Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is strategically located in
the Middle East. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east,
Saudi Arabia to the south, and the Palestinian West Bank and Israel to the west.
Jordan is a land full of history. It has been home to some of mankind's earliest
settlements and villages, and relics of many of the world's great civilizations
can still be seen today. As the crossroads of the Middle East, the
lands of Jordan have served as a strategic nexus connecting Asia, Africa and
Europe. Since the dawn of civilization, Jordan's geography has given it an
important role to play as a conduit for trade and communications, connecting
east and west, north and south. After the Great Arab Revolt against the
Ottomans in 1916 during World War I, the Greater Syria region was partitioned by
Britain and France. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921 by the
Hashemite, then Emir, Abdullah I, and the emirate became a British protectorate.
In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan has a reputation for dynamism, moderation
and peace brokering in the Middle East. It has peacefully absorbed Palestinian
refugees over the past thirty years. Jordan with a majority Islamic population
and a Christian minority remains an oasis of peace in a troubled region.
Getting there ...
We continued our trip from Egypt.
We had an early morning flight from Cairo at 6:25AM, and arrived in Amman before
9AM (the flight path did not fly over Israel). The first impression of
Jordan was totally different from Egypt. Jordan is modern, clean,
efficient, and well organized. Just from how they delivered our rental
car, you can feel how thorough Jordanian did their work :-) After getting
some sandwiches at the airport (we did not want to find some place to eat lunch
on the road during the Ramadan), we were ready to drive to Petra.
Day 13 (3/14) ...
- Petra
Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system,
Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the color of the sandstone
from which it is carved. The area around Petra has been
inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and the Nabataeans might have settled in
what would become the capital city of their kingdom as early as the 4th
century BC. The trading business gained the Nabataeans considerable
revenue and Petra, this Nabataean caravan-city situated between the Red Sea
and the Dead Sea, became the focus of their wealth. Petra flourished
in the 1st century AD, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000
inhabitants. Although the Nabataean kingdom became a client state of
the Roman Empire, it was only in 106 AD that it lost its independence. Petra
fell to the Romans, who annexed Nabataea. Petra's importance declined as sea
trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 AD destroyed many
structures. By the early Islamic era in the 12th century, Petra was
abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the western
world until 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered
it.
We arrived in Petra at about 12:30PM and we were able to check in our
hotel (Petra
Guest House) early. Since we have already had
Jordan Pass (with 2-day visits to
Petra), we just quickly exchanged tickets at the visitor center, and we were
ready to explore Petra.
- Siq
Today, most visitors approach Petra from the eastern
entrance through a dark, narrow gorge, in places only 3–4 m (10–13 ft) wide,
called the Siq ("shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep
split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi
Musa. There are gutters (or
water conduits) carved along the
canyon walls showing the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water
supply to channel water into the city. When you walked in the narrow canyon
with the first sight of the facade of the Treasury, you felt you were the
one who found it!
- Treasury (Al-Khazneh)
The Treasury (Al-Khazneh) is one of the most
famous and elaborate rock-cut structures in Petra. The scenes from the movie
Indiana Jones has made the Treasury an iconic place for archaeological
adventure. Al-Khazneh means "The Treasury" in Arabic.
It became called "Al-Khazneh" in the early 19th century by the area's
Bedouins as they had believed it contained treasures. The Treasury is
24 meters (79 ft) wide and 37 meters (121 ft) tall and references the
architecture of Alexandria. It is thought that the Treasury was built
as a mausoleum and crypt with estimates ranging from 100 BCE to 200 CE.
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- Monastery (Ad Deir)
The Monastery (Ad Deir) is one of the largest
monuments in Petra measuring 47m wide by 48.3m high. The
interior is occupied by two
side benches and an altar against the rear wall. This space was used
as a biclinium for the meetings of religious associations. The Monastery
dates to the early 2nd century AD, during the reign of King Rabel II.
The hall was later re-used as a Christian chapel and crosses were carved
into the rear wall. this is how the structure got its name.
It's
about 3.75-mile (~6km) one-way hike from the visitor center entrance to the
Monastery with about 800ft elevation gain in the last mile. It's
really an amazing site with much less people than the Treasury.
-
Petra By Night
Petra By Night is a light show with live native music performance and story
telling (from 8:30PM to 10:30PM). It's a magical experience by walking
the entire Siq to the Treasury, lit with over 1,500 candles, and sit there
with total tranquility.
After coming back from the Petra By Night show, we
rewarded ourselves at the Cave
Bar, one of the oldest bars in the world.
Day 14 (3/15) ...
- Petra
We went back to Petra at 7AM and walked through the Siq without
any other people for most part of the trail. After passing the
Treasury, we continued to the Royal Tombs, four magnificent facades (Urn
Tomb, Silk Tomb, Corinthian Tomb, Palace Tomb) adjacent to each other on the
right side through the middle of the Petra city. There are many
chambers and rooms carved into the cliff with
striking rock patterns.
