Blogs from South, Jordan, Middle East - page 13

Matt and I slept in a little and got a good breakfast at our hotel (Century Park). We were able to get on the road around 9am and headed south towards Wadi Rum. Yep. It was pretty much all desert on the way there - I drove the whole way and it was nice to have a road trip without too many crazies trying to kill me. We took the Desert Highway down, which was not in the best condition and had speedbumps that came seemingly out of nowhere. However, I became an expert in recognizing and expecting them - generally at the edges of town. Generally the ride was desert, but as you approach the Wadi Rum area, you come across a spectacular view of the valley below. We were a little lost when we ... read more

"I live in a neighbourhood so bad that you can get shot while getting shot." Chris Rock So lies Jordan, the quiet cul-de-sac of calm and serenity within the rough neighbourhood of the Middle East. It sits impassively trying to ignore the noisy neighbours it borders (Syria, Iraq, Israel and Egypt, plus Lebanon around the corner), plays peacemaker when tempers start to fray and accepts newcomers to the area when they try to escape their own streets. A country that straddles the holiest lands mentioned throughout the Bible and Quran that at every turn has a story about Moses, Jesus or Mohamed. A land that has seen Persians, Babylonians, Greeks, Nabateans, Romans, Islam and Ottomans all passing through leaving their mark. The result of all this is a small country that punches well above its weight ... read more

Hello my fellow travellers! So, my time in Jordan has come to an end. This was an amazing trip, even though there were quite some things that we didn't manage to see. That's how it is though, there isn't enough time to see everything in the world I'm afraid. Still, I might return here one day and use Jordan as a base to visit the neighbouring countries once the region has calmed down again and then I'll probably visit some of these places again as well as those I didn't visit this time around, there is a lot to see here such as the desert castles, the place where Jesus was baptised, Moses burial grounds and so on. After having returned home I did indeed find out that our Wadi Rum guide kinda skimped on us ... read more

Hello there all happy travellers! This day was pretty much just about getting from point A to point B. We left Amman at 11pm without incident. Before we left we decided to give the small theatre next to the huge theatre one final shot since I really wanted to look inside it since it's supposed to be quite well preserved. But, unfortunately the Odeon was still closed so I didn't get to see it, I'm a bit of an unhappy swede after that, oh well. I guess I'll just have to cherish the images from Gerasa instead! On the way to the bus station we did check out a couple of mosques as well as a church though and some of those were quite impressive. The first one we stopped by was one that we checked ... read more

Hello fellow travellers! After our booze bonanza yesterday we unfortunately woke up way past breakfast and therefore we missed our Saudi Arabian friend from yesterday. Instead we chose the not so glamorous option to eat at McDonald's. At least it did its job and got us back on our feet which in all honesty was quite shaky after a long day of travelling topped with a generous amount alcohol. With some food in our belly we then set out to explore Aqaba. I'm going to be honest and say that there isn't that much to see here but we started with the Aqaba Archaeological Museum. It's a quite small museum and it doesn't house to many objects but the entry fee was only 1 JD so of course it was worth it. The museum is actually ... read more