Tours of Ancient Civilizations in Jordan

Come to Jordan and let us take you on a tour of human history!

Jordan is home to 10,000 years of human settlement - - and the ruins of those civilization are still present in our landscape. 

Prehistoric humans settled here in the mild climate around Petra and `Azraq – the Neolithic site at Little dates back to 7,500 BC, and like Jericho is one of the world’s oldest known villages.  Jordan has hosted continuous habitation from earliest civilization to the present.  Enjoy exploring the human past with us - - Iron Age mining villages, cave-homes of nomadic hunters, neolithic apartment complexes... millennia upon millennia of humans have left their traces throughout Jordan .

We still use the route forged by the Romans down the spine of Jordan ’s mountains, the “King’s Highway” built by the Emperor Trajan. Roman roads and ruins cover Jordan ’s landscape, and Jerash is the best-preserved and most extensive Roman city in the world today.  Byzantine mosaics, villages, shrines and churches dot the whole country.  In Madaba the earliest known map of the holy land is a Byzantine mosaic on the floor of St. George’s Orthodox Church, where Arab Christians still worship today.  The extensive ruins of the black stone city of Umm al-Jimal give us a feel for the long history of Arab tribes who were allies of the Romans, became Christians and later converted their churches to mosques…

Jordan is a treasure trove of Islamic history, too.  The fabulous “Desert Palaces” of the first Islamic caliphate still stand grandly in the desert.  Qusayr `Amra is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument – a “little palace” and bathhouse with mosaic floors and lively frescoes from the 8<sup>th</sup> century AD.  We are also proud to be home to 28 Islamic holy sites that commemorate famous historical figures and political events in the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on upon him).  Many of our holy sites – such as the tombs of Moses (Musa), Jethro (Shu`ayb), and Aaron (Harun – peace be upon them) are shared by Christians and Jews as well.

Forts and mosques of the Mameluke dynasty, mighty castles of the Crusaders and extensive Ottoman remains attest to the many powers which have dominated the region.  The elegant and solid Ottoman train stations of the Hijaz railway are still visible from the road which pilgrims to Mecca have followed for over 14 centuries.  For centuries more, Christian pilgrims have visited Mt. Nebo (Siyagha), the shrine to St. Elias near `Ajloun, and Maghtas – believed by many to be the site where Jesus (peace be upon him) was baptized. 

Perhaps most famous is our own Nabataean history at Petra , another UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Petra needs no introduction – the grand and spectacular city carved from richly colored stone cliffs is known the world over.  We can take you to discover the hundreds of kilometres of Petra ’s ancient “suburbs” and farms on hikes or on horseback through the surrounding landscape, or concentrate in detail on the center of the ancient metropolis itself.r

If you want to feel the great sweep of human history, come to Jordan .  Tell us which kinds of sites you are interested in, and we will take you there.  In the summertime it is even possible to see many famous archaeological teams at work on their excavations – to see the reconstruction of history in progress.

(For images of some of the historical sites mentioned here, click “JIT Photo Gallery,” or see a sample itinerary by clicking “Virtual Tours.”  For some more background “Jordan’s History.”)