***Photo links added!
It's funny, blogging about Jordan when I'm now in India. Guess I'm spoiled from living in Cairo when we had internet all day every day. Which means a quick summary on our last week or so in Jordan. (fyi-Jordanians love their king and feel that he really cares for them. It's nice being in a country where the people like their government.)
We discovered early on that, while Jordan is way more organized than Egypt in many ways, it doesn't seem to have a good public transport system (ie: bus) from anywhere other than Amman. It would take a good one two days to travel from Dana to Madaba by bus and since we didn't have the time, we did what's more popular: We hired a car from Dana to Madaba. It is more expensive this way, of course, but we were lucky in that Roger decided to join us and shared in the cost.
Walid, our driver (or Hajj Walid, the title "hajj" for those who have made the mandatory trip to Mecca which he has, 5 times), suggested a visit to Karak and the Dead Sea, both being on the way to Madaba. Sounded good so we all agreed. Karak is the largest Crusader built castle in Jordan. It's huge! It's also made from bits of Roman and Nabatean temples which was a common practice everywhere (remember: mosque made out of pharonic temple). Everyone ever since has added on to it and it was 7 stories high until a pasha blasted it to bits to rout out the rebels. Here we had our first glimpse of the Dead Sea. We had an hour and a half at the castle, but I would've liked at least another half hour.
The Dead Sea. We have all heard of it, but I never really knew where it was until researching Jordan. In fact, there's a lot about Jordan I didn't really know about until we got there, like how so many biblical events happened there. On our way to the tourist beach we got a closer look at the sea and Lot's wife. Yes, Lot's wife as in turned-into-a-pillar-of-salt. At the beach we had fun learning how to float in the water and "swim" without splashing the foul water into our eyes and mouths (bleh. it tastes awful). I even paid (3JD) to get all covered in stinky, oily, black mud. (Hey, some people pay big bucks for this at home!)
Anyway, we eventually reached Madaba which is famous for its mosaics, another thing I hadn't known about Jordan. The mosaics decorated the floors of fancy homes and Byzantine churches. When Islam became popular in the area the iconoclasts demanded all images be obliterated from everywhere, and it was interesting to see how the mosaicists tried carefully to cover-up the people and animals in these mosaics. This is a pretty neat art form. I've only seen pictures in textbooks and did the usual making of a mosaic from paper in art as a kid, but seeing how huge some of these got to be and how small the tiles, I developed a real appreciation for all their work. We spent all of one day wandering around and seeing these works, starting with the mosaic of the Middle East which is believed to be the oldest map of the Middle East known. Some mosaics escaped being changed over because they were under years of dirt and debris and some are still being discovered to this day, especially when someone decided to re-do their bottom floor.
Amman. Amman is a very Western city, which means to us that it's clean, streets and sidewalks are well-paved, everyone obeys the traffic laws, and no one pees in the street! (Really, I never saw anyone pee in the street anytime in Jordan unlike Egypt, East Africa, and India.)We even got to use crosswalks and welcomed the sight of the green man (the light that tells you when to cross the street). We were there for 3 or 4 nights. We wandered around the downtown area. I loved the Jordanian galabeyyas, but didn't buy any. Things were more expensive here than in Egypt so I didn't get any big souvenirs, just a few chachkis- prayer beads, zip pouch, earrings, bracelet, brass donkey ornament. (Remember how I said Jordanians love their king? Here is a pic of Froody eating at a falafel stand under a picture of the king.)
Another day was spent looking at the Roman ruins in the heart of the city: the nymphaeum, the Odeon, and the Roman theatre. At night a friend of a friend of my father-in-law drove us about Amman. That really showed us how big a city it is! It's also built on hills (which turned our wanderings into butt workouts!) Essam took us to see some great views of Amman at night and some expensive villas and chi-chi shopping. We were very greatful to him for giving us so much of his evening after a busy day at the office- the Ministry of Environment.
The next day took us to Jerash, the largest Roman ruins I've ever seen. It's a whole city! Three theatres, a main street, temples, large nymphaeum, and a bath house. After the second hour, Froody was pretty much done with ruins (remember, we've been seeing ruins for 3-4 months now). After the third, I was done, too. We both liked the first hour: seeing Hadrian's gate and watching some Roman re-enactments at the Hippodrome (the smallest in the Roman Empire so far).
