Jordan: THE UMAYYADS. The Rise of Islamic Art.

Tour length: 7 days / 6 nights Recommended periods: October–November 2009, March–April 2010 Price: From € 1118 per person (sharing double room), incl. accommodation on half board basis, depending on size of group.

This tour explores the abundance of Jordan’s historical culture which flourished during the Umayyad era (661-750). Under the Umayyad dynasty that followed directly after the four “rightly guided” caliphs, the most important characteristics of the new empire’s political system – the Islamic faith and the use of Arabic for administrative purposes – were fixed. The territory corresponding to today’s Jordan was of great importance as a geographical connection between Damascus, the capital of Bilad al-Sham, and the Hijaz, the political and religious centre in the Arabian Peninsula. From the lands they controlled the Umayyads inherited a rich cultural and artistic heritage of Greek, Roman, Assyrian, Babylonian, Achemenid, Parthian and Sassanian origins, and displayed one of the most distinctive elements of Islamic culture: receptiveness to various cultural and religious traditions. In Jordan, Umayyad art and architecture left an important legacy: palaces, citadels, mosques, frescos and churches paved with mosaics. Monuments such as the Citadel of Amman, the Cave of the Seven Sleepers and the desert castles testify to the development of an elaborate art and architecture, symbolised by the human figures represented in the frescoes of Qusayr Amra, which celebrate the power of the Umayyad caliph over the most powerful kings of that time.