of Waters". This is the place where David sent Uriah the Hittite to the front lines of battle. The massive fortifications, where David, an ancestor of Jesus, brought about Uriah’s death so that he could marry his widow Bathsheba, are still standing. You will start of by visiting the Citadel, towering above downtown Amman, the site gives beautiful views over the city. It includes many structures such as the Temple of Hercules, the Omayyad Palace and the Byzantine church. Continue to visit the Roman Theatre in down town Amman. After drive to Jerash Gerasa, to tour the world's best preserved Roman provincial city. In Jerash you will find more than 15 churches. Overnight at a hotel in Amman, based on double/twin rooms.

drive to Um Qais, the old Decapolis city of Gadara, with its spectacular panoramic views overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The basalt basilica is believed to be the site of Jesus’ miracle of the Gadarene swine. Continue to Mar Elias, in 1999 excavations unearthed a church complex dating back to the early 7th century. It is named for the Prophet Elias, or Elijah, to whom Mar Elias is dedicated. Drive on to Anjara. Jesus Christ, his disciples, and the Virgin Mary, passed through Anjara once and rested in a cave there during a journey between the Sea of Galilee, the Decapolis cities, Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Jerusalem. The cave in Anjara has long been a holy place for pilgrims and has now been commemorated with a modern shrine, the Church of Our Lady of the Mountain. The cave was also designated by the Catholic Churches of the Middle East as one of the five pilgrimage sites for the year 2000. After back to Amman for overnight. Overnight at a hotel in Amman, based on double/twin rooms.

After breakfast drive to Bethany Beyond the Jordan. The site of John the Baptist's settlement at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where Jesus was baptized, has long been known from the Bible John 1:28 and 10:40 and from the Byzantine and medieval texts. The area is also associated with the biblical account of how the Prophet Elijah Mar Elias in Arabic ascended to heaven in a whirlwind on a chariot of fire. Drive on to Mt. Nebo, from where Moses viewed the Promised Land. Continue to Madaba for a short city tour. Visit the St. George Church, with its famous mosaic map, the Apostle’s Church, Archaeological Park and Madaba Museum. Overnight at a hotel in Madaba, based on double/twin rooms

After breakfast check out of your hotel in Madaba and drive to Um Ar-Rasas, A rectangular walled city, about 30km southeast of Madaba, that is mentioned on both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. It was fortified by the Romans and local Christians were still embellishing it with Byzantine-style mosaics well over 100 years after the start of the Muslim Umayyad rule. Just outside the city walls is the recently unearthed Church of Saint Stephen with its perfectly preserved outstanding mosaic floor, the largest of its kind to be discovered in Jordan and second only to the world-famous mosaic map at Madaba. Drive on to Mukawir. The 1st century AD Roman-Jewish historian, Josephus, identifies the awe-inspiring site of Mukawir Machaerus as the palace/fort of Herod, who was the Roman-appointed ruler over the region during the life of Jesus Christ. It was here, at this hilltop fortified palace, overlooking the Dead Sea region and the distance hills of Palestine and Israel that Herod Antipas, the son of Herod, imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist after Salome’s fateful dance. Follow the King’s Highway, Abraham who passed through northern, central and southern Jordan, would certainly have used this route on his journey from Mesopotamia to Canaan. Stop at Karak for a visit to the immense Crusaders Castle. The Tomb on Noah can be found in Karak as well. Transfer to Petra, before checking in at your hotel you will make a quick stop at Moses' Spring which is located at the beginning of the town Wadi Musa next to Petra. During the Exodus, Moses and Israelites passed through the Petra area in Edom. Local traditions say that the spring at Wadi Musa Valley of Moses, just outside Petra, is the place where Moses struck the rock and brought forth water. Overnight at a hotel in Petra, based on double/twin rooms.

Transfer to the visitor center of Petra to visit one of the most famous Jordan attractions Petra. Petra seems to be mentioned in the Bible’s Old Testament under several possible names, including Sela and Joktheel 2 Kings 14:7. Petra was almost certainly the last staging post of the three kings, who took frankincense, gold and myrrh to honor the baby Jesus in Bethlehem Matthew 2:1-12. After visiting the Siq, Treasury, Street of Façades, the Amphitheatre, you still have time to visit the High Place of Sacrifice and/or the Monastery. Overnight at a hotel in Petra, based on double/twin rooms.

Leave Petra and drive to the Dead Sea, lowest point on earth surface. The Dead Sea is one of the most dramatic places on earth, with its stunning natural environment equally matched by its powerful symbolism. The infamous Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities of the Dead Sea plain, or Cities of the Valley where the subjects of some of the most dramatic and enduring Old Testament stories, including that of Lot, whose wife was turned into a pillar of salt for disobeying God's will. Lot and his two daughters survived and the fled to a cave near the small town of Zoar. The Bible says Lot's daughters gave birth to sons whose descendants would become the Ammonite and Moabite people, whose kingdoms were in what is now central Jordan. Although not confirmed, the sites of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are believed to be the remains of the ancient walled towns of Bab ed Dhra' and Numeira, in the South Eastern Dead Sea central plain. On a hillside above the town of Zoar modern day Safi, Byzantine Christians built a church and monastery dedicated to Saint Lot. The complex was built around the cave where Lot and his daughters found refugee. You will see Lot's Pilar and visit Lot's Cave. Then continue to the Dead Sea for a free afternoon to float in the salty waters. Overnight at a hotel at the Dead Sea, based on double/twin rooms.

Transfer to Amman Airport for departure. 3 hours in advance of your departure 2 hours for the check in and less than 1 hour driving from Dead Sea to Amman Airport. End of your tour to Jordan: Ahlan wa Sahlan!