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Wonderful Jordan

Last month I finally managed to get my husband away for a long awaited weekend to Jordan. Booked my fares online (Royal Jordanian) and then discovered I didn’t know too much about the country apart from the gorgeous images of Petra and the Dead Sea!

After a couple of hours on the internet I discovered the easiest way to travel in Jordan is to book a private tour with driver and as we wanted to squash as much as we could into our time it was a great way to go.

I booked online with a local tour company told them what I wanted to see and they booked us an itinerary with everything fitting in. You could rent a car and drive your self if you had time because the roads/signs are really good, but after previous road trips with my husband at the wheel and me navigating I decided that wouldn’t be a good idea for us! We loved sitting in the back seat and nodding off on our way back to Amman after a long hot day trekking around Petra and Wadi Rum. Our driver was also a great source of information and we found ourselves asking lots of questions about the country and things we saw on the way.


Petra

We arrived in Petra in the afternoon and after a 0430 start from Dubai and a three hour drive from Amman to Petra we decided to just have lunch, check into the hotel and do the “Petra By Night” tour that day. Three nights a week they have a tour that lets you walk into Petra as far as the Treasury, which is about a 1km walk up the Siq. It’s a really eerie feeling; they ask that you walk in silence all the way and either single file or in couples. The way is lit with 1,500 tea light candles with covers so it still really dark and you can just make out the path and the high rock walls. When you reach the Treasury the site is amazing, the area is covered with rows and rows of the candles and you sit around the edge on a mat and get served hot tea while you listen to some traditional Bedouin music.

The flute playing was especially moving, he started playing from inside the Treasury and then walked out into the candle light and around into the crowd, everyone was completely silent, it was almost as if you were in another time. It was actually very cold when we reached the Treasury as the wind blew right down through from the main area of Petra. So just make sure you check the weather before you head off to Jordan because it can get really cold at night.
 
Petra by day… what can I say, it’s a breathtaking and magical place. You have seen the pictures so many times so I am happy to say it lives up to your expectations. This ancient city was created by the Nabataeans people over 2,000 years ago and its hard to describe really, the high walls and grand facades carved out of multi coloured rocks are just beautiful. My pictures of Petra really do say a thousand words - beautiful tombs, the amphitheatre, temples, sacrificial altars and colonnaded streets, I was amazed when our guide pointed out the ceramique pipes (that looked like they were manufactured last week) that brought the fresh water and washing water into the city (they even had filter points to remove the sand!)

What was really great was the range of people who were there visiting – from families with small babies to elderly couples with walking sticks. It’s a long day with no short cuts so I thought it was great that everyone got to enjoy this amazing place. I would suggest you walk up the Siq, you can get a horse and carriage from the entrance to the Treasury but from what I heard from some other travelers we were talking to it’s more comfortable to walk!

I would recommend one and a half or two days a Petra if you really want to see the site and all its nooks. We had five hours and it was only enough to skim through with a guide really we didn’t get an in-depth look as some of the sights require some climbing to get to. It gets hot during the day in Spring/Summer so make sure you take lots of water, hats and sunscreen plus the main thing is comfortable sturdy shoes. The ground is a mixture of concrete, sand, cobbles and rocks so good broken in shoes are a must. And let’s just say the lady I saw with the wedge heels and the handbag didn’t look like she was having a good time!


Wadi Rum

In the late afternoon we headed out to Wadi Rum because the best time to view this vast area is towards the end of the day and sunset.

To be honest when they came back with my itinerary that said 4x4 desert trip, I thought oh no! Living in Dubai and having done several 4 x 4 Safaris with our visitors I was a bit skeptical. But I can honestly say it is an amazing place very different to the deserts of Dubai and I am so glad we went.

We got picked up by an outgoing Bedouin man named Mohammed and ended up flying around Wadi Rum in an old Toyota 4WD with and the windows open, it was fantastic! On our way in we passed the small village of Wadi Rum and had to stop for some tourists who were riding their camels back into town after staying at one of the Bedouin camps, Mohammad said the camels know their way around so they just let the tourist come back by themselves!

The scenery is lovely, flat sandy plains with high unusual rock formations springing out of the desert. The colours of the rocks change with the light of the day so there are heaps of opportunities to take some great photos. We also stopped to have some tea in a Bedouin goat fur tent before heading up to a high point to watch the sun go down. On our way back Mohammad stopped at the little village shop and brought us an ice cream… I thought that was very sweet!

There are a few Bedouin camps you can stay at if you feel like really experiencing desert life while in Jordan. They also offer hiking, rock climbing and camel safaris.

After a busy but exciting day at Petra and Wadi Rum we started the three hour journey back to in Amman. It’s another early start tomorrow for Jerash and the Dead Sea before getting our late evening flight back to Dubai.


Jerash

Jerash is located about 40 minutes drive from Amman and is a very well preserved ancient Roman town. It was apparently hidden underneath the sand for thousands of years and has been excavated and restored over the past 70 years.

Unlike some other ruins I have visited at Jerash you can really get the feeling that people lived here because it is so well preserved! There are even wheel marks forged into the stone down the main streets where the carts have passed up and down.

There are paved and colonnaded streets, a hilltop temple and two grand theatres and the pristine Oval plaza.
 
It was much bigger that we first thought so you will need a couple of hours to get a good look around.


Dead Sea

After Jerash we drove for 1 ½ to have lunch and spend the afternoon at the Dead Sea Spa Resort. At 400m below sea level the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and is said to have been visited by Cleopatra in her day. Also the area is believed to have been home to five Biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Adman, Zebouin and Zoar.

The Dead Sea is set in a valley and the view is stunning as you start descending down into the area where the resorts are located on the shore line.

After arriving we headed into the resort and down to the poolside restaurant for a spot of lunch overlooking the sea. I couldn’t believe how many people were swimming in the pool, why weren’t they down at the beach and swimming in the sea?? Well once a got in the water I understood – it is the strangest feeling, you cannot swim because you arms and legs keep flying out of the water, its like being a cork and the water is so salty it starts to burn your skin after 5 or 10 minutes (top tip - don’t shave your legs on the day you will be swimming in the Dead Sea!). We had lots of the legendary Dead sea mud down at one side of the beach so I got covered up like swamp creature took some photos and then ran up to the showers to wash it off because as it dries you get that slightly salty burning feeling.

The water level of the Dead Sea is dropping by about a 30cm (1 foot) per year. Scientists predict that the sea may be dried up by the year 2050 so I am glad that I got to swim in this legendary sea (all be it briefly!!).

Late afternoon we headed back to Amman to have a shower and some dinner before heading to the airport. What a magical inspiring place Jordan is, my husband even brought some history books about the places we visited…. now that was impressive!

It was not exactly the relaxing weekend away that we needed, but I am not one for just sitting under an umbrella when there is so much to see. We would love to go back and next time we will take in some shopping in Amman plus Aqaba and the Red Sea.

Joanna
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