Jordan, first meeting with the Middle-East

In October 2023 we (my husband an me) travelled for the first time ever to the Middle-East and more specific to Jordan.

From Brussels it goes to Istanbul and further to Amman were we land late in the evening. After an overnight in the city we start the next morning our round trip. With our driver we go en route and first stop is the Castle of Ajloun, a Muslim castle from 12th century. At the entrance we pass some street stalls where friendly Jordanese give some information about the making of Arabic coffee and local fruit they sell. On the way to Jerash our driver shows us a grocerie shop where we can taste some of the local products. And then we continue to the archeological site of Jerash, once one of the most important Roman cities in the Middle-East. We got plenty of time to dwell around between the rests of this ancient city. We admire the Forum Cardo, the Arch of Hadrian, the city wall as well as the Temple of Artemis, the Hippodrome and rests of the baths. We walk through the cobbed main street or Cardo Maximus and it looks like we go centuries back in time. Later on we look around in the bazaar between amulets, beads, carpets and other oriental treasures. Lunch is delicious with Arabic salad, hummus, labneh and a thirst quenching limoun bi na'na' with mint and lime. After lunch our driver brings us to a Dead Sea resort and so we are now at the lowest point in the world; 400m under sea level. A quick change of clothes and we take a dive in one of the swimmingpools. In the evening we enjoy our dinner in open air with some delicous Lebanese dishes.

Next morning we are ready for a trip to Mount Nebo, a significant place in the Old Testament. The Bible tells it was here that Moses lived out his final days and saw The Promised Land, which he would never enter. In fact, on this day, it feels all coincident... This morning we woke up with the breaking news of the Hamas raid on Israël what makes the conflict erupted again in all intensity. The place where we stand now, this Mount Nebo, gives us a look on the Dead Sea and some further than the reach of our eyes to the Westbank, to Jerusalem and Jericho... What will the future bring for this region, this powder keg...

We take a look in the Memorial Church of Moses where one can admire some beautifully preserved floor mosaics. From Mount Nebo we continue our drive to Madaba and we bring a visit to the St George's Greek Orthodox Church which is famous for the geographic floor mosaic from 6th century representing a map of Palestine with designation of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea and even floorplans of Jerusalem and Jericho.  

And then it's time to return to our resort at the Dead Sea, some time for relax and swim. The rest of the afternoon we can see on the Westbank; the other side of the Dead Sea; helicopters and airplanes patrolling, flying back and forth. So we feel, the conflict we know until now from the news is coming awfully closer.  Although this all, we never feel unsafe or threatened. Not yet ...

After a good sleep it's time to say goodbye here at the Dead Sea and head southward and inland. Today something spectacular is on our program. We gonna hike through the Wadi Mujib canyon. Even in the dry season there is water in the narrow canyon so parts of the hike we shall have to wade through the water. Once there we are blown away by the breathtaking environment with high rock walls in different shades; once brown, than grey or beige and the water where we go through is lukewarm. Sometimes it's low and just our shoes are wet, an other time we have to go knee depth. Definitely this hike is a must do and a big adventurous experience ! In the canyon we don't feel the real temperature because the sun can't come in there but while we walk back to the car our clothes dry very quick. In the sun temperature raises up to +30°. We continue the road to Dana Biosphere Reserve, a beautiful and fantastic hiking area; Jordan's largest natural reserve and we feel far off the beaten track. Just in time for the sunsethike we arrive in the ecolodge. We pass some bedouin tents, the only people who made their home in Dana.

Next morning we make another hike just the two of us. We meet a bedouin family and we are invited for tea. I can make some nice portraits from the men only. It's not allowed to photpgraph the women; just like everywhere else here anyway. But all people we met are so extremely friendly.

Then time arrives to go further to Petra, the highlight of every Jordan travelprogram I guess. But that's on the agenda for tomorrow. For today our driver got a little preview and he shows us Little Petra or Siq-al-Berid. Probably that was a kind of suburb of Petra and accessible through a canyon (siq) of 350m long. We already see here monumental buildings; rock graves, houses and temples. Yet we are very curious and excited for the bigger work tomorrow.

