Bethany Private Tour from Amman

The tour will begin when your driver picks you up at your Amman hotel and you travel by private air-conditioned vehicle to the Jordan River. Along the way, you'll soak in views of Jordan's arid landscapes and stop at Bethany beyond the Jordan River, known as El-Maghtas in Arabic, the site on the river's eastern bank where Jesus is believed to have been baptized by John the Baptist.

You will meet a local guide and take a tour of the river banks and excavated key ruins, discover how the site was hallowed as the place of Jesus' baptism by the Vatican and received a visit from Pope John Paul II in the year 2000. You will take in the powerful sense of spirituality, and you will see the remains of the Roman and Byzantine churches, caves, wells and baptismal pools. As you walk, you will listen to your guide, who will tell you why archaeologists believe that it was here that John the Baptist lived, preached, and performed baptisms. You will learn more about this famous Christian pilgrimage site and how it is considered sacred in the three main religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam, as it is the believed place of the ascension of the prophet Elijah to heaven.

After this tour, you will meet your driver again and return to your hotel in Amman.

Optionally, we can add a trip to Iraq Al Amir, home to numerous cliff-side caves dating back to the Copper Age. We will visit olive groves and pine trees, and after seeing the caves, we will continue to Qasr al-Abad, a restored pre-Roman building dating from the 2nd or 3rd century BC. We will admire the exterior, the pillars and the animal carvings as we walk through the old building, which is believed to have been a villa or a minor palace.

Greca Tip: Bethany on this trip is not to be confused with Bethany in Jerusalem, where Mary Magdalene is believed to have lived and Lazarus was raised from the dead.