We were probably few of the "crazy" people to walk
through the Siq 3 times in 24 hours (40,000+
steps). Although we were very tired (sore legs, knees and ankles), we
were happy that we could spend as much time as possible at this amazing place.
- Wadi Rum
After lunch and a quick visit to the
Petra Museum, we
started to drive to Wadi Rum, a valley cut into the sandstone and granite
rock in southern Jordan. Set on a high plateau at the western edge of
the Arabian desert, Gargantuan rock formations, rippled sand dunes, and
clear night skies create an almost fairy-tale environment in Wadi Rum.
We checked in our camp (Hasan
Zawaideh Camp) at ~ 2:45PM, and we were immediately stricken by the
beauty of the desert.
Wadi Rum has been used as a background setting in a
number of films, for example (just a few famous ones): Lawrence of Arabia
(1962), Prometheus (2012), the Martian (2015), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
(2016), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Dune (2021), Dune Part 2
(2024), etc.
- Jeep Tour, Wadi Rum
We had a Jeep Tour in the afternoon to venture
deep into the Wadi Rum desert. It's a nice and easy way to see more of
Wadi Rum without worry too much about the sandstorm.
Day 15 (3/16) ...
- Kerak
Castle
Kerak Castle is one of three largest medieval castles in the
region (the other two are in Syria). Built by the Crusaders in 1142,
it was a key strategic point for them in their fight against Saladin's
forces. It was initially constructed as a small fortification to
protect the area from Muslim forces. Over time, it grew into a much larger
castle with multiple towers and walls designed to protect the city from
attack. In 1183, Saladin (Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub) captured the
castle after a lengthy siege, and it became part of his Ayyubid dynasty.
Kerak Castle is a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways,
featuring several towers, walls, and courtyards preserved over time.
We spent more than an hour here to explore many underground chambers and
tunnels, and got lost in the maze from time to time.
Today, Kerak Castle is one of Jordan's most popular tourist attractions due
to its long history and impressive architecture. Unfortunately, in
December 2016, Kerak was the target of a terrorist attack that left 14 dead.
- Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to
the east and Israel to the west. As of 2019, the lake's surface is
430.5 meters (1,412 ft) below sea level, making its shores the lowest
land-based elevation on Earth. With a salinity of 342
g/kg, or 34.2% (in 2011), it is one of the world's saltiest bodies of water
– 9.6 times as salty as the ocean.
- Kempinski Ishtar,
Dead Sea
As the Dead Sea is an ideal vacation location for relaxation
in Jordan, its shore is lined up with multiple luxurious resorts. We
checked in our resort (Kempinski
Ishtar) at ~ 3:30PM, and started our relax mode immediately.
The Dead Sea is known to be one of the world's
oldest natural spas. We went down to the private beach and tried the
rich Dead Sea mud with its high concentration of salts and minerals. The mud
removes impurities from the skin and enriches the skin with numerous minerals,
helping with many skin disorders. Due its high salt content, even
I can float easily in
the Dead Sea :-)
We spent the rest of early evening at the resort spa (it
closed at 8PM) to enjoy more relaxation (and my favorite was the heated Dead Sea
pool).
One special note: after we arrived at the Dead Sea, our GPS
locations on our cell phones were not working anymore. Sometimes it showed
we were in Israel, sometimes it showed we moved to Egypt (close to Cairo).
It even changed our time zone...
Day 16 (3/17) ...
- Mount Nebo
Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Bible as the place where
Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land before his death. The view
from the summit provides a panorama of the West Bank across the Jordan River
valley. The city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is
Jerusalem on a very clear day.
- Madaba
Madaba is an ancient town in Jordan, southwest of the capital
Amman. The Madaba Archaeological Park preserves the mosaic-rich Church of
the Virgin Mary and artifacts from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and
Islamic eras. It’s also known for its 6th-century mosaic map of the
Holy Land (we missed this mosaic map since it is at the nearby Greek
Orthodox Church of St. George).
- The Royal Tank Museum
Before went to
Amman city center for our next 3-night stay, we passed by the Royal Tank
Museum in the southern Amman. The Royal Tank Museum is the first
specialized tank museum in the region, displaying more than 150 tanks.
Although I don't know much about tanks (unlike airplanes), I am still very
impressed by the collection of tanks and the exhibitions about various wars
(from WWI, WWII, to Jordan's past wars and battles).
Day 17 (3/18) ...
- Jerash
Located 48 kilometers (30 mi) north of the capital city Amman,
the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation
dating back more than 6,500 years. Jerash flourished during the
Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods until the mid-eighth
century CE, when the 749 Galilee earthquake destroyed large parts of it.
Jerash is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best-preserved Roman
provincial towns in the world, and is considered one of the largest and most
well-preserved sites of Greek and Roman architecture in the world outside
Italy. Excavation and restoration of Jerash has been almost
continuous since the 1920s.
