Jordan Map

Journey to Amman, Dead Sea, Jerash, Ajlun, Petra , Wadi Rum and Aqaba

We recently spent a 6 day break in Jordan. The main purpose of the trip was to visit

Tejas who has been working for the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)

in Amman for past six months. Our trip was one of the most thrilling and exciting

experiences of our life. We reached Amman on 10th April midnight. A hotel Taxi was

waiting for us. Amman is nearly 35 kilometres from the airport. Our driver was an

articulate and well-spoken Palestinian who provided an initial set of comments on

Amman and it good life. As his car sped on the highway to Amman, we noticed that

off the road there were small groups of men, women and children huddled under a

tree with their car parked off the road well past midnight. When we asked our driver

what was going on, he explained to us that people came out for picnic to mark the

commencement of their weekend from Thursday evening, their Friday and Saturday

being equal to our Saturday and Sunday. We were to see similar family picnickers

here and there as we travelled about. We were able to get some rest in our Gardenia

Hotel room to get set for the following morning. There were no European tourists in

the hotel. Those whom we saw were mainly Jordanian men and women who may

have been visitors or business people. We came across a number of visitors from

India. In greeting them, I learned that they were in Jordan for projects involving Royal

Jordanian Airline with airlines from India.

 

Early morning call for prayers relayed across Amman was a beginning of our day.

Tejas came and met us at the hotel on Friday morning. The taxi that he had arranged

for us drove us all through Amman towards the Dead Sea. We spent the whole day in

this rather luxurious resort and spent most of the day by the beach. As you float rather

than sink in the Dead Sea, all of us had a wonderful floating experience. Tejas drifted

away as he swam till he was no more than a little speck. Dead Sea produces black

mud which has properties that can help the skin. Jyoti and Tejas applied black mud to

themselves several times and I was content to do it once and enjoyed it very much,

There were showering facilities so that you could wash of the mud and refresh

yourself. It was a wonderful experience. Movenpick Resort is run by a Swiss

company that offers high quality service to its customers. There were numerous

European tourists from all over the place as you might expect. There were also

wealthy Jordanians with their families and their beautiful wives and daughters. We

had very relaxing day and wished we had more time at this resort.

 

We were doing Amman on the next day. Tejas met us and we drove to a wonderful

restaurant cum art centre for a breakfast. There were many vegetarian dishes in

Middle Eastern style and we enjoyed this treat very much indeed with a glass of fresh

lemon juice. We then walked down to the old Amman bazaar which was very much

like Indian streets in old quarters like we have in India and full of men, stunning

women and children. However, the streets were not absolutely packed as in some

Indian cities but there were enough people around for us to get some feeling of

rhythm of street life. There was no sign of begging but we did see one decrepit old

woman lying in a corner and begging. It was a pretty depressing site. We explored the

bazaar and enjoyed this very much. We sat outside a restaurant and had a cup of tea

with fresh mint and that was delightful. Centre of Amman has a famous Roman

Amphitheatre which is quite magnificent and very impressive indeed. We stopped

there and visited two museums which show traditional Jordanian artefacts. We

enjoyed the clear blue sky and intense heat that we had missed for months and

months. Tejas also took us two magnificent art galleries where we were able to see

paintings by contemporary artists. In one of the places, bleakness of war was striking

theme. From the old Amman we drove to Jamal Al Hussein that was a Palestinian

refugee camp. Now it is a prosperous looking area full of modern shops. It was

wonderful to wander about to see some of the features of this place. Most of the

people seemed young men and women. Women who wore burkhas with open faces

were just incredibly beautiful and not unfriendly if you stole a glance at them. There

were great Arab sweet shops on the street and we did buy a small collection of

different sweets akin to baklava.

On the following day Tejas joined us again and Nasser, the taxi driver took us to

Jerash, a location that is often described as the Pompeii of the East as it has one of the

most magnificent ruins dating back to Roman imperial times. We spent good part of

the morning there waking through this incredible historical site with most graceful

columns and structures going back in time for a thousand years. The sky was crystal

clear blue and the temperature was high as it felt like the heat in India, about 38

degrees Celsius. We enjoyed this visit enormously as we moved through the ruins and

had a most welcome lunch at an Arab restaurant of local character. Once again the

vegetarian dishes we had were absolutely fabulous including their fresh salad and

lemon juice. Our next stop was a castle that was built on a hill by the famous Saladin.