Well, I'm hogging the lobby computer and Froody is talking about lunch, so I'll sign off now and try to come back and link up to some pix- including me in a bikini. XD
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Dana Nature Reserve
After Wadi Musa and Petra, we got a taxi to the village of Dana, right on the edge of the Dana Nature Reserve, Jordan's first nature reserve. I know, it looks like a bunch of piles of rock, but those piles were people's homes for a long time, since the Ottoman Empire. Nowadays, only two families live here. Everyone else lives in the village of Quadisiyya about 3 km away and built just for these people when the government decided to preserve this area.
Dana reinforced the fact that Jordan is way different from Egypt. First of all, there's a lot more water here. More water means things like trees and plants.
We stayed at the Dana Tower Hotel. Our guide book didn't really like it, at least that's how it seemed to us, but folks on the internet seemed to love it and since it was the cheapest thing there, we decided to try it. It was a pretty nice backpackers' stop. The food was awesome and the rooms sweetly done up. The beds were OK and while there was no heating in the rooms we got plenty of blankets, which was great because it was really frikkin' cold while we were there! (non sequitor- I got to play with more puppies there! This time, a litter of 9!!!)
Our first afternoon there we wandered about and met a few of the locals. We got some nice views of the old village, perched right on the edge of a canyon- Wadi Dana. This part of Jordan is so different from what we've seen so far. It's almost like being at home again.
In the evening we hung out in the "tent". It is a big common room with a heater (+) and lights (+). Trying to warm up, we met a few other travellers and swapped stories. Again, I met with folks who couldn't believe I was American, even a Belgian basically said I was a bit more brown than your typical American. :-) Anyway, after a tasty buffet meal served up in the same room, Froody and I went to bed and huddled together under about 4 blankets.
The next day was very cold and very, very windy. After discovering that hot water was not forthcoming at that time, we dressed and headed for the communal tent. We had some more nice conversation around breakfast, with lots of hot tea. Froody and I had decided to walk the entire canyon (having only one full day in Dana), which is about 14km and arranged for a car to pick us up at the end. Luckily, a Spaniard and a Swiss chose to join us and we had a pretty nice walk. (Hmmmm...that sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke, "A Spaniard, a Swiss, and an American were walking around one day, when...)I was very glad as it warmed up, even though it meant carrying all my layers most of the way down.
It was interesting how much the rocks changed during our walk. Froody and I kept on saying what a shame it was that we didn't major in geology. I wished I could read the stories the rocks were telling us.
Dana reinforced the fact that Jordan is way different from Egypt. First of all, there's a lot more water here. More water means things like trees and plants.
We stayed at the Dana Tower Hotel. Our guide book didn't really like it, at least that's how it seemed to us, but folks on the internet seemed to love it and since it was the cheapest thing there, we decided to try it. It was a pretty nice backpackers' stop. The food was awesome and the rooms sweetly done up. The beds were OK and while there was no heating in the rooms we got plenty of blankets, which was great because it was really frikkin' cold while we were there! (non sequitor- I got to play with more puppies there! This time, a litter of 9!!!)
Our first afternoon there we wandered about and met a few of the locals. We got some nice views of the old village, perched right on the edge of a canyon- Wadi Dana. This part of Jordan is so different from what we've seen so far. It's almost like being at home again.
In the evening we hung out in the "tent". It is a big common room with a heater (+) and lights (+). Trying to warm up, we met a few other travellers and swapped stories. Again, I met with folks who couldn't believe I was American, even a Belgian basically said I was a bit more brown than your typical American. :-) Anyway, after a tasty buffet meal served up in the same room, Froody and I went to bed and huddled together under about 4 blankets.
The next day was very cold and very, very windy. After discovering that hot water was not forthcoming at that time, we dressed and headed for the communal tent. We had some more nice conversation around breakfast, with lots of hot tea. Froody and I had decided to walk the entire canyon (having only one full day in Dana), which is about 14km and arranged for a car to pick us up at the end. Luckily, a Spaniard and a Swiss chose to join us and we had a pretty nice walk. (Hmmmm...that sounds like the beginning of a really bad joke, "A Spaniard, a Swiss, and an American were walking around one day, when...)I was very glad as it warmed up, even though it meant carrying all my layers most of the way down.
It was interesting how much the rocks changed during our walk. Froody and I kept on saying what a shame it was that we didn't major in geology. I wished I could read the stories the rocks were telling us.
Happy New Year?
