Jordan - Ancient Treasures of the Hashemite Kingdom

• Visit the Red Rose City of Petra
• Explore the Greco Roman sites at Jerash and Amman’s Acropolis
• Stay in the atmospheric candlelit ecolodge in Wadi Feynan

The Jordan River valley is synonymous with 10,000 years of historical events - the Nabaeatans, the Pharaohs, Alexander the Great, Moses, the Prophet Mohammed and Lawrence of Arabia have all passed along its way. Travel the length and breadth of this small country and learn of its ancient culture, people and society.

Day 1  London / Amman – On arrival transfer to your hotel in Amman.

Day 2  Amman / City of Salt - Morning tour of Amman including the acropolis, citadel and amphitheatre.  After lunch transfer to the city of Salt where you will have the opportunity to meet some locals in the town square and learn how to play the traditional game of ‘mangaleh’ over tea.

Day 3  Pella / Ajloun / Jerash – Morning visit to Pella, home to the earliest Christian refuge and a Bronze Age temple. In the afternoon visit the extensive Greco-Roman site at Jerash, reputed to be one of the best preserved provincial Roman towns in the world.

Day 4  Desert Castles / Madaba – Head west to explore Jordan's extraordinary desert castles, including Haranah, Amra (Jordan’s 2nd World Heritage site) and Azraq, Lawrence of Arabia’s base. A traditional lunch will be had with a local family before travelling to Madaba to visit the 6th-century mosaic map of the Holy Land, the Mosaics Museum and Mefa’a at Um er-Rasas.

Day 5 Mt Nebo / Karak & Shobak Castles / Wadi Feynan - Morning visit to Moses’ 4th-century Memorial Church at Mount Nebo, where you will enjoy a superb panoramic view of the Holy Land.  You will then continue south to visit both Karak and Shobak Castles before transferring to the atmospheric candlelit Feynan ecolodge for the night.

Day 6 Wadi Feynan / Dana Village / Petra - After breakfast accompany a local bedouin herdsman on part of his morning routine to learn about life in the desert.  Lunch will be taken in Wadi Feynan before driving up the valley to the charming 15th century village of Dana.  Continue on to Petra for the night.

Day 7  Petra – A full day exploring the superb and extensive monuments of Nabataean Petra, Jordan’s most well-known World Heritage site, rediscovered by the Swiss traveller, Burckhardt, two hundred years ago.

Day 8 Petra  - Return to Petra for further exploration, including the High Place of Sacrifice, a sacred open-air altar atop a mountain summit, and the  drive to ‘Little Petra’ and the prehistoric village at Beidha.

Day 9  Wadi Rum / Dead Sea – Drive south to Wadi Rum, the largest of Jordan's desert landscapes, and enjoy a 4x4 excursion into this expanse. Huge mountains of sandstone and granite emerge, sheer-sided, from wide sandy valleys to reach heights of 1700 metres and more.  After lunch head for the shores of the Dead Sea and take a dip in its salty waters before checking into your hotel for the night.

Day 10  Amman / London – Transfer to the airport for your return flight to London.

Jennifer Scarce

Jennifer Scarce B.A., F.S.A.Scot, was Curator of Middle Eastern Cultures for the National Museums of Scotland. She is now an Honorary Lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee, a research and travel consultant, freelance curator and author.

She has arranged many permanent and temporary exhibitions of Middle Eastern culture for the National Museums of Scotland and has travelled widely in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe.

She specialises in collecting contemporary textiles and dress for the Museum and also pursues various research projects such as the material culture of the North Africa and the Arab world. She has published articles and books on Middle Eastern dress, Romanian carpet weaving, Kuwait and Iran and most recently Domestic Culture in the Middle East.

She has lectured widely for conferences and groups and  many tours to the Middle East and North Africa, including cruises to the Red Sea to visit archaeological sites in Jordan and Egypt

Other tours led by this lecturer:

• Christmas in Jordan