Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: QAI Airport – Petra Overnight (L, D)
Upon arrival at Queen Alia Airport, our representative will meet and assist you through the customs and immigration procedures. And then drive to the hotel in Petra for check-in. Lunch in Local Restaurant Petra Dinner & Overnight
Day 2: Petra Full day & Overnight (B, L, D)
After breakfast at the hotel, departure for a full day tour to the Red Rose City Petra. Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended into Syria . Despite successive attempts by the Seleucid king Antigonus, the Roman emperor Pompey and Herod the Great to bring Petra under the control of their respective empires, Petra remained largely in Nabataean hands until around 100AD, when the Romans took over. It was still inhabited during the Byzantine period, when the former Roman Empire moved its focus east to Constantinople , but declined in importance thereafter. The Crusaders constructed a fort there in the 12th century, but soon withdrew, leaving Petra to the local people until the early 19th century, when it was visited by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Upon arrival you will begin an unforgettable trip on horse back to the siq and then by foot until you reach the Treasury. The local guide will give a brief history of the city. Among other monuments you will see today are Pharaoh's Castle, the Triumphal Arch, the Amphitheater and Monastery. After that continuo to small Petra by Donkey, Then back to hotel for overnight. (Lunch at Basin Restaurant 5* in Petra)
Day 3: Petra – Dead Sea – Mt.Nebo – City Tour Amman & Overnight (B, L, D)
After breakfast at the hotel morning we drive to the Dead Sea. There are many reasons why the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth and the largest "Natural Spa" in the world, is also one of the world's true natural wonders and a unique destination. Starting with the Dead Sea itself a one-of-a-kind body of water, 417 meters (1,373 ft.) below sea level with mineral-rich waters and mud flow with natural health and beauty benefits acclaimed globally. Recognized as a mini-universe with its own microclimate, the Dead Sea is the saltiest and most mineral-laden body of water in the world.
The unparalleled buoyancy and warmth of the water has everyone floating. And its health promoting thermo-mineral springs and world famous cosmetic black mud have been praised by visitors for millennia. leave Dead Sea to mount Nebo which is only 10km west of Madaba the place where Moses gazed at the promised land before he died to visit the monastery which has been excavated and restored by the Italians Franciscans priests in 1933, over looking the Jordan valley, dead sea, Jericho and Jerusalem. After that We will leave Mount Nebo to Amman. you will enjoy a city tour in Amman, the capital, a safe, friendly, and modern city. Above the city, the ancient Citadel listens as Amman reveals its past. Known in the Old Testament as Rabbath Ammon and in Greco-Roman times as Philadelphia, you will visit the Amphitheater, the Citadel, King Abdullah Mosque. Transfer to hotel in Amman for dinner & Overnight. (Lunch in Local Restaurant)
Day 4: Amman – Jerash – Syrian Border – Bosra Overnight (B, L, D)
After Breakfast we drive to Jerash, the best example of a roman provincial city in the whole middle east, visit the spectacular forum, roman colonnaded street, nemphyum, north theatre, artemis temple, st. cosmos and demeanors church, south theatre. After Lunch break drive to Syrian Border to Departure with our assist in through the customs. (Lunch in Local Restaurant in Jerash). Meet& assist by our representative in Syrian Border and transfer to Bosra, It was the Roman capital for the Arabic region and located in the middle of a fertile valley. There is a big gate leading to the city with its old paved roads, the lively and brilliant colors of costumes in this city create a strange, charming and amazing contrast with the dark and gloomy color of the basaltic stones of the temples, palaces, high columns and mosques dating back to middle ages. In Bosra, there is a magnificent amphitheater dating back to the second century A. D. and can accommodate up to 15000 audiences. Transfer to Hotel for dinner & Overnight.
