Even though the scenery didn’t change much when we crossed from Syria into Jordan, you could tell you were in a different country. Jordan is a lot more modern and you can feel that tourism is a major source of income. There is even a dedicated tourist police at all major sights who look quite threatening with their bullet proof vests, guns and tasers. On the contrary, they’re the most helpful people you can think of. In fact nearly everyone goes out of their way to make you feel welcome. People are very kind and gentle in Jordan, not pushy in the slightest like it sometimes can be the case in other countries. You can also tell that people are used to tourists and different cultures. There have been so many incidents where we turned to each other and said “How nice was that.”
It already started with the border guard who when James asked him not to put the stamp on one of his last two empty passport pages was trying so hard to find some corner where he could put it. In the end he just stamped over some old visa stamps and handed the passport back with a smile. Then one of the passengers in our shared taxi made sure that the taxi driver would detour and drop us off at a point in Amman from where we could walk to the area where most of the budget hotels are located. He then gave us his business card in case we needed any help during our stay in Jordan. James had a bit of a bug when we arrived (luckily only one of those 24h ones). So the guys in the hotel made sure to order food in for me so I didn’t have to walk around in the dark by myself. Not that Amman or any other place in Jordan is dangerous at any time of the day.
Amman isn’t particulary special and there isn’t really much to see or to do there. Nevertheless it’s nice for a day, just to get a bit of feel for the country. After all 40% of all Jordanians live in the capital. Like Rome, Amman was originally built on seven hills but nowadays it spreads over 19 hills which almost look identical. Wherever you look you see sandstone coloured buildings that are only a few stories high. To get your bearings it’s best to look for the massive 127m high flagpole in the centre of town. The largest is of course in North Korea which we actually saw from the distance a few years back when we did this surreal trip to the DMZ with the USO in South Korea. But the North Korean one is supported by a cable, a minor fact that the Jordanians like to point out though. So the largest free standing one is in Jordan…
There a few more Roman ruins in Amman but the real deal is in Jerash about an hour drive north. Like Palmyra in Syria it’s a massive site with some very well preserved ruins. Even though we’ve frankly had enough of Roman ruins for a while, we did enjoy our trip to Jerash but didn’t spend as much time there as most other visitors.
From Amman we headed to Madaba famous for its Byzantine-era mosaics. We honestly had never heard of Madaba or the mosaics and we also weren’t too hyped up to go and see them. We just wanted a change from Amman, stay somewhere smaller. However, these mosaics are really quite something and shouldn’t be missed on any trip to Jordan. Especially the massive more than 1500 year old mosaic map on the floor of St George’s church which depicts the Middle East from Egypt to Palestine is stunning. Another highlight of our stay in Madaba and actually a highlight of our stay in Jordan was our trip to the Dead Sea. On the way we first stopped at Mount Nebo, the first biblical sight we visited on this trip, where Moses is said to have finally seen the Promised Land. On a clear day you can usually see as far as the Dead Sea, Jericho and even Jerusalem. Unfortunately it was quite hazy when we were there so we didn’t see very far. The surroundings were still very nice and the drive down the windy road along Bedouin camps, goats and sheep was fab. There was this really funny moment on the way down when our cab driver started to say things like “up” and “down” and then “no up” and “no down”. We were very confused and so he just turned off the engine and then we realised what he was on about. There is this really weird optical illusion where the road looks like you’re going up but it’s actually going downhill. Check out this little video clip James took…
Once we arrived at the Dead Sea we couldn’t wait to jump in. We were so lucky because it was nice and sunny, the water was very warm and most importantly there was no wind. Quite unusual for this time of the year. Going in is one of the funniest sensations. The water feels really oily from the salt and once you get in deeper into the water you literally feel like cork. When you can’t touch the ground anymore and you’ve to put quite some effort into staying straight without toppling over. Anyone, no matter how old, will turn into a kid once in the water. It was so funny to watch everyone playing around in the water. We stayed in for almost 1.5 hours which is probably a bit too long and not too good for skin. Once James started to develop a patchy pink rash it was time to get out and shower off…
We felt that we needed a bit more nature before heading to Petra and decided to make our way to the Dana Nature Reserve before heading further south. Now there are three high ways in Jordan, the Desert Hwy, the King’s Hwy and the Dead Sea Hwy. Surprisingly enough, public transport only really goes on the Desert Hwy. So to get to Dana which lies just off the King’s Hwy we had to go back to Amman and then do a big loop via the Desert Hwy. We could have of course taken the direct way and taking a taxi but even though they gave us a fair price it was way over our backpacker budget. So off we were on the bus to Amman to Wahadat bus station or rather we thought we were.
Once we entered the outskirts of Amman the bus driver suddenly gestured wildly Wahadat, Wahadat, made us get off the bus and pointed at stopping bus next to us. So we got off and tried to get on that one but it was full. There we were in the middle of the street somewhere in Amman where everywhere looks the same. Finally we managed to hail down another bus and got on because the bus driver said to us Wahadat as soon as he opened the door. Once we paid our fare and set down we gathered he said something along the line “Where do you want to go”. “Wahadat”. He goes “This is Wahadat”. Then it clicked that Wahadat is also the name of a suburb of Amman. Finally the police came to our rescue and we managed to explain to them that we wanted to go to Dana. They then hailed down a cab, explained to the driver to take us to some close by bus station and made sure that he’d charge us the correct fare. Not that you’ve to worry about this in Jordan because taxi drivers generally turn on the meter anyway and also take the direct route. The taxi driver then made sure that we got on the right bus down South and then told us several times how much we should pay for the bus so we don’t get ripped off. This episode is such a typical example for Jordanian hospitality.
We almost made it by public transport to Dana. Only at the very end we got stuck and had to take a cab because it was Friday and on Friday the entire transport system shuts down in the early afternoon. In the end it took us almost the entire day to get there whereas the direct cab ride would have been only two hours. Also because busses only leave when they’re full and unlike other countries in the Middle East this can take quite some time. Taking the long route did certainly cost us less but maybe in Jordan it does pay off to forget about backpacker principles 🙂 Staying in the 15th century stone village Dana was very nice even though the weather wasn’t great and it was freezing at night. The rocky scenery is spectacular and there are some good hikes you can do. It’s not heavily touristed (yet) and everyone is very friendly and welcoming. But when we left Dana for Petra, we made sure to take a direct taxi 🙂
Petra is simply wow. No wonder it’s one of the New World’s Seven Wonders. Even though prices for everything (entry prices, hotels, food) have doubled in Petra during the last two years and particularly the entry tickets are quite steep, we got ourselves a two day pass. We didn’t regret it because one day isn’t really enough to cover the entire area. There is nothing that can beat that moment when you come to the end of the 1,2km long siq (a kind of very narrow canyon) leading into the site and you see the famous treasury. It’s a total Indiana Jones moments, just breathtaking. How must the Swiss explorer Burckhardt have felt when he stumbled across it in the early 19th century? We could rave on forever. Just go yourself and pack some good shoes because you’ll end up doing a lot of walking. Especially don’t miss the loop to the High Place of Sacrifice and of course the hike up to the hill to the monastery at the end of the valley.
We originally wanted to head to the desert to Wadi Rum after Petra but opted against it in the end. We’re sure it’s beautiful but we’ve spent so many months in deserts lately that we don’t feel that it’s a must see for us right now. Instead we hopped on a bus to Aqaba to try our luck at the border to Israel. How will the border guards react when they see our stamps for Iran, Lebanon and Syria?
