Day 1: Amman, City of Seven Hills
Arrive in Amman, the lively capital built on the ruins of ancient Philadelphia. Visit the Citadel, with Roman columns and an 8th-century Umayyad palace, then descend to the Roman Theatre, still used for performances today. Dinner at Hashem, a beloved falafel café that hasn’t changed in decades.
Day 2: Jerash, Rome in the Desert
Drive north to Jerash, once a major Roman city along the Decapolis. Walk its colonnaded Cardo, stand in the Oval Plaza, and climb to the Temple of Artemis, dedicated to the goddess of hunting and fertility. Return to Amman for knafehat Habibah Sweets, hot cheese pastry dripping with syrup, before an evening stroll through Rainbow Street.
Day 3: Madaba, Mount Nebo and the Dead Sea
Head south to Madaba, home to early Christian communities and the famous Mosaic Map of the Holy Land (6th century). Continue to Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have glimpsed the Promised Land, its view stretching across the Jordan Valley.
Descend to the Dead Sea, Earth’s lowest point, and experience the surreal weightlessness of its mineral-rich waters. Stay overnight at a small guesthouse or local spa resort.
Day 4: King’s Highway to Petra
Follow the King’s Highway, an ancient caravan route once used by Moabite and Nabatean traders. Stop at Karak Castle, a massive Crusader fortress from the 12th century that guarded this vital passage. Continue through mountain switch backs to Wadi Musa, the modern village at Petra’s gate.
Day 5: Petra: The Lost City of Stone
Enter Petra at dawn through the narrow Siq, a sandstone corridor leading to the Treasury (Al-Khazneh), the city’s most iconic façade. Continue past carved tombs and temples to the Royal Tombs, Theatre, and Colonnaded Street.
Climb the Monastery (Ad-Deir) for sweeping desert views and reflect on how the Nabateans channelled rainwater through hidden cisterns to make this city bloom in the desert. As evening falls, the rock glows red-gold, a living monument to human ingenuity.
Day 6: Wadi Rum, Desert of Echoes
Drive two hours south to Wadi Rum, a UNESCO-protected wilderness of sandstone and granite. Join Bedouin guides for a 4x4 jeep tour past arches, canyons, and petroglyphs older than recorded history.
At sunset, climb a dune for a 360-degree view of the valley before dining in a Bedouin desert camp under a sky filled with stars.
Note: We extended our time in Wadi Rum for a proper desert camp decompression of games of backgammon, reading and shisha in this lunar landscape.
Day 7: Return to Amman
Wake early to the quiet dawn over the desert cliffs. Drive north, stopping at Shobak Castle, a Crusader relic overlooking the King’s Highway. Arrive back in Amman by afternoon for a final meal and mint tea before departure.
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