Where Jesus Walked

It is a popular misconception that all the events relating to Jesus in the New Testament took place in what is now modern day Israel.

Jesus was in fact baptised in Jordan. His time in the Wilderness was in Jordan and he preached in the Decapolis cities of Jerash (Gerasa) and Um Qais ( Gadara in the bible). The Miracle of the Gadarine Swine, took place in Jordan and Jesus sought refuge in a small cave in the North of Jordan in Anjara.

On this four day pilgrim tour of Jordan you will walk where Jesus walked and will be given the opportunity to experience this part of the Holy Land that is very seldom visited by Christians, with the exception of course of Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis.

Day 01: Arrival at QAIA – Meet & Assist – Transfer to the hotel in Amman for overnight

You will arrive at Amman airport and will be met by our representative at the airport; you will transfer to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

Day 02: Visit Bethany – Visit Churches in Amman & King Abdullah Mosque – Overnight at Amman Hotel

You will be collected form your hotel after breakfast and travel to Bethany Beyond Jordan, which is located very close to the Lowest Place on Earth the Dead Sea.

For Christians Bethany Beyond Jordan is probably the most significant pilgrim site in the world. Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, the opening of the heavens and the arrival of the Holy Spirit is the very beginning of Christianity. John was baptizing in the river Jordan close to Beit ‘Abara, where Joshua, Elijah and Elisha crossed the river and very close to where Elijah ascended into heaven.

In New Testament times, it became known as Bethany, the village of John the Baptist. This Bethany is not to be confused with the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, where the Bible says Lazarus was raised from the dead. The Bible clearly records that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Matthew 3: 13-17), and that John the Baptist lived, preached and baptized in the village of Bethany, on “the other side of the Jordan” (John 1: 28). The baptism site, known in Arabic as al-Maghtas, is located at the head of a lush valley just east of the Jordan River. After Jesus’ baptism at Bethany, he spent forty days in the wilderness east of the River Jordan, where he fasted and resisted the temptations of Satan (Mark 1: 13, Matthew 4: 1-11).

On arrival in Bethany you will visit the upper site of Elijah’s Hill, the Hermit Caves and the Baptismal pools. After lunch you will visit the lower site of the Jordan River and the spot where Jesus was baptized.

Following this you will return to Amman to visit the King Abdulla Mosque, built between 1982 and 1989. It is capped by a magnificent blue mosaic dome beneath which 3,000 Muslims may offer prayer. Then you will transfer back to you hotel in Amman for overnight.

Day 03: Visit Jerash – Anjara – Um Qais – Pella – Back to Amman for Overnight

Proceed to the North of Amman for a 45 minute drive to the best preserved example of Roman civilization, the city of Jerash. Jerash, part of the Decapolis (the ten big Roman cities of the East) and mentioned in the Bible “Jesus walked through the Decapolis Cities” has been called the Pompeii of the East for its unique state of preservation.

The city features theaters, churches, temples to Zeus and Artemis, a Nymphaeum and colonnaded streets.

After the visit, proceed to the town of Anjara featured on most biblical tours of Jordan, where the shrine of the Lady of the Mountain is located. The church consists of a large hall to receive pilgrims who come to honor the life size wooden statue of Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus placed within a newly built grotto.

It is believed that Jesus Christ and his disciples including Virgin Mary passed through Anjara once and rested in a cave during a journey between Jerusalem and Galilee. The cave in Anjara has long been a holy place for pilgrims and has now been commemorated with a modern shrine, the Church of Our Lady of the Mountain.

Continue on to Umm Qais, or Gadara of antiquity. Gadara commands a magnificent view over the northern Jordan Valley, the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), the Yarmouk River gorge and the Golan Heights. It was in Gadara that the Miracle of the Gadarene Swine took place ( Mark 5: 1-13), when the demons Jesus, took the evil spirits controlling a local man and pushed them into a heard of pigs that ran down the hill and drowned in the Sea of Galilee.

You will then transfer to Pella, another city of the Decapolis, in the Jordan Valley. Most of the visible structures date from the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods (2nd to 14th Centuries A.D.) and there is ample evidence of human occupation during the earlier Hellenistic, Persian, Iron, Bronze, Chalcolithic, Neolithic and Paleolithic periods. In the evening return to your hotel in Amman for overnight.

Day 04: Visit Um Al Rasas, Machaerus, Return to Amman for Overnight

After breakfast you will transfer to Um Al Rasas the archeological site in Jordan which contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim civilizations.

Despite the fact that the majority of the siteis still to be excavated it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is home to one of the most significant Mosaics in the region. The most important discovery on the site was the mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen.

It was made in 785 (discovered in 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. Following this you will head to Machaerus, where Herd built his hilltop fortress.

It was here that John the Baptist was incarcerated, where Salome danced the dance of the seven veils, an evocative dance that transfixed Herod, and where John was eventually beheaded (Matthew 14: 3-12) “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist”

Day 05: Transfer to QAIA for departure

You will transfer to Amman airport to fly back home with safe trip

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