Day 5: Bosra – Maaloula – Apamea – Aleppo Overnight (B, L, D)
After Breakfast transfer to visit Maaloula, Ma'aloula means "the entrance" in the Aramaic language. It is a rocky village located in Al-Qalamoon mountains, in the eastern lower part of Lebanese eastern mountain, its houses cling on hills of limestone and has two famous monasteries St. Sergius & St. Tekla. Then Drive to Apamea: It was built in the fourth century B. C. by Seleucus Necator who named it after his wife, Afamia. Many famous personalities visited this city like Antonio and Cleopatra and Hannibal. A philosophical school of modern Platonic approach was established in it. You can see the wall surrounding its beautiful ruins such as high columns, old houses and big churches dating back to the fifth and sixth centuries A. D. in addition to splendid amphitheater. Its museum has a lot of extraordinary mosaic panels. Shaizer citadel, dating back to the 13th century stands proudly over the nearby hill. After that transfer to hotel in Aleppo for dinner & Overnight. (Lunch in Local Restaurant)
Day 6: St. Semion Citadel – Aleppo City tour. Overnight (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to visit St. Semion Citadel . 15 centuries ago, emperor Zenon built this important cathedral to honor Saint Semion who lived /40/ years on a pillar preaching his students. This church is an example of beauty attained by the Syrian architecture and was imitated in Europe three centuries later. Then drive to Aleppo to visit Aleppo Citadel, The biggest, oldest and perhaps the most impressive historical monument in Aleppo, is situated at the center of the city on a hill about 40 meters high. It's ruins relate many successive civilizations which Aleppo witnessed since thousands of years. In the beginning it was a place of worship. Saluqos Nikator was the first to use it as a defense center in 312 B. C. Muslims entered the citadel peacefully and was reconstructed many times.
The present shape dates back to the 13th century A. D. with additional restoration during Al. Mamluk period. Then you will visit Aleppo Great Mosque which is the biggest and one of the finest of the city which contains about one thousand mosques representing 14 centuries. Built in the time of the Omayyad caliph Suleiman Ibn Abdul Malek, its notable features are the beautiful square minaret, its prayer niche (mihrab), and the pulpit made of ebony inlaid with ivory. After that you drive to visit Aleppo Museum. The entrance of the Museum is guarded by massive basalt from a temple at Tell Halaf, a 09th century B.C. site in northeast Syria. Star exhibits are a great ronze lion and other statues from Mari, as well as some jewelry made of gold and semi-precious stones which would look superb if worn today. there are finds from Ugarit, Ebla and from the rescue excavations of sites flooded by lake assad. Other rooms house delicate Byzantine glass and Islamic art, ceramics, glass and calligraphy. Then drive back to hotel in Aleppo for dinner & overnight. (Lunch will be in Local restaurant)
Day 7: Aleppo – Hama – Palmyra Overnight (B, L, D)
After Breakfast drive to Visit Hama, a city tour in Hama then visit Krack Des Chevaliers, which is the most famous castle of the middle ages. It stands proudly on a volcanic crater and overlooks the Beka'a plain, Homs and Lattakia mountains. This castle tells the story of two centuries of bloody and wild struggle ended by liberating it in 1271 by sultan Al Zaher Baybars who re-built its ruined parts and added many others. After that drive to Palmyra for dinner &overnight. (Lunch will be in Local restaurant).
Day 8: Palmyra Full Visit & Overnight (B, L, D)
Breakfast at the Hotel then start your visit to Palmyra Castle, which Credited to Saladin, but mainly built by Emir Fakhr el-Din in the early 17th century, the hilltop ruin of Qalaat ibn Maan looks far more impressive from a far than close up, when the crude stonework contrasts painfully with the city spread below you. A moat and footbridge transversing it still exist, however diminished. Then you will visit Palmyra Museum, which is Opposite the temple of Bel, the museum of popular culture gives a good idea of the everybody life of the Bedouin people, both nomadic and settled. The rooms and activities of a house in the oasis as it might have been a few decades ago contrast with Bedouin tent as it might still be today, although times are changing in the desert.
