After our flight from Cairo to Amman we took a taxi
from the airport. The taxi driver detoured to
his friend’s camel lot and requested we take a photo of
him with a baby camel and send it via
WhatsApp to him. He had earlier indicated he
wished to give us a tour of Amman, Teresa felt the
ruse was to get our contact information.
That night our guide, Montaser, took us along with Nick
and Jane from our group (the others had not
yet arrived) to a restaurant overlooking the
Citadel, the remnants of the Temple of
Hercules and the ancient amphitheater
partially hidden by a tree.
The next morning our entire group (9 of us) were taken
to Jerash, an ancient city which was a trading hub for
the Greeks then Romans.
It had a large intact theater, a Christian church, temples
to Zeus andArtemis, a hippodrome and other practical
structures.
We next went to a resort on the Dead Sea. On the way
we got shewarma and I got a chocolate milkshake at a
McDonalds.
Both Teresa and I went swimming, and yes, it was
impossible to go underwater in the super salty sea.
Teresa went in for the mud bath but forbade me from
publishing photos. The Dead Sea is rapidly losing water
due to evaporation with only a trickle from the Jordan
River repenishing it. By all accounts, there are people
alive today who will witness it going completely dry.
We got a sweet treat on the way back to Amman.
For dinner, eight of us ubered downtown to a nice fun
restaurant. I had lamb kofta with tomato sauce,
Teresa had a clay pot lamb with vegetable dish. They
broke the pot to serve the meal.
Very good ice cream two stores down from the
restaurant.
In the morning we traveled to St. George’s Church to see
a 6th century mosaic with the locations of biblical
historical sites. Its accuracy was dubious.
Next we went to Mount Nebo where presumably Moses
saw the Promised land right before his death.
Mosaics were displayed there as well.
We then drove to Karak Castle, a large fortification built
by the Crusaders on the East Bank of the Jordan as an
attempt to establish a defensive line east of Jerusalem.
Our last trip of the day was to Little Petra. It was a
caravansaray carved from rock that also served as a
trading post (Petra was considered a holy city so no
camels were allowed there. Nearby Little Petra was
where they hung out, often with merchandise they
were transporting.)
The next day was Petra day. We arrived at about 6:40
a.m. The long path started as a narrow canyon.
We went by the Djin blocks which were burial places
and the dam.
We continued along As Siq to the building known as
The Treasury- though actually probably a tomb (the
same route taken by Indiana Jones). Our guide gave us a
running commentary.
We did a little climbing to see the Unayshu tomb and to
overlook the theater.
We continued on the high ground to see the various royal
tombs.
We then went by the Church and then saw what they call
the Great Temple but was most likely a city hall.
It was then a short walk to the market area where we ate
the snacks we brought and overpaid for ice cream.
It should be noted that Nabateans built the city and it
served as a major stop on a trading route
connecting Mesopotamia, Egypt and the
Mediterranean.
The Nabateans were quite adept at preserving
their neutrality, so goods, especially incense, could be
traded there, even among warring factions.
After our lunch break most of us proceed on the long
trek (including 820 steps up) to the “Monastery”-
which again, was probably a tomb. There were plenty
of souvenir stands along the way. We did more climbing
at The Monastery for “The Best View” before heading
back.
We took a different route for part of the way back which
allowed us to go in the Great Temple area. We also
walked along the Colonaded Street and saw the Theater
at street level. When we passed back by The Treasury, it
was packed. That made us glad we had an early start.
We were back to the entrance by 2:30 p.m.
After returning to the hotel I went to a Turkish Bath with
four others from our group. It was intense ex-foliating
and massage.
For dinner we went to a local restaurant. We were shown
how tandoori bread was made. I had camel kebabs.
The next morning we headed for the Jordanian desert,
specifically Wadi Rum.
We first saw the seven pillars of wisdom, made famous
by T.H. Lawrence.
We rode through the desert in the back of pickup trucks
with benches. We checked into our Bedouin camp
before heading deeper into the desert.
The Jordanian government made it easy to film movies
here. We saw sites from Star Wars, Alladin, The Martian
and Dune 2.
That evening we ate food prepared by the Bedouins and
cooked underground.
Stargazing was okay- we could not see the Milky Way.
The next morning we headed to Aqaba, stopping for a
look at an old, historical train.
We walked around Aqaba, visiting the Sherif Hussein
Museum which was very well done, and the old castle.
We returned to our hotel to read a while at the pool.
We went out again with Lisa, did some shopping and
took a 45 minute glass bottom boat tour.
We went to a fish restaurant for dinner, ice cream
afterward and our group took a walk around the city
with our guide.
Our last day started with a trip along the Isreaeli border,
including the Dead Sea.
After we arrived in Amman we visited the Citadel where
we got a better look of the theater and saw the
fortifications of the city through various regimes.
That night we had a great farewell dinner sampling
numerous traditional Jordanian dishes.
