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Jordan - More than PETRA

16 days touring Jordan, October 2017

Por Beyond All Maps - Portraits of our Planet by Thorsten Mehret

16 de December de 2018

The Motivation

The Arabian Peninsula was a part in the world I hadn't managed to visit (flight transfers in Dubai or Abu Dhabi obviously don't count). So my interest was high.

Picturing the mystic rock temple in "Indiana Jones" and the epic landscapes in movies like "Lawrence of Arabia" or more recently "The Martian" with Matt Damon, and having learned that the scenes were filmed in Petra and Wadi Rum in Jordan, choosing a country for the first visit of the Peninsula was a no brainer. Especially as Jordan has a reputation of being a save country to visit in an otherwise complicated region.

Due to the heat in summer time, the best time to visit Jordan is either March/April or October/November. In winter it can get very cold in the desert.

My first idea was to book a small group tour, but by some internet research I found out that it's easy to travel independently with a rental car. This is in general my preferred way of traveling, giving me much more flexibility to stop whenever and wherever I want.

BTW: get the Jordan Pass online before you go. It does not only include the visa fee but also the expensive entry fee to Petra and many other places. A no brainer.

The ItineRary

Some tours offer the Jordan highlights in seven days, but I decided not to rush and to spend 16 nights, including some diving days in Aqaba (Akaba) at the Read Sea. Especially Petra and Wadi Rum are absolutely worth to spent three nights there respectively, as there is so much to see.

Amman (2 nights) - Gallery Guest House (30EUR/n)
Dead Sea (2) - Mövenpick Resort & Spa (110EUR/n)
Dana NR (2) - Rummana Campsite (60EUR/n)
Petra (3) - Esperanza Petra (41EUR/n)
Wadi Rum (3) - Wadi Rum Nomads Camp (340EUR/Tour)
Aqaba (4) - Arab Divers B&B (50EUR/n)

As I did a proper research as usual, I was not disappointed by any of the accommodations and can recommend all of them. I generally prefer and look for guesthouses with a personal touch. The Mövenpick was a treat, as access to the dead sea is expensive even from public beaches. Note, the Rummana Campsite is expensive for just a tent and shared (very clean) facilities. Here you pay for the location in a stunning nature. Cheaper accommodation is available in Dana town.

I rented a car via check24. The rental company was Sixt. Everything worked fine, recommended. I took the car from day three on from the airport to avoid the traffic in Amman. Taxi to Amman is around 20 JOD fixed from the airport. Back to the airport you can get it for 15 JOD with some negotiations.

Amman

Amman is the capital of Jordan and inhabits around 1.8 million people. Although the city is dating back to biblical times, it appears rather modern and architecturally uninspiring. Walking around I found it cleaner than expected. People were friendly, interested and open for a chat. I was generally surprised that English worked quite well for conversation.

Amman is not a city bustling with historical highlights, but the two "must do"s are the roman theatre and the citadel with a great view over the town. From the center just grab a taxi for 1 - 2 JOD to the citadel. Entry to both places is free with the Jordan Pass.

From the many mosques in Amman, the rather new King Abdullah Mosque seems to be a special landmark, as many taxi drivers want to bring you there. The other reason might be that they are looking for commission from the big souvenir shop you have to pass to enter the mosque via the tourist entry (2 JOD). To be fair, the sellers are not pushy at all and it’s a relaxed experience. The Mosque itself is more interesting to see from outside than inside.

Together with Uriel, who was on a day's stopover, I spent the first afternoon. We first met on the citadel hill, were we both found out that the entrance was already closed at 17:00h. We had some nice chats with the people around and the guards trying to find a way in, but they mentioned the cameras inside and that they would get into trouble. We decided to take a taxi to the rainbow street, the place to go out in Amman.

