Unlike the response when I mention "Syria," almost every tourist wants to see Petra. As mentioned earlier in this series, Jordan is perceived as a "safe country without any problems" and you can be fairly certain that there won't be any. Besides that, Jordan is clean, efficient and easy to get around. A few suggestions:

- Follow the King's Highway to Madaba to see that unbelievable mosaic map;

- Ascend the ridge of Mount Nebo;

- Spend at least one day in incredible Jerash right outside Amman;

Continue reading "Fast and Easy Jordan Information" »

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The trip would finish in Aqaba via Wadi Rum Oasis. The two places are only separated by an hour's car ride and easy to get to if you don't get stuck in the sand which is exactly what happened.

The bus headed off the paved road towards the Beau Geste Desert Police post into Wadi Rum (Really...that's the name...), a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock. It is the largest wadi in Jordan and scenes from "Lawrence of Arabia" were shot here, deep in the mountains rising from the desert sands. Hollywood re-enacted Lawrence's desert assult on the port of Aqaba. Understandable why filming crews come to Wadi Rum. From the Beau Geste post, a person can hire a 4WD for excursions deeper into the desert to see rock paintings, graffiti and temples. Wadi Rum is also a popular place to ride horses or camels, hike and rock-climb.

Continue reading "The Desert Region of Jordan" »

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After Petra, Al Beidha or Little Petra is the next most important site for the casual visitor in Wadi Musa. This site is only a few kilometers (around a 10-minute drive) north of Petra and easily accessible by taxi or rented car. We jumped in a taxi and hired a guide at the site.

There were less visitors in 1996 than probably visit today and a welcome respite from all the crowds inside the City of Petra. Little Petra is literally hidden away in the center of a mountain with a classical temple standing guard outside the mini-siq. Little Petra appears to have been an important suburb of the city of Petra and is at the point where several ancient caravan routes met. The routes linked Wadi Araba with Gaza, Egypt and the Mediterranean coast.

Continue reading "Al Beidha/"Little" Petra and More to See Around Petra, Jordan" »

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That stupifying Treasury (Al-Khazneh) is the first sight before your eyes after coming through the 1.5 km/1 mile-long Siq and is considered Petra's most magnificent sight. ...View image... The Treasury is carved out of solid rock and stands over 40m/131' high. It isn't really a "Treasury" but is generally believed to be a temple or royal tomb. However, the Bedouins believed that pirates hid ancient treasures in the giant stone urn which stands in the center of the second level and would fire guns at it, trying to break the urn to release the treasure. Therefore, the name..."Treasury".... You can still see the bullet holes..

When you've finished taking a zillion photos from every conceivable angle, walk on to visit the other major highlights inside Petra but a little information first...

Continue reading "Return to Petra, Jordan in 1996" »

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The Treasury is justifiably known as the most famous Petra monument and little has changed since it was first discovered. (More description on the return visit to Petra, 1996 follows.) But there are several other standouts in the incredible rock-cut architecture. These were (and are) a few of our memorable, and "favorite sights and things."

- Bought "old" little oil lamps, supposedly dug up by the Bedouins (possibly made yesterday) and sold to tourists (us) and little bottles filled with decorated sand. ...View image...

- Took time to sit and talk with the many Bedouins drinking tea and relaxing throughout Petra.

Continue reading "The Wonders of Petra, Jordan in 1989" »

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Petra, Petra, Petra. The movie location of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" where the Treasury stood in for the Temple of the Grail. The spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried on Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. Capital of the Nabataeans, Aramaic-speaking Semites, and the center of their caravan trade. Petra, one of the new wonders of the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Difficult to believe that Petra wasn't discovered by the West until 1812 by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt disguised as Ibrahim bin Abdallah, a Muslim pilgrim. He passed himself off as a Muslim from India because he had heard stories of a wondrous ancient city hidden away. Burckhardt claimed he wished to make a sacrifice at the tomb of the Prophet Aaron (supposedly buried nearby) to gained entrance to Petra.

Impossible to even imagine his expression and thoughts as he rode through the dark, narrow gorge called the Siq (the shaft, a deep split in the sandstone rock) and beheld, Al Khazneh ("the Treasury"), in front of his eyes.

Continue reading "Petra, Jordan For The First Time, 1989" »

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During our 1989 trip into Jordan, one excursion was an overnight trip Into the Great Rift Mountains. A steep, winding road took us into the gorge of Wadi Zarqa Ma'in. There are hot springs here and King Herod the Great (the same King Herod who ordered all sons under the age of two killed hoping to murder baby Jesus) spent a few months in the first century AD taking the "cure" to heal his decrepit body. The ruins of King Herod's palace was just a few kilometers south.

Don't you agree that there is only one way to learn dry history facts? Visit the source and watch everything spring to life. We looked at this steep terrain and visualized litter bearers carrying obese King Herod up the mountains to his palace, and then down the mountains to the hot springs probably uttering fervant prayers all the way that they didn't drop him. Or perhaps praying that they did drop him down a gully to his death.

Continue reading "Wadi Zarqa Ma'in and The Madaba Mosaic Map in Jordan" »

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Goodbye to an enjoyable, amazing and engrossing Syrian visit. Time to cross the Syrian/Jordanian border at Der'a and drive to the provincial town of Irbid for one night before heading on to Amman, Jordan.

Breakfast, and the first stop today was Jerash, one of the best preserved cities of the Decapolis, a confederation of 10 Roman cities. This is Greco-Roman Jordan at its best with perhaps the best preserved and most complete, provincial Roman city anywhere in the world. Jerash was built around a colonnaded main street and several intersecting side streets, a well-planned city. There is Hadrian's Arch, colannaded streets, two Theaters - the south Theater and smaller north Theater called the Odeon, the Temple of Zeus, Artemis Temple Complex, baths and 14 churches.

Continue reading "Across The Border Into Jordan" »

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