Finishing my travel

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Visiting the last country in the list of many

Almost at the end of my travel, but one highlight not to be missed in what would be the last country of this travel, the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. To get there was quite a challenge. From Tel Aviv I went by bus to Jeruzalem and switched again to a bus to the border with Jordan. The busdriver said he would remind me where to get off. But after a hour I saw a big sign with: ‘Border crossing’ pointing to the right. The bus was not taking a turn there so I realised that the busdriver forgot to give me a signal. So I ran to the front of the bus to make it stop. He dropped me on the side of the road and I had to walk to the check point. There were some taxis in the middle of nowhere waiting, because that is the only way to cross the checkpoint to the border crossing. So I took a taxi to the border crossing and after receiving my exit stamp there was a bus taking me to the Jordan side. There I received my entrance stamp. Luckily I met two Americans crossing the border as well and we shared a taxi to Amman, the capital of Jordan.

In Amman the owner of the hotel welcomed me with a warm smile and showed me my room. Later on I noticed that she sees her guests as part of her family or like she called it herself: as her ‘babies’. It was a very nice hotel to stay. I walked the same afternoon around the city with a guy from Poland and enjoyed the friendly people everywhere. The next day I visited the Roman Amphitheater which I found very impressive. And later on I went to the old Citadel where a lot of Roman ruins are found. When I was walking towards the citadel people greeted me and someone asked if he could help me find something. I realised that the people of Jordan are very friendly and honest. At one moment the Islamic call for prayer started and gave me the shivers and tears in my eyes. It was so serene and beautiful and echoed through the whole valley. Never have I heard this so beautiful in other Islamic countries I was before. Such a pleasure. Eventually I reached the citadel and it was nice to walk around there and see the many old ruins of different periods of time.

Petra: one of the major highlights of my trip!

After one and a half day in Amman I went by bus to Petra. It was an early bus at 6 o’clock in the morning and I checked in at the hotel where I wanted to stay in the nearby town called Wadi Rum. The same morning I went with a girl from the States to the major highlight of Jordan: the amazing statues and rock carvings at Petra. I enjoyed it so much to walk around there. The many impressive carvings in the beautifully coloured rocks. And the scenery was so breathtaking. Big views and massive rocks all showing their beauty in the shining sun. And then there was the silence. When you stand still you can only hear the soft tone of the wind. Like if it says: listen and you will know…

In the evening I went for dinner with the American girl, a guy from Brazil and a girl from Switserland. Very nice people to talk to. We decided to take the next morning a taxi together to the south of Jordan, the town Aqaba. Initially I was planning to stay there for a day, but because of the heavy rain I decided to go back to Israel again. This added another five hours by bus to Tel Aviv of my journey this day. So in the evening I arrived back in Tel Aviv and went to a hostel I stayed before. Luckily they had a bed available. It feld good to be back again. I enjoyed walking along the beach and the free atmosphere of the city.

To all good things comes an end. So after a long jouney of ten months I flew from Tel Aviv back home to the Netherlands. It was a great journey and maybe later I will post on this blog some more reflections about this travel. I have met many people, interesting cultures and have seen so many impressive places. I feel so lucky to be able to do this and enrich myself with all thes experiences. Something I think I will benefit from the rest of my life. So to say that this is the end of my travel, but it is also feels like the start of something new. Every end is a new beginning.

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Photos

The Amphitheater in Amman
Inside the Roman Amphitheater. You can see the white houses of Amman on the left side.

Petra
It is all carved into the rock. So huge, compare the small person in front if you can see him with the structure. Very impressive.

The scenery of Petra
This Bedouin man sitting on the rock is completely part of the beautiful landscape.