Jordan History & Culture: Amman, Petra & the Dead Sea

Board your overnight flight to Amman today.

Welcome to Jordan! Transfer to your hotel and get settled in.

This evening, enjoy an included dinner on your own.

Head outside of Amman to visit the Iraq Al Amir women’s cooperative, an organization whose aim is to reverse high rates of unemployment among local women.

• Learn how working at the cooperative empowers women to achieve financial independence and raise their standard of living.
• Watch the employees make soap from olive oil and greeting cards from recycled paper.
• Try your hand at making paper or pottery during an interactive workshop.
• Get to know your Tour Director and fellow travelers during a welcome lunch prepared by the women at the collective.

Travel back to Amman this afternoon for a guided tour of Jordan’s capital, a modern, hilly city that’s home to Roman ruins and more than 2 million people.

• Stroll through bustling local markets as you make your way to the ruins of the Citadel—the Bronze Age complex sits on the city’s highest hill, which is known as Jebel Al Qala’a—and the second-century Roman theater, the city’s most famous archaeological attraction.
• Step inside King Abdullah Mosque, a beautiful landmark that’s dedicated to Jordan’s first king and houses some of his personal items.
• Walk through the Old City, where you’ll stop for a traditional Jordanian coffee—a beverage whose enjoyment here is deeply rooted in hospitality.

Please note: Travelers are required to remove shoes when entering the King Abdullah Mosque. Women must cover their hair, arms, and legs. Men must cover their legs.

Make your way from Amman to the ancient Roman city of Jerash, which is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Spend the day exploring historic ruins and getting to know Jordanian people and culture.

• Explore some of the world’s largest and best-preserved Roman ruins, including the forum, the amphitheater, and the second-century Temple of Artemis, the latter of which is dedicated to the goddess of hunting and fertility (and the daughter of Zeus and Leto) and is flanked by elaborately carved Corinthian columns.
• Travel to Beit Khairat Souf, a multi-faceted social enterprise and vital community hub that comprises a restaurant and a food product store.
• Meet with some of Beit Khairat Souf’s female owners and managers to hear how they help strengthen local women’s leadership skills by providing jobs and training.
• Sample some of the collective’s delicious homemade jams, pickles, and olive oils sourced for local families, then sit down for an included lunch at the cafe.
• Depart Beit Khairat and travel to the House of Calligraphy in Aljoun, where you’ll learn about the history of Arabic calligraphy and how it’s closely connected with Islamic culture.
• Grab a traditional dried reed pen and learn how to write your name in your favorite calligraphy style.
• Enjoy time to shop for souvenirs, such as personalized designs or greeting cards, the purchase of which directly benefits local women.

Return to Amman and spend a free evening in the city or add an excursion.

Today, further explore the history and culture of Jordan on guided tours before continuing on to Petra.

• Tour Madaba, a market town known for its collection of Byzantine-era mosaics.
• Visit St. George’s Church and view the sixth-century mosaic Madaba Map displayed there; discovered by builders at the St. George’s church construction site in the 1880s, the Byzantine-era map is the oldest surviving mosaic map of Palestine and is said to have originally comprised more than two million pieces.
• Stop at Mount Nebo—Moses’ burial site and the spot from where it’s said he saw the Promised Land.
• Enter a mosaic factory and enjoy a hands-on demonstration, during which you’ll learn the art of crafting mosaics.
• Head to the Bani Hamida Women’s Cooperative, a weaving center whose traditional handicrafts include carpets and baskets made by local women.
• Learn about the cooperative’s mission, meet some of the women it supports, and enjoy time to shop for gifts and souvenirs.

Continue to Petra and sit down for an included dinner.

Head to the city of Petra, which was carved into the soft, red rocks of Mount Hor in the third century BC by members of an Arab tribe known as the Nabataeans. Explore the sandstone city alongside your Tour Director.

• Learn about Petra’s unique architecture—one of the reasons it was named to the list of modern world wonders.
• Walk through the UNESCO World Heritage Site to the famous Al-Khazneh, or Treasury, which served as a tomb and features one of the most famous facades in the world.
• Take in the intricately carved pillars and columns of the Palace Tomb, whose facade towers fives stories above the ground.
• Stroll through the winding, high-walled gorge known as the Siq and learn how tectonic forces formed the giant crack in the rock.

Please note: In order to enter Petra, customers should be able to walk two miles round-trip in hot weather over uneven terrain. Other modes of transportation may be available for you to book upon your arrival at an additional cost.

Spend a free evening in Petra or add an excursion.

Drive to Wadi Rum, an area in southern Jordan that’s known as the Valley of the Moon thanks to its varied desert landscape of natural arches, narrow gorges, towering cliffs, massive landslides, and other features. It’s also home to thousands of petroglyphs and archaeological remains. Today, explore it all on a desert safari alongside a local Bedouin guide.

• Sit down for a buffet lunch at an air-conditioned, desert bubble camp.
• Take a Jeep ride to a red sand dune, and set off on an optional walk to view ancient rock carvings.
• Stop at a Bedouin tent to learn about the traditions of this ethnic group, largely regarded as Jordan’s first inhabitants, and enjoy Arabic coffee.

This evening, enjoy a traditional Bedouin Zarb dinner that’s cooked in a pot underground. Afterwards, meet up with a professional astronomer in a desert observatory, where you’ll get a chance to explore the night sky and view constellations, galaxies, nebulae, planets, and moons.

Drive north along the Jordan Valley, stopping in the small town of Gawr al-Mazraah at the Al Numeira Environmental Association.

• Learn about Al Numeira, a Jordanian nonprofit working to educate Jordanians on water conservation practices, rural development, and sustainable tourism.
• Meet with an Al Numeira representative to learn about the organization’s work and its mission.
• Enjoy an included traditional Jordanian lunch prepared by Al Numeira staff.

Then, travel to the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea and celebrate your trip with your fellow group members at tonight’s farewell dinner.

This morning, float in the famously salty waters of the Dead Sea, located at the lowest point on Earth. Enjoy free time to relax on the beach and swim.

Then, relax in a dayroom before transferring to Amman for your early morning flight home.

Please note: Return flights home depart during the early morning, typically between 1am and 6am on day 10.

Arrive home today.