Prices will depend on your particular requirements, the exchange rates at the time, etc.
There is likely to be a single supplement.
For groups we offer a free place for every 10 paying passengers (ie the 11th,
22nd, etc go free).
Read on for more
information about places mentioned above, and others too.
Bethany Beyond the Jordan
The site of John the Baptist's
settlement at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where Jesus was baptised, has
long been known from the Bible (John 1:28 and 10:40) and from the Byzantine and
medieval texts.
The site has now been identified on the east bank of
the Jordan River, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and is being
systematically surveyed, excavated, restored, and prepared to receive pilgrims
and visitors. Bethany Beyond the Jordan is located half an hour by car from the
Jordanian capital Amman.
The Bethany area sites formed part of the early Christian
pilgrimage route between Jerusalem, the Jordan River, and Mount Nebo.
The area is also associated with the biblical account of how the
Prophet Elijah (Mar Elias in Arabic) ascended to heaven in a whirlwind on a
chariot of fire. (See main Image above).
Mount Nebo
From Mount Nebo’s windswept
promontory, overlooking the Dead Sea, the Jordan River Valley, Jericho and the distant
hills of Jerusalem, Moses viewed the Holy Land of Canaan that he would never
enter. He died and was buried in Moab, "in the valley opposite
Beth-peor". His tomb remains unknown. After consulting the Oracle,
Jeremiah reportedly hid the Ark of the Covenant, the Tent and the Altar of
Incense at Mount Nebo.
Mount Nebo became a place of pilgrimage for early Christians from
Jerusalem and a small church was built there in the 4th century to commemorate
the end of Moses' life. Some of the stones from that church remain in their
original place in the wall around the apse area. The church was subsequently
expanded in the 5th and 6th centuries into the present-day large basilica with
its stunning collection of Byzantine mosaics.
The serpentine Cross, which
stands just outside the sanctuary, is symbolic of the bronze (or brazen)
serpent taken by Moses into the desert and the cross upon which Jesus was
crucified.
In addition to Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Mount
Nebo, there are three other holy sites that were designated by the Vatican as Millennium
2000 pilgrimage sites.
Amman
The Jordanian capital, Amman,
and its surrounding regions is referred to in the Bible as Ammon, or the
Ammonite Kingdom, and was famous for its springs and citadel. This is the place
where the Biblical story of David and Goliath (Uriah the Hittite) took place.
The massive fortifications, where David, an ancestor of Jesus, brought about
Uriah’s death so that he could marry his widow Bathsheba, are still standing.
Umm Qays
The old Decapolis city of
Gadara (modern-day Umm Qays), with its spectacular panoramic views overlooking
the Sea of Galilee, is the site of Jesus’ miracle of the Gadarene swine. It is
here that He encountered a demented man who lived in the tombs near the
entrance to the city, Jesus cast the bad spirits out of the man and into a herd
of pigs, which then ran down the hill into the waters of the Sea of Galilee and
drowned.
A rare five-aisled basilica from the 4th century was
recently discovered and excavated at Umm Qays. It has been built directly over
a Roman-Byzantine tomb and has a view into the tomb from the interior of the
church. It is also located alongside the old Roman city gate on the road from
the Sea of Galilee. Everything about this distinctive arrangement of a church
above a tomb at this particular place, strongly indicates that it was designed
and built to commemorate the very spot where the Byzantine faithful believed
that Jesus performed his miracle.
Anjara
Pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Mountain
Church - a rebuilt cave that is venerated as a place where Jesus and his mother
Mary passed during their journeys between the Sea of Galilee, the Decapolis
cities, Bethany beyond the Jordan and Jerusalem.
Anjara was designated by the Vatican as a Millennium
2000 pilgrimage site.
Mukawir
The 1st Century AD Roman-Jewish
historian, Josephus, identifies the awe-inspiring site of Mukawir (Machaerus)
as the palace/fort of Herod, who was the Roman-appointed ruler over the region
during the life of Jesus Christ.
It was here, at this hilltop fortified palace,
overlooking the Sea region and the distance hills of Palestine and Israel
that Herod Antipas, the son of Herod, imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist
after Salome’s fateful dance.
