Jordan 2.0

Once we left Petra we continued up the King's Highway to Amman. On the way we stopped at a castle from the Crusades called Karak which was originally built by the Crusaders in the 1140's and then was lost to Saladin in 1189. The castle has been mostly destroyed but you are allowed to walk through any of it with out restriction. There are some pretty cool areas with tunnels and rooms under ground.

From there we continued on to Amman. We stopped at Mt. Nebo where Moses looked over the promised land before he died. Unfortunately it was a bit hazy so we couldn't see all that far. The next morning we went to an ancient Roman city called Jerash. It is very similar to many Roman cities around the world with its city gates, temples and commerce areas. There are a number of structures still standing and the two amphitheaters are still used. It was impressive to walk down the column lined streets.

We left Jerash and went to the lowest place on Earth, the Dead Sea. As we descended the weight of the atmosphere really had an affect on us making us feel tired and sluggish. When we got down to the shore we were warned not to get any of the water in our eyes. The feeling in the water can not be accurately described but to say that you really can't sink. I went out to a deep enough spot and put my feet straight down and was bobbing with my shoulders out of the water. There is so much salt that your skin feels greasy. We covered ourselves in this black mud which is of course supposed to have healing powers and then continued to float in the sea some more. It was a very strange experience. We could even see the towers of Jerusalem across the sea on the mountain top.

That night we went into town with our guide Abdullah and had authentic dinner (which is way cheaper then tourist dinner) and found a cafe for the hookah. Their hookah is way stronger than any I've tried before. It was difficult to smoke! The next morning we were on our flight back home. It is hard to determine which of the two countries I enjoyed more. I would like to see some of Southern Egypt and travel along the Nile. Our trip was an incredible experience and won't easily be topped.

Wadi Rum and Petra

I had to split up my Jordan pictures as there are just too many! This first slide show is of our 4X4 trek through the Wadi Rum desert and Petra. I was surprised at how much I liked the Wadi Rum. Wadi means valley and Rum is the name of that valley. Petra is called Wadi Mosa, or Moses Valley. I would put the afternoon that we spent in the desert as one of my top 3 things we did, no joke! It is sand...all sand. The "mountains" if you can call them that, are huge sandstone rocks that have been eaten away over time by the sand storms that continually blow through. The sand is like powder and the rock looks like melting ice cream. The colors of the sand stone are the most impressive. Apparently the bedouins used to use the different colors as makeup. It really does paint your skin. We stopped a few times to climb various rock formations and even saw what they claim is T.E. Lawrence's cave. We stopped at a bedouin tent and had tea where Dana dressed up in and bought an authentic Jordanian head scarf. There is a castle in the middle of the desert that the French built in order to film movies but the Jordanian government shut it down. The whole thing is shrouded in mystery but the French were probably doing something "immoral."

The second half of the show is of Petra, made famous by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Petra is a city entirely built into the rock. There are caves cut into the stone for personal residences (some still used by the bedouins) as well as temples and tombs. The most recognizable is the Treasury which is staggering. The entrance to the city is through a narrow canyon (almost 3/4 mile) that is almost like a fault line through the rock that towers over 100 feet above you. At the end of this crevasse is the Treasury. We rode camels through part of of Petra between the Treasury and the amphitheater. The colors of the sand stone were again a site to see as well as the amazing detail they carved into the rock. There were donkeys everywhere and bedouin kids trying to sell you a ride on one. We spent the whole day there and it was one of the most impressive places I've ever seen.

I'll post more about Jordan later including our trip up the King's Highway to Amman and floating in the Dead Sea. Hope you enjoy.