Travelogue Jordan 2021

SAT 16.10.21

Flying with Turkish Airlines is entertaining. Have a hot meal and watch a movie on a 2 hours flight is somewhat exceptional nowadays. So far so good. We arrive in Amman at around midnight. Before we get to passport control, we have to show our Covid certificate at the first counter, the visa at the next and the PCR test at another.

At the taxi counter, we get a voucher. The prices are fixed. It takes somewhat more than half an hour to get to Shams Alweibdeh Hotel late at night.

Face masks are compulsory in public areas and means of transport in Jordan. However neither the taxi driver nor the hotel receptionist wear them.

SUN 17.10.21

Early morning wake-up call by the Muezzin. Apparently not far from our hotel is a mosque. The hotel itself is located on the Weibdeh hill overlooking 18 hills. We have a typical oriental breakfast with labneh, fresh cheese, hummus olives and pita bread on its rooftop terrace.

The city was supposed to be built on 7 hills at the times of the Romans. Today 19 hills belong to the capital. We are about to explore some of them. Our first destination is the Jordan museum. We walk down Jebel Weibdeh, up Jebel Amman to the famous Rainbow street and down again to the museum. Today's highlight is the Citadel which is located on another hill overlooking the city. Most imposing is the temple of Hercules with its mighty pillars. Another roman site is the theatre with its steep tribune; not recommended for people with vertigo.

We end the excursion with mezze and fruit juice in a restaurant downtown and end the day with an excellent dinner at restaurant Tammouz on the Weibdeh hill not far from our hotel.

MON 18.10.21

Today's destination is the Roman site of Jerash. Minibuses operate every half an hour or so from the North bus station. The hotel receptionist organizes kind of a Uber transport. Aparently the driver has no idea where we want to go and speaks no English. He drives somewhere far apart from the bus station. However, finally we get there. The guy apologizes for the mistake. We feel somehow sorry and want to give him a tip. He does not accept.

The bus ride to Jerash takes about an hour. Absolutely spectacular what the Romans have created 2000 years ago. The giant pillars of the Artemis temple and the forum surrounded by an alley of pillars are the highlights of the site. We spend half a day for the visit. The archeological park is huge.

Back in Amman we visit the fairly new King Abdullah mosque. There is no need to go inside unless you are going to pray.

TUE 19.10.21

We rent a car for the rest of the journey. Pick-up location is Le Royal hotel at the 3rd circle. It is a public holiday today, therefore the traffic is not too bad. The appointment was planned at 10 a.m., the hirer appears one hour later.

Somewhat late we start the trip to Wadi Musa taking the King's highway. We leave the city behind us, pass by Madaba and arrive at the top of the famous Wadi Mujib canyon. People say it looks like Grand Canyon. It is simply impressive. We drive down to the valley and the other side up again. At Kerak the plan was to visit the castle. Since we are behind schedule, we skip it. We pass through various towns. Oriental style traffic behaviour. Truck drivers offload their goods in the middle of the road and produce unnecessary traffic jams. We thought Jordan is a desert state but this area is very populated. The sun is already low when we arrive at the canyon of Dana. Unfortunately not enough time to do a short side trip to the famous biosqhere reserve neither. Right before sunset we get to our destination Wadi Musa.

Our hotel is about 5 minutes walk away from the Petra park entry. Later we have dinner at restaurant My Mom's Recipe.

WED 20.10.21

We are going to visit one of the seven new wonders of the world today. We line up as early as possible at the entrance gate to the Petra Archaeological Park. A broad graval road leads to a dam where we enter the narrow gorge called Siq. At some spots we can't even see the sky above us. After several curves we detect the famous temple carved in rock called Treasury. Now let's wait an hour or so until the sun illuminates the masterpiece of the Nabataeans. We then explore other sites of this enormeous park.

In the early afternoon we walk up to the Monastery which is the second most famous building of this park. Fashionably dressed female influencers have their pictures taken. The kings tombs are best to be visited in the evening light. My preferred is the silk tomb with its colorful stonewall.

