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Arriving in Jordan……
I took a bus from outside the Queen Alia Airport to the centre of town (3 dinars/3 pounds), it took about 40 minutes to cover the 30kms to the North Station on a hill unsurprisingly to the North of the City Centre. I took a cab from the bus station on a 2 hour city tour costing 15JD . There aren’t that many old sights in Amman though on the highest point of the city is a large Citadel area with old Roman ruins
From this vantage point at 850 metres up the view accross the rolling hills that make up Amman is quite spectacular . It may not have the ancient history of Cairo, Damascus or Jerusalem but the low rise buildings dripping down the steep hills make for quite a sight. We then drove through a couple of slightly posher neighbourhoods before I was dropped off in the downtown district . Containing the roman amputheater this district is oldest part of Amman . lots of the buildings are built of square cut stone and are only 3 or so floors high . Most of shops open out onto the pavement selling chinese made plastic household goods and clothes from other parts of Asia .Plus various food and juice stalls offering mainly citrus fruit . A 250ml glass costs about 80p . The restaurants or foodstalls are full of kebabs made from every cut of meat and pots of rice cooked with different vegetables, meat and some sardine like fish . For lunch I had a large Felafel sandwich spread with tahini and houmos for about 40p. In the meat souk vendors were selling fresh just killed chickens whole or portioned. Large pieces of beef were hanging up or being butchered by men dressed in white the dripping heads of the cows were diplayed beneath the stall showing the provenance of the meat. Darting around on the floor were several small worm infested cats grabbing at any thing they could.
I checked into the King Ghazli hotel one of the oldest in Amman at nearly 90years. Directly off the street a dark stairway leads up to the 1st floor central hall area . The reception desk is covered in glass like a ticket office. It stands in one corner of this large courtyard / hall area. All around the edge are lots of low arabic style sofas with big cushions with doors leading directly off into large 4 bedded rooms some with balcony’s over the busy street below. The communal bathrooms are clean and situated at the back out of the central hall area . Despite being a little rough round the edges the place seemed full of character and the manager’s sidekick limped out and greeted me with a warm smile. For 8JD a night it can’t be bad.
Floating in the Dead Sea…….
It took about 35 minutes to reach the car park for the walk up to Mt Nebo. The morning traffic was reasonable and we were soon out of the city and passing through the rolling fields heading west to towards Madaba and the Dead Sea . The sun was shinning brightly though there was a slight chill in the air . It was not a mountian as such more a prominent position on the the edge of the steep Jordan Valley. Fom the top the view over the fertile valley was amazing stretching away to the shinning blue Dead Sea over 1200m below . The descent down to the sea was on a mountain road with the steep switchbacks leading through olive groves and past beduin settlements where kids played and people tended to their camels and goats, these semi permenant looking settlements were made of plastic sheeting streched over wooden looking frames . The temperature increased as we passed sea level and continued dropping until we reached the mainly beduin village of Suweimneh . The road then turned south and followed the East Bank through a couple of police check-points to a collection of posh hotels cashing in on the health giving properties of the sea and its mud . A few km’s further on we stopped at an area called Amman beach run by the Jordanian Government it offers a clean area for swimming with showers and a swimming pool as well as chairs and loungers on the beach. I paid my 15JD and got changed in the clean well maintained changing rooms and walked down the steps to the shore of the sea . Glistening in the morning sun with the West Bank hills rising on the far side it was quite a stunning sight. The water was fairly warm and floating or bobbing up and down in the “thick” salt saturated water was absolutly amazing. Thinking of all the boats and ships around the world moving some 1500ft above my head was quite surreal as well . After a dip I then covered myself in the sticky black mud from the clay pots on the beach and lay in the sun. As it dried my skin tightened before I took another dip to wash it off and a cool shower to clean the salt off. We headed out of the valley on the dual carridgeway, only stopping so my driver could pick up some milk freshly squeezed from the teats of some goats belonging to beduin sheppards strolling through the fields of dying dried wheat and maize at the side of the road . The taxi driver then invited me to his house were I was fed some excellent stuffed vine leaves made from the leaves of the vines growing in his garden with some excellent curd made from the freshly shaken milk we’d picked up earlier .
