Antiquities and Hospitality: travels in Jordan

Even though it has been a few days since we left Jordan, Mu and i have been talking often about the people and things we encountered in the country. Our time there was on the brief side, but it was lovely throughout.


Antiquities

The time in the middle east was anchored and driven by one place - Petra. However, these ruins are far from the only impressive ruins/sites throughout Jordan. The geography of the country lends itself to trading between the East and West and as a result, it has been inhabited and important for quite a long time. This is a real treat to the visitor, since you are able to see many historical periods via impressive ruins, all in a country that is highly accessible and not all that large.

Petra

As noted, Petra was the reason we came to the middle east, and our high expectations were exceeded. Petra is the result of the trading culture of the Nabataeans, who controlled the camel trains throughout the region for about 9 centuries. Their peak as a society was in the 2-3rd century AD, and they had a peculiar habit of carving massive tombs in the red rock cliffs of Petra, all while living in quite modest buildings while they were alive.

The red rock cliffs alone are spellbinding, a mix of the Zion cliffs in Southern Utah and the Red Rocks above Vegas. Add in the multitude of 150 foot tall cliff carvings that are persevered for over 2 millenniums and you are spell bound much of the time.

Mu and i did several really fun things, including a night tour that meanders via candlelight a couple of kilometers down to the best persevered site, called theTreasury, where there is a musical performance of Bedouin instruments. We also did the slot canyon in the kaleidoscope of rock, which was really fun . Lastly, we spent a robust day doing the 'Petra traverse' which took us to the 3 different high points overlooking the large valley and probably had us hiking between 18-20 miles.

Sunset @ Petra

Beyond Petra

Petra alone would have been worth coming to Jordan, but we also got to see an amazing 5/6th century map mosaic, the massive Roman ruins of Jerash and the impressive Citadel that guards the old city of Amman. All of these, and the many ancient sites we did not get to see, are a testament to the important role that this land has played in human history, as well a proof of the preservative effect the desert possess. I could fill pages with the history of each, but instead have a couple of pics that hopefully showcase the wonder we felt at each.

Mosaic from 560 AD in Madaba

The Citadel in Amman

Mu enjoying the view across Jerash

Hospitality

Before we got to Jordan, we kept hearing about the friendlessness of everyone there. So, it did not come as a total shock that literally everyone we met along the way was nice. This friendliness extended to fellow travelers, as we made friends with people from Germany, Israel, Mexico, and Belgium. Not bad for 5 or so days!

Beyond the friendliness that people we interacted with throughout jordan, even the taxi cab drivers were nice, which was amazing and greatly appreciated considering the tensions that were playing out against the West and specifically the U.S. during our time in the country, which continue.

In most places we have traveled, the taxi driver is your enemy. They are trying to deceive you, screw you and take more of your money than they deserve. As a result, it is very hard to trust them. But in Jordan, even this subset of the population was really nice. First, our driver from the border to Petra (2 hours) was super friendly, even though he spoke next to no english. He stopped several times so we could take in huge desert vistas, take pictures of camels and generally enjoy our first hours in the country.

Then, a few days later we shared a ride up to Amman with Sien and Arne, which is generally another 2 or so hour trip. However, we had a cool driver, Aman, and he took the very scenic route via the mountainous King's highway, along the Dead sea and to a very impressive Byzantine mosaic from 560 AD in Madaba. Here, he was going sit outside in the car, but we talked him to entering the Christian church, which might have been a first. Aman was really taken by the biblical mosaic, just as we all were. We all tried to figure out how current places matched up, including Jericho, Jerusalem, the Jordan river, Bethlehem and the Nile. In the end, Aman was the last to leave the church. Even though our journey to the capital took WAY longer than we had anticipated, he did not ask for any extra $ and hopefully connects with me via facebook.

Finally, we were at the impressive Jerash ruins from the Roman empire north of Amman. We left he ruins and were heading to an Ottoman castle 10k or so away in Ajiloun. A taxi driver was quite insistent but we wanted to take the bus and save some cash. Finally, once he realized we were not going to go with the taxi, he pointed up the street and told us detailed instructions on where to catch a bus. Trust me, that is quite abnormal and i think these three examples of uber nice taxi drivers give a little microcosm of the friendliness we enjoyed thoruhgout Jordan.

Lastly, if you want to check out all our pics from Jordan, here is the url: https://picasaweb.google.com/107842809281323581448/TheDreamJordan