Day 14, June 4: Gadara, Pella, Jerash, Amman, Bethany beyond the Jordan 
An early departure from our hotel takes us to Sheikh Hussein Bridge. After meeting our guide and completing passport formalities, we enter the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. By motor coach we travel to a scenic overlook of Pella, where the Jerusalem Church fled in 65 A.D. We then continue to Jordan’s northern border to the ancient ruins of Gadara, the mountain top city center of the Gadarene Demoniacs, and from there we will be able to view the nearby Sea of Galilee where Jesus had His encounter with them. We head back south to Jerash, ancient Gerasa of Roman Times, the city center of the Gerasenes, one of the best-preserved and most complete provincial Roman cities. Gerasa was one of the cities of the Decapolis, a confederation of 10 Graeco-Roman cities dating from the 1st century BC situated in Jordan, Syria and Israel. Known for its extraordinary state of preservation, the ruins indicate human occupations at this location for more than 2,500 years. The most well known monuments include the colonnaded street with sewers, the Temple of Zeus, the theatre, the Forum, and Hadrian’s Arch. Next, we drive further south thru the area that once was settled by the ancient Ammonites and Amorites, but later became part of ancient Israel where 2½ tribes settled. We cross over the Jabbok River where Jacob wrestled with God, then past the present capital of Amman, which once was the Decapolis city of Philadelphia and Old Testament Ammonite city of Rabbah. We finish the day with a visit to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, where John The Baptist did some baptizing and possibly where he baptized Jesus. It was in this vicinity that the Prophets Elijah and Elisha did some ministry, and where Joshua and the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land thru the parted Jordan River. We arrive at our luxurious hotel spa by the Dead Sea with an optional swim in the Sea or hotel pools.

Day 15, June 5: Mt Nebo, Medeba, Arnon River, Petra 
This day follows the reverse path of the Israelites on their way from the wilderness to the promised land. We ascend to Mt. Nebo where it is believed Moses saw the Promised Land and was buried in the adjacent valley. The mountain commands a spectacular view of Jericho, the Jordan Valley, and the Dead Sea. Our drive continues to the town of Madaba, the biblical Medeba. Madaba is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics and the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, where the earliest original surveying map of the Holy Land is pictured on a mosaic floor. Next we drive south onto the Biblical King’s Highway to the ancient border of Moab at the Arnon River canyons, for a scenic view, and then on to the desert highway traveling thru ancient Edom. We arrive at Petra and there we walk thru the “Siq”, an immense crack in the Nubian sandstone, to the city of ancient Petra. 2000 years ago the Nabateans carved this city out of the rose red rock. The Treasury, El Khazneh, is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity. The canyon walls on both sides have hundreds of Petra’s carved and built structures. We overnight in Petra.

Day 16, June 6: Aqaba, Tabernacle, Eilat, Jerusalem
Our time in Jordan soon ends as we head south from Petra into ancient Midian, where the fugitive Moses settled for forty years. We arrive near the Red Sea or Gulf of Aqaba at the outskirts of Aqaba, Biblical Ezion Geber, where King Solomon based his fleet of ships. We cross the Arava boarder into Israel and visit a nearby life-size Biblical Tabernacle model, view a film, and see closed copper mines from King Solomon and the ancient Egyptians. We drive to Eilat on the Red Sea, which is Biblical Elath, for a view of the Red Sea. Some members head south to continue on the Egypt extension and we head north thru the Negev Desert to our hotel in Tel Aviv.

Day 17, June 7: Return flight home
Early today we depart our hotel to the Tel Aviv Airport for our flight home.  

 

Price Includes:  First class lodging, full time tour escort, breakfast & dinner daily, guides, gratuities, Jordan visa & border taxes, all entrance fees, and transportation as appear on itinerary with services of long distance deluxe motorcoach.

 

Not Included:  All air flights and air taxes, lunches, optional travel insurance.