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Published: September 26th 2007
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Jordan, ah the hilly, rough, hot, rocky, desolate country which is kind of stuck amongst Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq. Poor old place has plenty to deal with along its borders. Jordan has many goats, deserts and some ruins. I spent the first night in Aqaba, in the Gulf of Aqaba, but got out of there ASAP as it's all a bit too westernised for my liking. The motorway scenery out of there was all a hilly, rough, hot, rocky not to mention desolate road with plenty of trucks heading to Amman from the port. Every third truck or so would honk their horn and give a wave. Nice guys but the sound of honking does wear off.
So I was biking to the desert- Wadi Rum and its Bedouin villages and camps. Wadi Rum is a great place. Upon my dark arrival I had to push the bike for a few k's through the desert which wasn't all that fun but in the end started pitching the tent before a Bedouin fellow came over and offered my a spot in his family tent for a couple of dinars.
Well that was interesting enough; no-one could really
speak any English but out came the traditional food, plenty of tea and then I just sat round the camp fire and listed in to the Arabic. It was great hospitality. The next morning I explored the desert for a few hours, which proved a bit of a mission trying to walk around in the sand and dunes. It's all pretty incredible though: the huge rocks, red sand and the various Bedouin camps scattered around the place. When I arrived back at camp, one of the family members asked me if I wanted to take a shower. First it was mum, then my turn as she took me over to the goat's residency, which seemed to double up as the family wash room. It consisted of one goat, lots of goat crap and two buckets of water. Standing there starkers I first wondered whether or not this goat was going to ram me, but in the end we got on alright as he stopped looking at me and I was sort-of semi clean by the end of it. That night was more food, more tea, camp fire and Arabic language, before my early departure the next morning.
It was
about 110 hilly k's to Petra- the ancient city- and arguably Jordan's highlight. The biking didn't look good and the prospect of camping out on the rocks didn't look good either. Getting out of the desert went OK and then back on the Desert Highway back with all my trucky mates also went OK. About 50-odd k's later I saw it... the big huge hill. But then I was saved as a Bedouin man pulled over in his ute and asked me if I wanted a ride. Well he ended up taking me for about 30 k's, which was such a relief! He did take a number of random looking back country roads and I was slightly concerned at times, but in the end he dropped me off and pointed right: Petra, he said. So I was in the middle of nowhere- no cars, no signs, no towns, just rocks, goats, the odd Bedouin camp and of course more hills.
But in the end it all worked out and I made it to Petra. Everyone there was pretty friendly and interested in what I was up to and then someone even pulled over and asked me if I wanted
to stay at his place. Well OK. He picked me up later on that night and took me to his family home: they fed me (more great Bedouin food), asked me some questions about my intentions and all that. But then things turned a little sour as my 'friend' put on his sales tone and wanted to take me on tours. I tried to play the dumb tourist card and not really know what he was talking about, he kept insisting that biking to Petra was impossible for example andf that I was better of coming with him.
But in the end, like the goat, we got on alright. He even took me out for some bogan laps around town: windows down with Arabian music cranking. A quick exit the next morning and I was out of there, the escape- and of course a problem-free ride into the Petra site. I spent the day there and really enjoyed all the old ruins: plenty of tombs, a Roman Theatre, great views and much more. That night I opted for the hostel where there were plenty of other backpackers and had a pretty good time.
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Briti
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Sounds like a grand time...having showers with goats and bogan laps in Jordan...bet you never thought that would happen! That photo of the old roman building (is it a library) carved out of the rock is amazing! All the classics lectures are flooding back! Stay safe and don't get too friendly with the goats!