Our trip to Jordan marked our first real foray into the Middle East, and what a wonderful start to this mysterious and enigmatic part of the world. Yes, technically you could say that we had already visited Egypt…but really that sits in North Africa, a whole different continent away from Jordan!

We had about 10 days to explore the country, literally from top to bottom…both North to South and from its highest parts (ironically in the south around Wadi Rum to its lowest point (and the lowest point on land in the world) at the Dead Sea. A trip here will soak you in millennia of history, mesmerise you with beautiful landscapes and that’s even before we start talking about Petra!

Getting There

You can catch flights into the capital of Amman or into the southern beach resort city of Aqaba. You can also cross into Jordan overland from Israel (as we did) as Jordan is one of the few countries in the region that has made peace with Israel. If travelling independently, then citizens from most European, Asian and North American countries will find that they can pick up a visa on entry; and if travelling as part of a tour (as we also did) then visa fees are waived (see here).

Getting Around

Easy for us, as we joined a tour group from the Netherlands…well, sort of easy apart from us not speaking so much Dutch; but at least it meant that we spent more of our time exploring the amazing sites rather than listening to the guide and their overlong stories!

If you are thinking of getting around Jordan under your own steam, then we would say that it is quite ok to do so. The roads and traffic did not look too bad and the country is small enough that you won’t spend hours behind the wheel going from place to place.

Jerash

An ancient city in the north of the country that has hosted Alexander the Great, the Greeks, the Romans and now a band of Dutch tourists.

Fronted with an impressive main gate,

A large sandy hippodrome to recreate your own scenes of Gladiator.

An amphitheatre that we would put in our top 3 around the world, where if you are lucky, you’ll be entertained by some local Jordanian bagpipers.

And then a profusion of columns…so, so many, we estimated at least 250

Amman

The capital city has a couple of highlights to it that are worth a visit – its Citadel and the Blue Mosque, but apart from these spots, Amman does not hold much attraction being very busy, crowded,

and somewhat alienating if you are a woman who is not covered up from head to toe. Such conservative dress rules for women is only really found in Amman as the rest of the country is pretty relaxed.

The Citadel is an oasis of calm amidst the sprawling city that crowds in from all sides, but still makes an impressive sight to see.

The Blue Mosque, aka Mosque of King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein where once appropriately attired…you can enter into this modern day mosque

that has minature mosques from across the world and a huge, plush prayer hall.

South from Amman

Mount Nebo, where Moses ascended to view the land of Canaan

These days the view is of Israel

Heading down to Petra from Oman you’ll come across a couple of stops that are well worth a visit. The Church of St George, Madaba where you’ll find a 1500 year old mosaic map of the holy land

With curious blank parts in the map that had us wondering what was originally there…pyramids, space ships…?

Kerak Castle – a huge Crusader ruins where Matt was in his element to explore all its tunnels, nooks and crannies.

Petra – Little & Big

So we come to the section of the blog that will be filled with a plethora of superlatives, bounteous synonyms of the word ‘stunning’ and a sprinkling of some of the most beautiful words in the English language! All of which will still not be able to express the wonder of visiting Petra.

Let’s first warm up with a trip to Little Petra (Siq el Birid). About 8km north of Wadi Musa and well worth the trip before you go to Petra itself. Here you will already start to get a feel for your Nabataean hosts who laid down the foundations of these cities over 2200 years ago.

After a long trek to the main entrance you’ll enter a short gorge walk that will open up to a myriad of rock hewn facades stacked one on top of the other

The sight is really stunning, with all the carved doors and windows of merchant houses and stairways shooting out from all directions.

We arrived at the end of the day, so had much of the place to ourselves to burrow into and explore to our heart’s content, with just the local kids for company.

Start early for Petra the following day, pack sunscreen, water, a hat or keffiyah and good hiking shoes as it is going to be a long, incredible day. A several day visit is recommended, but if need be from dawn to dusk is possible at a push. It can be a bit of a marathon day…so on your marks, get set…go!

Petra can be broken down into a number of segments for you to work through during your visit:

Bab el Siq – this is the wide valley that will take you from the ticket gate to the entrance of the Siq. Along this kilometre hike you’ll come across a taste of the Nabataean’s love of carving monuments into the mountainsides.

Djinn blocks, tombs, monuments and water channels

The Siq – our next stage is the one and half kilometre meandering gorge that slowly closes in around you with all its colourful splendour.

Just keep an eye out for runaway horse and carts that hurtle past for those tourists wanting that Indiana Jones feeling.

Just as it feel that the Siq can get no narrower (at one point the walls are only just a metre apart) you get a tantalising glance of the icon of Petra

That reappears in its full glory, the magnificent Treasury.

If you are lucky (and early) the crowds will be light and the camels perfectly placed for some great pictures.

The area by the Treasury is the Outer Siq where you’ll find many other tombs that lead you to the amphitheatre.