We arrived at Jerash at ~ 9AM when it was
just open (with only one tour bus in the parking lot). We walked from
the southern end, going through Hadrian’s
Arch, Hippodrome,
South Gate,
Oval Plaza,
Temple of Zeus,
Southern Theatre, back to
Oval Plaza,
Cardo Maximus,
Cathedral,
Nymphaeum,
Sanctuary of Artemis,
North Tetrapylon, and
North Theater.
We had a quick buffet lunch at a local restaurant just
inside the Jerash visitor parking lot (we were the only guests maybe because of
Ramadan?). After lunch, we drove south to visit totally different kinds of
ruins, desert castles.
- Qasr al-Azraq
Qasr al-Azraq ("Blue Fortress" in Arabic) is a large
fortress located roughly 100 km (62 mi) east of Amman. Its strategic
value came from the nearby oasis, the only water source in a vast desert
region. The Romans were the first to make military use of the site,
and later an early mosque was built. Extensive renovation and
expansion was done by the Ayyubids in the 13th century, using locally
quarried basalt which makes the castle darker than most other buildings in
the area. During the Arab Revolt, T.E. Lawrence based his operations
here in 1917–18. The connection to "Lawrence of Arabia" has made one of the
castle's major draws for tourists.
- Quseir Amra
Quseir Amra (means "small Qasr" Amra) was built some time
between 723 and 743, by Walid Ibn Yazid, the future Umayyad caliph Walid II.
It is considered one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and
architecture. The building is actually the remnant of a larger complex
that included an actual castle, meant as a royal retreat, without any
military function, of which only the foundation remains. What stands today
is a small country cabin. It is most notable for the frescoes that remain
mainly on the inside walls and ceilings, which depict many hunting and
dancing scenes.
- Qasr Al-Harranah
Qasr Al-Harranah is one of the best-known and
best-preserved desert castles in Jordan. It is uncertain when the
palace was constructed, but it likely originates from the Umayyad Dynasty.
An inscription on an upper wall dates the building to before 710 CE.
The qasr is a nearly square building, 35 meters (115 ft) on each side, with
three-quarter-round buttresses at the corners. On the inside, the
building has 60 rooms on two levels arranged around a central courtyard.
We could freely go through every room in the entire castle even though some
places may look dangerous
with no guardrails.
Day 18 (3/19) ...
- Amman Citadel
We used our final day to do a simple Amman city tour by
ourselves (the weather forecast was not very promising...). We took a
Uber to Amman Citadel in the morning rush hour (the traffic was as bad as
Cairo :-)).
The Amman Citadel is an archeological site at the center of
downtown Amman. The Citadel has a long history of occupation by
many great civilizations. Evidence of inhabitance since the Neolithic
period has been found and the hill was fortified during the Bronze Age (1800
BCE). The hill became the capital of the Kingdom of Ammon sometime after
1200 BCE. It later came under the sway of empires such as the Neo-Assyrian
Empire (8th century BCE), Neo-Babylonian Empire (6th century BC), the
Ptolemies, the Seleucids (3rd century BCE), Romans (1st century BCE),
Byzantines (3rd century CE) and the Umayyads (7th century CE).
Most of the structures still visible at the site are from the Roman,
Byzantine, and Umayyad periods.
- Roman Theater & Odeon Theater
Roman Theater of Amman is a
6,000-seat, 2nd-century Roman theater, dated back to the Roman period when
the city was known as Philadelphia. The nearby Odeon is a small
500-seat theater. The theaters are now used as venues for
cultural activities and musical concerts.
- Amman Streets
We walked around the Amman old city, and walked uphills
and found a nice place "Wild Jordan"
for lunch (with good
city views).
- King Abdullah I Mosque
After lunch, we took a Uber to King Abdullah I Mosque,
the only mosque open to non-Muslims in Amman. Woanyu was given a
hooded gown before we could enter the mosque. Commissioned by the late
King Hussein in memory of his grandfather, King Abdullah I, the mosque was
inaugurated in 1989. The vast blue dome, 35 meters & a height of 31 meters,
was built without columns inside. The suspended chandelier of 168
lanterns consists of three circles with the Holy Quranic Verse with the word
Allah recurring on every lantern. It has the capacity to house 3,000
worshippers.
Going Home ...
Our original Lufthansa flight (at 4:10AM on 3/20) was canceled a few days
ago. I had to change to a UA flight at 12:45AM on 3/20. We still
kept our hotel room for the last day, so we could go back to our room to take a
rest after the Amman city tour (and had an instant-noodle dinner in the room),
and checked out of the room early at ~ 9PM on 3/19. The drive back to the
airport was smooth and rental car return was simple (but very thorough check
again). We were very impressed by Jordan's modern, clean, and well
organized environments. From the ancient heritage in Petra and Jerash,
wild desert in Wadi rum, to relaxed experiences in Dead Sea, Jordan is really an
amazing country that we were glad that included it in this
Egypt trip among many concerns about
the Israel-Hamas war. Hopefully the Middle East can be peaceful soon and
everyone can stay safe.
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