Pilgrimage Tour

Check-in at the Egypt Air counter 3 hours before your flight departure time to Jordan. The package includes return economy airfare with Egypt Air from Johannesburg (via Cairo) to Queen Alia Airport in Jordan (departing at 21h45, arriving the following day in Cairo at 05h45).

Flight with Egypt Air from Cairo to Queen Alia Airport (departing at 06h45, arriving at 09h00). At Queen Alia Airport, our representative will meet our group to assist us in obtaining our visas; escort us through customs and immigration before collecting our luggage. Enjoy your first views of Jordan with a 45-minute transfer to your hotel in Amman city for check-in. 

After lunch, we enjoy a City Tour of the vibrant capital of Jordan. We explore downtown Amman, and our first stop is at the Citadel ruins on one of the seven hills initially made up of Amman. The Citadel has stood since the ancient times of the Ammonites. You can also visit the Archaeological Museum with artifacts from archaeological sites of the country (NO entrance fee).

The Roman Theatre, with its 6,000 seats, is next, situated on the hill opposite the Citadel. Here you can visit the Folklore Museum and the Museum of Popular Traditions, which form part of the theatre.

Stay: Bristol Hotel Amman (Standard room)

Meals: Dinner & Breakfast

After breakfast, we start our day, driving north to discover the Greco-Roman ruins at Jerash, one of the world’s best-preserved classical sites, with its forum of colonnaded shops, temples, and theatres. Jerash is widely renowned for its exquisitely preserved ruins from the first century AD when the city flourished under Roman rule. Explore the site at your own pace as you wander through the pristine columns, plazas, and temples of Jerash.

 Continue north to the ancient Byzantine city Umm Qais, an important city of the Decapolis where poets and artists were inspired, and Christ performed the Miracle of the Gadarene Swine. Wandering through the unique black basalt structures, you can't help but seek your inspiration in the city anciently known as Gadara, with a breathtaking mountaintop location overlooking Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee). Gadara was the home of the famous Roman poet Theodorus, founder of the School of Rhetorics in Rome, who called Umm Qais the “New Athens.”

Drive back to Amman.

Stay: Bristol Hotel Amman (Standard room)

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

After breakfast, we depart to Bethany. Bethany has been identified as a biblical site where Jesus was baptized. The exact point of baptism is known as “Bethany Beyond the Jordan”, and this is the place where John was living when he baptized Jesus. We stop at Lot's Cave - the ruins of a small Byzantine church, a reservoir and some mosaics surround the cave. Remains from the cave date to the early Bronze Age (3300–2000 BC), and an inscription in the cave mentions Lot by name.

Drive to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, where you will check in at your hotel and enjoy an afternoon of relaxation. The Dead Sea is 306m deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. You can’t snorkel or dive in the Dead Sea (plus, there’s no marine life to be seen), nor should you submerge your head underwater, BUT you can float!

Stay: Mövenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea (Standard Room)

Meals: Dinner & breakfast

After breakfast, check out from the hotel and drive the scenic, windy road, and our hiking Mount Nebo in Jordan. It is mentioned in the Bible that Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land that he never entered. The mountaintop offers captivating views of the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordan River. After this, we explore the town of Madaba, known for its spectacular Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics. In the center of the town stands St George's Church, where the only surviving fragment of the famed Mosaic Map of the Holy Land is interred in the floor - assembled from more than a million pieces of colored stone. 

Then drive to Karak to see the famous crusaders’ fort - The fort itself is a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways.   We proceed to the town of Wadi Musa, on the doorstep of the Nabataean ruins of Petra.

Stay: Mövenpick Petra (Standard room)

Meals: Dinner & breakfast

A day of awe-inspiring sightseeing awaits you with this tour of Petra (meaning 'stone' in Greek), also known as Jordan's 'rose city. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 and is one of the World's New Seven Wonders. Your guide will lead you through the 1,2 km long Siq, a narrow gorge with jagged cliffs looming on both sides that will take at least 30 minutes, longer if you stop to enjoy it and take pictures. The views are breathtaking, and it's the perfect introduction to the beauty of Petra. The path leads to the spectacular Al-Khazneh (also known as the Treasury), carved directly into the sheer rock face. It's the first of many well-preserved buildings carved out of the rose-hued mountains. Other recommended sites to explore include the remarkable Outer Siq (only free-standing buildings in `Petra), the Tombs of Wadi Farias, the Byzantine church, a 7,000-seat Roman theatre, the Royal Tombs, the Colonnaded Street, Street of Facades (more than forty tombs and other structures lining the cliff walls) & the Qasr al-Bint temple. 

Buffet lunch at the Petra Basin Restaurant (included).

Stay: Mövenpick Petra (Standard room)

Meals: Dinner & breakfast

Enjoy a morning visit to Siq al-Barid, also known as Little Petra, an ancient city similar to the famous Petra, only on a much smaller scale. You’ll walk through the siq, along the main street lined with carved structures, and end on a viewing platform with beautiful views of the Petra area.

Around mid-day, we drive South to the Desert of Wadi Rum: known as The Valley of the Moon. It is an exceptionally stunning span of valleys and deserts South of the Shara Mountains and is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Late afternoon depart on a 3-hour sunset 4x4 Jeep safari to enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets you will ever see.

We end the day with a stargazing tour. The pitch-black night sky and panoramic celestial views of the Wadi Rum desert make this the ultimate experience for a star-gazer. With powerful telescopes, you can get a little closer to the hidden wonders of the universe. The tour starts with a 20-minute presentation going over the basics of the night sky, then venture outside using lasers and high-powered telescopes to witness the night sky. 

Buffet lunch at a Restaurant (included).

Stay: Sun City Camp (Martian Dome)

Meals: Zarb dinner & breakfast

***Zarb Dinner - a traditional Bedouin meal/feast of lamb and chicken, and vegetables cooked for hours in an oven underground (included).

After breakfast, enjoy the morning at your leisure or enjoy an optional activity. Experience a hot-air balloon flight (for your account) over the spectacular desert of Wadi Rum. The balloon ride lasts for one hour, with the entire experience taking 2 & ½ hours, or enjoy Wadi Rum Bedouin-style by exploring the desert on the back of a camel (for your account).

We return to Amman, where we visit downtown Amman, also known as the local market ”Souq”, and take in the traditional sights and smells of the spice market. We will enjoy a special farewell lunch at a restaurant before our transfer to Queen Alia Airport for your onward flight home (departing at 20h10 Jordanian time, arriving the following day at 07h10 South African Time).

OR extend your trip with a memorable optional extension to Egypt. 

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