Conecta Travel

From the Jordan River to Antioch in 15 days, May 2012

08 26th, 2010

JORDAN

Day 1: Fly To Amman Queen Alia International Airport.

Transfer to Hotel, meet all the group members, briefing , cocktail, welcome Dinner party. Overnight in Amman.

Day 2: Amman tour, Site of Bethany, Dead Sea.

After Breakfast, we tour Amman to witness The Middle Eastern and cosmopolitan influences on this Capital of the Kingdom. We visit the Citadel, the amphitheater, the souks, where we sample a delicious Arabic sweet called ‘Knafee’. By afternoon we have made our way to the Jordan river, this recently excavated area has yielded the ruins of at least 21 churches, grottoes, and baptismal pools from the Roman and Byzantine era. this is the site of Jesus’ baptism by St. John the Baptist. Then we travel to the Dead Sea, a landlocked body of salt water whose rich history goes back to biblical times. You’ll have ample opportunity to swim at this historic body of water, and discover its remarkable buoyancy. Dinner and overnight at Dead Sea.

Day 3: To Petra via Maadaba and Mt Nebo

Breakfast, We drive to the mosaic city of Madaba. Here we see the mosaic map on the floor of Saint George’s Church, the oldest known map of the Holy Land. A short distance from here, we stop at Mt. Nebo, known as the burial site of Moses, with spectacular views overlooking the green Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. Early Christians built the Church of Moses here. In the sixth century, it was expanded into one of the largest complexes of monasteries in the Middle East. There are interesting mosaics in several buildings here.

After Madaba, we drive around the rounded hills of the limestone plateau until we reach the Wadi Mujib, a dramatic deep gorge mentioned in the Bible as Arron’s Valley. We descend 3,000-foot walls to the bottom of the wadi, or valley, passing through an incredible landscape. We continue on to our hotel at Petra hoping to catch the desert’s sunset. Dinner and overnight in Petra.

Day 4: Petra Day Tour

Breakfast, Nothing can prepare you for the splendor of this red-hued city of stone. Here the Nabataeans, Arabs who dominated the area prior to the Romans, carved elaborate temples and tombs out of the sandstone. There are only a few freestanding buildings here, with over 800 monuments carved into the stone. It leaves you stunned indeed!

You approach Petra through the winding siq, a narrow passage between 600-foot-high overhanging sandstone cliffs, and enter on foot. Exiting the darkness of the siq, you stand agape before the towering brightness of El Kazneh (The Treasury), a 140-foot high edifice carved into a mountain. Then you see the hundreds of soaring temples, tombs, and houses, as well as a Roman theater, in the cliffs around you. We spend much of the day exploring this magnificent site.Overnight in Petra.

SYRIA

Day 5, To Damascus, via Bosra and Ezraa

After breakfast, we drive to Syria via Amman. Two hours after crossing the borders, we arrive at the first Nabatean city of the 2nd century BC…it is Bosra. The capital of the Roman province Arabia Petrea. We visit the magical, most famous Roman Amphitheatre dated back to the 2nd. Century AD, which was accidentally discovered 40 years ago ! then we continue to Ezraa to visit St George Church built in the 4th Century. And on to Damascus. Dinner and overnight.

Day 6, Damascus. The oldest continuously inhabited City in the World.

Breakfast, We embark on a full-day walking tour of Damascus. We begin in its Old City, a labyrinthine maze of alleys lined with shops, mosques, and ancient Churches, starting from Souk Al Hamidieh, the 300 years old first fully roofed shopping mall in the world, passing lots of shops of oriental arts and fancy fabrics, passing the Umayad Mosque, The Gold and Herbs markets and then Azem Palace of the Ottoman era, keep walking to the Biblical street called Straight , where St Paul had the conversion to Christianity, “On The Road To Damascus”. We continue walking to the Cathedral of Mary, the seat of the Patriarch of Antioch passing tens if not hundreds of antique shops and displays, on to Bab Sharqi, home to St Paul’s Window and the St Ananias Chapel which is the first known church ever built.Overnight in Damascus .