Hashem Restaurant

A local institution (everyone knows Hashem). Here you share your place with many locals, tourists and expats who enjoy delicious Hummus and Falafel. Don't expect a romantic atmosphere nor a menu, almost everyone seems to have the same, the waiter will take care of you. Afterwards you will feel very stuffed for only around 4 EUR. BTW: the Gallery Guesthouse is just 100m away. Very central location. Close to Hashem is Habiba Sweets, another institution where locals queue up for the best knafeh in Jordan, a sweet dream.

Mataba

Taking over my car from the airport Mataba was on my way to the Dead Sea. Once hosting a big Christian community during Byzantine and Roman times, the city was conquered by the Persians and destroyed by an earthquake in 746. After a resettlement in 1880 by Arab Christian families fleeing from riots in Karak, several beautiful mosaics were found under the debris. The most famous one is located in the Basilica of Saint George and shows the oldest existing map of Palestine. I found it worth to stroll around a bit to visit the different sites. Don’t miss the catacombs of the St. John the Baptist Church. You can also climb the tower for a vast view over Metaba.

Mt. nebo

OMG, this place was full of tourists and pilgrims when I arrived. I must admit that I’m not religious but standing at such a biblical place, were Moses was granted a first view to the promised land by God gave even me a goose skin for a moment. I was picturing the situation, Moses looking down to the dry bare land, tears in his eyes, asking God: “Really, that’s it? Oh come on, 40 years of wandering around all the way from Egypt and that’s it? No way, I rather die here.” Ok, ok, that’s just my version, but once you see it with your own eyes, you will understand.

Dead Sea

Mövenpick Hotel

Access to the Dead Sea for swimming is not so easy. It’s very rough terrain and you definetly want to have a shower afterwards. Access via the few public beaches is expensive and even more so via hotel day passes. I therefor decided to spent a little bit more, pamper myself in a good hotel and enjoy the included access to the Dead Sea. The Mövenpick had good ratings and was reasonable priced. I had a decent standard room with sea view, there were several nice pools to hang out and the whole complex had a nice, relaxed atmosphere. The buffet restaurant was nothing special (come on guys, not even your own famous Mövenpick ice cream for dessert), but overall it was good value.

Don’t expect fancy beaches at the Dead Sea. Due to obvious reasons there is no vegetation on the shore. The water level drops by almost a meter per year forcing the hotels to continuously adjust the access. Rocks are covered by a harsh salty crust and there are many slippery stones entering the water. But once in, it’s good fun as long as you don’t get water into your eyes. It burns like hell, with its 30% salinity. The Mediterranen Sea has around 4% in comparison. Fortunately, the ever helpful guard always has a bottle of fresh water at hand to rinse your eyes or to rub you back with Dead Sea mud, a great treatment to get soft skin. By the way, don’t forget to bring a newspaper to get one of the famous picture, floating relaxed while reading.

Exploring the Back Country

There are some interesting sites and great views driving up the mountains. I went to the Dead Sea Museum, the Fortress of Machaerus and had a view towards the Ma’in Hot springs.

The Dead Sea Museum does not only offer stunning views but also interesting information about the Dead Sea.

It’s amazing to see how efficient and careful the spare water is used to water the plants around the Museum.

There are some nice explanations at the Dead Sea Museum. It’s impressive to see at the illustrations how fast the water level drops. The only major water source, the Jordan river, is not much more than a trickle nowadays due to heavy farming and other use of the water.

Wadi Mujib

Don‘t miss this place, except you are afraid of water or your fitness level just works for a short stroll. Hiking in this narrow canyon landscape in the river is an amazing experience. There are several tours possible, but the three hours roundtrip standard tour is by far the most popular and was the only open tour when I arrived. A guide is not required for this tour, although at a tricky point a guide was located to help out. Pay your entrance fee (around 20 JOD) and leave everything in the car beside your swim gear, shoes (trekking sandals are perfect but runners do as well) and a good dry bag for your camera. You can leave the car key at the counter, changing rooms are available.