We saw it from outside and did a little wandering and then drove to a a nature reserve

some miles away from there. This isolated spot is being developed to attract tourists.

It was very quiet as there were no people around. We drove back to Amman through

most serene and peaceful but hilly countryside with a touch of green for an evening

meal and rest.

 

On the next day, we left Amman to go to Petra, a city that the famous Nabateans had

carved out of huge rock formation six hundred years before the birth of Christ. It took

us about three hours to get there and we reached Taybet Zaman our magnificent hotel

tastefully designed to mirror old Arab quarters. It is perched on rock from where you

can see the range of rocky hills that was once upon a time the home of the Nabateans.

We immediately went to the location of the site and soon entered this incredible realm

of the Nabateans. There is a long walk through a narrow gorge that is one of the most

magnificent rock formation that we had ever seen. If you use Google Earth, I suggest

that you take a virtual tour of Petra site which is dotted with scores of photographs.

The gorge route takes more than two miles. Along with many tourists including a

pack of young Jordanian girls from a school in Amman who were dancing and singing

all the way, we reached one of the central points called Khazaneh (almost sounds like

Khazana) the treasury. Our guide told us that this designation was of recent Arabic

origin. The entire structure of Khazaneh is carved into a huge rock. It is really an

impressive looking site and you can see this on the Internet. We wandered around and

saw many sites which indicated that Nabateans were sophisticated people and

absorbed Greek and Roman influences of their time in their architecture and urban

living. The effect of lighting through the gorge was most beautiful and and so

pleasing. The girls from Amman with their teacher were still dancing and singing

away and did make a contact with Jyoti and exchanged greetings. One of them

confirmed that she was an avid watcher of Film India.

 

Tejas had already bought tickets for us to do Petra at night. Although we were very

tired, after a most refreshing and enjoyable dinner at Taybek Zaman, we took a taxi

back to the site to do see what the night time walk through the gorge would be like.

What the organizers had done was to place lanterns all the way through to Khazaneh.

It was quite an experience to walk through dimly lighted gorge to Khazaneh. It really

was a unique experience. In an open space in front of the Treasury, there were

hundreds of lanterns to provide minimal illumination. More than 250 to 300 people

were invited to sit down to listen to Jordanian Bedouin music. First there was a most

lyrical and beautiful Bedouin song that sounded primordial and so deeply evocative.

In the silence of this amazing rock, the song had a profound effect. As soon as the

song ended, from the Treasury came the sound of Bedouin flute that was quite

something. The sound had a magical quality and seemed to heighten the silence of the

gorge as the flute player walked around in his dimly visible Bedouin outfit. We were

served delicious mint tea and enjoyed the walk back through the gorge to the entrance

and a drive back to Taybet Zaman.

 

On the following morning, there was a magnificent sunrise and we did a little walk

about outside Taybek Zaman and had one of those rich and enjoyable Arab vegetarian

breakfast. Our destination was Wadi Rum which is known to be one of the most

remarkable landscapes of high rocks and desert sand. Nasser drove us to Wadi Rum

and change in the landscape was notable. The flat desert that stretches for miles and

miles South of Amman begins to show rocky hills and rocks which rise majestically

to give a special character to Wadi Rum. Soon we were to reach a massive rock

formation around which a number of camps have been set up for the visitors to spend

a night or so to taste the rough and tumble of camp life. We arrived at the camp and it

seemed as if it was empty except for two white men who were shying away from

bright sun and more than 38 Celsius temperature. Our Captain Desert camp had

Bedouin tents which were square dwelling with local black material that was heavy

and black. The camp was being arranged to receive visitors later in the day. We

sipped mint tea and had a good roasting in the sun till a Toyota jeep arrived to take us

on a four hour drive through Wadi Rum. Our driver youthful Hassan with an angular

face and sharp eyes met us and we sat at the back in the open as Hassan began to take

us through vast expanses of Wadi Rum. It was hot and sunny and the sky was crystal

blue. The drive through this empty and desolate landscape was a most unique and

enjoyable experience. Huge and tall rocks stood like sentries who had watched their

surroundings for thousands of years. All of us were deeply moved by this journey.