Day 7: Saidnaya / Maalula / Palmyra

Breakfast. We head to The Convent of Our Lady of Saidnaya, built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian after a miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary. The convent today welcomes pilgrims from various Eastern Christian sects and houses an icon purportedly painted by St Luke Himself. The Monastery is very famous for its miracles to Muslims and Christians alike. We then continue to Maalula where the inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus Christ. We’ll visit the monasteries of St ( Takla or Thekla), ,and St Sergius, 5th century Monastery, We will continue to Palmyra catching the desert’s sunset. Dinner at an Arabian tent with live Bedouin music.Overnight in Palmyra.

Day 8: Palmyra.

Only for the brave hearts… we are riding camels at sunrise !

Breakfast, we are at the Roman oasis city of Tadmor, the UNESCO World Heritage Site. An ancient Assyrian caravan town, Palmyra grew to stunning opulence beginning in AD 267, during the rule of Syria’s celebrated Queen Zenobia. After rising to power following the assassination of her husband and son, who at the time ruled Palmyra, this daring queen led her soldiers into many battles of conquest and at one time even declared victory over Egypt, leading some to call her the “New Cleopatra.” Zenobia was later taken prisoner by Rome, against whom Palmyra had fought for its independence, but its emperor, Aurelius, was so impressed by the queen’s bravery and beauty that he freed her and gave her a villa to live in near what is now modern-day Tivoli, Italy. She went on to marry a Roman governor, and lived as a socialite and respected stateswoman there for many years. On our walking tour, we explore some of the magnificent remains of the Queen’s city—scattered over some 3 square miles—including the Amphitheater and Baal-Shamin Temple.

Afternoon drive to Homs to taste arguably the best Arabic sweets in the middle East! an hour drive to Hama. Dinner and a stroll to see visit the Norias. Dinner and overnight in Hama.

Day 9, Serjella, Aleppo

Breakfast, We travel north, we visit the beautiful ancient city of Apamea, walking on its famous Colonade, then we cross to Serjella, ‘birth palace of first Olive press in the world’, On to Aleppo, another ancient city of the world that sits at a strategic location between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates River. An incredibly diverse city, Aleppo is home to influential groups of both Sunni Muslims and Greek Orthodox Christians, and boasts a rich religious historical city. Dinner and overnight in Aleppo.

Day 10: Aleppo, St. Simeon, Antioch.

After breakfast, a short distance to visit Aleppo’s ancient limestone most famous Citadel, considered one of the oldest and largest in the world (it is thought that it was constructed in about the 3^rd millennium B.C.). An important archaeological site, this ancient structure is often used for modern-day concerts and events. We then move on to explore the city’s covered souks through the charming narrow alleyways and shaded store fronts. Aleppo, according to some historians believe that Aleppo rather than Damascus IS The oldest continuously inhabited City in the World. We drive to visit the well-preserved ruins of the Monastery of St. Simeon the Stylite. Like many other early Christian figures, St. Simeon believed that the extreme denial of the physical body would lead to spiritual understanding. But even among extremists, Simeon stands out—for standing on a pillar for 37 years. His unusual perch and powerful preaching soon drew crowds, which in turn lead to the founding of a church and monastery after Simeon’s repose in the fifth century. We explore the archeological site, learning about the history of the Saint, and admiring the beautiful views that on a clear day stretch to neighboring Turkey. We cross the Turkish border . Dinner and overnight in Antioch.

TURKEY

Turkey is an ancient land known as the crossroads between Asia and Europe, and your trip to Antioch is an adventure into The First Church of Christianity.

Day 11, Antioch, Breakfast, We begin our visit to the cave Church of St. Peter, This cave is widely believed to have been dug by the Apostle Peter himself as a place for the early Christian community of Antioch to meet, and thus to be the very First Christian church, ”The Apostles were called Christians first in Antioch”.

