Advertisement
Published: July 24th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Well I was up early again for the 5:30 bus to Amman, I arrived in the capital around lunchtime entering through New Amman, very much a contemporary Arab city, I suppose it had the potential to feel refreshingly modern, but for me it was more disappointingly new age. Amman has never really rivaled the Middle East's great cities of Cairo and Damascus as a grand Islamic metropolis, but downtown does have its moments, and it is a central transport hub for other Jordanian areas.
Slightly disillusioned, I headed for the old city centre and the Roman Theatre. The Roman Theatre in Amman encompass some of the last remnant of the outer reaches of the Empire and still stand as a solid testimony to a great Philadelphian era. It is cut directly into the Northern side of a hill that once served as a necropolis and has a seating capacity of some 6000 people, but for me, sublimely, I was the only one there, and thought it a great spot for a vegemite sandwich, I sat in the absolute upper seats watching the modern city revolve around my 1500 year old picnic spot. After lunch and wandering the theatre complex awhile,
I headed for the local bus station enroute to the Dead Sea. This was harder than expected, as it incorporated two hours and three separate mini buses and a bit of a hike, but in the end I made it to Amman beach, the lowest point in the world! Positioned as one of the borders between Jordan and Israel & The Palestinian territories, it is around 65 km long and 6 - 18 km wide, its main replenishment source is the River Jordan, but it has no outlet, this combined with the intense heat results in the incredibly high salinity rate, too high for any life to exist, and thus the name, The Dead Sea.
So with a sense of amusement I made my way along the scorching beach to the equally scalding sea, and tried to dive in the water.
When you enter you immediately realize that the bottom is more akin to quicksand, rather than an ocean floor, but almost immediately the buoyancy kicks in. As I began to float I could hear squeals of elated surprise from the Romanian tour group further down the shore.
The buoyancy is almost unexplainable, by making myself rigid my entire
body was propelled out of the water to float just like a lilo, taking absolutely no effort at all. Besides the buoyancy there is another marvel of the Dead Sea, that it informs you of absolutely every minute cut and scrape that you may have ever had… so after the stinging became uncomfortable I headed up the bank and was enticed to spend the day with the Romanian tour group, under the guise of abundant and free chilled shiraz (better than it sounds) After a day in the sun a few glasses of red and a full encrustation of sea salt, I was in no mood to traverse the three separate mini busses back to downtown Amman. So I stuck out my now trusty thumb, and flagged a ride back to town, this time I hit 'pay dirt'! a fully air conditioned, leather seated minivan full of Egyptian government officials, on a study tour of Jordan. When the van first pulled over, the inevitable question "where from" was posed, I answered Australia, and the Palestinian drivers face lit up and reeled off his entire extended family who had migrated to Perth, and that was that. I had new friends and
a ride back to town (it pays to be Australian).
After finding hostel downtown I settled in for a couple of hours sleep, as again I would be up for the 6am bus to Karak, on my way back to Aqaba.
I arrived in Karak, mid morning, had a little trouble finding the hostel, as the police had closed the original one, and its namesake had sprung up off the map.
Karak is an ancient crusader stronghold and was one of my expectant Jordanian highlights. The fortified castle that dominates the town is a monument of legend, and home to many of the famous battles between the Crusading forces of De Chatilllion and the Islamic armies of Saladin. This castle was great and it was easily recognizable as one that would have given strategic advantage to its occupiers, I spent most of the day here exploring the un excavated ruins.
Jordan is similar to Cambodia in the sense that it is an extremely hands on travel experience, Karak as with Petra, I was able to climb, sit, crawl eat and touch whatever I wanted, only heightening my enjoyment, albeit decreasing the monuments longevity.
Tomorrow, I am going
to try the ferry back to Nuwebia from Aqaba, I'm not sure as to how this will go as it is Friday, the holy Muslim day where the only thing that seems to get done is prayer.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.123s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 13; qc: 68; dbt: 0.0705s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Paul Roberts
non-member comment
15th one from Paul
Hey! When I was at school - in a galaxy far, far away - I first heard about the Dead Sea and wondered at it's ostensibly magic power to make a person float. It is strangely a place that I have never imagined myself in but the fascination with it has remained to this day. And so, Intrepid One, I once again experience something vicariously through you! Full marks for getting in to it without a shower to follow; the salt must have been very uncomfortable in the heat. It looks pretty unglamourous in the pics but I guess if it's dead........... The hostel closing down must have been a concern? Closing down without warning....Egon Ronay would knock off a star for that! The pic of you in the high seating is great, showing the contrasting worlds of today and yesterday. Watch out that your trusty thumb doesn't get you into strife. Paul.