The Wonders of Jordan — Alison Trimbee

I had not travelled to the Middle East before making this tour and indeed I knew very little about Jordan at the time of reserving my place. Instinctively, I felt this would become a trip of a lifetime and I was not disappointed.

Introductions at Queen Alia airport in Amman to all members of the tour group relieved me of any nerves and assured me that I was going to be in safe hands. Charlie Waite was joined by a couple of local guides, Kara and Mahmoud who knew so much about the geology, history, culture, and politics of the region. Jordan is a country that is steeped in history. It’s been inhabited by Romans who have left their mark in cities both north of the country in Jerash and Amman and south in Petra to name a few. It features in the bible, hosts a UNESCO World Heritage site in Petra and Wadi Rum became prominent following T.E. Lawrence’s journal The Seven Pillars of Wisdom in the early 20th century. Indeed, Hollywood have used the desert scenery for many blockbusters such as Lawrence of Arabia, Dune and The Martian to name a few. The Jordanians are genuinely warm and welcoming people who are rightly proud to show their country off to those who care to visit. Our tour took us from Jerash in the north and as far south along the Desert Highway to Wadi Rum before progressing up the country again to Petra, the Dead Sea and Madaba.

The beautifully preserved ancient site of Jerash is largely a Roman creation and I was reminded of Pompeii with its grand columns, spacious public squares, city walls and other fine features. Returning to the Roman Citadel in Amman, located on the highest of the seven hills, we were treated to incredible views across the city. It was easy to see why Jordan appealed to the Romans.

Our journey to Wadi Rum along the desert highway was broken up gently with many stops to observe and record cloud formations on the hills of the Quadisivah mountains and our first views of the Wadi Rum desert did not disappoint.

We ate like kings at a desert camp close to the Highway before swapping our tour bus for jeeps and two days touring the desert. Our base for two nights was wonderfully secluded. We took every opportunity to stop for photographs of rock formations, grazing camels and the changing light. We visited a local Bedouin tent and were treated to traditional Bedouin hospitality of herb tea whilst listening to music played on a handmade rababah. We heard stories of the mountains and how they help the Bedouins navigate their way around as they all had names. We let our own imaginations run wild and allowed ourselves to create a few stories of our own.

The desert had been a real treat, but things were only going to continue to improve. Petra and Little Petra took us back in time before the Romans to the 1st Century BC when it was firmly established as the capital of the Nabataean’s at a time when trade routes were well established. Little Petra was built as a small wealthy camel caravan station for the trade merchants visiting Petra and we saw evidence of bed chambers and dining rooms carved into the sandstone rocks along the narrow gorge.

Petra in now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it is accessed via a 1.2 kilometre walk along a larger natural gorge known as the Siq. We photographed so many details along it, trying to preserve the experience in our own unique ways. And yet, nothing can prepare you for the view of the first monument, the Treasury, that comes to view at the end of it. The clouds parted just in time to let the sunshine radiate down upon the rock face and validate why it has the title of the rose-red city. Breathlessly beautiful!

There was so much to explore there in the form of caves, burial chambers, and more Roman structures. Our guide Mahmoud was a Bedouin who had been born in one of the caves and had lived in Petra for a couple of years before the inhabitants of Petra were relocated to a purposefully built village just on the outskirts. We lunched at his brother in laws café on the site and we were invited for dinner with his immediate family where we ate a traditional middle eastern dish of Maqluda, an upside down dish of rice, chicken and vegetable.

Our drive to the Dead Sea along the newly constructed Namla road offered spectacular views looking over the Wadi Araba desert. We descended from 1000 ft at Petra to Feynan at 300 ft where we transferred into jeeps again for lunch to the beautiful location of the award winning sustainable Feynan Ecolodge. A few hours in the location was enough to refuel and appreciate our surroundings. We learned about the copper mining in the area, which reached its peak during the Roman Empire and visited the ruins of a monastery that had been built as part of a memorial to honour the martyrs who had died there. As always, there were plenty of opportunities to stop and make photographs as the light crossed the landscape highlighting trees and other interesting subjects.

We arrived at the Dead Sea with moments to spare to witness a spectacular sunset. During our time in this region we had time to float in the waters and benefit from its qualities. It was surprisingly warm and our skin felt amazing afterwards. We also had time to photograph it from many different angles.

The last part of the tour took quite a spiritual turn. We headed to Mt Nebo, the site where Moses was believed to have been shown the view of the Promised Land before heading to Madaba to view the ancient mosaic of the Holy Land on the floor of St George’s church. Indeed, a brief blog cannot do justice to the places we visited and our experiences along the way. I left with a strong feeling of wanting to return to this country that offered an oasis of calm amidst a region plagued by discord.