Grab a life jacket, as in some areas you have to swim and the current can be quite strong. The water temperature is pleasant. At the beginning it's easy wading in the river, after a while the first smaller rapids and waterfalls come up. From now on it gets more and more tricky and the upcoming waterfalls look more challenging. Fortunately ropes and sometimes ladders give support. It’s the same way back, so you can turn around whenever you want but it`s rewarding to go to the end when a bigger waterfall obviously tells you to turn here.

Great fun and together with Petra and Wadi Rum my highlight of Jordan.

We were thinking 10min. how to get up, until we found out that there is a ladder hidden in the dark hole on the left.

Dana Nature Reserve

The Dana Biosphere Reserve is the biggest of its kind in Jordan. It`s reaching from 1,700m down to 300m and offers lots of hiking possibilities. I decided to stay right inside the reserve at the Rummana campsite. It’s expensive for a tent and the food is not cheap either, but the views are beautiful from the camp and the hiking possibilities start right from the campsite. The shared facilities were very clean and the food was good.

It got very hot around lunchtime and comfortable shady areas were limited. The common tent was not airy enough and the open sheltered huts had no comfortable seating options. Some hammocks would already help. I would therefore avoid to stay in the camp in the hotter months.

Talib and the staff

The staff was very friendly and helpful. Talib, the resident guide when I was there, was very knowledgeable and entertaining, telling stories after dinner or turning up in the bird hide early morning.

He also explained how to wear the Kufiya or Shemag, the tradional headgear of men by acting as an old men, a sheik, a minister, a young lad and so on. I was not the only one with tears of laughter in the eyes due to his stunning performance.

I expected that the pattern and colours of the Kufiya had some special meanings like the pattern of the kilts in Scotland to differentiate local tribes, but that is not the case, although in Saudi Arabia it’s mostly white and in Iraq red. But otherwise no big deal about it.

Talib also mentioned that the region had received less rain in the past and that many plants are now in a stadium between life and death, even more on the latter site. Indeed the whole area looked very dry. Let‘s hope it will change, but most probably the climate change takes it tribute also here in Jordan.

Enjoying the scenery

Shobak Castle

There are a couple of crusader castles in Jordan and Shobak is one of them. You can drive all the steep way up to the entrance by ignoring the entry forbidden sign. Nobody cares and everybody does it. It‘s worth taking a guide for a couple of JOD at the entrance as it helps to bring the otherwise dead ruin to life. There is an underground tunnel leading to a spring but I didn't find it rewarding. It's pitch black (best bring a good headlamp and no dice using the tiny lights of your mobile phone), very steep and sometimes slippery so you need your hands to hold on some rocks. Once you’ve finally made it, the so-called spring is a 20cm deep puddle of water littered with plastic bottles. The only good thing about it is that you don't have to go all the way back. A short funnel brings you back to daylight at the base of the castle. Of course, if you parked at the top, you have to walk up in the heat of the day. Not worth it, but the castle itself is nice to explore, although not spectacular.

Petra

Petra is probably the place why most tourists come to Jordan. The area was settled already 9,000 BC and in antic times became the capital of the Nabatean Kingdom. So close to the trade routes it became an important trade hub and the source of great weath. It’s believed that Petra peeked in the first century with 20,000 inhabitants. In 106 AD the region was annexed by the Roman Empire. With upcoming sea trade routes Petra’s importance declined. A major earthquake in 363 AD destroyed many structures. By the early Islamic period Petra was almost abandoned and was only rediscovered by the world in 1812.

Since 1985 it’s a UNESCO world heritage site. 600,000 people visited the place 2017.

Little Petra

It‘s probably best to visit Little Petra before Petra. This way it’s a nice introduction of what is coming up, the other way around it might be a bit disappointing, what Little Petra definitely not deserves.

