Futher into the Middle East...
Trip Start
Jan 12, 2008
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91
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Trip End
Mar 19, 2009
Amman,
Jordan
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The real fun started when we got to Cairo airport. There were mass crowding outside trying to get into the departures hall as the security operations were chaos. Joining the scum we made the lucky mistake of joining the tour group section which was not only a lot quicker then the generic entrance but was right near the check in desk
floating in the Dead Sea
. Finally we were able to check in (we have to admit Royal Jordanian Airways really impressed) and all the stress of the morning faded away. That was of course until we reached passport control which resembled Indian railway station ticket hall with a mass of people pushing each other out the way to get to the officer. After we forced our way up to the desk eventually we headed to the gates and again we can't praise the airline more.On reaching Amman it was nice to be in a calm airport environment again. After a short wait we got the Express bus into town and the taxi from the bus station even used his meter so we didn't even have to haggle him down. Our great Jordan day ended there as we realised we had to pay for the nicer things in life. When we saw what kind of hotel room we got for the price we hiked around in the baking hot afternoon heat trying to fins an ok room for these inflated prices (and one without a swat toilet for Leonie). Just as we almost gave up hope we came upon the Mansour hotel......granted the rooms were nothing flash but it was cheap, cheerful and a great source of information.
The next job should had been heading up to the bus company and arranging our bus trip to Jordan at 6.30am the next morning but us being us we headed to the pub instead!!
Heading below Sea Level
! This being a Muslim country there wasn't a pub on every corner so we jumped in a taxi and reached a nice bar. The only trouble was that 26% tax is charged on beer so we quickly spent any savings we had made on the room... Normal 0 21 Anyways, the next day we packed light, stored our bags with the hotel and got the local mini bus down to Wasi Mudi for our overnight in Petra. Petra, for those who don't know is an ancient city with amasing rock cut architecture. We arrived mid afternoon, easily found a hotel and headed out quickly to see the prize of our efforts. We grabbed 2 day tickets and headed down to the entrance.
As we arrived late alot of the tour groups were leaving and I tell you they looked nackered. It had to have been at least 35°C in the shade that day. We continued on for a while and eventually got to the opening of the Siq. This is a 1 km alleyway (I guess you could call it) in the rock At some points it is only 3-4 metres wide and it must be up to 100-200 metres high. We entered the Siq and walked for what seemed ages. Passing us were horse and cart and many people heading home for the day. On and on and eventually we made it to the star feature of Petra, through the gap in the walls, the Treasury building appears
Petra
. This is the building that everyone knows from the pictures and is also the most breathtaking and in tact. It was amasing! We rested and spent a few more hours there looking at other parts of the sight. We took in the Royal Tombs, the theatre and headed home as tomorrow we would return. We got through 5 litres of water that afternoon in the heat... summer is probably the worst time to visit Jordon. After a well deserved rest, we returned to Petra the next morning with renewed vigor. Same at the previous day we trudged our way through the Siq to the Treasury. From there we headed past the previous days viewings and staight to the back of the site. We had decided today to give the Monastery Building our attention. This is a walk up 800 steps (not to mention all the walking in between). We started early and walked through some breathtaking scenery of the site. Up, Up and up. We both made it! Leonie in particular put in the effort of the day and happily collapsed at the foot of the Monastery whilst I continued further up for some views across the country. To be honest, I should have stayed with Leonie. All I got was a hazy view of nothing. Oh well, lesson learned and some better shots of the Monastery from there. We slowly walked out of the site that day, overawed and happy with the experience. Petra is an amasing place!
We had decided to get the 4.30pm bus and were told we could get a ticket in the car park before departure
Sunset over Israel
. We had a few hours to kill so had some lunch, and waited. Finally someone showed about 4pm. No tickets left, we were stuck... Oh well, Wasi Mudi is much nicer than Amman so we headed to another hotel, ate, rested and returned to Amman the next day on the mini bus again and were back by lunchtime. We organised a taxi ride down to the dead sea in the afternoon. Only 35 dollars and we could chill out and swim before our flight the next day. Its only an hour and a half but the driver was great! We stopped on the way at some signs and learnt that the dead see is actually almost 300 metres below sea level. Thus the salt we guess. WE took a few snaps and then headed on. At last the sea (well sort of). The Dead Sea in a Sea surrounded by land. Its around 300 metres below sea level and had unusually high levels of salt so when you get in all you can do is float. Our driver dropped us at the tourist beach which is like a resort with swimming pools and all. We got our togs on and jumped in. Its the weirdest experience ever. Kills like hell if you get water in your eyes and tastes foul if you get it in your mouth. After a while we headed to the pool and freshened up. We finished off our day watching the sun set over Israel.
Back off to Amman, another flight tomorrow!