Petra here I come……
The Wahahdat Bus station if you can call it that is on a hill to the south of Amman .It’ s more a large piece of waste ground with a few flimsy shelters dotted about . There was no signs to say which bus went where or in fact any parking bays or anything like . I ambled over to the nearest bus from where my taxi driver dropped me, hoping it was heading to Wadi Musa the village that has sprung up around Petra . Glad to be out of the cab .The driver ,an out spoken Palistiniene had smoked non-stop for the 10 mile journey out of the city centre.
I was directed across to the other side of the parking area to a group of roughly 10 year old Toyota mini-buses each with about 20 seats with groups of men hanging around smoking and chatting . I paid a very reasonable 5JD and entered through the slidding door, all the single seats were full so I climbed my way to the front seat it having slightly more space than the others, with my rucksack squeezed down behind me in the small aisle . Theses mini-buses don’t have timetables they hang around until full connecting most of the towns in the country with the Capital Amman ,thankfully half the seats were taken so we wouldn’t be there overly long !!
Half an hour later we set off the sky was grey and there was a bit of light rain . We headed for the dessert highway the quickest way south. The four lane roads runs North South from Amman to Aqaba staying at 1000m for most the way before descending down to the port city of Aqaba 330kms later .The road surface was pretty poor with the bus boucing and jumping over the potholes and cracks .Out of the window the scenary was pretty bleak with grey sky and vast stretches of scrubby dessert.The wind whipped across the plain lifting up the sand and causing periods of near zero visibility like being in thick fog . The driver chose one of these whiteouts to make a phone call jesting with his hands and trying to keep control of the bus and count his change collected from two passengers who’d just got on . With my knees touching the windsceen and no seat belt I could only hope for the best. After a couple of hours we turned off the dual carrigeway and head west toward Wadi Musa arriving at about 3pm after 3 hours of driving .
Wadi Musa is on a hill at about 1100m; at the bottom of the hill a mile away and 200m below
is Petra . The view from the town is of a large area of rounded rocks and peaks you have no idea of whats hiding inside the maze of Wadis and hills below .
I checked into the aptly named Rose City hotel paying 16JD for
a double en-suite room with a heater , fridge and telly .
I then headed down the hill from the Rose city Hotel to the Rose City !!
Sadly when I arrived at 4.10 the office was closed meaning I wouldn’t be able to make use of the 2 day ticket costing only 36JD (3 more than the one day) slighlty annoyed I walked up into the hills for a closer view down over the area if not of the actual city. With the anticipation of the next day brewing inside me I found a cab and went back up the hill . In the evening I spent a pleasant couple of hours in the Turkish Bath 100m from the hotel .
I set my alarm for 5.30am hoping to reach the entance at 6am and to be one of the first in . I left the hotel in darkness with no visibility ,the clouds had descended after a fierce storm in the night and water flowed in torrents down the steep streets of Wadi Musa- I hoped Petra wouldn’t be flooded and therefore closed ,something that happens after heavy rain.
It wasn’t closed so I paid my entry fee ,first customer of the day.
Without another soul in sight and excited I walked in darkness the half mile down hill from the ticket office towards the Siq . The Siq is a 1200m long split in the rocks and is the entry to the City . I doubt there is a more atmospheric
arrival to any ancient site anywhere . This narrow canyon barely 3m wide in places with walls towering 200m above snakes its way towards the Treasury and the rest of the Rose City . My only company on this spooky walk was a playful dog who’d followed me down from the entrance and enjoyed running and splashing around in the puddles .
After a very narrow section I came out of the Siq and saw the Treasury standing 40 m high, the only noise was the whistling of the wind through the canyon and around the rocks -AMAZING.
