Jordan

Friday, March 30 marked the beginning of our two week break for Passover, and the beginning of my one week trip to Jordan. I traveled with three other friends, Cory, Sonya, and Leah, and we visited four different places: Aqaba, Wadi Rum, Petra, and Amman.

We left Jerusalem at 7am on Friday, took a bus to Eilat (near the southernmost point of Israel), and from there crossed over into Aqaba, Jordan without incident (despite the fact that I slept through all of the alarms that I set and nearly missed the entire trip). We spent two days in Aqaba, mostly on the beach, and left for Wadi Rum on Sunday.

Pointing the way to Jordan.

Walking to the border.

King Abdullah!

View from our hostel in Aqaba.

More of the view. 

Our cheerful lodgings. 

The hostel compound included a pool, as well as a tent area where we spent some of the hotter hours of the day smoking hookah in the shade. 

We met some new Lebanese friends in the city, and they took us to the lobby of this beautiful hotel where they go to study, and we spent several hours there talking and watching the sun set.

We also drank some delicious mint lemonade. 

And had live entertainment. 

Before we left Aqaba, Cory met up with one of his friends who lives in Aqaba, who he met on a program called Seeds of Peace. It turns out that this friend's dad owned a local candy shop, and when we stopped in to say hello, he refused to let us leave until we had each chosen something from his shop to leave with. I wisely selected some delicious chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, and made a failed attempt to pay for them. 

Sunday was spent exploring the Mars-like landscape of Wadi Rum with our Bedouin guides, and drinking copious amounts of delicious Bedouin tea. The desert (where they shot part of Lawrence of Arabia) was stunning, though we didn't have time to see all of it. After spending the night in a Bedouin tent, we were barely able to make the bus to Petra the next morning.

Our first glimpse of Wadi Rum: the landmark known as the Seven Pillars of Wisdom.

Taken during our pit-stop in Rum Village. 

Camels roaming the outskirts of the village. 

Exploring the nearby ruins of a Nabataean temple. 

The desert can be a tough place sometimes. You don't always make it out alive. 

View of the entrance to the desert. 

While hiking near Rum Village (in the background), we encountered a herd of mountain goats. 

We also discovered a lush mountain spring. 

Ancient drawings/carvings.

Wandering around another spring.

One of our many stops in the desert. 

We rode around Wadi Rum in a jeep, and because there were too many of us, I spent most of the rides sitting in the trunk with the doors wide open. 

Sand dune.

Cool rock formation.

Climbing the sand dune. 

The view from here was incredible. Wadi Rum is a massive place. 

Desert shadows. 

Taking a break from the heat with our Bedouin guides. And Mihi, the 40-year old Korean woman who inexplicably attached herself to our group. 

Desert.

Reminded me a bit of that movie 127 Hours. Except without the part where he cuts off his own arm. 

Cool view.

Cave drawings.

Walking across a stone bridge.

Pictures can't begin to capture either the beauty or the enormous scale of this place. 

More bridges. 

Awesome colors. 

Sunset at Wadi Rum.

Desert during sunset. 

And the desert in the morning. The morning fog/dust just added to the general eeriness of the place. 

If you ever make it to Petra, and I highly recommend that you do, be prepared to climb some stairs. A lot of stairs. Though the most famous monument in Petra is what has been dubbed as ‘The Treasury’, the site is actually a lot bigger than that, and you need at least two days to see it all (which we did not). One of the most popular parts of Petra, the Treasury aside, is called ‘The Monastery’, and that’s where you’ll encounter the stairs. We made the mistake of declining a donkey ride to the top, and instead spent close to an hour struggling up the side of a cliff in miserable heat. But it was well worth it!

Walking to the entrance of the ruins. 

A local and his donkey. 

We ventured beyond that point, but were quickly called back by police. Oh well. 

Going into the canyons. 

Very cool. 

Our first glimpse of the Treasury. 

The Treasury. Though you may have seen this picture before, like I had, nothing comes close to comparing with the real thing. 

Camels. 

And a close up. 

Ruins in the hills. 

Nicely colored rocks. 

There are some incredible views in Petra, but you have to get to them first. 

You can sort of see the modern city of Petra in the background of this. 

More ruins. 

And more ruins. 

Temple dog. He followed us for a bit, which resulted in me experiencing a physical pang of longing for my own pooch. I miss you, Boca :(

A common sight in Petra. 

Inside some of the ruins. 

Another dog. And the curious head of an approaching donkey. 

More ruins. 

We spent most of Tuesday in Petra as well, and then got a cab to Amman, the capitol of Jordan (we wanted to take a bus, but it filled up). Though it doesn’t have the archeological sites that Petra does, Amman was a great experience in its own way. We spent three nights there (and were able to spend two out of the three with Cory’s friends who lived in the city, which was a great way to save money on hostels), and our time was mostly spent sampling the hookah and mint lemon juice at a variety of cafes. But we also went to some great (and cheap) restaurants, including one called Hashem’s, where I had the best hummus and falafel that I’ve ever had the privilege of tasting. We also met a ton of cool people, including some nice Iraqi barbers who gave me my second Jordanian shave, as well as a couple of Syrians. The Syrians didn’t speak a word of English so we had to communicate with them solely in Arabic. They told us that they had left Homs only a couple weeks ago, and that they were in Amman trying to get work visas to go to Saudi Arabia. They said that Homs was devastated by the conflict, and one of them showed us bullet wounds he had on his legs and back. It was a surreal experience, and a reminder of the crisis still ongoing in Syria, and just how close we really are to it.

We took a cab from Petra to Amman, and stopped at this oddly nice rest stop in  the middle of nowhere. 

It was literally the only building in sight for miles. 

Our first meal in Amman: lamb. A ton of it. Also, notice the Arabic coke can! Cool stuff. 

Streets of Amman at night.

View of the city. 

Some guys making delicious za'atar (a type of spice) pizzas. 

Some guy demonstrating a fancy cutting tool in the market. If Serge were there, he would have bought at least one.

A market in Amman.

Olives, peppers, etc.

Ruins of a Roman amphitheater. This is also where we met the Syrians. 

Some ruins, in an area known as The Citadel. 

View of Amman from the Citadel. 

Pillars. 

More ruins. At one point I knew what these were ruins of, but I've long since forgotten. 

More ruins. 

Amman and the moon. 

While wandering around the city, we stumbled upon the Iraqi Embassy!

View of the city from the apartment of another of Cory's Seeds of Peace friends, who was kind enough to let us stay there. 

This was the best dessert that I've ever tasted, but I have absolutely no idea what it's called. 

We returned to Jerusalem on Friday morning (April 6), and our border crossing went relatively smoothly (despite me being flagged for extra searching, and a bomb scare that turned out to be a false alarm). Jordan was an incredible experience, and hopefully I’ll be able to return to the country soon.