After that drive to visit Palmyra Theater, On the same side as the Nebo temple, the restored theater is used for performances in the Palmyra festival. It looks small for such great city, but that is because only about one-third of seats are left. They were long buried by sand, while the upper levels made a convenient quarry. The proceed your visit to Temple Palmyra: Bel "or Baal" was supreme among the Palmyrene gods - the Romans conveniently identified him with Jupiter - and this temple is the most massive building in the city. Then to Tombs of Palmyra, which is Scattered on the hillsides and along the valleys near Palmyra , scores of towers, mostly ruined, once contained floor upon floor of stone sarcophagi sealed into niches. Other tombs were built underground, the three brothers tomb is especially notable for its original wall paintings and it seems certain that many of these have yet to be discovered. After that drive back to Hotel for dinner& Overnight. (Lunch in Local Restaurant).
Day 9: Palmyra – Damascus Overnight (B, L, D)
After breakfast Leave Palmyra to Damascus, you visit Damascus Museum which located outside the old city, northwest of the citadel, the national museum of Syria houses an incredibly rich collection of antiquities from every era. Ideally, it should be visited both before and after you travel round the country to see the sites where the treasures were found. Then drive to visit Kassioun Mountain. Dinner in Overnight in Damascus (Lunch in Local Restaurant).
Day 10: Damascus Full Day & Overnight (B, L, D)
After breakfast proceed your visit to Azem Palace Damascus .Just a little way down the narrow street leading from the southwest corner of the great mosque stands a veritable jewel of 18th century Damascus architecture, a palace built for Assad Pasha Azem, a governor of Damascus. Extravagantly decorated rooms and alcoves ramble round a garden courtyard, a refuge from the heat and dust of the city. Some of the rooms house exhibits of the museum of arts and popular traditions, including good displays of embroidered costumes, glass and furniture. After that you will visit Omayyad Mosque Damascus which is the Islamic most famous mosque, it is a unique in its engineering and decorations, it is considered a school in building and architecture for the world mosques, It inspired the architects for many centuries as they always attempted to build equals, It is a new breakthrough in the Islamic art and architecture.
After that to visit Salahdine Tomb Damascus, Salah al-Dine, known to the West as Saladin, united the Muslim world against the invading Crusaders. His mausoleum, built in 1193, stands outside the great mosque near its northwest corner. It was restored at the end of the 19th century at the expenses of Kaiser Wilhelm second og Germany after he had paid a visit. Then proceed to visit Hananya Church Damascus, To the left just before the gat Chapel of St. Hananya is situated, named after the man who laid his hands on Paul to bring back his sight. Steps from the courtyard lead down to an ancient cellar. Then you will end your day to visit St. Paul Window Damascus, Through Bab Sharqi in the ancient city and along the wall to the right, St. Paul's chapel is located, it is modern, but claims to stand on the site where Paul was let down in a laundry basket to escape from the city. Drive back to Hotel for Dinner & Overnight. (Lunch in Local restaurant).
Day 11: Damascus – Border to Lebanon – Anjar – Beirut Overnight (B, L, D)
After breakfast drive to cross border between Syria – Lebanon with our assist through customs in both sides. After that you will transfer to Anjar, Anjar is a very unusual town. It stands alone on the Beqaa plain, its arches disembodied and mystical. A purely Omayyad town, it was built on a sensitive and strategic location at the junction of the caravan trade routes to Damascus, Homs, Baalbeck and south Lebanon. It is also a very young site. Excavations were started in 1943 by the directorate general of antiquities in the hope that there lay the vestiges of the Omayyad dynasty, the only Arab period in Lebanon that had not been documented. Then proceed visit to Baalbeck, The color of Baalbeck ruins is magnificent, some columns are an almost-red whereas, at noon when we arrived, part of the frieze crowning the six great standing columns was a chiseled gold ingot. Baalbeck is the embodiment of the superlative. One of the world's greatest historical sites, the most gigantic complex of Roman temples ever built, its columns are the tallest ever erected, its stones the largest ever used. Then transfer to Beirut for Dinner & Overnight. (Lunch in Local Restaurant)
Day 12: Beirut / Overnight (B, l, D)
After breakfast at the hotel transfer to visit the Dog’s River and Harissa, Her hands outstretched in blessing, our lady of Lebanon watches over the bay of Jounieh and the great expanse of the Mediterranean. The monument was raised at the behest of Patriarch Elias Hoyek, who used to retreat to this 650 meter high peak to meditate and pray, and papal Nuncio Carol Duval. The 8,5 meter high statue was built in France . It weights fifteen tons and is constructed in four sections. A stairway spirals up around the 20 meters high base to the feet of the virgin. The first stone was laid in 1904 and the monument was completed in 1908. after that you visit Byblus, It is believed that the Greek word of scroll or book, "biblion" was adopted from the name of this ancient city because Egyptian papyrus reached the Greek through the intermediary of Byblus which, at the time, was Egypt's chief port for trade in Asia.
