We had a flight that left in the middle of the night, and landed about 8 in the morning, and the moment we step off the plane we could feel it. Cool air. Refreshingly cool air. The kind of air you just do't get in Sudan. This was going to be great!
The first stop for us was Umm Qais. This is a spot with Roman ruins and a great view, situated right where Jordan, Israel and Syria meet.
In this picture, the green foreground is Jordan. The very dry looking hill is the Golan Heights, an area of Syria that Israel captured in 1967, and has not given back. The body of water just past the hill is the Sea of Galilee. Here you are literally looking at the holy land, and country with one of the most violent struggles in the world today.
The Roman ruins themselves were pretty great. The theater was the first of several we would see in Jordan. And the colonnade had one of the famous Roman Roads.
Our next stop was the Roman city of Jerash. WOW! What a great experience. Being here you really got a feeling of what city life must have been like. There was a large oval public space, avenues, fountains, food shopping areas, 2 great theaters and more.
The City Gate
The Main public square
This was the nymphium. Clean drinking water poured over the wall into a trough. People could come and fill up containers and bring it home.
Another theater.
The next day, we visited Saint Georges Greek Orthodox Church. The collection of mosaics is stunning. How people can take colored tiles, and make them into this art is beyond me.
Next up, the Dead Sea. The Jordan river, or at least what is left of it, drains into the Dead Sea, but the Dead Sea is a dead end. No water drains out. It just evaporates away. Over thousands of years, all the salt and minerals stay put, while the water evaporates, leaving behind the saltiest water on earth. All that salt means you float like you've never floated before.
You float on your back like you are in a pool chair. Its actually difficult to keep your legs beneath you and tread water like you were in a pool.
In this picture, I am trying to get my legs below me. I am practically sitting in the water.
The shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest point on land on earth. We are 400 Meter below sea level.
We got to Petra in the afternoon. Our plan was to go see Petra at night, when they light it up with candles, but there was a strike. Ugh! But we did go to the Cave, a bar that is housed in a carved rock just as old as Petra.
We got up early the next morning to see the main reason we wanted to come to Jordan - Petra! You may remember Petra from "Indian Jones and the Last Crusade." They used Petra as the place the Holy Grail was hidden. It is one of the most spectacular, awe inspiring places I have been.
You enter Petra through a long slot canyon - About a 25 minute walk.
A big reason Petra is so stunning, is that after the long walk, Petra reveals itself slowly, like curtails being drawn.
If first building you see is called the Treasury. There was a legend that the Pharaoh who was chasing Moses and the Hebrews stored his money here, in the urn and the top. The bullet holes in it show it is solid rock, and the teasure hunters should look elsewhere.
Some people see this building, and turn back. But petra was an entire city, and it is worth exploring.
Petra had many building that are very similar to the Treasury. They are mostly just facades, and the small rooms behind were for burying the dead.
At the far end of the city, is a 40 minute, uphill hike to the Monastery. IT was never an actual monastery. Its called that because someone once carved a cross on the inside. After the hike up, there is a restaurant right there. We sat and enjoyed the view.
You can see it has a very similar design as the Treasury.
The next stop in our whirlwind tour was Wadi Rum. Wadi means valley, and Rum means sand. This place has a red hue to it that is very striking. Some of "The Martian" was filmed here. But if you really want to see a movie that shows off the beauty of Wadi Rum, watch "Lawrence of Arabia" I watched it just before we went, and it was time well spent.
I am pointing to the area they told me "The Martian" was filmed.
This formation is called the 7 pillars (there are more pillars around the back). It was named for TE Lawrence's book "The 7 Pillars." Flat Stanley is a fan.
These petroglyphs are thousands of years old.
This is Lawrence of Arabia:
Our hotel in Wadi Rum was a Bedouin tent camp. Our tent was in the back row in this picture. Glamping it was not.
Our final stop was back to Amman for more Roman ruins! You can see that the theater in Aman is right in the middle of the city. They still have performances at it.
We were only in Jordan for a few days, but it really felt great to get away. If you get a chance to go to Jordan - GO!!! and give yourself plenty of time.
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