Little Petra not Big Petra

The days are already starting to blur. Paul and I keep asking each other - what day is it? That is the sign of a great trip. Today we hired a driver to take us to the city of Petra which was about a three hour drive South. Our driver was an older gentleman who had a nice little cough and didn’t wear a mask. It’s not uncommon for the police to stop drivers on the road and check their documents, which happened on this route. While stopped we listened as the two started arguing and I kept thinking that his documents must not be in order. Finally, the police let him proceed. The driver then informed us that he just got a 100 dinar fine for not wearing a mask, which is about $140. You would think this would motivate him to put on a mask, but it didn’t. He complained and complained about the fine and having to go to court, yet no mask except when he had to drive near another check point. Sigh……

After checking into our nice hotel in Petra, we walked the town and went to little Petra, which was very nice as a big Petra appetizer. We thought we’d hire a guide which was entertaining in itself and sometimes irritating. He had a habit or grabbing my camera and wanting to take all my photos. Yes, I let him take some of me, but I really should not have let him take the camera so freely.

While walking the town the children loved to engage and say hello – we seemed to be the only tourists in town at the time. They helped us feel very welcomed in Petra and they obviously missed seeing all the tourists in town. COVID has been very rough for all of them.

The highlight of the day was big Petra by candlelight at night. We started walking down the mile long canyon passage to the Al Khazheh (The Treasury ruin) which is lined with luminaries and hundreds of Italian tourists. It was very dark and hard to see the path, so stumbling was a real risk, especially for me. But Paul and I eventually got to the open area of the Treasury where we found hundreds of luminaries in front of the Al-Khazheh. There was live Bedouin music with flute and some traditional instrument (not sure of the name) to help us absorb the moment and get the full impact of the event. It was distracting having other tourists there, and difficult to see and figure out where to sit comfortably, but it was fantastic all the same. I especially liked looking up at the night sky surrounded by tall canyon like rock formations, only getting a small hint of what they must look like. The air was very cold so I wore three layers to include a puffy winter jacket. After about 40 minutes we headed back the same way we came, which was a slow incline up. By now my hips were screaming at me so I broke out two little bottles of whisky for the walk back out. Nice! Great evening with much more to come the following day when we get to see Petra in daylight.

Photos from the city of Petra and another great dinner with fresh pita that I help make.

Little Petra

Petra by night

Pompeii of the East: Jerash

We just couldn't get enough of those Roman ruins so today we went to Jerash about 45 minutes North of Amman. Jerash is considered the Pompeii of the East and for a good reason – it’s really old. The city is home to an ancient Greco-Roman settlement formerly called Gerasa founded by Alexander the Great around 331 BC. Other than some obvious restoration, the ruins were in surprisingly good condition.

Here is a link to more info.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerash

We hired a driver who's name was Saber to take us to Jerash. It was nice seeing more of the country's terrain which consisted of dry limestone hills, cream colored cement houses, olive groves, and farm fields. Along the way there would be vendors selling fruits and vegetables. In one large area was a makeshift city for the Palestinian refugees who have been there for many years. Today was a very windy day so there was a lot of dust in the air giving a vintage effect to my photos. Other than the wind, it was a beautiful day with the temperature in the 50’s.

With tourism way down, we practically had the ruins of Jerash to ourselves. Casually roaming this massive complex we found ourselves at the foot of huge Corinthian columns, Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Artemis. You could barely bend your head back far enough to see the tops of the columns decorated with carvings of acanthus leaves local to the area. Every now and then there would be a young man next to a small table of souvenirs offering to take creative photos of us with our iPhones. Then they would take us back behind closed gates to show us secret storage tunnels or better views of the ruins. Naturally I bought a couple of moon stone bracelets from them. I really feel bad for all the vendors and guides as they hardly have any business - bad for them, but good for us. I don't think I'd appreciate these sites as much with thousands of visitors.

Random notes:

-Jordan has a Prime Minister, King and Prince. Unlike other countries with Kings and Prime Ministers, here the King actually rules and is not just a figure head.

-Air Pollution levels are high right now in Amman and Jerash. Best to wear a mask.

Romans in Amman: Roman Theater and Temple of Hercules

Paul made it safely at around midnight on the 6th and yesterday we hit the ground running. First a nice walk downtown then to The Roman Theater, Temple of Hercules (built around AD 162-166), and The Citadel. All amazing, and after discovering the local Uber and Careem methods of transport, we could maneuver much quicker within the city without climbing all those steep hills.

We were able to walk around at our leisure until early evening and admire panoramic views of the city, all while listening to the chaotic, yet soothing, sounds of Islamic prayer blasted from loud speakers on mosques around the city. The best part was that there were very few tourists and we practically had the place to ourselves. At one point the sounds of prayer were so haunting that it felt like the large stones of the ruins were trying to tell me something. A really fantastic day although my hips are aching. Oh well, it was worth it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Hercules_(Amman)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Theater_(Amman)