Petra at Night

This event only takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. So plan ahead if you want to do it. It costs 17 JOD and is not included in the day pass. Is it worth to do? Well, it depends. People hate or love it. It gets very crowded, which spoils the otherwise fascinating atmosphere that thousands of candles create, but if you come all the way to Jordan just do it and make your own opinion.

There is also a little trick I will tell you to enjoy the atmosphere without the crowd for a while and of course to take some great pictures.

Be there half an our before official entry. Do not wait as told in the courtyard by some guards but go right to the entrance gate (nobody will hinder you). There you wait with 20-30 other people who heard about this until they will let you in 10 to 15 minutes before the official entry. Now go fast. it’s about two km, don’t run as you don’t need to be the very first to get good pictures. Enjoy the scenery in the canyon, but don’t stop until you reach the treasury. It looks really beautiful, illuminated by all the candles.

Now you should have around 20min before the crowd arrives, and boy the will arrive! So be quick and take your pictures with your tripod and your wide angle (you did bring a tripod, right?). Don’t believe the lit up pictures in the net. The face of the treasury is much dimmer than you might think and it’s not possible to make high quality pictures without a tripod. And forget about using a flash if you don’t want to look like a stupid tourist. Did I tell you that there will be hundreds around of them in a short while ;-) ?

When everyone has arrived, which can take a while, some traditional flute songs will be performed for around 15 minutes but it’s way too crowded to enjoy the atmosphere. You can sit, but I recommend staying behind, taking some more pictures with the people. When it’s over, the treasury is lit in different colours but for me that looks way too artificial. Then people start to go back. Stay and take some more pictures in the canyon, behind you they will already start to remove the candles.

Khazne al-Firaun (The Treasury)

Petra is too beautiful and fascinating to rush through it in one day. I recommend at least two full days to enjoy the atmosphere. This also gives you the opportunity to rest a longer while at some viewpoints having a cup of tea and a longer chat with the Bedouins.

If you are a picture guy like me or just want to soak up the atmosphere, go early to the Treasury. The gate opens at 6:00h and this way you can get pictures without people in. The Treasury is lit nicer later in the morning, but this we will see from the viewpoint above. There are two viewpoint options. Facing the Treaury there is a new, a short but very steep way up. You need to pay a guide. But if you have started early you now have plenty of time to turn right towards the Nabatean Theater and further to the Palace Tomb (maps are available for free at the visitor center). By now you should have passed several signs saying Al-Khubta trail. Follow it up the stairs all the way to the top (around 45 minutes) until you can’t go further. Now you are at the other viewpoint just opposite of the first viewpoint separated by the Siq. A business minded Bedouin has build a stall right at the best spot. So have a cup of tea, a chat and enjoy the stunning scenery below. It’s worth to stay until noon, watching the treasury getting out of the shade. Then you might start going back, exploring a bit the central area of Petra and having some drinks or food under the trees in the restaurant there.

The Monastery

The best time to visit the monastery is in the afternoon, starting around 3pm from the restaurant in the central area. At this time the hike uphill is mostly in the shade. The monastery is beautifully lit in the late afternoon light. A stunning atmosphere! Also have a look at the "best view" up there. Did I mention that all viewpoints are advertised with the "best view"? So have a look around, they are all worth a look.

Beautiful late afternoon light. Most tourists have already left, missing this out.

It’s a long and tiring way back from the Monastery to the entrance and as I had started already early in the morning....

...I was an easy target back in the central part, when I got a “late day offer" to get out on a donkey by the back door of Petra to the village of Uum Sayhoun and a transfer to the hotel for 15 JOD.

High Place of Sacrifice

Telling my hotel owner about my long tiring day and the late donkey ride, he recommended to start the next day with a horse ride up to the high place of sacrifice and then to walk slowly down. Of course I got a great deal with his cousin. As the price really sounded reasonable I agreed and was not disappointed. It was a beautiful horse and a great trail without any people around in stunning scenery. On the way we stopped and scrambled down on foot to the first treasury viewpoint from the back door. Then we continued our way up to the high place of sacrifice. It’s a stunning view from up there and it was great fun.