So, how was your New Year's Eve? I hope it was good. Over here, it's just another day as the Islamic New Year was the week before.
Well, for me it wasn't so good. I'm not very political, so I'll just say that it's a bit strange to be on this trip with Israel and Gaza being so near and that the people of Jordan are sympathetic to the Palestinians.
Anyway, we did go out to dinner on New Year's Day and I finally got to try the local beer. It wasn't so bad, actually. Scary how much it looks like a can of Coors, isn't it?
Well, for me it wasn't so good. I'm not very political, so I'll just say that it's a bit strange to be on this trip with Israel and Gaza being so near and that the people of Jordan are sympathetic to the Palestinians.
Anyway, we did go out to dinner on New Year's Day and I finally got to try the local beer. It wasn't so bad, actually. Scary how much it looks like a can of Coors, isn't it?
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Yes, Petra is Better
Petra is truly a sight to see. You have to see it yourself to really appreciate its beauty. There's some poem that describes Petra as the "rose-red city" but that's not true. In fact, the author didn't see the city until after he'd written the poem.
On our first visit to Petra, we walked through the Siq, a 3km path through a narrow canyon from the gate to the city. Even there we were impressed with the colors, not knowing how wonderful it would be later on. My first view of the Treasury made me gasp. I knew Petra's most famous and elaborate site would greet us after the Siq, but it was still a delightful surprise.
We were both unaware of Petra's size. It was plenty big enough for us to happily explore its tombs and canyons over 3 days. Day 1 was spent seeing the Treasury, the Street of Facades, and the High Place of Sacrifice. The High Place afforded some nice views of the city. Then we took the back way down, not as popular as the way we went up which meant not seeing hundreds of tourists, which we liked. This trail passed some tombs and a home and some more wonderful color. We also climbed up another hill that in the end gave us a view of the Treasury from above. Again and again I was in awe of the lush colors or impressed with the skill of the ancient stone masons. Walking along the Street of Facades, we had a little fun with some of the holes eroded in them!
Day 2 we entered Petra from a side route through the Tunnel. This trail led us through a canyon and for the most part we were alone, except for the occasional tourist. We met a Bedouin man who asked us to have tea with him and his friend. We chatted a little and in the end he asked us if we wanted to buy some old coins, which were nice but we declined. I did give them my orange in return for their hospitality. The canyon got more and more narrow and opened up in this small "room" of niches and a facade. We walked by another tomb, one of a Roman governor who wanted to be buried in Petra. We also found the Petra Church. Neither of us had read much about it so the mosaics caught us off guard. They were pretty neat. Finally, we hiked up to the Monastery, Petra's second-most famous site, which would explain why there were so many people walking up and down it all day. The monastery is huuuuuugggee, way bigger than the Treasury though not as elaborate. I still find it difficult to believe that someone just carved away at a cliff-side, leaving these incredible facades behind. The area boasted the View of The End of the World, too. Like Sinai, it did give me the impression of being on top of the world.
By Day 3 we were both tired but looking forward to taking a little-known trail recommended by Nassr, our hotel manager. It was more wild and we only saw a couple of other tourists on horseback in the distance. The trail went past a set of tombs and purple canyons which led to maroon canyons. We found our way to the Treasury again (after losing and finding the trail once or twice) and I would have really enjoyed being the only ones on that bluff looking down on the Treasury and all the other tourists if it hadn't been so cold. :-( We ate our boxed lunch and Froody tried to get a fire going. Before lunch was over I was cold, sore, and not having fun anymore, so we decided to head back the way we came. Warmed up from the walk, I didn't want to leave Petra so soon, so Froody suggested we spend time exploring the tombs we had passed. That was fun, and I got to collect some pieces of pottery. Some are probably Nabatean, others could be Roman, Ottoman, Persian, or from anywhere since Petra was along a major trade route for a couple of centuries. This was our shortest visit to Petra, only 4 hours instead of 6 or 8!
So, if Petra is not a "rose-red city," how would I describe it? A city made of shifting colors in bands of white, burgundy, blue, purple, and yellow. Like bruise? Oh, yeah, that's romantic- See Petra, whose walls and columns beautifully show the bruises of the Earth.
On our first visit to Petra, we walked through the Siq, a 3km path through a narrow canyon from the gate to the city. Even there we were impressed with the colors, not knowing how wonderful it would be later on. My first view of the Treasury made me gasp. I knew Petra's most famous and elaborate site would greet us after the Siq, but it was still a delightful surprise.
