With sizzling temperatures of 35 plus degrees, we left Jerusalem in an armoured 4x4 vehicle to the Israeli-Jordan border at Allenby crossing With the help of our guide who assisted us through the Israeli border control, we cleared immigration rather quickly and smoothly. We then bade him farewell and continued on foot to the departure terminal. From there we were bussed to the Jordanian border control some hundred metres away. At one point a border guard boarded the bus and took our passports, followed by another guy who came to collect the bus fares. We each had to pay 18 Jordanian dinar ( 23 euros ) for the bus fare, which I found was very high. I checked later with the young Italian couple who had sat behind us, and they said that the bus driver had told them that the bus fare was 2 JD ( 2.52 euros ) each, which sounded reasonable. The Italian guy had complained to the bus driver and after an exchange of words between the driver and the bus fare collector, a few dinars were hastily shoved back into the Italian's palms ! I was peeved, but did not pursue the matter as we were hurriedly pushed along to the office to collect our passports.
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| The Treasury |
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| Behold.. such treasures |
To add salt to the wound I was appalled when the driver we had hired to take us to Petra and Amman, turned up in an old beat-up Toyota Corolla. The driver, embarrassed, explained that in Jordan, people are used to travel with their suitcases tied together with ropes in an open trunk. Anyway, not wanting further delays, we all crammed into his car with our suitcases stacked up in the air.
That little Corolla took us faithfully to Petra and after checking into the lovely
Movenpick Resort Petra we paid him his dues and bid him adieu, not without having arrangements for another driver. Sinking into the luxurious hotel room and feeling refreshed, we were ready to go to Petra. The admission tickets are not cheap, so it is advisable to buy for two days as the difference between one and two days is 5 JD.
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| Can't believe.. i'm here! |
It was already 3.30 pm in the afternoon by the time we were inside Petra. With the soft glow of the hot sun bouncing off the rosy pink walls with its temple ruins carved in the rock, I was totally mesmerised by its ethereal beauty. No wonder it is a
UNESCO Heritage site. As dusk approached, we headed back to the entrance and unanimously agreed to return the next day at 6am to make a longer hike. Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a lavish Arabic buffet dinner, and I even made friends with the chefs who then gave me an extra platter of baklava!
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| Jordanian style whole Roasted Lamb |
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| Friendly watchdogs of Petra |
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| It's is early..i know |
The term "Only mad dogs and Englishmen" came into my mind when we turned up at 6am the next day. There was hardly anyone, except for a pack of resident mongrels who cleverly walked through the gates as to tell us that the gates were open. The dogs accompanied us for some distance and since we had no scraps for them, they soon left us alone.
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| Top of the world.. adding my rock |
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| Mule and Man |
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| follow that sign... |
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| Million dollar room with a view.. |
We followed a rocky slope, a diversion off the main path, into the high mountains, to the High Place of Sacrifice. After that, we descended the mountain via Wadi Farasa and saw landmarks like the Lion Monument, the Garden Triclinium, the Tomb of the Roman Soldier, Pharoah's columns and finally Qasr al-Bint. By this time, I was ready to ride a donkey back to the entrance after I negotiated the price with one of the ever present Bedouin. Unfortunately the donkey was not allowed to go beyond the Siq ( Treasury ), so my ride ended unexpectedly. At the Siq, only camels and horse chariots were available. I chose a camel as I had never been on one before. The camel owner asked for full payment at the start of the ride and I was naive enough to agree. That camel ride never made it to the entrance as I was told, after about 10 minutes into the ride, that there were policemen along the way who would confiscate the camels, as they were forbidden to go to the entrance! Having had a gorgeous but ever so hot day hiking in the breathtaking mountains of Petra, I wasn't going to let these scallywags, who make their living through tourism, mar my day. Like everywhere in the world, tourists are often soft targets and well, Petra is not an exception. I decided to walk the rest of the way.
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| Friendly bedouin whose donkey i rode |
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| Bedouins live here.. |
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| Behold.. |
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| Zalatimo brothers for Sweets |
We left Petra that same afternoon in a nice spacious van with our new, jolly driver, who put on Arabic music all the way to Amman. On the way to the hotel, he made a stop at my request at
Zalatimo Brothers for Sweets, so that I could buy baklava, as I had been told Jordanian baklava is the best in the region.
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| Baklava forever...😛 |
We spent the night at the
Amman Rotana another world class hotel in a glitzy glass tower, as our flight to Cairo was due early next morning. We were upgraded to a suite on the 55th floor which lent a sweeping view of Amman. I was amazed at how densely populated Amman was, with all the housing blocks squashed together, sprawling out endlessly in all directions.
I vowed to return to Amman, to enjoy the luxurious hotel breakfast and some more Jordanian baklava!
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