Last days of adventure

Our last day and a half was filled to the brim. We took the long way back from Petra to Amman. First we snorkelled in the Red Sea, 20km from the Saudi border and looking across the water towards Israel and Egypt. We had lunch in Wadi Rum, surrounded by red sand desert and strange sandstone cliffs. The next day we visited Jerash, a Roman city to rival Palmyra.

And then... it was time for the long trip home! We were definitely all looking forward to come back to our island paradise...

The Red Sea near Aqaba, where we had a quick snorkel. The reef was stunning! Next time the underwater camera housing will have to fit somewhere...

Midday in Wadi Rum. It was hot.

Sandstone cliffs around Wadi Rum

Riding off into the desert

The temple of Artemis in Jerash

Jerash is still a very active archaeological site. They were digging while visitors wandered through

The boys are off to conquer Jerash

A drain! Peter would be proud of me.

The round city square

Roman columns with the new city of Jerash in the background

Rodney's second cousin.

We stumbled on a music performance in the amphitheatre - with bagpipes, of course.

One of the two amphitheatres in Jerash

At the far end of the city, we came upon what looked like a Bollywood movie being filmed. We didn't dare go any closer - but there was definitely a glamorous actress in a bright sari, lots of loud music and a guy going through some dance moves. So if you ever see Roman ruins as a backdrop in some Bollywood movie... it could be Jerash!

Thanks for sharing our journey with us... till next time!

Petra

Petra will speak for itself, even though we will post only a few of the many picture we took. The southern Jordanian landscape of arid rolling hiss suddenly gives way to a convoluted lump of sandstone mountain, cobwebbed with wadis and canyons eaten away over millenia by water and wind. Inside those hills, the Nabateans carved a vast city from the sandstone in 600BC. The best-known part of Petra is the Treasury (of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fame), which is really a mausoleum.

The sandstone landscape that hides Petra. That's right - the ancient city of Petra sits within the mountains.

Looking over Petra (hidden in the sandstone hills) at dawn.

An early-morning herd on the streets of Wadi Musa, where Felix and I went for a walk before heading into Petra.

We embarked on our Petra adventure in the morning, hoping to avoid at least some of the heat. Before entering the city itself, there are tombs and small entrances carved into the hillsides. To reach the Treasury and the city of Petra beyond, there is a 2km walk through the Siq, a deep, narrow canyon carved into the stone by successive floods. The Nabateans harnessed the water with a dam and a channel that brought water all the way into the city.

Sandstone hills before the entrance.

 

 

Nabatean soldiers guarding the entrance of the Siq.

Walking through the Siq.

Carvings on the walls of the Siq.

Felix finds a friendly feline.

 

 

Patterns carved into the sandstone by wind and water.

Channels built to direct rainwater into the city of Petra.

Hanging out in the Siq.

This first glimpse of the Treasury is awe-inspiring...

Beyond the Treasury, Petra is vast. There is a Roman amphitheatre, monumental tombs, the 'Wall of Facades', and over 900 steps to a monastery and a stunning view over the surrounding mountains. Everywhere, the sandstone has been shaped, by humans and nature, into beautiful shapes and amazing marbled patterns.

Tomb fit for a king.

The wall of facades

Sandstone striations

The Roman amphitheatre

Sandstone city

Artwork by human, fire and weather

A bedouin man and small boy selling trinkets and musical instruments in front of the ghost of an ancient building.

Nearly there... nonno climbs to the top in the searing desert heat.

The view is well worth the effort.

 

 

In the end, the heat conquered us... and the boys got their long-awaited camel ride!

Jordan Day 2: on the way to Petra

We took the long road to Petra, through Wadi Mujib and with a stop at Elkarak Castle.
A wadi is a valley created by a seasonal river. Sometimes, as in the case of Wadi Mujib, it's a canyon! Perfect for paper planes...

Bright and early: sunrise over Amman, viewed from our hotel room.

The intrepid travellers... one of few photos with Peter in it. This is the lookout point...

And this was the view!

The toruous road goes down one side of Wadi Mujib, over a dam, and up again on the other side.

The view is all well and good, but the boys soon got down to the serious business of... paper planes!

Elkarak Castle is another monument left by the Crusaders

Part of the castle and the view over the hillsides

Felix straps on the watch to go off exploring the tunnels and dungeons

 

 

We arrived in Petra with an hour to go before they closed the gates to the ruins. We made a quick dash through the canyon to see the famous treasury, and came out at dusk as the moon was rising. Felix had gone ahead and planned to ambush us, Tai and Barney were onto him and started to climb up the hillside to surprise him from behind. He sprang out Ninja-style from further up... but the others had already lost interest and were busy posing for the camera.

Day 1 in Jordan: Mosaics of Madaba, Mount Nebo and the Dead Sea

After waving goodbye to Aleppo at sunrise, we landed in Jordan for a whirlwind tour of its treasures - we had a little under 4 days there. Nonno had it all mapped out, and after our Jordanian driver Ibrahim tweaked the itinerary a little, we were off. He was an older chap who seemed a bit stooped and gloomy, which meant that in true Aussie style he was soon dubbed 'Mr Happy'. Something must have rubbed off, because he did tell a few jokes on the last day....

So: we arrived in Amman, dropped our luggage, and piled into the comfy van.

The first stop was in Madaba, where on the floor of a Byzantine church there lies the oldest known map of the Holy Land, made in 600AD... it's a mosaic!

A section of the Madaba Map Mosaic, with place names in Greek

Tai wasn't impressed... no, just kidding - this is where Tai started to feel a bit dodgy, and it turned out to be gastro. So Tai didn't really get to enjoy this part of the trip very much. When we got back to the hotel the doctor prescribed some medicine, gave him a needle in the backside and declared that he must not miss Petra! So we were given the green light to travel another day. Before that, though, we had a look off the top of Mount Nebo. Apparently the Pope does that occasionally as well.

View from Mt. Nebo, down into Israel

Tai... not at his best

Off the top of Mt Nebo, it's not that far to all those places you hear about in the news all the time...

The landscape as we descended from Mt Nebo to the Dead Sea was some of the most desolate we'd ever seen. Still, Bedouin camps dotted the hillsides. Such tough people!

The road from Mt Nebo to down below sea level - the lowest point on Earth!

Roughing it

The brochure says that where we ended up going for a swim is the lowest point on Earth, 422m below sea level.

We watched Felix walk out along the sand flat, to the edge where you could see deep water, and then he stepped off, and completely failed to sink! The Dead Sea is 8 times more salty than normal seawater. We bobbed around giggling in disbelief, which is exactly what all the other people did as soon as they entered the water.