9 Day Al-Aqsa and Jordan Tour with Jerash & Umm Qais

Today is dedicated to the shrines of the Companions Abd al-Rahman bin Awf and Bilal bin Rabah. Heading east, you reach the Umayyad desert castles, fortified palaces from the days of the Umayyad province of Bilad al-Sham that lie scattered across the dry east of the country, including Qasr Amra. The final stop is the Blessed Tree, still alive in eastern Jordan and considered the last tree surviving from the Companions' era; tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) sat in its shade while travelling to Syria. Dinner and overnight in Amman.

After breakfast you transfer to the Allenby (King Hussein) Bridge and cross the border. In Jericho, a Palestinian city of the West Bank near the Jordan River and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, you stop for lunch before visiting the shrine of Nabi Musa. A short introduction to Jerusalem follows, with the Maghrib and Isha prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. Check in for dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

A full day inside the Old City, where the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque stand. You also see the old markets and the Mosque of Omar, and the rest of the day is yours for prayers at Al-Aqsa. Dinner and overnight in Jerusalem.

A full day in the West Bank south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem is honoured as the birthplace of Jesus (peace be upon him); a silver star in the grotto beneath the 6th-century Church of the Nativity marks the place, and the church shares Manger Square with the Church of St. Catherine. In Hebron you visit the mosque and shrine of Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and you finish at the shrine of Nabi Dawood before returning to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

Drive west to Jaffa, an ancient harbour town on a hill 40 metres (130 feet) above the coast, with a wide outlook over the shoreline and around 7,500 years of settlement behind it. Here you visit the Mahmoudiya Mosque, the largest and most significant in Jaffa and now part of Tel Aviv; its buildings, gateways and courtyards took shape in stages in the 18th and 19th centuries under Ottoman rule. Back to Jerusalem for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast you head back to the border and re-enter Jordan. At the Dead Sea, more than 400 metres below sea level and the lowest point on dry land, the dense salt water keeps you afloat, and the resorts are known for treatments with its mineral-rich black mud. Continue to Amman for dinner and overnight.

North of Amman, Jerash has been lived in since the Bronze Age and is known for the walled Greco-Roman city of Gerasa: Hadrian's Arch, the Corinthian columns of the Temple of Artemis and the oval colonnaded Forum. Ajloun Castle was raised in 1184 by Salah ad-Din's forces as a defence against the Crusaders and houses a small archaeological museum. The day ends at Umm Qais, the ruins of ancient Gadara, a Decapolis city and a centre of Greek culture in the region. Dinner and overnight in Amman.

Visit the Cave of the Seven Sleepers (As-Hab al-Kahf) in Abu Alanda, a suburb of Amman. As Surah al-Kahf of the Holy Quran relates, pious youths fleeing a tyrannical pagan king took refuge here and Allah caused them to sleep for 309 years. After the shrine of Prophet Shu'ayb (peace be upon him), continue to the airport, where our representative assists you with departure.