This land is famous for the breathtaking Petra, one of the 7 wonders of the world, but in this small region of the Middle East you can feel almost everywhere the charming of antiquity: from the King’s Highway, to the Romans sites in Amman and Jerash, from Karak and Shobak castles to Madaba mosaics, just to mention the most known.
You can start with a city tour in Amman enjoying the Roman Theatre, the Old City and the National Museum. Amman will surprise you for its modern buildings, rich shopping stores but also for its open people and tasting restaurants. Here we can help you in having a guide but also in chosing restaurants and visiting a traditional Hammam.
Close to Amman you can visit Jerash, Irbid and Umm Qais. This is the region of Decapolis where you can see probably the best kept Roman ruins of the Middle East area. We’ll guide you with the best itinerary to enjoy the lights of sunrising and sunset in each location.
Another great historical attraction of Jordan is the route through the crusade castles. From the most known Kerak and Shobak up to Azraq and Qala at ar-Rabad ones. Finally also in the eastern desert you can visit the castles of the Omayyadi times.
Monte Nebo and Betany beyond the Jordan are other fascinating places of the jordan history. At Monte Nebo Moses had the first view of the Promised Land, from here you can still have the same view and you can also reach this site with a nice excursion of 9 km starting from Madaba where, by the way, you can enjoy the wonderful mosaics.
At Betany beyond the Jordan you can walk along the route where John preached and baptized. This place is also called Tall Al-Kharrar and Elijah’s Hill by Byzantine and Medieval texts, as well as modern archaeology. Here you can enjoy wonderful archaeological pottery, coins and architectural ruins of a monastery.
In Petra you can choose to spend half a day, one full day or even two days, it depends on you, on your will to discover less known sites or walk through the uncommon paths enjoying the special atmosphere or the schadow of the oleanders.
Imagine the emotions of Burckhardt when in 1812 invented a story to convince his guide to drive him to that fantastic ruin in the middle of Wadi Musa:
“…On the side of the perpendicular rock, directly opposite to the issue of the main valley, an excavated mausoleum came in view, the situation and beauty of which are calculated to make an extraordinary impression upon the traveller, after having traversed for nearly half an hour such a gloomy and almost subterraneous passage as I have described. It is one of the most elegant remains of antiquity existing in Syria; its state of preservation resembles that of a building recently finished, and on a closer examination I found it to be a work of immense labour.”….from
Travels in Syria and the Holy Lands, John Lewis Burckhardt
In Petra we can guide you in having a tea with local beduins or in catching the spirit of Petra under the lights of candles. But you have not to miss also Little Petra (Siq al-Barid)
© 2013 Al Athar Tours