There were several stops on the way and it was obvious that jeeps with other visitors

were in the vicinity and would assemble at a certain point now and then and continue

the journey through Wadi Rum. Deserts remind us that nature is a mighty force

making our habitat for millions of years and shaping and and reshaping our habitat

into some of the most beautiful landscape imaginable. This wonderful journey was to

end just before the sunset. All the jeeps gather with their passengers to see the sun

setting on Wadi Rum. The sun set had a beauty that was to become a part of digital

memory for many of us.

When we reached the camp, it had been already set up for the evening entertainment

with Bedouin rugs covering tables and chairs with a fire burning in the centre with a

number of hookahs and large black kettles which would be placed on the charcoal fire

for mint tea, We soon settled to hear two Bedouin musicians playing an instrument

similar to mandolin with a drummer joining in. The effect of the sound was lovely and

relaxing as we drank mint tea and began to queue for our evening meal. There was a

buffet with ample vegetarian choices. As the music went on some Jordanian men and

women began to perform a simple circular dance (almost like garba) that added

something special to moonlit bounds of Captain Desert camp. Soon the number of

visitors began to decline and we dispersed to our camps to find a bed with a little stool

that had as march box and some candles. We lighted the candles and saw the end of

this most enjoyable day

 

Next morning was our last morning. We were all ready and stepped out for our last

walk at Wadi Rum. Tejas went off on his own and soon turned into a little spot in the

distance and rejoined us as we were walking away from the camp. A man with several

camels asked us if we wanted a camel ride. Tejas took up the offer and mounted a

camel and was soon out of our sight as I and Jyoti took a more gentle way and walked

away from the cap towards the rocky hills. We must have walked for more than an

hour as the camp disappeared behind us. We noticed a small number of goats near one

of the hilly rocks. At the same time we also heard a dog barking. Before we could see

what was happening, the barking dog came leaping towards us and we were

absolutely petrified holding each other's hands to protect ourselves from an attack by

this ferocious dog. I tried to shoo him away but without much success. When he came

towards us, I made a counter gesture that kept him at bay for a few seconds. We

suddenly heard voice of a small Bedouin who came running towards us and throwing

a stone towards the dog that could have nearly hit us! She picked up another stone and

hit the dog and the dog suddenly became quiet. The woman came to us and began to

say something that was beyond our comprehension. We said 'Shoukran' thank you to

her and continued walking. After few minutes, we suddenly heard the sound of a

flute. The woman was playing her flute and its magical sound was filling the void in

Wadi Rum. With a feeling of relief and pleasure, we continued walking till Captain

Desert Camp in sight and we were glad to be back and waited for Tejas. Our driver

Nasser appeared and we were very pleased to see this friendly, affectionate and

amiable person. He spoke some English but all through our journey we had

conversation through some basic words and gestures. Nasser grew fond of Tejas as

Tejas had picked up enough Arabic in his six months stay in Amman to sound as if he

knew the language well. So there was this touch of friendship between us that was

delightful.

 

From Wadi Rum Nasser drove us to Aqaba on a road that was nearly empty almost all

the way through to Aqaba. We spent a couple of hours near a marine centre which is

popular among the divers. There was a little park where we saw a large group of

Jordanian women having a nice time and some young families with their children

wading in the sea, women in their full burkha getting into Red Sea water and having a

good splash. I met one young family with a small child and said, 'Salaam Walikum' to

them. They responded warmly. As I greeted the child, he came towards me and I

lifted him. His father asked him to give me a kiss and I gave him a gentle kiss in

return. It was a lovely experience of what one might call a spontaneous community or

spontaneous humanity. After a lunch at the seaside restaurant, we headed for Amman.

Next day Nasser came to our Amman hotel and we were ready to travel last 35 miles

to Queen Aliya airport to board our Royal Jordanian flight back to England. On the

way Nasser stopped saying that he would be back in two minutes. He was back soon

with a blue plastic bag. I assumed he had to shop for something. When he dropped us

at the airport, he gave me the blue plastic bag. He said there was a copy of the Koran

for me in it. During our journeys, Nasser always played recitations from the Koran.

Some of these recitations conveyed a beauty of tonal gentleness that was was superb.

I had said to Nasser that the music that he played was very beautiful. May be he

thought I was interested in Islamic faith and purchased a beautifully hard bound green

copy of the Koran for me. I thanked him for his kind support to us and for his

precious gift. He smiled and said good-bye to us and we were soon to check in to

catch our midday flight back to England.