During the crossing from Nuweiba to Aquaba, an official took all our passports from us. This was of some concern to some of us, but Oscar didn't appear worried. It was a little more concerning when we arrived in Aquaba and someone asked to see them as we disembarked, but we were taken to a building where they had a more formal passport control. Oscar introduced us to Talal, who was to be our guide during the time we were in Jordan. He got us all our passports back, which endeared him to us straight away. We quickly found him entirely likable in his own right.
He gave us an introduction to Jordan and to Aquaba whilst in the coach on the way to the hotel. An important export from the area, for example, is cement, though Aquaba is an important junction on trade routes, being as it is so close to Saudi Arabia and Israel (not to mention the boat to Egypt). We checked into the hotel and then had supper and the opportunity to wander round some shops and a market. A major difference here was the attitude of the people. In Egypt, many people would attempt to insist that they had the opportunity to show you round and then insist you pay them even if you were in no need (or want) of this. As we wandered into the market in Aquaba, a shopkeeper insisted we sample a small glass of tea. He didn't want to take no for an answer, but then expected no more from us than to be sociable for a few minutes and for us to observe that he did indeed have a fine selection of spices. Many shops in that area sold gold jewellry. Though we had a little look in passing, it was not something we had budgeted for on this holiday. We all met up again at a shop Oscar knew that did a variety of types and blends of fresh squeezed fruit juice. This was excellent.
So was the view from our hotel window.
We had some time in the morning in Aquaba. Some people spent more time in the town. Some went snorkling. Sarah, Carol, Peter and myself took a trip in a glass bottomed boat into the bay. We saw some coral as we went, and then went right out into the middle of the bay - half way to Eilat in Israel. On the way, we picked up the boat owner's cousin who tried fishing but caught nothing. Sarah was so pleased to be in a boat that the owner insisted she drive and encouraged her to go as fast as she felt she could. It was a very relaxed morning.
We went from Aquaba to Wadi Rum. As we approached it , we saw a rock formation called the seven pillars of wisdom. If you can only see five in the picture, it is because the other two are round the other side.
When we saw Wadi Rum, it was very dry. There was vegetation, but it looked as if it was struggling a bit. There were fantastic rock formations which had been carved out by water over the ages. It is a place subject to flash floods which really change it's nature, though when we were there, the way we could tell which bits were rivers was because the red iron had been washed out of the sand. It is classed as a national park and we had two local guides with open topped jeeps who took us to the places of interest. I don't think people can visit it without these guides and the government have the ultimate say. We were given small glasses of tea or coffee afterwards and emptied our boots for Carol to collect some of the red sand in a film case.
From Wadi Rum, we journeyed to near Petra and stayed at a place called Wadi Musa. Named after Moses, it contains a site where, the story goes, he was ordered by god to speak to a rock which would then give forth water. Moses struck the rock with his staff and though the water still gushed forth, god was displeased and proclaimed that Moses would wander in the wilderness for 40 years and though he would one day gaze upon the promised land, he would never reach it.
We got up bright and early to go round Petra. This was the capital of the Nabatean kingdom. The Nabateans grew rich off the realisation that providing a service industry to the trading caravans was much more profitable than robbing them and Petra at its height must have been magnificent. They carved tombs and temples (these often being the same thing) directly into the rock. this they did by carving stairs and supports for scaffolding into the rock and then carving the face of the building deeper into the rock from the top down and erasing the means by which they did it as they went. some are today known by names which are slightly misleading (like the treasury) and do not reflect the original function. As Petra was on one of the most important trade routes, the Nabateans had no trouble bringing in artisans and master craftsmen to make their city reflect their wealth. They were in a very strongly defensible position and were incorporated into the Roman empire many years after most of the rest of the region. The Romans did not achieve this by military means but by effectively building a new route for the caravan trade, bypassing Petra and cutting off it's wealth. There are many things in Petra of Roman origin.
We climbed to the top of the Nabatean "High Place Of Sacrifice" where we met a small cat who was known by Talal to like cheese. After descending (and lunch - which was an excellent self service buffet) we climbed up to another high place where a temple known as the monastery was situated. A little further then that was a place known as "The End Of The World" where an American tourist was kind enough to take a picture of the whole group.