I had a long rest with some cups of tea at a beautiful viewpoint and nice chats with the Bedouins up there. They are all very relaxed, not pushy at all to drink or buy something. I was even invited having lunch with them. Most of them live in the huts at the viewpoints or in the caves (there are more than 40 families living in the caves around like their ancestors, although some of them even have houses in the village). It’s just the way they prefer it, I was told.

Sandstone

The different colours and the pattern of the sandstone around Petra are amazing and worth a closer look.

In the afternoon it’s time to have a closer look at the tombs lining the Street of Facades. They wonderfully glow in the afternoon light and most day trippers from Amman have left already.

Leaving Petra in the morning on the way to Wadi Rum.

Wadi Rum

There is an endless number of camps and tour companies available in Wadi Rum and most of them seem to offer similar kind of tours. I was looking for something not too big, clean facilities and well organized. After some research I made my choice with Wadi Rum Nomads. Communication was straightforward with lots of information, the tour was really cool and the facilities spotless. So I can wholeheartedly recommend them. I’ve booked a 3 nights/3 days tour with them and they organised a hot-air balloon ride as wished for the 4th day early in the morning. I would at least recommend two full days, as there is a lot to see, and the landscape is really beautiful. I was “bundled” together with Laura and Marten, a Belgian couple, and we had the same guide, Rashid, and car for the three days, which was great as it really felt like a team after a short while.

Day One

Day one was basically the standard one day tour to several famous spots, like Lawrence Spring and House, the big red dune, some rock arches, etc. I also tried a one hour camel ride, the first in my life. Not too bad, once you manage to synchronise your movements with the camel. For longer tours I definetly prefer a less authentic but more comfortable way with the jeep. I met a family which had planned to do a four days camel safari with kids. I didn’t meet them afterwards but heard that after the first day, which was very hard, they enjoyed it. Brave souls.

Although it’s a desert, Wadi Rum is far away from being boring. I especially loved the different kinds of rock formations. Some of them look like surrealistic melting Dalí sculptures.

Lunch we always had in a quiet shady spot and it was always tasty. Well done, Rashid! Then we had a nap during the heat of the day, before we started in the second half of the day. Sitting on the truck in the back, while Rashid was cruising the epic landscape to the next destination was very enjoyable.

A Martian in Wadi Rum? Well, looking at the landscape it’s no wonder that Hollywood chooses the area here for all kinds of space movies. One of the latest "The Martian" with Matt Damon. Crazy but consequent that a Chinese guy brought an astronaut costume with him to take some pictures. Funny idea.

The Nomad's Camp

In the afternoon, we went to the camp, were we met all the other groups. During the three days we were between 10 to 20 people in the camp. Hard to believe, but the shared facilities were some of the cleanest during my whole trip. Absolutely spotless, and that in the middle of the desert, amazing! Food was prepared Bedouine-style in an earth oven and tasted very good.

Sleeping uNder the stars

The first night I slept outside to enjoy the stars. I got a mattress, a warm blanket and a sheltered place close to the camp. I hoped for the absence of snakes and scorpions and the fact that some of the staff also slept on mattresses on the floor around the camp significantly increased my confidence.

To be honest, being so close to the camp, seeing the lights, even having the facilities at hand doesn’t give the complete adventurous desert camping feeling, but still it is a nice experience and obviously also has some advantages.

The stars were anyhow gorgeous, although I was surprised when I saw some light pollution on the horizon, most likely from Aqaba.

Wadi Rum - Day Two

Imagine to wake up in pure silence with the first light of the day, no one's up yet. The air feels fresh, the sand is soft and cool between your toes. You climb up a nice little viewpoint to watch the first rays of the sun turning the rocks and the sand of this epic landscape into a beautiful orange hue. Just magic and my favourite moments in the camp.

