As we are unable to make the traditional pilgrimage visits to the Holy Land, we invite you to come to experience Jordan, often the forgotten part of the Holy Land, which holds stories just as evocative as those in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the Galilee, but with astonishing landscapes to match.

Jordan is an ancient land with major religious sites from the Old and New Testament. Friends of the Holy Land has teamed up with the Jordan Tourism Board and Petra Tours to offer Pilgrimage Leaders an opportunity to become familiar with these sites so they can bring these experiences of the places and the people to their future pilgrimage groups. We will visit several of the sites designated by the Vatican as a Millennium 2000 pilgrimage site.

Places for this unbeatable offer are strictly limited hence there is a short window for reservations which must be made by 5th September.

COST - £525 per person sharing a twin/double room on a half-board basis. Single rooms are available at a supplementary cost of £150.

We will accept payment by card over the phone 01926 512980 or BACS to:

a/c Friends of the Holy Land with NatWest Bank plc

sort code: 60-05-41

acc. no: 24591211

Please email confirming payment made and how we may best contact you to obtain all your details.

ITINERARY

• 17 September – Day 1:  Arrival Queen Alia Int’l Airport RJ EST: 22:45, Meet & Assist, transfer to hotel at Amman for overnight.

§  18 September – Day 2:  Breakfast at hotel, transfer to visit Jerash & Ajloun, Mar-Elyas, return to hotel in Amman for dinner & overnight.

o    Jerash, formerly known as Gerasa, is one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman provincial cities. It boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. Within a large ecclesiastical complex inside the city there is a fountain where Byzantine citizens once annually celebrated Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine. 

o    Ajloun - 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.

o    Mar-Elyas - commonly known as the home of the prophet Elijah, is a site that consists of incredible archeological ruins of two Byzantine churches that are situated on the top of a hill overlooking vast greenery and hilly landscapes. The churches’ floors include beautiful mosaics of floral and geometric patterns. 

• 19 September – Day 3: Breakfast at hotel, transfer to visit Baptism site, visit Madaba and Mt. Nebo, dinner & overnight at hotel in Amman

o    Bethany beyond the Jordan the spot where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, has been a pilgrimage site since the Byzantines built a church here in the 5th century. Additionally, the Baptism Site is where John the Baptist began his public ministry. Near the Baptism Site sits Jabal Mar-Elias, or Elijah’s Hill, which is believed to be the place where the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven

o    Madaba famous as home to a mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land that dates back to the 6th century. Consisting of over two million stone pieces, the mosaic is inside the confines of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George.

o    Mt Nebo - According to the Book of Deuteronomy, it was from Mount Nebo that Moses first saw the Promised Land but was not allowed to enter. Today, the Moses Memorial Church offers a viewpoint to see for yourself what Moses saw. Information boards point you in the direction of Jericho, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and also remind you that you’re standing in the centre of the Holy Land.

§  20 September – Day 4: Breakfast at hotel, transfer to visit Petra site then transfer to Hotel in Petra for dinner & overnight.

o    Petra is the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2,000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Before the Nabateans, the Edomites ruled this region. The area is part of the route that Moses and his people took on their long Exodus journey. According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. At the time of Jesus Petra was a city of enormous wealth controlling much of the trade that passed through the region.

§  21 September- Day 5: A day of encounter with the local Christian community. Breakfast at hotel, transfer to Amman to visit the Our Lady of Peace Centre, FHL projects with Father Mario Cornioli and Fr George Kopti followed by meetings with the Latin and Anglican Bishops in Amman and their communities then transfer to Hotel in Amman for dinner & overnight.

§  22 September – Day 6: Breakfast at hotel, transfer to Queen Alia Int’l Airport for departure, RJ EST: 10:55 am.

Places for this unbeatable offer are strictly limited hence there is a short window for reservations which must be made by 5th September. To be confirmed with a place on this tour, each reservation is to be accompanied by full payment.

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