Geotours Australia

TOUR OF JORDAN – 18 APRIL to 1 MAY 2020 (Program at 27 August 2019)

Please note: As per usual ADFAS travel programs, this is a LAND only program, hence you are required to book your own travel both into and out of Amman, Jordan. Please read this itinerary in conjunction with the booking terms and conditions for full pricing and program details. To confirm your place on this program, it is necessary to complete and return the booking form and deposit to Helloworld Travel, Armidale, NSW. As this is a full program from the first day of the program (18 April), it is recommended that you consider arrival into Amman on Friday 17 April. Please contact us if you require accommodation on the night of 17 April at the al Qasr Hotel. (Accommodation subject to availability). A reasonable level of fitness is required as the program includes some moderate distance walking over uneven pathways in remote areas.

Recommended flight bookings and travel insurance assistance can be offered by Helloworld Armidale.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

DAY 1 AMMAN SATURDAY 18 APRIL

Check-in from the morning of 18 April.

Assuming morning arrival, and check-in, a light lunch is available before a planned afternoon guided tour of Amman viewing the Citadel and Theatre, and visiting the Archaeological Museum. The Archaeological Museum has an excellent collection of antiquities ranging from prehistoric to the 15th century, including an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Amman, the capital of Jordan, is a blend of old and new, situated in a hilly area between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley. Originally spread over seven hills this capital of the Hashemite Kingdom now sprawls over 19 hills and is home to over 4 million residents. Evening get-together with your fellow travellers, your tour host Dr Pam Watson and local tour manager. Pam will provide an overview of the program and activities.

Overnight: Amman, al Qasr Hotel. Meals: LR DAY 2 AMMAN – UMM AL JIMAL, AZRAQ OASIS SUNDAY 19 APRIL Breakfast at hotel. Following an introduction from our local guide we depart by coach travelling north east from Amman visiting the village of Umm al Jimal, (notable for ruins of a Roman/Byzantine and early Islamic town built entirely of basalt). Continue travelling east then south into the desert to the Azraq Oasis, with its black basalt Roman/Islamic fort. This was the sometime base of T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Explore the desert castle of Qusayr Amra (8th Century - a magnificently painted audience hall and bath house of the Umayyad caliphs) and then the austere Qasr Kharanah, a fortress-like Umayyad castle and one of the earliest examples of Islamic architecture in the region.

Lunch stop at the Jordanian Royal Society for Conservation of Nature’s Azraq Lodge, a converted 1940’s British military hospital, located on the edge of the eastern desert.

Late afternoon return to hotel, for dinner and overnight. Overnight: Amman, al Qasr Hotel. Meals: BLD

DAY 3 UMM QAIS – GADARA - JERASH MONDAY 20 APRIL

Breakfast at Hotel. Depart for visits to Umm Qais (site of the ancient Hellenistic-Roman town of Biblical Gadara). Situated in the extreme north of Jordan, and perched on a hilltop 378 metres above sea level, Umm Qais overlooks the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the Golan Heights and the Yarmuk Gorge. Gadara was also the home of several classical poets and philosophers, including Theodorus, founder of a rhetorical school in Rome. Lunch will be taken at or near Umm Qais.

Continue to Jerash (ancient Gerasa), a vast and principally Roman city with its temples, theatres, colonnaded streets, and churches. Pam lived and worked here for a full year on a major international archaeological project.

Overnight: Jerash Olive Branch hotel Meals: BLD

DAY 4 PELLA – DEAD SEA TUESDAY 21 APRIL Following breakfast, depart for a visit to Pella (modern Tabaqat Fahl), an ancient city site dating back 8000 years. This is the area where Pam has spent much of her archaeological time in Jordan. On the way, enjoy the scenic views over the Jordan Valley from Qalat ar-Rabadh (a well-preserved Saracen castle in the hills of Ajlun) before descending to the valley to explore Pella.

Pella has been continuously occupied since Neolithic times, although hominid presence in the area goes back 500,000 years. Pam has been a member of the Pella Project since 1981, rising from student to co-director. She will provide a background and overview of the region and the project.

After lunch at Pella, continue south along the valley to the Dead Sea for dinner/overnight.

Overnight: Kempinski Ishtar Hotel, Dead Sea. Meals: BLD

DAY 5 THE DEAD SEA WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit to the Biblical site of Bethany on the Jordan River, believed to be the location where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Remains of more than 20 Christian sites have been discovered, including several churches, a prayer hall, baptismal pools, and a sophisticated water reticulation system dating back to Roman and Byzantine periods.

Return to the hotel for an afternoon at leisure. Overnight: Kempinski Ishtar Hotel, Dead Sea. Meals: B-D

DAY 6 KARAK – DANA BIOSPHERE THURSDAY 23 APRIL Breakfast at hotel. Morning at leisure to enjoy the Dead Sea. After lunch, travel to Karak Castle, one of the largest Crusader castles in the Levant. Stop en route at ‘Ain Zara (ancient Callirhoe), King Herod’s bathhouse on the Dead Sea. Although Karak has been a fortress since biblical times, construction of the castle began in the 1140s. It was famously besieged by Saladin in 1184. The castle is an impressive example of the Crusaders' architectural military genius (torch recommended for exploring the castle’s passages and tunnels). Afterwards continue on to the old Ottoman village of Dana, where the Dana Guest House provides simple accommodation with stunning views at sunset over Wadi Dana. Overnight: Dana Guest House Meals: BLD DAY 7 WADI DANA - WADI FEYNAN FRIDAY 24 APRIL Breakfast at Dana Guest House. After breakfast, hike down the colourful Wadi Dana into Wadi Feynan, site of one of the ancient world's largest copper mines.

