From Post Cards
Jordan
Petra in Jordan is without doubt one of the highlights of my trip so far. Huge temples and tombs carved out of the sheer cliff face – a massive ancient city that was forgotten and lost for 700 years till its discovery in the 1800’s. It was used as the setting for Indiana Jones (the movie).
Another scene from Petra. Amazing to think it was carved 1500 years ago. The desert landscape with deep canyons everywhere is as impressive as the monuments themselves. I have spent two unforgettable days hiking the area – one could spend months here and not get bored.
The Siq, Petra
Yet another photo that shows the awesome scenery of Petra – deep canyons that one can explore forever and a day. Steep climbs up the side of the canyon made for unbelievable views over the entire city and beyond.
Amman Roman Theatre
I spend three days in Amman, the capital of Jordan – a large, hustling Arab city with lots to see and eat and experience. The people here are unbelievably friendly. Often they even insist on paying our bus fare and offering us free food. Smiles and “welcome to Jordan” wherever we go. So cheap too – a three course meal costs R10!
Jerash Triumphal Arch
Jerash is the largest ancient Roman ruins of a provincial city in the world and was very impressive indeed. There is an international arts festival here at the moment – another case of excellent (lucky!) timing. The huge ancient theatre was a highlight – the acoustics are brilliant even after all these years. I got to try out my “Friends, Romans and Countrymen” speech I learned back at school.
The Oval Plazza – Jerash
Another view of Jerash. The Jordanians are busy restoring the city to its former glory. I cannot believe how prolific the Romans were – no matter where they travel in the world, there seems to be Roman ruins. I must say my Latin comes in very handy for translating all the inscriptions.
St George Church at Madaba
We went to Madaba especially to see the mosaic on the floor of St George’s Church. It is a huge map of Palestine, laid down in the 6th Century – nearly 1500 years ago. The part of the map shown here is Jerusalem. The amazing thing is that some of the buildings in the map still exist. I should know, I visited them. E.g. Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Qusair ‘Amra, Jordan
From Amman we travelled into the desert to explore a serious of castles out in the middle of nowhere. Public transport was non existent so we hitched. Anywhere else we may have struggled – but not in Jordan. We got a lift in a huge truck with an ultra friendly chap who wanted to hear our life stories even though he could hardly speak a word of English.
Karak
The highlight of Karak was this enormous Crusader Castle. The views of the desert from the top were great and there was an exciting network of underground chambers and tunnels to explore. At one time, the Crusaders used to throw their hapless captives off the walls of the castle to their deaths – 450 metres below.
Excerpt from a letter home
Then, after some raucous parties in Tiberias (the hostel was very festive!) it was back to Jerusalem for some spiritual renewal. Here I met a friendly Australian guy – Mark. We really clicked and decided to travel through Jordan together. So down to Eliat in Southern Israel, a real touristy hell hole of a place with temperatures over 40ºC and enormous cockroaches in our hostel room. From there we crossed the border into Jordan to Aquaba, and Arab seaside resort where local women are definitely not allowed to wear bikinis. The first thing that strikes everyone about Jordan is how genuinely friendly the people are. Smiles and “welcome” wherever you go. On occasion, locals in the buses insisted on paying our fares for us and taxi drivers bought us drinks. Petra was probably the highlight of my whole trip so far – it has to be seen to be believed. Wherever you look – massive, towering temples and tombs carved out of the cliffs. The postcards I sent will give you a feel – but definitely don’t do it justice.
From Petra we headed north to Amman, the capital of Jordan which we used as a springboard to see all the outlying sights including Jerash (huge Roman ruins), Karak (crusader castle) and we also went for another dip in the Dead Sea, from the east side. This time, all the women were swimming in their black robes. Jordan is a very religious country – devout Muslims everywhere. It is very male dominated and women have to dress conservatively. Western women don’t always have an easy time here. Unfortunately, because of TV and movies that Jordanians watch, men think that western women are all “free and easy” – easy to seduce and consequently female tourists get hassled a lot, especially if they are alone or wearing revealing clothes. The big advantage is that female tourists travelling alone (or in groups) are always on the look out for tourist males to travel with them – as protection. We, of course, were only too happy to oblige! We travelled for half a week with two gorgeous Dutch girls, and then met up with a fun group of really pretty Italians. You’re never lonely in the Middle East because the culture is so “alien”, tourists tend to be very open and friendly to each other – we constantly bumped into people we had met in other towns and then would travel together for a few days before going our separate ways.
