Wadi Rum

A very early start yesterday morning. The bus left Wadi Musa (the village adjacent to Petra) at 6.20 and arrived in Wadi Rum desert about 9am. From there we climbed aboard a 4x4 to explore the desert, and it is quite a spectacular desert. Red sand, multicoloured mineral-rich rocks, springs, Sprawling sand-dunes and natural rock bridges (and some scary climbing) means there is plenty to fill up a whole day in the desert.

We lunched in the shade of an enormous crevice in the rocks, and finished the trip in a Bedouin-tent where we would spend the night. Our dinner was cooked in the sand in a grid-like grill and was delicious- roast chicken, peppers, onions, aubergine and potatoes. Two of local Bedouin men who work in the camp also came and played the Oud and the drums, and even let us have a go, though that wasn’t the wisest of moves on their part.

At night you have the choice of sleeping in the tent or just sleeping on a mattress under the stars. The second option was just too tempting so I slept out in the open and while it did get pretty cold in the early hours the blankets were ward enough and the views of the night sky were spectacular. Tomorrow back to Amman briefly, then back to Damascus and the end of the trip nearly.

- David

Petra, the gem of Jordan

Visited Petra today and am completely knackered. But it was certainly worth it. Not only is the site extremely impressive as a historical record and site, the natural beauty of the site is, if anything, even more impressive. It is not what I would describe as off-the-beaten-track at all, but the extent of the site means it is not difficult to get away from the crowds. Entering through the long passageway known as As-Siq with high sides resembling a narrow canyon you feel a sense of history and of how many important processions passed just this way to enter this ancient red-rose city. At the end of As-Siq is the treasury, the best preserved and most impressive structure in Petra. It is quite a stunning site and the state of the iron-laden sandstone structure is nothing short of remarkable.

From here there are many possible routes around the site and to explore the whole site would take several long days. We (myself and two very nice Slovenian girls – one with Iraqi roots – that I had met at the hotel) took the steep route up the steps to the High Altar of Sacrifice and the lion fountain. The scenery here is simply breath-taking! I have done a lot of travel but I don’t recall anywhere that has the combination of mind-blowing scenery and ancient history and monuments that Petra boasts. It’s not hard to see why it was voted one of the World’s Seven Wonders in a recent worldwide poll. After taking some less travelled routes and hiking through stunning Bedouin territory where there was no shortage of impressive structures and carvings as well as beautiful “natural graffiti” where the reds, blues, yellows and whites of the mineral-rich earth creates some of the most lovely patterns and designs like a skilled graffiti-artist.

Back on a more regular route we hiked up the 800-odd steps to the monastery known as Ad-Deir (simply the monastery in Arabic). This is a busy narrow path with tourists and mules jockeying for position but the monastery itself makes the trip worthwhile. A tomb dating from about 86BC it is believed to have been used as a church during the Byzantine era. Nearby is a viewpoint known as “View from the end of the world” and the views are stunning, though unlike the monastery which is best viewed in late afternoon this is probably best seen in the early morning.

On the way back there are a whole array of spectacles from the colonnaded street to the street of facades and a selection of tombs of which we had time only for a few. After a long day’s walking (we started at 8am and finished about 5.30pm) a shower was the first thing on my mind, and once that was achieved, dinner was a close second, and the excellent buffet dinner at my hotel was one of the culinary highlights of the trip so far. Jordan is more expensive and certainly more touristy than either Syria or Lebanon but it is certainly not without its charms.

- David

Into Jordan...

After a brief overnight in Damascus it was time to head south to Jordan. I took a shared taxi from Damascus and apparently my fellow passenger was in a hurry as after 25 minutes waiting for the car to fill up (to 4 passengers) he decided he would pay for the 2 spare seats and we were off (and I had the whole back seat to myself!). After about an hour we stopped for coffee and a snack, and we sat unhurriedly and drank our coffee together and all chatted, myself, my supposedly hurried co-passenger and the driver. There was something very civilised in this unhurried coffee and getting to know each other that really struck a chord with me.

The formalities were fairly straightforward at the border though the car was very thoroughly searched on the Jordanian side. And on to Amman. The town itself is rather ugly but it bustles and its people are friendly. I climbed up to the citadel which is still under excavation and doesn’t look like it will be finished anytime soon. The views however are excellent and the “ugly city” has a certain beauty from above. In almost every photo appears the world’s tallest free-standing flagpole at 127m high!

After the citadel I wandered down to the Roman theatre and then around the noisy but interesting fruit markets where vendors scream endlessly of the fantastic offers they have. I then organised to get to Petra for the following day to see the ruins there, Jordan’s premier tourist attraction, and where Indiana Jones was filmed. Next stop Petra.

- David