Madaba
Madaba and its
hinterlands were repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament. Then it was known
as Medeba and it featured in narratives related to Moses and the Exodus,
David’s war against the Moabites, Isaiah’s oracle against Moab and King Mesha
of Moab’s rebellion against Israel.
Between the 4th and 7th centuries AD, the prosperous
ecclesiastical centre of Madaba produced one of the world’s finest collections of
Byzantine mosaics, many fine examples of which are well preserved. Several
church floor mosaics can be seen in their original locations, while other have
been moved for protection and displayed in the Madaba
Archaeological Park.
Madaba’s real masterpiece, in the Orthodox Church of
Saint George, is the 6th century AD mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land –
the earliest religious map of the Holy Land in any form to survive from
antiquity.
The Dead Sea & Lot’s Cave
The Dead
Sea is one of the most dramatic places on earth, with its
stunning natural environment equally matched by its powerful spiritual
symbolism.
The infamous Sodom and Gomorrah and other cities of the
Dead Sea plain, or (Cities of the Valley) were the subjects of some of the most
dramatic and enduring Old Testament stories, including that of Lot, whose wife
was turned into a pillar of salt for disobeying God’s will. Lot and his two
daughters survived and fled to a cave near the small town of Zoar (modern-day
Safi). The Bible says Lot’s daughters gave birth to sons whose descendents
would become the Ammonite and Moabite people, whose kingdoms were in what is
now central Jordan. Although not confirmed, the sites of the cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah are believed to be the remains of the ancient walled towns of Bab
ed-Dhra’ and Numeira, in the south-eastern Dead Sea central plain.
On a hillside above the town of Zoar (modern-day Safi), Byzantine Christians
built a church and monastery dedicated to Saint Lot. The complex was built
around the cave where Lot and his daughters found refuge.
Umm ar-Rasas
A rectangular walled city, about
30 kilometres southeast of Madaba, which is mentioned on both the Old and New
Testaments of the Bible. It was fortified by the Romans and local Christians
were still embellishing it with Byzantine-style mosaics well over 100 years
after the start of the Muslim Umayyad rule.
Just outside the city walls is the recently unearthed Church of
Saint Stephen with its perfectly preserved outstanding mosaic floor, the
largest of its kind to be discovered in Jordan and second only to the world
famous mosaic map at Madaba.
Salt
The City of Salt,
northwest of Jordan’s capital, Amman, houses the tomb/shrine of Job, the wealthy, righteous
man from the Land of Uz.
Salt is also the location of the tomb/shrine of the prophet
Jethro, who was the father-in-law of Moses. It is also the site of the tombs of
Jad and Asher, who were both sons of Jacob.
The Kings Highway
The Kings Highway is the world’s oldest
continuously used communication route. It linked ancient Bashan, Giliad and
Ammon in the north with Moab, Edom, Paran and Midian in the south. Abraham, a common patriarch of Jews, Christians and
Muslims, who passed through northern, central and southern Jordan, would
certainly have used this route on his journey from Mesopotamia to Canaan. Moses asked the King of Edom if he and his people could
"go along the Kings Highway" during their journey to Canaan, but his
request was refused. The Kings Highway is also mentioned in an earlier story in
Genesis 14:5-8, in relation to the four Kings from the north, who attacked
Soddom and Gomorrah and the three other Cities of the Plain.
Petra
Petra seems
to be mentioned in the Bible’s Old Testament under several possible names,
including Sela and Joktheel (2 Kings 14:7).
During the Exodus, Moses and the Israelites passed
through the Petra area in Edom. Local tradition says that the spring at Wadi
Musa (Valley of Moses), just outside Petra, is the place where Moses struck the
rock and brought forth water (Numbers 20:10-11).
Aaron, the brother of Moses and Miriam, died in Jordan
and was buried in Petra at Mount Hor, now called Jabal Harun in Arabic (Mount Aaron).
A Byzantine church and later an Islamic shrine/tomb of Aaron were built on the
summit of the mountain, which today attracts pilgrims from all over the world.
Petra was almost certainly the last staging post of the three
kings, who took frankincense, gold and myrrh to honour the baby Jesus in
Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12).