It was daylight by the time I left the Treasury and another storm was brewing. I walked into a strong head wind as I desceded further down towards to City Centre and the rain started I headed for a cave where some beduin had a small souvenir shop. I helped one of them put some polythene sheets around his collection of trinkets to protect them from the storm . He then offered me some hot tea which I drank sat huddled round his small gas stove trying to keep warm .’Wadi Musa Snow’? was one of the first things he asked me as he wrapped himself in several warn though un-clean looking blankets.
The worst of the rain stopped and I continued my walk through the Centre past the Theatre then on to the Royal Tombs and down to the main street . From there I follwed a stone staircase up hill towards the Monestry only getting half way before being invited by some Beduin women to have some sage tea and warm myself by their large fire . As I returned past the Treasury and up the Siq the tour groups started to arrive with the noise and bustle along with more heavy rain , thunder and lightning.
I arrived back at the Hotel at mid-day thoroughly chilled and wet though pleased I’d had Petra to myself , for 4 hours anyway.
Wadi Rum- experience desert life with the Beduin ………….
“You want take rope” my young beduin guide said half an hour from the Lawrence Spring(so called after Lawrence of Arabia who’s house was on a cliff just above the spring) after we’d been in the saddle for little more than an hour and he’d given me some quick instruction on the various slurping and gurgling sounds used to control these beasts of burden. My camel Helwan had been lashed to his making for an extremely relaxing saunter into the desert. Now with the reins gripped tightly I was on my own trotting off into the desert trying to stop Helwan from pulling me out off the saddle and trying to keep him from eating at the twiggy shrubs that sprang up from the sandy ground . I managed to keep control and stay in the saddle even managing a short canter from time to time holding on for all I was worth as I was thrown around by the rocking motion of the stride .Two hours in we came to a camp set up stratigically to catch the passing tourists who visit the impressive canyon in one of the nearby rock features so typical of the Wadi Rum area. After a refreshing break from the saddle and some welcome tea/coffee , I ended up buying some white un-roasted coffee beans from a lively 43 year old beduin dressed traditionally who was sitting round a small fire with 2 of his 13 kids and a couple of other side-kicks, all of them enjoying listening to his story telling and banter.
Back in the saddle we set off .With the now familiar though no less un-nerving sling-shot motion, puling you back then throwing you forward as the beast gets to its feet. A few minutes later Helwan pulled sharply to the right spying some tasty greenery a few metres away . After my coffee purchases I put (stupidly ) my small change money into by back pocket rather than zipping it up, with the rocking motion and the pulling the money flew free ,12jd in small notes flying across the desert thankfully most got blown into the small shrubs and struck there . But the small shrubs were what Helwan was after ! I sat on the back of my camel watching as it ate some of my dinars and couldn’t help but laugh as the money got chewed up with the plants . In the end only a couple of dinnars were eaten but we were both in stitches and the whole incident.
After an enjoyable afternoon on the camel I dumped my bags at the Rum rest house and paid a very reasonable 3jd to sleep in one of their well warn 2 man tents at the back of the restaurant complete with bedding and mattress. I then climbed and scrambled my way up to a high point to watch the sunset over the rocks – needless to say a very beautiful sight as the setting sun changed the colours of the rocks until darkenss descended.
Not being a large country meant it was easy to visit a few places in a shortish amount of time and still feel that I’d got to know them a little. The 3 main sites I visited were amazing and all totally different – no need to feel templed out which can be the case , in say Egypt . The transport infastructure is excellent between the major areas of interest . Cost wise a day’s taxi tour was about 35JD (£30) , The minibus to Petra was less than a fiver and a seat on the comfortable VIP coach from Aqaba to Amman taking about 4 hours cost £14 single £25rtn. The hotels I stayed in were clean though basic costing between £7 and £18 . I ate mainly in local restaurants and enjoyed some lovely typical meze dishes and kebab’s typically paying less than £3 to have my fill- and I have a big appetite.
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Copyright © 2010 Sam Harris
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