We were both unaware of Petra's size. It was plenty big enough for us to happily explore its tombs and canyons over 3 days. Day 1 was spent seeing the Treasury, the Street of Facades, and the High Place of Sacrifice. The High Place afforded some nice views of the city. Then we took the back way down, not as popular as the way we went up which meant not seeing hundreds of tourists, which we liked. This trail passed some tombs and a home and some more wonderful color. We also climbed up another hill that in the end gave us a view of the Treasury from above. Again and again I was in awe of the lush colors or impressed with the skill of the ancient stone masons. Walking along the Street of Facades, we had a little fun with some of the holes eroded in them!
Day 2 we entered Petra from a side route through the Tunnel. This trail led us through a canyon and for the most part we were alone, except for the occasional tourist. We met a Bedouin man who asked us to have tea with him and his friend. We chatted a little and in the end he asked us if we wanted to buy some old coins, which were nice but we declined. I did give them my orange in return for their hospitality. The canyon got more and more narrow and opened up in this small "room" of niches and a facade. We walked by another tomb, one of a Roman governor who wanted to be buried in Petra. We also found the Petra Church. Neither of us had read much about it so the mosaics caught us off guard. They were pretty neat. Finally, we hiked up to the Monastery, Petra's second-most famous site, which would explain why there were so many people walking up and down it all day. The monastery is huuuuuugggee, way bigger than the Treasury though not as elaborate. I still find it difficult to believe that someone just carved away at a cliff-side, leaving these incredible facades behind. The area boasted the View of The End of the World, too. Like Sinai, it did give me the impression of being on top of the world.
By Day 3 we were both tired but looking forward to taking a little-known trail recommended by Nassr, our hotel manager. It was more wild and we only saw a couple of other tourists on horseback in the distance. The trail went past a set of tombs and purple canyons which led to maroon canyons. We found our way to the Treasury again (after losing and finding the trail once or twice) and I would have really enjoyed being the only ones on that bluff looking down on the Treasury and all the other tourists if it hadn't been so cold. :-( We ate our boxed lunch and Froody tried to get a fire going. Before lunch was over I was cold, sore, and not having fun anymore, so we decided to head back the way we came. Warmed up from the walk, I didn't want to leave Petra so soon, so Froody suggested we spend time exploring the tombs we had passed. That was fun, and I got to collect some pieces of pottery. Some are probably Nabatean, others could be Roman, Ottoman, Persian, or from anywhere since Petra was along a major trade route for a couple of centuries. This was our shortest visit to Petra, only 4 hours instead of 6 or 8!
So, if Petra is not a "rose-red city," how would I describe it? A city made of shifting colors in bands of white, burgundy, blue, purple, and yellow. Like bruise? Oh, yeah, that's romantic- See Petra, whose walls and columns beautifully show the bruises of the Earth.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Now in Jordan!
Froody and I have been in Jordan for about a week now, maybe more. Leaving Egypt, crossing Israel, and entering Jordan was fairly easy and much cheaper than the ferry. We stayed in Aqaba for about 4 days. Aqaba is Jordan's one seaside city, so it has a port, huge resorts and cheap hotels, and skindiving!! The corals were breathtaking and the fish were great. Not as many different types as we had seen in Hurgada but it was all right off the beach and we saw a ton of lionfish each time! On Christmas day we were skindiving (of course) and Froody found an octopus, my favorite animal, for me.
After Aqaba was Wadi Rum. We spent two nights in the desert. Man, it was very cold!! The stars were lovely at night. We opted for a trek through the desert. It was pretty good, but in retrospect we should have done the jeep safari instead. I think we would have seen more of what Wadi Rum is all about.
Now we are in Wadi Musa. We arrived yesterday and just rested for the afternoon so today was our first day in Petra!! We spent about 7 hours wandering the old town, poking our heads into tombs, and just marveling at the colors. It was like walking in someone's psychedelic dream, full of colors- reds, whites, blacks, yellows, browns- all of them rippling across the facades of ancient buildings and flowing around the cliff faces. It was so much better than Wadi Rum. And the first glimpse of the Treasury after walking along the Siq or canyon made my jaw drop! We hiked up to the High Place of Sacrifice and up to the High Place of Khabtha (this is where the filmed part of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade). As soon as Froody uploads the pix, I'll tell you about them. We bought a 3 day ticket and we're both glad we did. Tomorrow we go to the Monastery- another climb!
