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Just over a week. That’s the time you need to discover, in one fell swoop, the highlights of two neighboring countries: in this circuit through Jordan and Israel We take you to discover places as fascinating as the famous Nabataean city of Petra or the eternal Jerusalem, sacred to the three monotheistic religions. Take a look at this program and make the most of 8 days that will be unforgettable in your life.
On this tour of Jordan and Israel, the first of the two countries has a special role. In it you will spend most of the 8 days that the tour lasts, in addition to being the starting and ending point of the route. Specifically, the place where the trip begins and ends is its capital, Amman, which you can explore freely depending on the time that is available in their corresponding days.
For many, Jordan’s highlight will be Petra: this Nabataean city carved into the rock more than 2,000 years ago is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. And the most cinephiles will recognize her by her appearance in
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
.
Very cinematic (and World Heritage by Unesco) is also the desert of Wadi Rum, forever linked to the British military and writer T.E. Lawrence or Lawrence of Arabia. Its landscape of extreme aridity leaves corners of surprising beauty, with mountains and rocky accidents of impossible shapes.
In addition, in this circuit through Jordan and Israel We will have time to see other places where religion, art and history go hand in hand. This is the case of Madaba, famous for its Byzantine mosaics; Mount Nebo, a fundamental place in the life of the prophet Moses; the Dead Sea, with its extremely salty waters; and Shobak, with a medieval castle that will take us to the time of the Crusades.
One of the great novelties of this circuit by Jordan and Israel It is that, from the fifth day, it makes a brief but intense leap to Israeli lands. And it does so that you can know two unique places related to the life of Jesus. One of them, Bethlehem, where the Messiah of Christianity was born.
And on the other hand, Jerusalem, where Christ lived his days of passion. However, it is not only the holy city for this religion, but also for Judaism and even for Islam. Therefore, we will visit places as symbolic as the Via Dolorosa or the Holy Sepulchre, the Western Wall or the Esplanade of the Mosques.
This tour of Jordan and Israel It lasts 8 days and 7 nights, with beginning and end at Queen Alia Amman International Airport. Despite its relatively short duration, the program is very complete and intense, with the following road itinerary.
On the first day of this tour through Jordan and Israel, as soon as you arrive at Amman Queen Alia Airport, you will meet staff from our agency, who will welcome you and assist you in the terminal, where you will have to carry out the border arrival procedures. After that, we will go to the private vehicle with which we will transfer you to the hotel in Amman, and there you will spend the night after having dinner freely in the city.
After the first contact with Jordan the day before, on this second day we start walking, literally: after breakfast at the hotel in Amman, our driver will pick you up to start a road trip to the south.
The first stop will be Madaba, a city that has stood out for centuries for interreligious coexistence. This can be seen in its archaeological remains and, above all, in its Christian churches. One of them, that of San Jorge, houses an authentic treasure, which we will discover in situ
: a Byzantine map-mosaic, from the sixth century, where the Holy Land is represented, in its broadest sense of the term, since it not only includes Jerusalem (where we will move on the fifth day), but also the Nile Valley, the Sinai Peninsula, etc.
After leaving Madaba we will visit one of those sacred places, suggested in the mosaic map: Mount Nebo. It is the mountain from which Moses saw the Promised Land and also his place of death, after he was denied entry to it. From here he had a privileged view of the surroundings, as we ourselves will have, because there is a viewpoint for this purpose: the Golan Heights, the Dead Sea, Jericho … and Jerusalem, if the day is clear. In addition, in this space there is a memorial church and a small interpretation center to understand the mentions that the Torah and the Old Testament make of that episode related to the prophet.
After this second visit, we will return to the vehicle for a much greater displacement: we will travel the King’s Road or the Dead Sea Road to head to Petra. Shortly before arriving, we will stop at the castle of Shobak to contemplate externally this fundamental castle in times of the Crusades. Not surprisingly, it was built by the troops of King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in the early twelfth century, on the edge of what was then Crusader territory. Some time later it was conquered by the soldiers of Saladin and it remained a military and fundamental enclave of this territory.