Please note: whilst this walk is regarded as moderate, it is long (16km) but downhill all the way. There is an alternative to travel by car- at own additional expense.

Check into the Wadi Feynan EcoLodge, set in the heart of the mountainous Dana Biosphere Reserve.

The staff at the lodge come from local Bedouin families, providing benefits to the local communities as well as personal experiences for guests. The lodge is acknowledged as one of the top 50 eco lodges in the world, by National Geographic.

The lodge is a partnership between Ecohotels and the Jordanian Royal Society for Conservation of Nature (RSCN). Overnight: Wadi Feynan EcoLodge Meals: BLD

DAY 8 BEIDHA – PETRA SATURDAY 25 APRIL Opportunity to spend the morning exploring Wadi Feynan. After lunch at the lodge, transfer via the Nimla scenic route to the Siq al Barid ("Little Petra") and Beidha Neolithic village, located in the protected region of Petra. Beidha dates to 7200-6500 BC, and is one of the oldest settlements in Jordan. During this time a permanent farming village emerged, living in stone homes, and farming animals, as well as crops in small areas. This was the forerunner of much of our agrarian development.

Continue to Petra hotel for dinner/overnight. Overnight: The Old Village Resort, or similar, Petra Meals: BLD

DAY 9 PETRA SUNDAY 26 APRIL Breakfast at resort. Full day touring the rock-cut Nabatean city of Petra with Pam, with entry by Siq and visits to the Treasury, Street of Facades, Theatre, Roman colonnaded street, Museum and ad- Deir (the Monastery), Petra’s largest carved façade. (Note, this is a long walk today, with numerous steps, but you have the option of possibly hiring a horse carriage or donkey for some of the way).

Return in the evening for a special cuisine course and dinner at the Petra kitchen. Join a group of local chefs for a small taste of Jordan. Prepare a typical Levantine meal, then relax and enjoy the meal. Overnight: Old Village Resort or similar, Petra Meals: BD

DAY 10 PETRA MONDAY 27 APRIL Breakfast at resort. Return to Petra for a second day’s visit, using the "secret road" of al-Madras and visiting the High Place of Sacrifice, sites in the Wadi Farasa, the Great Temple, Byzantine church and the Royal Tombs.

Dinner at resort, then enjoy a special Petra by Candlelight walk down the Siq to the Treasury. Overnight: Old Village Resort or similar, Petra Meals: BD

DAY 11 WADI RUM TUESDAY 28 APRIL

Breakfast at resort. Transfer to Wadi Rum Protected Area, for a full day 4WD adventure including picnic lunch. Wadi Rum is in the sand desert of southern Jordan, east of the Rift valley, and south of the central Jordanian Plateau. The protected area covers an area of over 70,000 hectares, which includes dramatic desert landforms developed within the continental sandstones.

Wadi Rum has seen occupation from prehistoric times, including one of the most notable cultures, the Nabataeans, whose legacy comprises rock paintings, petroglyphs, and inscriptions, as well temples.

In European history, Wadi Rum is best known for its links with Lawrence of Arabia (T.E. Lawrence). Lawrence and Prince Faisal Bin Hussein based their headquarters here during the Arab uprising against the Ottomans of 1917-18.

Dinner and overnight at your campsite in the heart of the Wadi Rum Protected Area.

Overnight: Wadi Rum Rainbow Camp Meals: BLD

DAY 12 UMM AR-RASAS, MADABA WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL Breakfast at campsite. Following breakfast, depart on a camel safari (for about 2 hours) from the campsite to Rum village where you will meet our driver. Transfer north to visit the fantastic mosaics at Umm ar-Rasas. This World Heritage site originated from a Roman military fort, and developed into a significant Byzantine /early Islamic town. The site is located on the edge of the semi-arid steppe, and comprises remains of Roman, Byzantine and early Muslim periods. The area includes a Roman Fort, and a number of churches- famous for their well- preserved mosaic floors. Umm ar-Rasas is surrounded by remains of ancient agricultural cultivation, water channels and cisterns, as well as terracing. The inscriptions and archaeological evidence demonstrate that monastic Christianity was tolerated and continued through the Islamic period of the 7th and 8th centuries. Following lunch en route, we continue to the Christian pilgrimage site of Mount Nebo on the edge of a plateau above the Jordan Valley from where, according to tradition, Moses saw the Promised Land. The site is owned by the Franciscans, who discovered an early church, with glorious Byzantine mosaics. From Mount Nebo we continue to the town of Madaba, which has been inhabited for at least 4500 years, and is mentioned in the Bible. During the Byzantine period numerous churches were constructed with magnificent mosaic floors, including the famous 6th Century Madaba Mosaic Map of the Holy Land. Overnight Mosaic City Hotel Madaba. Meals: B

DAY 13 MADABA THURSDAY 30 APRIL Breakfast at Hotel. Today is a walking tour in Madaba visiting the mosaics at St George Church, the Church of the Apostles, the Archaeological Park and the Museum on top of the ancient tell (mound).

Gala farewell dinner at Haret Jdoudna, a restored Late Ottoman house. Overnight Mosaic City Hotel Madaba. Meals: B- D

DAY 14 DEPART AMMAN FRIDAY 1 MAY Breakfast at hotel. Individual or small group transfers to Queen Alia airport for departure from Amman. Meals: B

End of program

(Meal code: B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner)

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Lloyd Director Geotours Australia Email: peter@geotoursaustralia.com.au or lplloyd.qa@gmail.com Mobile; 0428 408 494 ABN: 16533933003

This program is copyright and belongs to Geotours Australia. August 2019