Pictures!!!
*Aqaba had its own version of juice bars
*Sunset in Aqaba
*Some great snorkeling is here
*Laundry day- again. Ewww!
*In-between snorkels
*Christmas Day at the beach
*On the way to our Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. That's the luggage rack, and our luggage, next to the jeep.
*Wadi Rum has excellent rock formations
*Us in the desert!
*The Ship of the Desert
*We spent one day trekking in Wadi Rum. Next time, I'd do a jeep trek. We did a lot of scrambling that day, better than slogging through the sand.
*Froody got to ride the guide's donkey
*Our evening's entertainment!
The Low Down
Aqaba- our first night was at the Al-Masra, a fairly cheap hotel near the town center; friendly managers, large room with fridge, tv, toilet; some hot water, no breakfast. 25JD. We also spent several nights with the Alcazar: large hotel with pool; nice buffet breakfast, good-sized room, tv (not as good as Al-Masra), cheap shuttle to Majun, their private beach club where you can rent all the gear you need for diving and snorkeling; excellent reefs right off the beach. 38JD.
Wadi Rum- Mohammed Sabah Al-Zalabeh. Was impressed with his organizational skills; he's willing to do what you want; should really do a jeep ride or camel; evenings around the fire were nice, but wouldn't want to do more than two nights; food very good; 45JD per person per day unless you get more than 4, then might go down to 35JD. Even cheaper if more than 10 in your group. Most people met him, did jeep tour of Wadi Rum, ate dinner, campfire w/music, slept in permanent tent (plenty of blankets and good sleeping mats), ate breakfast, then left. He helped us make the bus to Wadi Musa.
After Aqaba was Wadi Rum. We spent two nights in the desert. Man, it was very cold!! The stars were lovely at night. We opted for a trek through the desert. It was pretty good, but in retrospect we should have done the jeep safari instead. I think we would have seen more of what Wadi Rum is all about.
Now we are in Wadi Musa. We arrived yesterday and just rested for the afternoon so today was our first day in Petra!! We spent about 7 hours wandering the old town, poking our heads into tombs, and just marveling at the colors. It was like walking in someone's psychedelic dream, full of colors- reds, whites, blacks, yellows, browns- all of them rippling across the facades of ancient buildings and flowing around the cliff faces. It was so much better than Wadi Rum. And the first glimpse of the Treasury after walking along the Siq or canyon made my jaw drop! We hiked up to the High Place of Sacrifice and up to the High Place of Khabtha (this is where the filmed part of Indian Jones and the Last Crusade). As soon as Froody uploads the pix, I'll tell you about them. We bought a 3 day ticket and we're both glad we did. Tomorrow we go to the Monastery- another climb!
Pictures!!!
*Aqaba had its own version of juice bars
*Sunset in Aqaba
*Some great snorkeling is here
*Laundry day- again. Ewww!
*In-between snorkels
*Christmas Day at the beach
*On the way to our Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum. That's the luggage rack, and our luggage, next to the jeep.
*Wadi Rum has excellent rock formations
*Us in the desert!
*The Ship of the Desert
*We spent one day trekking in Wadi Rum. Next time, I'd do a jeep trek. We did a lot of scrambling that day, better than slogging through the sand.
*Froody got to ride the guide's donkey
*Our evening's entertainment!
The Low Down
Aqaba- our first night was at the Al-Masra, a fairly cheap hotel near the town center; friendly managers, large room with fridge, tv, toilet; some hot water, no breakfast. 25JD. We also spent several nights with the Alcazar: large hotel with pool; nice buffet breakfast, good-sized room, tv (not as good as Al-Masra), cheap shuttle to Majun, their private beach club where you can rent all the gear you need for diving and snorkeling; excellent reefs right off the beach. 38JD.
Wadi Rum- Mohammed Sabah Al-Zalabeh. Was impressed with his organizational skills; he's willing to do what you want; should really do a jeep ride or camel; evenings around the fire were nice, but wouldn't want to do more than two nights; food very good; 45JD per person per day unless you get more than 4, then might go down to 35JD. Even cheaper if more than 10 in your group. Most people met him, did jeep tour of Wadi Rum, ate dinner, campfire w/music, slept in permanent tent (plenty of blankets and good sleeping mats), ate breakfast, then left. He helped us make the bus to Wadi Musa.
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