The Royal Tombs sit off to the right of the Outer Siq, named because of their sheer size. Try to catch these on your way back out in the afternoon sun that picks out the colours of the rock in a most perfect manner.

Stop and rest for a little bit, have some water and marvel at your surrounds. Then head into what is known as the City of Petra where the sights are everywhere!

The Roman Cardo is the backbone of this part of the city…still trading even today.

And perhaps pick up the local transport for this leg of the journey

But make sure you take time to see all the surrounding sights – such as The Great Temple

Temenos Gate, replete with guardians to this day…

The Palace of the Pharaoh’s Daughter, and many more.

Your final leg of the day is the most arduous but also one of the most rewarding – 800 stone steps to The Monastery.

Don’t give up at this point as the reward is so worth it. You can stop off on the way up at the Lion Triclinium, with its key hole shaped doorway.

And then Petra’s most colossal temple dedicated to King Obodas I – The Monastery. As ornate as the Treasury, but more impressive with its sheer size and its inside with its chambers and arches.

Continue further up on high opposite the Monastery for some picture perfect views

and a bit of a rest at a perfectly placed little cafe, to see the ‘best view ever’ and to rest those weary feet and contemplate the return journey back to the entrance!

But don’t despair with the long trek back, because as the sun now starts to get lower in the sky Petra will take on a different perspective and you will start to see reflected back in the stone why this is called the Pink City.

Wadi Rum

With vistas of red rocks, gnarly mountains and huge sand drifts across the horizon, Wadi Rum makes for an enchanting middle eastern trip.

Speeding along in the back of a Toyota, with our scarves wrapped around our heads to protect from the sun and sand makes it all the more evocative.

The Natural Arch is one of the main sights to clamber over, under and around.

Plus if your feet are still sore from all that walking around Petra then you can pick up the ubiquitous  Uber camel to get you from A to B. Beware of their sweet bites.

If you come with a tour group (which is advised unless you are proficient at desert driving) then you will probably end up visiting a ‘Bedouin camp’.

This is where the romance of the desert ends, as they tend more to resemble tourist prison camps; with rows of tents laid out and unpleasant toilet blocks that stew in the sun!

Fortunately, we just stayed for lunch and tea (which was nice), but if you are planning a night in the desert then check where you are staying (or go to Wadi Araba for overnight instead).

Wadi Araba

Now, Wadi Rum is a must-do visit, but if you also want to have that full-on Lawrence of Arabia experience just to yourself then head to Wadi Araba.

We picked up a tour for just the two of us in Aqaba. To be honest, it took some searching amongst the local tour operators as the location falls down the list with all the other big hitters in the area, and unfortunately, the company we went with no longer operates, but search it out and you will be rewarded.

With our guide Mohamad (Amad) we departed in an Escalade that looked like it had seen one too many school runs through the desert. First was to pick up all the supplies from around town for our trip (sometimes it is best not to see where the food comes from!).

Then a roadside stop-off for some sweet tea and to pick up two more relatives of Amad, one a very sweet, old guy who didn’t speak any English, who we soon nicknamed Uncle

Having three guides now meant lots of debates between them on where to take us, but it seems that Uncle knew the best spots and we fully agreed on what we saw.

To a little canyon to meet the local goats and drink from the pure water stream

And then into the desert proper to show that the old escalade could still plow through the sand and get us to that perfect spot.

Don’t be afraid if you find your hosts bring a rifle along with them, it seems it’s quite normal in this part of the world, and you can even make a pose with it if you wish.

Sunset is stunning

And as it gets dark, the team prepared a wonderful dinner of chicken and vegetables that are literally roasted in the fire and then an oven is made by covering with a metal bowl and sand on top.

The result is a delicious dinner, one of the best bbqs we’ve ever had and entertaining evening with stories and laughs with the guides.

Our bed was under the stars (no tents) under many  blankets to keep the desert chill out.

With the bonus of being able to wake up to a picture perfect sunrise that had Uncle taking us to the perfect spots to get its full majesty.

and even posing himself

Leaving the desert, we made one final stop at the village of the guides, to meet their families and elders, to give one last authentic piece to the trip.

Aqaba

Aqaba itself is not up to much, an unruly centre and an industrial looking beach. So unless you are in the 7* resort, then it is not the most memorable part of the trip. We stayed in the less salubrious Aqaba Gulf Hotel…fine but nothing special, apart from the creative use of soft furnishings!

One nice highlight is a trip to Berenice beach, which is a little trek out of town, but worth it, with a pretty beach.

A long jetty to practice jumps and backflips

And a glass bottomed boat to do a bit of snorkeling from

And undersea investigation

The Dead Sea

You would have thought that this natural wonder would have featured more prominently in this blog. However when we traveled to Jordan, we also visited Israel and it was there that we visited the Dead Sea properly. In Jordan we merely drove along it. So just to give you a taster of that blog…..

That brings our visit to Jordan to a close, a holiday of beautiful sights, adventure and great memories. Get your tickets booked and enjoy!