At the end of the day we will arrive at Wadi Musa, the town that is at the gates of Petra, because there awaits us the hotel of this day, where dinner will also be served.
This third day is, along with Jerusalem, the only one of this circuit through Jordan and Israel that we dedicate entirely to the same tourist destination. And there are plenty of reasons for this: we will visit the Nabataean city of Petra, after breakfast at the hotel.
After entering the enclosure, we will visit the first spaces that will announce the grandeur of this place: the Tomb of the Obelisks and the Siq (or cannon) that serves as an entrance to the ancient city. We will be welcomed by the Treasury with its elegant façade of columns carved into the rock, probably built as the royal tomb of Aretas III (s.I a.C.), one of the monarchs who led the Nabataean empire when that civilization reached its zenith.
Behind the Treasury will appear, in turn, other treasures from a monumental and historical point of view: the Street of the Façades, the Nabataean Theater, more royal tombs, temples of Nabataean religion, the urban nucleus with clear Roman imprint … And as icing on the tour, the climb to the Al Deir monastery where a construction similar to the Treasury awaits us but in an elevated and majestic location.
The full day of visit will fly by as we travel these spaces, but the accumulated fatigue will be proof that we will have made the most of the day. Back at the hotel, dinner will be waiting, before going to the rooms to rest.
The fourth day of this tour through Jordan and Israel It will also bring us strong emotions, which we will live on the road. As soon as we have breakfast at the hotel we will hit the road for the first one: the visit of Little Petra, in the nearby town of Al Beida.
The name of Little Petra does not deceive… And it does not disappoint: it is an enclave that, like its ‘big sister’ is excavated in rocky canyons, although its enclosure is smaller. It was probably a settlement that served the Nabataean capital, perhaps as a caravanserai or agricultural center. Even today we can recognize houses, temples or premises that take advantage of the natural caves of the rock and that we know today because, until not long ago, they continued to be used by Bedouin tribes.
After visiting Little Petra, we will return to the road to travel to Wadi Rum, a fascinating desert where the road ends… And the strong emotions begin: we will change vehicles to take a 4×4 SUV and travel desert tracks, as Nabataean and Bedouin tribes once did, who left their mark here in the form of petroglyphs. But the human footprint is not as powerful here as that of nature itself, which with its erosive processes has created impossible-looking mountains and formations for millions of years.
In two hours of 4×4 jeep we will see all this and, on the way back to the starting point, we will resume our usual vehicle to return to Amman by road. We will arrive in the capital late in the day, in time to have dinner at the hotel and rest.
On the fifth day, our tour of Jordan and Israel It heads west, that is, towards the neighbouring country. It will be after breakfast at the hotel… and after living another of the most unforgettable experiences of the trip: a swim in the Dead Sea.
We will arrive at this lake in the morning, which will allow us to calmly know this place, famous for two reasons. The first, because it is the lowest point on the planet (about -400 meters above sea level). And the second, for the extreme salinity of its waters, which prevents the presence of aquatic life (hence its name) and allows bathers to float as if by magic. In addition, the muds that are formed here are highly appreciated by the cosmetic industry. Therefore, a free bathroom in this space will be a different and unique experience.
At the agreed time, we will return to the road, this time to go to the Allenby border post, the closest to the Dead Sea and Amman. And also, the one we must use to get to Jerusalem. We will carry out the border procedures to enter Israel and, then, we will travel to this city, one of the holiest on the planet.
But your discovery in the form of a tour will be the next day: on this fifth day, you will only have dinner at the hotel and rest with your eyes and mind set on the intense day that awaits us on the day that follows.
This sixth day of our tour of Jordan and Israel is one of the most intense and exciting, so breakfast at the hotel will provide energy to start with force the many visits that await us.
