Jordan

Visited: October 2004

Duration of visit: 6 days

Capital city: Aman

Population: 5.5 million (2004)

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

• Exploring Aman with a local friend, who enabled me to better understand lifestyle, habits and secrets of Jordan.
• Swimming – actually reading a book while swimming in the Dead Sea.
• Half-built, half-carved into the rock, the ancient city of Petra is recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World and UNESCO.
• Thunderstorm and rain in Wadi Rum desert, where gorges, valley, rock formations and sand dunes intertwine.
• Meeting hordes of Hungarian and Russian tourists in Aqaba.

Unlike the other states in the Arab world, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan does not source its own oil. This semi-arid country, with over 5 million population and a few kilometers of coastline on the Red Sea, has been one of the most stable countries in a turbulent Arab region.

The country has been open to refugees arriving from conflicts in the neighborhood, while its liberal economy has been stable enough to attract foreign investments and grow constantly. The Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom is surprisingly an important tourist destination with Petra and the Red Sea being the main attraction, while medical tourism due to its well-developed health sector has been growing in importance recently.

Jordan was part of my overland trip from Europe through Middle East and East Africa – the African Big Tour. I crossed the overland border checkpoint from Syria quickly with previously arranged visa in my passport.

The fifth largest city in Arab world, the capital of Jordan, Amman, has had a long and varied history, with its name changing several times over the centuries. Known for its extreme microclimate, where different neighborhoods can experience vastly different weather conditions, the city received me with sunny and warm weather.

Not particularly rich, nor modern, Amman is one of the most westernized cities in the Middle East due to vibrant nightlife and diverse population, international restaurants, shopping centers and entertainment venues.

The capital has recently become a very popular destination for medical tourism, because of its high-quality healthcare services with world-class hospitals, experienced medical professionals, cutting-edge medical technology and lower cost for similar services.

Two of the most important landmarks that I visited in Amman are:

Amman Citadel – conveniently located in downtown, offers incredible views from the highest hill in Amman. One of the seven hills of the original city is home to historical attractions that date as far back as the Bronze Age: Temple of Hercules, Umayyad Palace, domed audience hall and museum are some of the main structures. The palace was an extensive complex of royal and residential buildings, which was once home to the governor of Amman. It’s surrounded by a 1,700m-long wall, rebuilt many times through Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad periods.

The magnificently restored Roman Theater was built in the 2^nd century AD, when the city was known as Philadelphia. Practical and smartly cut into the northern side of a hill to keep the sun off 6,000 spectators, which is its maximum seating capacity. I sat down on the top row of the amphitheater enjoying sunset and music from great highland bagpipes that were played by an improvised band at the stage. The acoustic was great, the view even better.

Beside the Roman Theater and the Citadel in Amman, I definitely appreciated the city of Jerash, home to one of the most important and best-preserved Greco-Roman cities in the Near East, about an hour’s drive north of Amman.

Triumphal gates, two imposing temple complexes and complete amphitheater that hosts concerts and cultural events, are well preserved and nicely located in the hilly landscape along a wadi outside of modern settlements of Jerash.

It was extremely hot when I walked around magnificent colonnaded streets and plazas. In the second half of the first century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity. In AD 106, the Emperor Trajan constructed roads throughout the provinces and more trade came to the city. The triumphal arch was built to celebrate The Emperor Hadrian visit in 129.

My visit to Jordan was very different comparing to the regular travelling I usually practice. A friend of mine introduced me to Omar, Jordanian with Croatian origin, who was going to show me around and be my host while travelling around the country outside of Amman.

Omar is not a tourist guide; for that reason, he took me to some places where tourists usually don’t go, especially local restaurants and markets. As it was the month of Ramadan, most restaurants were not open during the day. In the evening we always joined a group of Jordanians who were happy to accept us, share food with us and enthusiastically talk about day to day life in our countries. People are friendly and rather open minded, women are much more liberal than in most other Muslim countries.

Omar picked me up with his sedan car and we decided to travel to the south for a couple of days. It was very obvious that he was not used to show around a foreign visitor, so I asked him to avoid making any adjustment for me: “Just follow the regular route, do what you usually do and I will be fine!”

Our initial stop was at the Dead Sea, serving as a brief pause during our journey to Aqaba. The Dead Sea is a salt lake – sea, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 430 meters below sea level, it is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean and therefore one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water.

The name origins from harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish. Due to global warming it has been reducing the size quickly; it is only slightly over half the size as it was 100 years ago.

There are basically three options to approach the sea and swim in it: public beach, waterfront resorts or wild access through any point around the lake, where it is safe enough and comfortable to reach the shore. I opted for I swim near the public beach. I don’t know if I should actually call it a swim, since swimming is actually quite difficult.

Strange sensation in the water, when pushed up in an uncomfortable position, didn’t allow me to swim breaststroke. I couldn’t sink. I couldn’t swim. I was more floating or sitting on top level of the water.

The position actually permitted me to read a book or a newspaper in half sitting position. My legs and feet were much higher in the water than they normally would be. I felt as being on the surface of the water, rather than actually in it. But not for long, since I am a little bit afraid to expose my eyes to salty water, which could get really irritated.

Bottom-line, swimming in Dead Sea imposes respect, but in a different way. I was happy to get out of the water and take a shower quickly to get rid of the oily feeling on my skin.

Aqaba is the only coastline city in Jordan.

Aqaba possesses a strategic location as the country’s only seaport, but also one of the major tourist attractions in Jordan with location on the beautiful Red Sea and strategic placement to explore nearby Wadi Rum and Petra.

Compared to the rest of Jordan, Aqaba is incredibly nice, built with good tourist infrastructure, hosting hotels, bars, restaurants and wonderful beach with opportunities for snorkeling and diving in the Red Sea.