In 1983 was proclaimed by the Vatican as a holy place. Nestled in a hillside grotto with views of surrounding orchards and farms, the original house of worship on this site most likely dates back to the early 1st century A.D. A portion of the original chapel’s mosaic floor still exists today. It is here where St. Peter held the first Liturgy.

After visiting the church, you have time for lunch in Old town of Antioch. Then we visit Antakya Archeological Museum, Built in 1938, this large museum displays Antioch’s magnificent Roman mosaics as well as other important archaeological finds from Hittite to Byzantine times. We see the Charonion, This carved stone bust in the mountainside above Antioch dates from the 3rd century BC and was probably created in the hopes of averting a plague.

Ancient Antioch was quite the hub of intellectual, creative, and regal minds. During the early Roman period, its population swelled to about half a million people, which was only bested by the Empire’s more notable hubs of Rome and Alexandria. Many emperors decorated Antioch with impressive public edifices and the early Byzantine era saw the city on par with Constantinople in its grandeur and scope. On a cerebral level, the school of Greek philosophy was renowned, with the triumphs of its scholars celebrated throughout the ancient world. Later in the 5th century, unfortunately The city was plagued with earthquakes that nearly left it in ruin. When the ground wasn’t trembling due to Mother Nature, it was shaken with the persistent pounding of invaders such as the Persians, the Arabs, the Selcuks, and the Ottomans. Overnight in Antioch.

Day 12, Tartus, St George Monastery, The Krak De Chevalier, Beirut.

Breakfast, we cross the borders to Syria and drive to Tartus on the Mediterranean, we take a luxurious short break, then to St George Moastery at Al Wadi, a 5th. century famous Church, then to The Karak de Chevalier, the most formidable medieval fortress. Built in the eleventh century on a strategic hill, it became a flash point and key defensive structure for the Crusaders and Muslims armies that often clashed here during the 12th Century. This structure was once described by T.E. Lawrence as “perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world,” and is now preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. then we cross the northern borders of Lebanon, through Tripoli. Dinner and overnight in Beirut.

LEBANON

Day 13, Byblos, Geita, and Downtown Beirut.

Breakfast, visit to Byblos which had the reputation of being the oldest city in the world, founded by Cronus. Archaeological evidence at Byblos, dating back to around 1200 BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, the first signs of a town can be observed, with the remains of well-built houses of uniform size. Then a short drive to the incredible Geita Caves, Aside from being a Lebanese national symbol and a top tourist destination, the Jeita grotto plays an important social, economic and cultural role and is a finalist in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.The Jeita grotto is located within the Lower-Middle Jurasic strata of Keserouane which has a stratigraphic thickness of 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) and consists of Dolostone and micrictic limestone. an afternoon coffee break at Downtown Beirut, renovated and modernized downtown of Beirut, The Star Square, The souks, Churches and Mosques. Overnight.

Day 14, Breakfast and a drive to the Cedars of Lebanon, 8000 ft. high, most significant of natural beauty in the country, The Cedar tree is the symbol of Lebanon, it sits proudly on the Lebanese flag. Then we visit The Gibran’s museum in Bsharri, the birth place of Khalil Gibran, poet, writer and painter, migrated to Boston late 1800s. Famous for his book ‘The Prophet”. Then we descend to Douma to visit St John’s Monastery, back to Beirut for a farewell dinner party. This night were we reminisce, exchange photos and emails.

Day 15, Breakfast, good wishes and transfer to Beirut Rafic Al Hariri International Airport.

Bon Voyage

Rates include: 5*Accommodation, Land Transportation, English speaking Tour Guides, Entries fees to some sites, Daily Breakfast, 10 Dinners.

Rates do not include:

Airfares.

Personal extras.

Visas.

Exit Tax at Borders.