The first one will take us to the Mount of Olives, a spectacular place full of history and symbolism. For the Jews, here is their most important cemetery, since according to the Torah, Yahweh will begin here to redeem the dead. On the other hand, for Christians it is a place linked to the last moments of Jesus’ life: in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed before being arrested. The Jewish cemetery or the basilica of Gethsemane (also called the Agony or Nations) are places that will remind us of all this, as well as other spaces that will attract the eyes for their visual force, such as the Orthodox basilica of Santa Maria Magdalena or the tomb of the Virgin Mary.
After visiting the Mount of Olives, we will enter the Old City of Jerusalem. And, at every step we take, we will discover elements of extraordinary relevance, for we are in the heart of the Holy Land, whose places speak for themselves. For example, we will go to the Western Wall, also called the Western Wall, which is the only surviving remnant of Solomon’s Second Temple, destroyed by the Roman troops of Titus, in 70 AD. Thousands of Jews go to him daily to secretly invoke their wishes, for it symbolizes the alliance between Yahweh and the people.
No less important to Muslims is the nearby Esplanade of the Mosques, where the Dome of the Chain, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located. According to the Koran, from this last place the prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven, in the presence of the Archangel Gabriel and on the back of the horse Buraq, making it one of the three holiest temples for Islam.
Also nearby is the Via Dolorosa, which we will travel remembering the Via Crucis of Jesus Christ, because here he passed his way from Calvary until he was crucified, right in the place where today is the church of the Holy Sepulchre, which will be part of our guided route. Without a doubt, an exciting moment within this circuit through Jordan and Israel.
After these visits, we will head to Mount Zion, south of the Old City, where other no less important places are located. For example, the Tomb of King David, second monarch of the united kingdom of Jerusalem in the XI-X centuries BC, father of Solomon and prophet for the three monotheistic religions. And attached to it is the Upper Room, that is, the room where Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper with the Apostles. In addition, Christians will be thrilled by this visit because here is the Abbey of the Dormition, built on the crypt where it is believed that the Virgin entered into eternal sleep.
Undoubtedly, this will be a day full of special visits and feelings to the surface, both for believers and tourists interested in culture in general. Therefore, dinner at the hotel and night’s rest will be more than deserved.
If on the previous day of this circuit through Jordan and Israel We focus (among many other things) on the last days of the life of Jesus Christ, on this seventh day we will travel further back in time: to his birth and his first days. Therefore, after breakfast at the hotel, we will head towards Bethlehem, just 10 km south of the Old City of Jerusalem.
In Bethlehem, we will visit two places of enormous importance for Christianity. The first, the Basilica of the Nativity, built over the cave in which Jesus was born. It is also one of the first temples of Christianity, since the original structure was built by Emperor Constantine I and has a paleochristian style, from the fourth century. And the second, the Chapel of the Milk Grotto, where it is believed that the Holy Family took refuge during the slaughter of the innocents. According to tradition, a drop of spilled milk from the Virgin stained the place white.
For all these reasons, both the Basilica of the Nativity and the pilgrimage route to Bethlehem were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, so we will dedicate the necessary time for your thorough knowledge. After that, we will return to our vehicle and head to the border with Jordan, at the Allenby border post. After completing the entry procedures, we will go to Amman, where we will arrive in the second part of the day. And the hotel where you will rest for the night will also be the place of the last dinner of the circuit.
Our tour of Jordan and Israel It comes to an end on this eighth day. As in the rest of the days, breakfast will be taken at the hotel and, depending on the flight schedules, we will establish a meeting time to make the transfer to the Amman Queen Alia International Airport. It will be in a private vehicle with driver and, in the terminal, we will offer you the last assistance that was necessary. Gone will be an unforgettable week that, like the places visited, will already be eternal in your memory.
In order to make the most of the eight days of this circuit, and to offer the best experience in terms of quality, the package includes the following services:
Some aspects of this tour by Jordan and Israel are not included in the package and are left to the discretion of the participants:
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Travel agency and DMC specialists in private and tailor-made travel to Jordan
Mandala Tours, S.L, NIF: B51037471
License: C.I.AN-187782-2
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