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First stop: Jordan
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Our first stop is Jordan, a kingdom squeezed between Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Irak (needless to say that our parents were not very happy about the destination!). We are planning to stay 12 days in total and have arranged to meet up with Valerie, a long time friend of Saoyuth. We chose this destinastion mainly to visit the ancient site of Petra (Nabathean rock carved monuments hidden in a valley).
Driving in Jordan
After a (ridiculously 22 hours) long flight to Amman via Dubai, we get a glimpse of Jordan's capital when we get our rented car from the city centre. We manage to get out of the traffic jams without dammage even though Patrick "unclutched" a couple of times...given it is an automatic car, that means stepping with force on the brake pedal with the left foot and praying that nobody is following us too closely!
Our first mission is to find petrol as our car was rented 'the arabic way' (so we have been told): with an almost empty tank. Our Mitsubishi Lancer is a real donkey, a 20 years old Citroen 2 CV would do better! Never mind.
Visit to famous biblical sites and DIY spa
We set our base in Madaba (50 km south of Amman) for a couple of days. From there we visit Mount Nebo, a biblical site where Moses died after seeing the promise land. Here our friend Valerie is interviewed by BBC World on the recent shooting of a British tourist in Amman. The shooting occured the day we arrived in Jordan! She said she wasn't scared, and we were not.
Madaba has a long tradition for mosaics kept alive nowaday by a dedicated school. One of them is woth mentioning:Madaba'saint george's chapel floor is covered with a huge mosaic map of the region (Jordan, Israel and Egypt).Unfortunately only a fragment remains where one can recognise Jerusalem, the dead sea, Jericho etc.
We also experience the joys of the dead sea, the lowest and saltiest point on earth, by a scorching afternoon. Locals are curious and amused to see three foreigners in Western swimming costumes coved in mud, here women bath with their clothes on, so no wonder that the whole family was making comments in Arabic.
After the bath we head south to Karak, a fortress located in a beautiful unusually green valley where we meet Samir our indefatigeable Egyptian hotel host and look alike
of Omar Sharif (young). We spend time with him learning how to say 'full moon' in Arabic, and other essential vocabulary while drinking tea on the rooftop.
There are only two roads going south from Karak but we manage to take the wrong one! it's fair to say that the sign posting is not as good as in Europe! When we get our first glimpse of Dana Village, our next stop,
we are really surprised by its modest size and location. This old village entirely made of dry stone houses counts hardly a hundred inhabitants. It is located right on the edge of the cliff and the view on the canyon below is majestic. We spend a full day hiking in this natural reserve, enjoying the vistas and the bedouin campsite set up in the middle of the park, for hikers to rest in the hottest hours of the day. Needless to say that we were offered lots of tea...again!
Petra
Finally time had come to see what brought us to Jordan in the first place: Petra. There we meet Mosleh, a young Jordanian who manages the Cleopatra hotel, recommeded by Samir. Mosleh the Jordanian version of Starsky and Hutch's Huggy Bear, is also a fine backgammon player and masseur ;-).
We decided to stay three days in Petra and it was a wise choice as the site is huge. In fact Petra in undoubtly the most touristy site in Jordan with little shop stands an camel hirers hidden behind every other rock (just kidding but not far from the truth!).
We made sure to visit the most famous places, the "Treasure" and the "Monastery" but didn't stop there and explored the rest of the site despite the toasting sun. We even venture to see the "Snake Monument" or enter Petra not through the "Siq" (famous 1.2 km canyon leading to the site) but through the alternative route which is normally only taken by flash floods!
Sleeping in the desert
Thanks to Mosleh, we arrange a trip to the desert of Wadi Rum located an hour drive from Petra. Wadi Rum desert is probably the most interesting site we visited in Jordan. Lawrence of Arabia took refuge in this desert and the film with Peter O'Tool was shot there. Our quiet but nonetheless sympathetic guide took us to all the highlights of the site: Nabatean rock insciptions, naturall rock bridges, Lawrence of Arabia's spring and house, big canyon and nice sand dunes. The sceneries live up to their reputation...After watching the sunset,
we camped out in the desert for the night watching the beautiful sky and shooting stars.
We finish our Jordanian adventures in Aquaba at the southern tip of Jordan. Aquaba is a proper town. It is by the sea but we didn't find the long and nice beach stretches we were expecting from a so called resort. In town, public beaches are dirty and unwelcoming. Only the hotel expensive ones are well kept. We finally find a good spot driving south for a dozen kilometers. We decide to leave the following day...
Jordan was a gentle introduction to Middle East and we would recommend this country to anyone for a two weeks holiday. Our North to South trip will prove up that there is much more to Jordan
than Petra: magnificent and varied desert landscapes, welcoming and
warm people, tranquil pace of life and great mint and sage tea to be
drunk!
Latest Comments (1)
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Grrr (bis) :) (reply)
Nov 13, 2006 03:08 EST by gardomyn
ok... this is a country to visit !
Thank you for the photos and your comments !
I always wanted to visit this country ;)
One day... one day !
Funny... I saw a great documentary on tv a few weeks ago...
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