Advertisement
Published: August 28th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Long time no write! What a week it has been. Getting out of Egypt was a tremendous challenge. After a relaxing time in Dahab, we boarded the bus to head up the coast to catch the ferry to Jordan. Simple this may sound, but not when you're in Egypt! You can't make bookings so we sat in the truck (about 35 degrees) and waited from 9.20am to 9.00pm to get tickets. The office only opened for about 10 mins at a time. Unfortunately, day 1 we couldn't get tickets as all the locals are heading to Mecca prior to Ramadan.
So we headed off to a beachside resort (ha!) for the night. No electricity, no water (therefore no showers and toilets) and about a million degrees. Couldn't sleep outside as the dogs barked at us! Fortunately it was only $2 a night so one can't complain.
Got up at 6.00am to do it all again. Fortunately, by 10.00am we had tickets and we're leaving the dock at 3.00pm. Hooray!!!! Jordan here we come.
Arrived in Aquaba at aroun 9.00pm after clearing customs etc. Had a quick bite then headed to the desert, Wadi Rum, we're we slept under
the stars. Very cool. Up bright and early for a desert safari, Indiana Jones style, in 1952 jeeps. The place was absolutely amazing. Will attach some photos in the next few days.
Next day we went to Petra. Its a 2000 year old city carved into rock/cliffs. It was spectacular. Everywhere you looked, there was an awesome building. Climbed up a couple of mountains and visited a monastery (also carved out of rock) which was about 47m high. Watched a Bedouin local guy climb to the top and sunbake on the top. Crazy but it was great to watch, and you'll be pleased to know he didn't fall to his death, not while we were there anyway.
Yesterday, we went to the Dead Sea for a quick dip/float. Apparently, its about 20-25% salt. It was amazing and surprisingly hard to keep vertical as your body just bobbed about. We scrubbed ourselves with mud and it felt amazing when we washed it all off.
Then we had a quick visit to Amman. Went to the museum and saw some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Then off to Jerash were we had a tour of the ruins. This is
supposedly the best preserved Roman city outside Italy. It was in great condition as they had done significant restoration work. The guide was great too pointing out lots of quirky details. The ampitheatre was awesome. You stood at a particular spot at the bottom and just spoke normally and it was clearly heard from the back row (it held about 6000 people). Camped overnight under the stars in an Olive tree plantation.
This morning we crossed the border into Syria. Had a great day in Damascas but more on that later. Heading off to another campsite tonight for steak (not sure but this might be camel steaks!) and Turkish red wine.
Will attach pictures later. We're safe and having a ball. By the way, Jordan left Egypt for dead! Much more our style without the hassles of the locals. S&J
Advertisement
Tot: 0.126s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 17; qc: 68; dbt: 0.0552s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Mum McK
non-member comment
Wow!
Your Jordan photos are amazing! Scott, when you were a little boy you hated being dirty. Glad to see you've overcome that phobia! The sleeping under the stars would be a wonderful experience in that setting.Love you both - constantly praying for you.