Travel Notes
Petra
- So friendly at customs! Free on South African passport. Catch taxi to Petra (no buses). To friendly hostel - R 14 a night to sleep on roof and R 21 for all you can eat. Musa Spring Hostel. We watch Indianana Jones and the Last Crusade. Phone Ally to arrange her flight to Turkey to join me.
- Tues 28, we visit Petra. Awesome temples and tombs sculptured out of cliff faces. Treasury. Roman amphitheatre. The Monastery - ventured right up on top of it. 45 m high. Gorgeous canyons and views. Petra was built by Nabateans. Lost for 700 years till discovered again in 1812. So many monumental feats - all inspired by spiritual.
- Wed 29, back to Petra. Walk to animal sacrificial altar at peak of mountain. Nice lazy day.
- Thurs 30 bus to Amman. Arab music galore. Great food at local restaurant, real cheap. To Jerash - a massive ancient Roman town. Spectacular theatre with accoustic center in floor that magnifies sound. Temples, complete arches, glorious central point with column. Very impressive - only 10% excavated. Bugger - we lose my travel book. Mark and I having many deep chats about everything. Getting to know each other pretty well.
- Fri 1/8, a day of visiting desert castles. Go with two very attractive Dutch girls. Decide to go by bus, not tour. Whole day costs us 2.5 dinar instead of ten. Bus to Azraq Castle - dry stone with roof strong enough to walk on. Three ton door of swinging rock. Then taxi to Quasr Amra, with early Islam mosaics of naked women - very rare. Hitch to Quasr Kharaneh, a large castle / inn with dark rooms and fantastic views of desert from top. Hitchhiking with Dutch girls - quick pickup. Without, would be very slow!
- Sat 2, visit Madaba to see 6th century map of Palestine on floor of Church of St George. All way back to Amman to go to Karak - massive Crusader Castle with spectacular views and warren of underground chambers and tunnels. 7 stories. Meet hotel manager who loves students - tells us secret of his menu. We pay local price. We have been joined by Stefan, a lovely German chap.
- Sun 3, we go where Angels fear to tread - just for a swim in the Dead Sea. Realise importance (and money saving potential of a good travel book. Lonely Planet much better than Lets Go - more concise and practical. Bus to withn 5 km of sea, then hitch to eventual beach - but must catch slow bus back to Amman where we are forced to spend the night. Our packs still in Karak!
- Impressions: Now that cheap prices, we suddenly hugely price concsious. Will do anything to save a dinar (1 £ English!) Roof everynight with great stars - 2 E£. Food of roast chicken, bread, olives and chiles is 1.5 E£. Bargain for all. Hurt looks, outraged, then all smiles when finalised. Tea. If not bargain, hurt. Chap accepts first offer, oh alright, less. Pity him.
- Women in black coverings with just eyes showing (erotic says Stefan!) - some even covered on beach. Bus routes that make no sense - every journey must start from Amman. Arab markets bustling with goat carcasses hanging everywhere - head included. Friendly people - policeman pays for our bus + gives us his phone number if any problems. Taxi buys us free drinks.
- People take us to 20 minute destinations in person. Apparently, Syria even friendlier - 5 free drinks an hour. In buses, we "converse" for hours with folk who can't speak word of English. Arab music really grows on you - definitely an acquired taste. Buses leave when full - never a problem to find the right bus (friendly people point way), challenge is finding correct station.
- Mon 4, an epic day of travel. From Amman to Karak to get our bags. We manage to catch "service" to Aquaba - cramped in the stuffy back with scratchy speakers. Then a beaurocratic wait for passport stamp and a three hour ferry (beautiful scenery) to Sinai.
Next stop:
Egypt
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