Jordan Study Tour

Aims of the Course:

You should expect your faith to be transformed and renewed as you make your pilgrim journey through the Holy Land. We will learn together, pray together, and worship together as we go.

During the course our academic staff and chaplain will enable you to:

• Visit key biblical sites from the Old and New Testaments
• Understand better the historical contexts and cultures in which Biblical stories took place.
• To integrate contextual biblical study with theological and spiritual reflection
• To encounter the roots and traditions of the Christian faith
• To begin to understand some of the contemporary issues in Israel and Palestine
• To relate our experiences to our lives and ministries in our home contexts.
• To relate our experiences to our lives and ministries in our home contexts.

Content of the Course:

While the details of every programme vary depending on local circumstances and date, we would typically visit the following places during the course:

• Mount Nebo, from where Moses viewed the ‘Promised Land’.
• Wadi Rum (jeep tour).
• Petra, the capital of the Nabatean kingdom.
• Madaba, where the oldest surviving map of the Holy Land is preserved.
• Jerash (ancient Gerasa), one of the cities of the Decapolis.
• Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John baptized (John 1.28) and to where Jesus once fled (John 10.40).

Jordan Study Mini-Pilgrimage

The modern Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is the “other Holy Land,” rich in biblical and early Church history. This course is designed to be taken as an add-on to a course just completed or as a precursor to a course to be taken at St. George’s College in Jerusalem.

Pilgrims gather in Jerusalem and cross into Jordan via the Allenby Bridge, where the Jordanian guide joins the St. George’s College course leader.  The itinerary includes the early Christian churches of Mt. Nebo (where Moses died) and Madaba (where the famous Madaba map is located), and the capital city of Amman, rich in early Christian and, of course, Islamic cultural remains.  The course travels south to the World Heritage Site of Petra, the capital of the ancient Nabatean Kingdom, and a day of visiting the extensive rock-cut tombs and buildings of this city. The pilgrimage continues through the desert of southern Jordan to Wadi Rum (of Lawrence of Arabia movie and history fame) and a half day of 4×4 vehicle and camel-riding exploration.

The biblical narratives that describe the Israelite experience east of the Jordan River will form the backbone of worship and study during this mini-pilgrimage.

Please be advised that during July the deserts of Jordan will be extremely hot, and a visit to Petra could be in 49° Celsius/120° Fahrenheit weather. Those who cannot bear such temperatures will do well to choose this course at another time of year.