When we had got down from there, we saw some of the impression the Romans had left on Petra including a theatre seating several thousand. We also briefly visited the museum. Some people finished the day with a Turkish bath. We stayed a second night in the same hotel.
The next day we went from Wadi Musa to Amman. On the way, we visited the crusader castle at Kerak. The crusades started when christian pilgrims were denied access to Jerusalem and christians from Europe sent forces to the Middle East to occupy the holy land. A series of castles were built of which Kerak is one of the best known and best preserved. A lot of the contsruction of the castle itself was not of the finest but the strategic position was so overwhelming that when the castle fell in the end to muslim forces it was by starving the defenders in a siege. The man who held it when it fell was known for throwing condemned prisoners from the walls, but with the added twist of putting a wooden box round their heads so that they would not lose consciousness on the way down.
We then went via Wadi Mujib to Madaba where we visited the Greek orthodox church of saint George. This contains a mosaic on the floor which represented a map of the middle east as it was known when the map was created. It was remarkably accurate except for the area around the river Nile. This had been turned by artistic licence to flow from East to West because it is a holy river and apparently holy rivers must do this (!) A large chunk of the mosaic is damaged due to a later group of christians who used the church failing completely to appreciate it's significance. For example, there is a largish square patch missing where they put a pillar. We had lunch at Madaba - again somewhere that Oscar knew of and again excellent (including more fresh juice) - before visiting Mount Nebo. Moses is said to have died here after wandering in the Wilderness for 40 years and this was where he at last got the predicted view of the promised land. There is a church there run by an order of catholic monks. It also had some fantastic mosaics on the floor. Some of the best preserved ones contain hunting scenes of men and animals. Later chrisians considered them to contain idolatrous images and, fortunately covered them over with similar mosaics containing abstract patterns similar to the earlier mosaics which preserved the earlier mosaics very well.
Our first morning after reaching Amman, we spent at the Roman city of Jerash. This is astonishingly well preserved, partially due to being burried by earth which piled up over the centuries. Some of the pillars for example are in three parts and in other Roman locations the top parts fell over - here they have been supported by earth, which has since been excavated. There are two theatres there which had cleverly designed acoustics and a fountain and a market place. There were also temples and even early christian churches with mosaics on the floor.
We spent the afternoon in Amman where we visited the biggest Roman theatre yet, and climbed up to the citadel (plenty of stairs in hot weather). The citadel had been the location of the Temple of Hercules, which was largely dismantled for building materials for the Ummayed Palace. When we saw this, restoration was in progress including the roof of the entrance hall. It would have been a very impressive intruduction to the provincial capital for foreign visitors and they would have stayed there in some luxury.
In the evening we went to a restaurant in a very large tent. We were given robes to wear (as it got quite chilly after sunset). Both the food and service were very good. People in our group had arranged a birthday cake for Sarah as well. After that, we went to an "Irish pub". Tinned Guinness was even available and there was a small dance floor. We did not win the pub quiz. It was all a lot of fun, although we were a little surprised when we came out for taxis back to our hotel and saw an armed soldier. Jordan is less strict about alcohol than many muslim countries yet maybe they anticipate trouble at closing time - or maybe it was just a co-incidence.
The next moring saw the group split up. Most people went on to Israel but Peter and Carol and Sarah and myself had one extra night in the hotel before going home and a day to spend. We spent it at the Dead Sea. For those who have not heard of this, it is an inland sea 390m below the level of the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Jordan. Water flows in (mainly from the River Jordan) but does not flow out, instead being lost by evaporation. This means that the sea contains about 30% salt (as opposed to 3-4 per cent in most seas) and gives it its name. Unfortunately, more water is being taken out of the River Jordan for irrigation than in previous times in history and the level of the Dead Sea is reducing. When we were there, there was talk of a plan to build a canal from the Mediterranean so that people could regulate the level of the Dead Sea and preserve it, but I don't know if anything has happened with this plan at the time of writing.
That night we caught the flight home. We had booked a taxi to the airport, but this did not turn up on time. To the credit of the hotel, they sent someone out in their own car to find us a taxi, which despite one of the (small front) windows being replaced by tape and plastic and the speedometer not working, got us to the airport just ahead of a large coach of Austrians who were due to take the same flight as us. Flying is never fun (taking off is and landing is but they don't last long) but the two weeks away were an experience of a lifetime, and maybe our photographic record might convey a little of this.
