My journey through Jordan

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After arriving in Jordan with a terrible flu, I was unfortunately bed ridden for a few days but was lucky to have Stew's luxurious appartment here in Amman to recover in. Once I was back on track we hit the ruins of Petra which is 3 hours south of Amman. Having seen Petra in the media for years and of course knowing the Indiana Jones scene very well, we wwre both every excited to see this place for ourselves. Luckily the tourist crowds weren't half as bad as we thought (due to the recent fighting in Israel just across the border) and we were able to explore at our own pace and get off the beaten track. To enter Petra you must walk about 2km down what they call the Siq. This is an amazing maze or labrynth separated by two huge rock walls sometimes going up to 200m in height. The gorge is at places only 3m wide so the walk is breathtaking and at the end you get the famous glimpse of the Treasury peaking out from behind the rock face in front of you. This was a great introduction to Petra.

We had a full day of trekking and managed to climb one of the closest mountains for a birds eye view of the entire site. These ruins were dated BC and AD so it's hard to imagine that they are still standing and some them still have all their details in tact. We then spent the afternoon trekking up to the Monastery which was located on top of a mountain and was just an magical as the Treasury building. Rising 50m into the sky it overlooked Israel and the Palestinian territories and was well worth the hike up.

On our way back to Amman we hired a cab and went on a gorgeous scenic drive across the mountains and through the desert. The Jordanian desert is very different to what I was used to in the UAE. Instead of sand dunes it was very ruggered and rocky and fortunately it was pretty coolish rather than 40 degrees. We headed to the Dead Sea as this has always been a place I have wanted to see. The water was seriously like a thick syrup and it tasted foul. We were often reminded about the tensions along the way as across the water was what is the most contested piece of land on the planet - The West Bank. With Israel and the Palestinian Territories surrounding it.

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Photos

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First glimpse of The Treasury at Petra

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In the Siq

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Overlooking Amman

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Stew and I outside the Monastery

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Overlooking the Dead Sea

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Overlooking into the West Bank