Jordan - Land of Surprises!
I am a believer that "if you are "in the neighborhood" you should take advantage of the geographical closeness. Jordan is only an hour and 15 minute flight from Egypt. So about half our group opted to extend our Egypt visit and experience Jordan. We are so glad we did! What a remarkable, under-the-radar destination! A quote that I remembered that resonated with me on our travels to Egypt and Jordan is "Everyone is wrong about other countries". Our preconceived ideas about other countries and cultures get revamped when we visit in person.
10 Awesome Movies Filmed in Jordan
I am a believer that "if you are "in the neighborhood" you should take advantage of the geographical closeness. Jordan is only an hour and 15 minute flight from Egypt. So about half our group opted to extend our Egypt visit and experience Jordan. We are so glad we did! What a remarkable, under-the-radar destination! A quote that I remembered that resonated with me on our travels to Egypt and Jordan is "Everyone is wrong about other countries". Our preconceived ideas about other countries and cultures get revamped when we visit in person.
10 Awesome Movies Filmed in Jordan
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4 minute video on Petra
 Madaba,
6th Century mosaic of Jerusalem
Treasury building, Petra
Wadi Rum
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Day 1 Oct. 26 CAIRO I AMMAN, JORDAN
On our way from the airport to the hotel we saw an IKEA, in Arabic! Familiar, yet different. (It is in English on the other side of the building so we could itentify it as IKEA) 
Day 2 Oct. 27 - AMMAN I MADABA I MOUNT NEBO
Our amazing guide, Jafar, suggested that that we might enjoy a foodie tour of Amman before our day of touring. Was he right! We visited a bakery and sampled pita right out of the oven. We took our warm bread to tables outside his shop and applied cheese, sumac and a tomato spread that was so good I can't even describe it. He then took us to a world famous falafel shop that has been visited by many famous people. I will never look at falafels the same way as they re not all created equal! On to a local market where we ate even more (we have no shame!) and learned about and sampled traditional spices. Due to the lack of tourists during Covid, we were able to spend time talking to people and learn their remarkable stories. The most vivid story was from a refugee from Iran that had 5 degrees that sold lottery tickets in Amman to support himself. The struggles that refugees encounter become much more real when you meet someone rather than hearing about it on TV. We visited Madaba, the City of Mosaics, where the oldest mosaic map of the Holy Land exists on the floor of Saint George’s Church. The 125 year old church was built over the 1400 year old mosaic. We were also able to see other mosaics that were preserved in the city. Talk about a change in perspective. When I was a kid, I got excited when I dug up a 200 year old arrowhead in my grandfather's garden. Here, as in many areas of the world, 200 years isn't considered old. We visited Mount Nebo, the alleged burial site of Moses, overlooking the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, where Franciscans built a simple structure that protects a 4th and 6th Century Byzantine church with even more mosaic floors! 
Day 3 Oct. 28 - PETRA
Today we had a full day visit of Petra made famous by the Indiana Jones movies. Carved into the rose-red Sharah Mountains by the Nabateans and lost to civilization until rediscovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer, John Lewis Burkhardt. We walked through the Siq, a narrow and winding fissure between the cliffs. Carved into the sides of the sandstone cliffs were remnants of ceramic plumbing...Petra had running water! Our first glimpse of the Treasury unfolded little by little as it teasingly revealed itself through the high sandstone walls. Even though dinner was included at the hotel, we couldn't turn down an invitation to have dinner at our guide's house. Jafar is an archeologist (he took us to one of his dig sites) well versed in history and religion. Imagine our surprise when we found out he is also a chef! We were his sous chefs and we got to meet some of his friends who were funny and welcoming. During our trip he constantly introduced us to local foods. We ate our way through his country. 
Day 4 Oct.29 - WADI RUM I AMMAN
Today we drove to Wadi Rum, where the movie “Lawrence of Arabia” was filmed. We enjoyed a 2-hour Jeep tour to view the desert, its awe-inspiring moon-like landscape with its ancient, 2000 year old petroglyphs and the ever- present camels. The sandstone walls are shades of red and the black on which the petroglyphs are carved is called desert varnish. The black covering is caused by bacteria that eat manganese and iron and takes 10,000 years to make a coating like this Tonight we finally did eat dinner at the hotel so Jafar could go home and see his family. Day 5 Oct. 30 - I AMMAN TO USA Today we headed home exhausted but thrilled with an experience that far exceeded our expectations. |
If you are interested in a similar experience I can ensure that you have the same guide we had.
Contact me at 800-882-9000 or Blair@WorldCruisesAndTravel.com
Contact me at 800-882-9000 or Blair@WorldCruisesAndTravel.com