The site of the old city was discovered in 1860 by the French author and scholar Ernest Renan in 1921 - 1924 excavations were carried out by Pierre Montet, a French Egyptologist and in 1925 by Maurice Dunand. Further campaigns continued until 1975. Byblus today is a blend of the ancient the prosperous new, overlooking a beautiful bay. In the higher part of town there are a number of very old churches, and in the town proper the Crusader Castle, the Ramparts, the temple of Baalat Gebal, the Obelisk temple, the king's well, the Roman theater, the royal Necropolis, and the temple of Resheph. In the medieval part of town, the Romanesque&-type church of John the Baptist was begun in 1115. the wax museum opposite the church, has an interesting display of traditional costumes, and the Souq is lied with medieval shops. Byblus boasts a very nice strip of beach north of the town where divers might come upon some underwater ruins. Back to hotel for dinner & Overnight (Lunch in Local Restaurant).
Day 13: Beirut – Evening to Airport (B, L, D)
After Breakfast at the Hotel drive to visit Beirut Museum, The national museum which was established in 1942 had gained world renown for its unique collection of Phoenician, Greek and Roman sarcophagi, and of Phoenician and Arab jewelry ranging in age from the fourth millennium B.C. to the 18th century A.D. During the fifteen years of strife, it took a monumental battering due to its location on the firing line. Only through the ingenious and untiring efforts of its director and staff were most of its treasures saved from total destruction. Now the museum is going through a period of reorganization and restoration. The team of experts in the laboratory are preparing an inventory of all artifacts before restoration, the treasures have been liberated from their concrete prisons, and refurbished museum will house, not only its original treasures, but also many of recent finds from the archaeological digs central Beirut, including gold Roman funerary masks, gold jewelry, Persian statuettes, neo-Assyrian stone seals and numerous mosaics. After that proceed to visit Sidon which is a 48 kilometers south of Beirut and the largest city in south Lebanon, was another of Phoenician's main city states. Its history is, unfortunately, lost to us. Treasure hunts and amateur archaeologists in the 19th century plundered its sites and their booty can be seen in foreign museums. Even now, ancient objects have been appearing on the international antiques markets.
Furthermore, a large chunk of Sidon's history is buried under the modern constructions of recent items. The city was inhabited as long ago as 4000 B. C. and maybe as early as Neolithic items (6000 - -4000). Ancient Sidon was built on a promontory in the lee of an island, which sheltered its fleet from storms and served as a refuge during military incursion from the interior. After Sidon you will drive to visit Tyre which is one of the Phoenician's most important city states, Tyre was established in 2759 B. C. and consisted of a mainland settlement and a modest island city a short distance off shore. In the 10th century B. C., probably in history's first such venture, King Hiram built a landfill to join the island city with other small islands and a causeway to connect it to the mainland. He further expanded Tyre by reclaiming considerable areas from the sea. Tyre became an important mercantile center, famous for its glass-making and Phoenician crafts in addition to its lucrative timber trade. The embroidered stuffs of Tyre and Sidon were so exquisite that, it is said, Paris bought some to take back to his mother-in-law in Troy . Back to Hotel in Beirut for rest & Dinner, (Lunch will be in Local Restaurant). Evening time drive to Airport to catch flight EK-954 to Dubai at 20:45. (End of Service).
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
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Jordan
Syria
Lebanon
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