Still some time left to climb the high place of sacrifice which is overlooking the rocky landscape of Petra. At the two obelisks a bedouin guy shows us a short-cut back to the entrance of the park. He follows us somewhat behind. The path zig-zangs through rocky terrain. As we get lost, the guy approaches us and indicates the correct way. We are getting somewhat nervous. This is a detour rather than a short-cut. The guy offers a ride with his donkey. We get the point. He wants to make business with us. I show my indignation and let him know that we do not need his services. He apologizes and politely guides us to the exit. It is already dark when we get there.

THU 21.10.21

Today is the second day in Petra. We get up somewhat later. The plan is to revisit the top sites and find hidden attractions. Instead of crossing the Siq we enter a natural tunnel and walk down Wadi Muthlim. We are the only ones in this hidden gorge. Following some foodsteps we end up before an abyss. There is a ladder, which we could use. But it doesn't look quite stable. So we turn back.

Between the park entrance and the dam is a little hut. That's where the trail ends which we have taken yesterday. Back on the same path, we explore the area above the Siq. We take photographs of imaginative rock formations. One is a giant turtle. About to descend to a viewpoint of the Treasury we end at a narrow spot where we do not risk to continue. There are some other viewpoints which are worth a rest. At the obelisks below the High Place of Sacrifice we descend westwards. On the way down we have some tea at a Bedouine tent. A relaxing place away from the hordes of tourists. The valley which we enter is full of temples and tombs. Now it feels like following the paths of Crocodile Dundee. Only us exploring an abandond city of the dead.

Back at the route to the Monastery we are again surrounded by tourists, shopkeepers, camel and donkey drivers. Back in Wadi Musa we start the evening with an apéro in the famous Cave Bar of the Petra Guest House hotel. It is supposed to be the oldest bar in the world. I have a Petra beer, my first alcoholic drink since we arrived in Jordan.

FRI 22.10.21

Not more than 2 hrs away from Petra is Wadi Rum, the second highlight of our Jordan trip. On the road to the wadi, we first stop at an abandoned train station in the desert. Apparently Laurence of Arabia has attacked trains which were driven by the Ottomans. We have prebooked a Bungalow at Zeina Desert Lodge. First we drive to the park entrance where we show our Jordan passes. Getting to the village the Bedouins seem to be well organized. The next free guide approaches the newcomers. There is no bargaining. The price for a full day excursion with an off-road vehicle and guide costs 80 JOD.

Knowing the conditions we go and look for our lodge. It is situated at the foot of one of the typical rocky mountains about 4 km off the paved road. We have all afternoon available to explore the area by foot. The desert is like a sea of sand with isles of rock. We cross the sandy plain and climb some of the rocky hills. 4WD cars cruise here and there. A camel driver passes by shortly before sunset.

Back in the lodge, we have a buffet dinner with Bedouine specialities.

SAT 23.10.21

We drive to the Wadi Rum Beduine village. Our supposed guide shows us a free parking lot. As mentioned yesterday. The offroad drive with a Toyota Hilux costs us 80 JOD.

The excursion shall take 8 hours. It is about 9:30 a.m. when we leave. Fareed our guide and driver takes his son on the trip. After having bought some food, we go off road. We stop at Lawrence's spring, later visit the house where he lived, climb some red sand dunes, visit wall paintings, walk through narrow gorges and climb rock-bridges. In a shady place we make a fire and have lunch. The landscape is simply fantastic. We cruise through a sea of sand passing by rocky mountains with lots of different shapes. We end the day at a viewpoint to see the sunset.

After more than 8 hours we say goodby to Fareed, who is an excellent driver and apparently a hawk hunter as well. Saying that, my personal driving skills are less good because I get stuck with the car in the sand right in front of the lodge. The owner comes and helps to rescue our car. We should have taken his tour, he mentions.

SUN 24.10.21

After a short camel foto shooting ride, we leave Wadi Run.

Back on the Desert Highway we head direction Aquaba. After about an hour and a half we arrive at the Red Sea resort. Israel with Eilat at the foot of mount Sinai and the Egyptian coast are on the other side of the estuary.

There is not much to see in Aquaba. After a short walk along the public beach to the fort we drive southwards to the Grand Tala Bay Resort where we are going to stay for the next two nights.

