EducationHumanitarian AidJordanRefugees
Jordan Tour Escorted by Rita Zawaideh and SCM
$1380 per person, double occupancy, land only
To register or get more details, contact our office at 206-545-7307
Join SCM on a tour of Jordan, home to more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, most of whom are living in urban areas and below the poverty line. SCM continues to gather and send supplies to our warehouse in Madaba to help support the refugees, and we raise money to support programs that provide skills training, medical care, and education for the refugees.
Our tour will show us the highlights of Jordan, now overshadowed by the ongoing refugee crisis. Tourism is a large part of Jordan’s economy, yet as a destination for American tourists it is often overlooked. The country has so much to offer visitors, so please join us and learn for yourself what a wonderful destination Jordan is, and help SCM as we distribute donated goods to refugees in Jordan.
To learn more about the refugee crisis in Jordan, click this link: https://reliefweb.int/report/jordan/unhcr-jordan-factsheet-february-2018
Day by day Itinerary:
29 Mar: Welcome to Jordan! On arrival at Queen Alia International Airport, we will be met and transferred to our hotel in Madaba for overnight.
Church of St. George, Madaba
30 Mar: After breakfast, we will visit Madaba, Mt. Nebo, and Um Al Rassas. In the town of Madaba, which is known as the City of Mosaics, we will visit the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George, home to a stunning 6th century Mosaic Map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land. The map covers the floor of the church. The church was built in the late 1890’s over the previous site of a 6th century Byzantine church. During our visit in Madaba you will also be able to see artists at work creating, repairing or restoring mosaics. Afterwards continue to nearby Mount Nebo where we will visit the church on top of the hill from where, it is believed, Moses viewed the Promised Land. At Um Al-Rasass, most of this archaeological site, which started as a Roman military camp and grew to become a town from the 5th century, has not been excavated. It contains remains from the Roman, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods (end of 3rd to 9th centuries AD) and a fortified Roman military camp. The site also has 16 churches, some with well-preserved mosaic floors. Particularly noteworthy is the mosaic floor of the Church of Saint Stephen with its representation of towns in the region. Two square towers are probably the only remains of the practice, well known in this part of the world, of the stylites (ascetic monks who spent time in isolation atop a column or tower). Afterwards we will return to Madaba for dinner and overnight. (B/D)
31 Mar: After breakfast, we will depart for the lowest point on earth – the Jordan River and Dead Sea. We will visit the site of Bethany to see archaeological site with the remains of a Byzantine church and the ancient baptismal pools where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. After visiting the site we will go to the Dead Sea Spa Hotel for swimming in the Dead Sea and have lunch. Later in the afternoon return to Madaba. Dinner and overnight in Madaba. (B/L/D)
01 Apr: After breakfast we will go to Amman, Jordan’s capitol for a city tour. See the Roman Amphitheater followed by the Citadel, the Archaeological Museum, Folklore Museum, and the beautiful King Abdullah Mosque. Next we continue north to Jerash and Ajlun. In Jerash we will see the ruins of one of the grandest Roman cities in the Middle East. You will see the Triumphal Arch, the Hippodrome, the Temple of Zeus, the Forum, the mile-long street of Columns, the Nymphaeum, the Temple of Artemis and the Viaduct Church. The Amphitheater is still used for an arts festival and is remarkably well preserved. In Ajlun, above the city on the top of the hill you can see Al-Rabath Castle with its magnificent view of the Jordan Valley. It was an Arab defense fortress built in 1184 to defend against the Crusaders. Explore its warren of towers, chambers, galleries and hidden staircases, then we return to Madaba for dinner and overnight. (B/L)
02 Apr: Check out after breakfast and depart Madaba via the King’s Highway for the hilltop fortress of Kerak, in the ancient land of Moab. The crusader fortress that we will visit sits on a site that has long been a stronghold for one power or another. We will explore get an overview of the castle, then you will have time to roam the ramparts and explore the many tunnels, chambers and halls, and the Karak Archaeological Museum. The museum was established inside the old castle, which has remains from the Moabite period in the first millennium BC, going through the Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic and Crusader periods. After our visit we continue on the King’s Highway to Little Petra, a Nabatean site very similar but smaller in scale to Petra. We will have dinner and overnight at our hotel in Petra.
03 Apr: After breakfast we will begin our exploration of Petra, the “Rose Red City.” This incredible hidden city, inhabited by the ancient Nabateans, lay concealed from 100 AD until it was re-discovered in the early 1800’s. Take a horse ride to the “Siq” (Canyon) entrance then walk the rest of the way through the narrow, winding cut in rocks into the valley. Your first glimpse of the magnificence of the place will be of the Treasury as you round the last bend on the pathway. The Treasury and the other buildings have been carved out of the canyon walls in the pink sandstone. Continue past the Roman Theatre, the Corinthian Tomb and the Palace Tomb. After our visit to Petra, we will drive to Wadi Rum for dinner and overnight at our
camp in the desert. (B/D)
04 Apr: After breakfast, we will go to the Wadi Rum visitors center to depart for a 4×4 jeep tour (about 3-4 hours) to explore the natural beauty of the wadi, with its mountains jutting out of the pink sand, rock carvings, Bedouin camps, and in the springtime, there is an explosion of flowers and other plant life that take advantage of the spring rains. Afterward we will return to Madaba for dinner and overnight. (B/D)
Backpacks for refugee children in Jordan
05 Apr: The SCM Jordan office and warehouse are in Madaba, and after breakfast, we will assist with a distribution of donated supplies to the Syrian refugees in the area. We will also have free time to relax and enjoy the city of Madaba. Dinner and overnight in Madaba. (B/D)
06 Apr: SCM’s warehouse is the center of our activities in Jordan. All of the donations we ship from our Seattle office and those taken over in luggage by our many supporters come in to the warehouse there to be sorted and prepared for distribution. After breakfast, we will go to the warehouse to help with some sorting. We will have a late check out from our hotel. Dinner then transfer to QAIA for departure. (B/D)
End of services.
$1380 per person in a double room on half board basis
Hotels:
Madaba: Madaba 1880 Hotel (includes late check out on the last day)
Petra: Old Village Resort (Stay at the Movenpick for and additional $80 per person, dinner is an additional $24 at the Movenpick)
Wadi Rum: Jabal Rum Camp (VIP tent upgrade supplement $60)
Included:
• Transportation by modern air-conditioned bus with an English-speaking driver throughout the program
• Accommodation as mentioned
• Entrance fees to all mentioned sites
• Qualified English-speaking guide
• Horse ride in Petra
• 4-wheel drive jeep tour in Wadi Rum
• Lunch at Dead Sea Spa
• Bottled water in the vehicle
Not Included:
• Visa if arriving separately
• Tips for the driver and guides
• Lunches (except for lunch at Dead Sea Spa), snacks, beverages other than water, tea or coffee
• Extras, personal expenses, optional activities not mentioned on itinerary