I noticed surprisingly high number of tourists from Hungary and Russia who were the big majority. They visited the country for inexpensive medical treatment, combining it with a regular touristic route while waiting for further procedures in medical centers.

At night we had a tour a la Jordanians.

Driving around in Omar’s car, watching the crowd, people walking on the promenade, greeting people that we had never seen before and starting conversations to complete strangers.

Since I didn’t understand what Omar was talking to these strangers, I had no idea if it was just a polite, common chat or it was actually a serious and meaningful conversation.

We finally stopped in front of a basic restaurant for dinner. It was recommended by one of the locals, far away from touristic section of the city. The food was delicious: hummus, ful (mashed beans), salad, olives, falafel and some meat dishes that I didn’t try.

Jordanian food has culinary influences from North Africa, the Middle East, Persia, and the Mediterranean. It was for the first time that I tried ful medames, a dish of mashed fava beans and olive oil. Fava beans can be puréed, mashed or left with the beans intact.

Later during my trip, especially in Sudan, it was on my menu every day due to lack of other vegetarian options. But definitely the ful of Aqaba was the most delicious one. Pita bread was freshly made, hot and crispy.

I also learned about a particular habit when being invited to eat. Etiquette in Jordan allows anyone who is offered a meal to refuse it three times before finally accepting the invitation. If you want to decline it or you don’t want to eat more, you have to do it in a way that will not offend your host.

We travelled to Wadi Rum, which was going to be one of my highlights of Jordan.

Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, is a huge mountain range of sandstone and granite that emerge from wide sandy valleys to reach heights of 1,700 meters and more.

Narrow canyons that cut deep into the mountains, many concealing ancient rock drawings, have gone very touristic in the last years and budget options are getting more expensive. Bedouin tribes still live among the mountains of Wadi Rum and their large goat-hair tents are a special feature of the landscape.

I arrived to Wadi Rum in the early afternoon and in front of me opened a fantastic view to picturesque sandstone mountains that raise out of sandy desert in harsh environment. Only tracks of four-wheels cars and camel steps are visible in the sand. While we were walking around, taking photos, chatting and thinking what to do and where to go, weather conditions changed dramatically.

The grey clouds covered the sky, strong wind came from nowhere, it was getting dark.

And then it started to rain, pouring down actually. In the middle of a desert. It was the end of October and I couldn’t believe that this kind of thunderstorm was possible in arid land where I couldn’t see a single tree anywhere around me.

We jumped back into a car and waited for an hour to see what would happen. It actually cooled down, the rain didn’t stop and it was getting late. Omar didn’t want to stay and he decided to drive back to Amman the same night.

I was not very keen on looking for a tent in this weather conditions and we had already seen some parts of the Wadi. I decided to continue with my host to Petra, where I would visit the famous archaeological site of The Nabatean Kingdom in Jordan’s southwestern desert.

The historic and archaeological city of Petra is by far the most iconic place to visit in Jordan. I gathered a lot of information before visiting it and I was ready to spend one long day to appreciate the whole area. I started to walk very early through a 1.2 kilometers long gorge called the Siq, which leads directly to the Khazneh, one of the most impressive of Petra’s sights, the Treasury.

The Treasury is the most famous structure, present on all promotional photos. Carved out of iron-laden sandstone to serve as a tomb, the Greek-style pillars, alcoves and plinths are truly masterpieces of masonry work.

It is quite unusual to commence a visit, intended to last at least the whole day, by viewing the highlight of the exhibition right at the start.

Therefore, I was a little bit worried that the rest of the day would be boring and it would be hard to exceed the first hour of walking tour.

Fortunately, it was not the case. Every monument, colorful rock, caves or view really impressed me. It is incredible how the civilization of Nabataeans back in the 3^rd century BC managed to carve palaces, temples, tombs, shelters, caves, storage rooms and stables from the soft stone cliffs.

In a long valley, Wadi Musa, I took a midday break to fill up with the energy and observe Bedouins selling local handicrafts, drinks and snacks. They also offer camels or donkey to visitors who cannot rely on their legs any more.

It was getting hotter while I continued walking all the way to the Monastery – known locally as Al Deir. It is a long walk up the stairs carved in a rock and the perfect spot for late afternoon, from where I was able to appreciate magic mix of bright colors; from orange through red to brown with white stripes in between. The Monastery got its name based on the assumption that it was used as a church in the past.

Some other most important monuments that I visited in Petra are: impressive burial sites called the Royal Thombs, the 49 meters high Palace Tomb with its rock-hewn façade and Petra Theater that can accommodate 4,000 spectators.

Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. In 2007 it was recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is definitely a very unique and special place.

I could not compare it to any other place on earth due to the fact that the carved structures are huge, precise and perfectly located in the valley; the access couldn’t be better and the natural, magic combinations of colors couldn’t be painted by the most famous painters.

Petra is also called the Lost City because, after the 14^th century, it practically disappeared to Western world until 1812, when Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, the first European to see it, described it after visiting the area.

My day was long and I was exhausted from walking, climbing and descending in the valley of Petra, but I decided not to come back the day after. I think one day is enough if you start early and plan it properly.

Jordan might have the key to wealth and prosperity in over 25 deposits of shale oil – an organic-rich sedimentary rock, containing kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced; a substitute for conventional crude oil, but more costly. Until now, these deposits don’t show enough promise to be exploited, but if they turn out to be profitable, the future of Jordan could change completely.

So far, the country has just started to explore the tourism potential that could explode in the following years.

Wadi Rum, Petra, the Dead Sea and the Red Sea are a great combination that offer a unique experience in safe environment with rather easy and inexpensive access from Europe.