MON 25.10.21

After a hearty buffet breakfast we stay all day at the beach. There are two small coral reefs inside the swimming sector. Good for snorkeling. The water temperatures are about 22 degrees celsius at this time of the year whereas the outside temperature is somewhat more than 25 degrees.

In the evening we are going for a walk inside the Tala Bay village. Everything is modern and new and very calm, hardly any people around. We have dinner in a restaurant in the marina. A nice place at the waterfront. It is somewhat busier here than elsewhere.

TUE 26.10.21

Today we are heading north along the Dead Sea highway. After about 2 hrs drive we reach the lowest level on earth, more than 400m below sea level. To our left hand side is a salty plain.

Later we arrive at the Dead Sea. Its water level is quite low. The road is about 50 to 100m above it. We have a short break at the Wadi Mujib visitor center. For an entry fee you can get into the canyon. At some places you get completely wet and you even have to swim. Not our thing. Somewhat later we arrive at the Holiday Inn resort which is located a the northern end of the Dead Sea. The entire trip took about 4 hours from Aqaba to here.

Before sunset we walk down to the Dead Sea. Our resort is one of the few places with direct access to the sea. The water is nice and warm, somewhat more than 25 degree celsius. We float in the water like corks. What an unreal experience (once again).

WED 27.12.21

Today the bible is our guidebook. From the Dead Sea we drive all the way up to our first destination called Mt. Nebo. It is the place where Moses has seen the Promised land. From the lookout you can see as far as Jerusalem. Today it is too hazy, as it is possibly most of the times.

Somewhat later we arrive at Madaba and park our car at the visitor center. Everything is well organized in this bustling city. We get equipped with a map and start our circuit. Madaba is famous for its mosaics. One of the masterpiece is one of the first maps which ever existed, the map of Palestine in the St. George's church. Climbing the bell tower of the church of the beheading of John the Baptist is quite exciting. Free from giddiness and agile people reach the very top through a narrow hole in the roof.

We take the same route back in the direction of the Dead Sea. Before returning to our hotel, we visit the place where Jesus has been baptised. Its name is Bethany beyond the Jordan. Not included in the Jordan pass we pay the fee and jump on the bus which brings us to the boarder of Israel. We have to follow a guide since nobody is allowed to walk on his own in the militarized zone. The spot where Jesus has been baptized is somewhere away from the river which apparently has changed its course over the years. However we arrive at the river Jordan which is quite a small stream. Jordan on this side, Israel on the other, in between no walls, no barbed wire, no soldiers. Back at the hotel, we go for another float in the Dead Sea. We prefer to have dinner at a serviced restaurnat rather than fighting for food in the restless buffet dinner hall.

THU 28.10.21

Our last day in Jordan. We should have returned the car at Le Royal hotel in Amman at 10 a.m. today. For 20 JOD we can extend the rental period until 6 p.m. tonight and return the car at the airport.

So we have an entire day to visit the desert castles. Our first destination is Qasr Kharana. It is about 2 hrs east of the Dead Sea towards Irak. Next one, Qusayr Amra, is the most interesting. Not only the building is different to the other castles. Its main attraction are the wall paintings inside with hunting and bathing scenes. It became a World Heritage site in 1985. Back on the road we drive as far as Azraq and visit its castle where Lawrence of Arabia spent some time. There is still time to visit one more castle. So we head up north to Qasr al Hallabat. Apart from Qusayr Amra they are all similar, ruins of medieval castles.

On the way to the airport, traffic becomes worse. Driving in the desert and the deserted south was all right, but in the populated Amman area it is a nightmare. Somewhere on the motorway the lanes become narrow and two trucks nearly squash our car. However we arrive sane at the airport. We spend more than 6 hours at Starbucks until we can check in. Our flight is at 1:30 a.m.

FRI 29.10.21

Tonight is summer to winter time change in Jordan. That's why all flights are delayed by one hour.

Finally at around 1:30 a.m. (or 2:30 a.m. summer time) we board the Turkish Airline plane.

The flight via Istanbul to Zurich is rather unspectacular.