To get the best impressions about the archeological site of Petra we arranged 2 full days in our program. The first day we will reach the ancient town through what is called the backdoortrail. It starts at Little Petra from where a pickup brings us into the mountains. At that point we meet a local to guide us so we don't get lost in this mountainous surroundings. The trail is 4km long but it's a though hike and some parts are exhausting but the breathtaking landscapes and views of the Shara mountains make it worth all efforts. After a couple of hours we reach The Monastery. Getting the first glimpses of this ancient monument gives a kick. The colossal building is more than 2000y old and builded by the Nabateen. Not all tourists which come to Petra make the effort to reach this part of the site so it's not that crowdy here. We enjoy a lot and stay a while just looking around and realizing all impressions. From here the trail continues with 850 steps down so we say goodbye to our guide and we go further on our own, no more risk to get lost. We start the descending and at the end is waiting The Treasury. Between the rocks, from time to time, we can have a look at the mountainous scenery and so we realize the more the unique location of this ancient city. After we finished all 850 steps we arrive at the plateau with the Great Temple, the Royal Tombs, the Theatre and so much more to see. Still a narrow passage and than we come eye in eye with The Treasury, Al-Khazneh, the iconic view of Petra. The square in front of the monument is very crowdy, everyone coming to Petra want a glimpse of this facade. We take the time for all impressions and enjoy very much being here, another bucketlist item to check off... Tired but satisfied from this first day Petra we take the shuttle to bring us back to the main entrance through the Siq. Tomorrow we return and it's our plan to walk the Siq trail. For today we are ready to go back to the hotel and just relax in our private jacuzzi.

Petra day 2 : we are back at the main entrance and starting the Siq trail. We pass the Djinn Blocks and see the insciptions in Nabataean script carved into the rock wall. Through the canyon of 1,2km long and at some places only 3m wide we come closer to our target; the magic sight of the Treasury. And then for the 2nd time the magic happens when we, through the narrow and dark canyon, see a part of the facade illuminated by the sun. Again lots of tourists on the square and also many colorful locals like sellers and cameleers so I try to make a lot of portraits. We visit again the Royal Tombs, the Colonnaded Street, and Qasr al-Bint. We take a look in the Church with many well preserved floor mosaics and we climb up the Great Temple. We stroll around the many stalls with Oriental herbs and spices as well as sandelwood, incense and myrrh. Just like the day before for the way back we take the shuttle to the main entrance where our driver is waiting with the car. Hungry as we are we enjoy the delicious local lunch with maqluba, sweets and tea. Then a short transfer to the hotel and time to relax in the jacuzzi.

The last days of our journey in Jordan we use to discover the Wadi Rum desert in the far south of the country. We will sleep in a desert camp but first we make a drive in the desert. We see many rock formations in the most different shapes. We make a photostop at the Big Arch. The guide is preparing our lunch on an open fire; it is simple but delicious. And than we drive to the camp. Just in time to arrange an additional camel tour to watch sunset in de desert. In the evening we enjoy millions of stars in the sky, the milky way and even Saturn.

Last day is coming; today we have to drive back from the desert and make the long distance to Amman, back to civilisation. On our way back we pass several checkpoints where our driver has to show his documents to the strong weaponed police. We feel the nervousness in the air. Still we don't feel unsafe or threatened but anyway, because of the Israel-Gaza conflict it is not safe for us to visit Amman so we are advised to stay in our hotel as soon as we will reach Amman. That means the booked guided citytour in the historic part of Amman will be cancelled. It is too troubled in the Old Town so our dinner in Rainbow Street will be also not a good plan. The only highlight of Amman we see is the Blue Mosque. It is located just a few footsteps from our hotel so it looks us safe enough to have a quick look. Further we stay at the swimmingpool for some relax. In the evening we have dinner in the hotel restaurant.

The next morning our driver is prepared to bring us to the airport. And that is the start of a hell of a trip back home but that was something we didn't knew and we didn't realized that moment. With a delay of hours we finally took off heading to Istanbul. Because of the conflictzone flights in that area are diverted what means a route via Egypt. Many hours delayed we land in Istanbul and so we miss our connection to Brussels.  We have to stay the night in an hotel in Istanbul and with only few hours sleep we have to be back at the airport very early to take our flight with destination Belgium. Finally home sweet home is coming closer. We are exhausted but happy to be back home safe soon. And of course with so many nice memories of Jordan and the friendly people we met.