From Petra we made our way by local bus to the capital city of Amman. We based ourselves there for 6 days as well as did some planning as well as day trips to other cities. The hotel was amazing, run by an English woman, it was immaculate with a good common area with totally free wi-fi as well as totally free breakfast. After a couple of days we met back up with Toni as well as Bernie as well as chose to rent a automobile to explore some much more of the country.
Jordan is a little bit hard to get around by public carry as well as many people take a taxi, which is not only costly but not nearly as fun as having your own automobile as well as freedom. Our first stop was Mt. Nebo, the place where Moses was said to have seen the promised Land, he was likewise buried here (apparently). It was a bit hazy that day but on a clear day Israel as well as the Jordan Valley would have been perfectly visible.
The highlight for me, however, was the groups of younger girls that chose to put on some music as well as start dancing at the lookout! They were what we call the “Modern Muslim”, wearing tighter Western styled clothing, lots of accessories, not caring what anyone thought as well as really enjoying themselves in public.
Next stop on the road trip was the Dead Sea! Something we’ve been wanting to see for a very long time. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth as well as has such a high salt content that nothing can survive in there. rather than going to the public beach where all the locals are, we chose to pay one of the chic resorts along the sea to use their facilities for the day. This included their own private patch of sand/sea, the use of 4 swimming pools as well as lounge chairs.
The four of us headed down to the water first to see what all the hype was about. There was chunks of salt along the shore, which was very very sharp so we had to maneuver ourselves into the water very carefully. We backed ourselves in as well as just ‘sat’ down on the water as well as floated!!! It was so bizarre that it was hysterical. Nick as well as I were cracking up (as usual) as well as delighted in every minute of it.
We laid on our backs, then our fronts as well as tried to be in a standing position but our feet would quickly shoot back up to the surface. Nick got some water in his eyes as well as I got some on my chapped lips as well as man did that ever sting! After awhile of floating around as well as being overly buoyant we got out as well as applied some of the mud that the medspa had on offer, put it all over our bodies as well as let it dry out in the sun before rinsing it off in הים. Our skin was soooo smooth afterwards, quite the medspa treatment. We spent some time at the infinity pool before packing up as well as heading back on the road.
Next stop was Wadi Mujib Nature Reserve, likewise known as the “Grand Canyon of Jordan”. The amazing valley is about 1km deep as well as over 4kms from one edge to the other. We were there to do some hiking! We changed into our shorts, left everything in the car, put on our life jackets as well as headed out. We walked along a crystal clear, warm, rushing river many of the way, getting completely drenched.
We were best in the gorge as well as had amazing views of the canyon walls around us during the hike. After walking for awhile in the river, it concerned a small waterfall with some ropes…time to hike up the boulders as well as through the rushing water! everything was so wet that it was hard to get a grip on the ropes but we all did it no problem.
There were 3 different waterfalls to climb up as well as the rest of the time was spent hiking through the rushing river, quite a workout for the quads. At the end of the 2km hike was a enormous waterfall, we were able to go in behind it as well. that one wasn’t for climbing up though, just for hanging out at as well as enjoying the scenery. While we were there, waist deep in water, we all felt something on our legs, I figured it was maybe a plastic bag or something brushing against us, but nope…there were loads of small fish sucking on our legs!! I was out of there so fast.
Made our way back to the start which was much much more fun than the way there. instead of climbing up the smooth rocks as well as waterfalls, we were able to slide down them! It was so much fun that me, Nick as well as Bernie climbed back up the waterfall 3 times just for the slide down. It was one of the most exciting things we’ve ever done. We certainly weren’t able to have our video camera there so we just have some pictures of us all after the hike was over. That was the end of our road trip, had so much fun as well as returned the automobile justכמו חברת השכירות נסגרה.
למחרת ניק, כמו גם לקחתי אוטובוס מקומי לעיר הצפונית של ג’רש לראות את ההריסות הרומיות השמורות להפליא. החפירות נמשכות במשך 85 שנים, אך כ -90% מהעיר עדיין לא התגלה! העיר הרומית העתיקה עלתה לגדולה בזמן של אלכסנדר נהדר (333 לפנה”ס).
נפגשנו עם בחורה אמריקאית, כמו גם כמה שעות שם לחקור את ההריסות. מצאנו את התיאטראות להיות הכי מעניין של כל זאת. הם היו עצומים, כמו גם יכול להחזיק 5000 צופים. כל האזור השתמר היטב, כמו גם אנו שמחים בהליכה למרות האתרים בצד עזים רבים, ציפורים כמו גם לטאות. נפרדנו דרכים עם האמריקאי כמו גם ניק, כמו גם היה לי ארוחת צהריים פיקניק טוב בצל – סלט טונה שוב היום! אחר כך פנינו חזרה לעמאן.
בגלל התסיסה האחרונה, כמו גם ליד מלחמת האזרחים בסוריה, היינו צריכים לקבל קצת החלטות לגבי היכן ללכת הבא. בסופו של דבר בחרנו לדלג על סוריה, שהיה מצער כפי שהיינו באמת מצפים ללכת לשם. Insha’allah אנחנו נעשה את זה שם בקרוב. עשינו את ההחלטה לטוס ללבנון. למחרת מצאנו את הגבול בין ירדן, כמו גם סוריה נסגרו בכל מקרה. את כל החוויה באמת דרך אותנו אבל ההחלטה שלנו לטוס ללבנון [התברר להיות] רעיון נהדר!
כמו פוסט זה? להצמיד אותו!
כתב ויתור: עזים על הכביש היא עמית אמזון, כמו גם שותפים עבור קמעונאים אחרים. זה מרמז שאנחנו מרוויחים עמלות אם תלחץ על קישורים בבלוג שלנו, כמו גם רכישה מאותם קמעונאים.