Old Cars

Many cars in Wadi Rum have been workhorses for decades and are older than their drivers. It must be the dry climate that preserves them so well. So be ready for the vintage car show!

In the morning we went with Rashid to climb Jabal Al Hash. One of the higher mountains, offering stunning views into Saudi Arabia. The wild boarder is only few kilometer away. It was quite a drive away from the camp and really deserted. The day tours don’t go in this area, so it really gave a sense of remoteness in the desert. In the afternoon we visited some more interesting places around.

More night sky pictures, with the Milky Way.

Wadi Rum - Day three

Day three was my favourite day. We did wake up with some unexpected and curious guests in the camp. After breakfast, we went for another climb to a huge rock arch on top of a mountain, the Burdha rock bridge. The climb alone was good fun, but the view from up there was beyond superlatives and we stayed quite a bit longer than planned.

Climbing to the Burdah Rock Bridge

I was surprised to see many camels roaming around in Wadi Rum. They are all owned by the Bedouins but they let them freely roam. A standard camel is worth around 5,000 US$, so Wadi Rum is like a huge Bedouine Bank were you store your capital. Sometimes a rope between the legs is slowing them down, thus avoiding that they make accidentally their way into Saudi Arabia. This kind of cross-boarder capital transaction generally doesn’t lead to a payback and thus means a painful asset write-down for the owner.

Wadi Rum - Day 4

Wadi Rum is a fantastic place for hot-air ballooning. To be on the save side, I booked two months ahead via Wadi Rum Nomads and luckily I did, as the balloon was completely full that day. The balloon ride is handeld by the Royal Aero Sports Club of Jordan and costs 130 JOD per person for around an hour. Not cheap, but well spent. Our pilot was extremely experienced, doing this for more than 20 years, and everything felt perfectly save. So let the pictures talk.

Quite a surprise when we saw this movie set in the middle of nowhere, especially when we were told that it’s for the next Star Wars movie. And indeed the scenery around with strange-looking objects gave a clear hint. Definetly a movie I will have to watch after release.

If you have watched "Lawrence of Arabia", you will know about the story of this railway.

Aqaba

Aqaba is a modern city without major touristic highlights besides the Red Sea. It has a very strategic location, close to Eilat on the Israeli side and Saudi Arabia. It’s also a special trade zone, which explains the many police check points.

Meeting up with travel companions. Thanks buddys for a great time!

Diving

After some research I decided to stay at the Arab Divers Resort. They were professional and the accommodation was good. There is no lunch nor dinner, so it’s helpful to have a car. All the dive resorts are out of Aqaba at the south shore. That’s were all the major dive sites are. Diving in Aqaba is very relaxed. All dives are shore dives (which makes it a cheap dive destination). There is almost no current, but great visibility, a pleasant water temperature and plenty of fish, although not the big ones. Goodies are a Hercules airplane, an Israeli tank and the Cedar Pride, a huge cargo ship, sunken 30 years ago. Most dives are around 20 meters and less. All in all a nice place for a couple of dives. I did seven.

Desert Highway and Kerak

The desert highway is an endless looking road along the Israeli / Jordan border. There is not much to see but it gives a real feeling of remoteness.

Kerak is another crusader castle and plays an important role in one of my favourite movies “Kingdome of Heaven”, this place really lives up for me. From this castle, Rainald from Chattilon did raid many caravans and even tried to attack Mekka. It took Saladin and his troops three attempts to finally capture the castle in 1188. A place were history becomes alive for me.

Footnotes

All pictures taken with the Fuji XT2 and various lenses or my IPhone. Thanks to everyone I met on my way and who helped to made this an enjoyable trip.

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FootNotes

All pictures taken with the Fuji XT2 and various lenses or my IPhone. Thanks to everyone I met on my way and who helped to made this an enjoyable trip.

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