Below is a summary of our three days in Jordan
After arriving at ‘Queen Alia’ airport in Amman, we went to line up for the immigration check. Mum had already been nagging us not to mention the words Israel/Jewish/Bar mitzvah (or any other Jew related words) whilst here, so when a security guard gestured for me to ‘come here’ before I had even opened my mouth, I had a mini freak out. It turns out he let us get to go in the ‘VIP’ line, and after having our eyes photographed we were free to collect our baggage and depart.
---
The drive to our hotel in the Hot Springs of Ma’in was absolutely breathtaking. The hotel we stayed at is situated 285mts below sea level and had many thermal waterfalls spilling over the cliff walls in the very rugged setting of dramatic cliff mountains. Andrew likened it to the Grand Canyon in the US. The springs/ waterfalls occur in Ma’in from thermal steam that is released from the core of the earth and form water – the pool we swam in was about 40 degrees warm – boiling, and definitely not the cool relief you expect it to be when sitting in actual 40-degree heat outside.
The hotel was beautiful…but had quite an eerie vibe not only due to its isolation, but because it was their off peak season…and the hotel was only at half capacity at that. I think we were the only family on our floor, and there were only 4 floors in the hotel. It was so empty that Henry and Zac had an entire floor to themselves and could (and did) play soccer down the halls. I know this is probably getting boring, but I need to mention the breakfast here. In particular, the pancake/crepe/french toast station where a man stands and cooks you them fresh, with an array of chocolate/caramel sauces available. Yes, Zac spent most of his time there.
On our first day in Jordan we had a very early start (yes, Henry actually made it again, after some serious whinging, at close to 7.30am) as we were driving to Petra 3 ¼ hours drive away (this was our reason for coming to Jordan) and we were all very excited. Our driver dropped us at the visitors centre in Petra and we were introduced to our guide, who we have nicknamed the ‘Godfather’ as he organised for us to get ripped off by the various Bedouin tribes that inhabit the track down to Petra, and inside the city of Petra. Luckily, after our first faux pas with the horses and the Bedouins (that took Andrew, Bec, Hen and Zac 300mts down the easiest part of the track!!) we wised up and didn’t accept any more offers of ‘Happy Hours’ or donkey rides…or even camel rides. …..oh! except that one of us couldn’t make it up the hill and had the last 300mt climb on horseback….guess whom that might be (the pancakes may have had something to do with this!).
The weather was hot, about 35 to 39 degrees at the bottom of Petra, however it was not unbearable. Petra is a Nabatean stone city, and as you enter the narrow, windy creviced pathway, around every turn you keep anticipating that Petra will open up before your eyes. And sure enough, after about 1600mts it does – you come face to face with the Treasury, a building that is carved into the rock face, very Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider-esque. It is very impressive and very large – we could only peer into the rooms as there was no access to the public. We continued down further into the city, and could visualise how up to 25,000 people could live in this unique place in caves built into the mountains. The walk back to the entrance was killer in the heat, particularly as it is completely up-hill. We all powered through, with only Zac accepting a horsey ride up the last few hundred metres. (Becca, you weren’t meant to mention who succumbed!).
Next on our agenda, on day two in Jordan, was a visit to the Dead Sea, only 30 minutes drive from our hotel. We were taken to the Holiday Inn and given access to their pool and beach area. We headed straight to the sea, which was beautifully refreshing – the five of us bopped around in the water – until Henry and Zac discovered the Dead Sea mud that the hotel had in a ceramic pot under an umbrella. We all started smothering ourselves until we were totally ‘black’ in the mud; I’m not sure who looked more ridiculous (…Dad). Henry actually slapped a handful of mud onto a man – ‘accidently’ thinking the man was Dad – it could have had dire consequences, but the man started laughing and took it very well.
For dinner on the last night, we got to eat in the 'wine cellar' of the hotel, which was amazing because it was the most air conditioned room there! We also had the head sommelier with us the entire meal, running us through each wine he matched with each course, many of which were made in Jordan and had very strange combinations of grapes (I am not really qualified to elaborate on this, will need to get dad to write an additional entry!). The sommelier was so lovely and passionate about wine. He kept giving Henry tips as to how to improve his ability to smell and differentiate the various 'notes' of wines. This was definitely our best night here.
The contrast between Jordan and Israel was very interesting to see. We could see Bedouin tribes populating many parts of the countryside in Jordan. Their trucks were on the road and they herded some large herds of goats and sheep. From what I could see they had a large presence in the country, and must be a major part of the population. The Bedouin’s are in Israel also, and you can see the occasional small settlement of black tents especially in the Negev desert and on the road to Masada in the Jordanian plateau, but there don’t seem to be as many settlements as in Jordan.
B & C
No comments:
Post a Comment