Blogs from Jordan, Middle East - page 12

Much of Tuesday was spent in the rain enroute to Petra, travelling first to Madaba to see the remarkable ancient mosaic floor in St. George's Church, the earliest surviving map of the Holy Land, dating back to the 6th century. Continuing on after lunch in Madaba, we parked at Mt. Nebo and had a short discussion of whether or not to leave the bus to climb up the hill in the drenching rain. Several of us really wanted to do this, so surprisingly to me we all ended up going. We were a rainbow of colorful waterproof jackets and umbrellas winding our way up the hill; no two of us were alike. Amazingly, at the top, the rain stopped for a bit, enough of the sky cleared for us to gaze across the Jordan Valley and ... read more

We left Jerusalem very early on a Friday morning and headed north to the Jordanian border, there to meet up with others for our coach tour to famed Petra, now a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Before Petra, we would drive to the city of Jerash, an important city of the then Roman Empire, on to Amman, the capital, then further south to spend our first night at a Bedouin camp in the desert before proceeding to Petra the following morning. After the second night in the camp we would drive across the desert to Wadi Rum, the location for many movies including the recent “Martian”. The forty percent of excavated Jerash was a sprawling city of Roman architecture, complete with hippodrome to seat twenty-five thousand, promenades ... read more

We have the whole day to explore Petra at our leisure. Our driver collects us after breakfast and suggests he takes us to the back (the tradesman’s entrance) rather than the Tourist front entrance. We wonder if he’s saying this because it’s more convenient for him. But he’s right again. He drops us at the top of the hill and we walk down into Petra. We are alone apart from the occasional Bedouin riding his camels/donkeys/horses to work. The road is lined with caves and ancient carvings. We have a lovely day exploring Petra, have a picnic sitting on a rock at the top of the Siq, then head for the meeting point to pick up our coach to Eilat. The group have had problems at the border and only 20 minutes in Petra. It’s a ... read more

Our Bedouin camp at Wadi Rum. October 19th the final adventure. We are leaving the remains of ancient desert nomads behind to join living nomads inhabiting the desert today. From the Nabataeans to the Bedouin. They inhabit Wadi Rum which is also a UNESCO world heritage site. A 'Wadi' is the valley of a dry river hence Petra is in Wadi Musa. The &Rum& part I don't know about! Mind you, many of the men there could be family to Pirates from the Caribbean.... looking little Jack Sparrows, so who knows.......! ? Our driver was funny, fast talking, good natured with a thick accent. He obliged us by making photo stops as we left Petra. The desert landscape continues to impress and stun me. Who knew that barren land could be so varied... rock types and ... read more

PETRA . Long awaited much anticipated. Tuesday October 17th. Today we travel toward one of the main highlights of my entire journey, the ancient Rose red city carved out of rocks by the the Nabataean people. Petra. My mother had enthused me with her rapture over its beauty. Now, post mortem, I carried her portrait so that she could visit the city which she never saw but loved so much. While en route I'd arranged with a driver for us to visit three important tourist spots in Jordan: MADABA with its renowned Byzantine mosaics, Mt NEBO of Moses' Promised Land fame and the DEAD SEA a global phenomenon with water so salt your body floats effortlessly. The driver was part of a transport package I'd negotiated with Solayman of the Wadi Rum Sky Bedouin camp. One ... read more