I arrived at the hotel in Madaba by taxi at around 1.30am. I was awoken by the "dawn" call to prayer at 4.30am. This set the tone for my week in Jordan- very little sleep, running on equal parts pure adrenalin and a thirst to just see and do everything because I couldn't quite believe I was there and what I was seeing.
Before I begin though, i'll just explain how I came to be on holiday in Jordan. A few months ago my "mother in law" (Alex's Mum) called to say she was planning on going on a trip to Jordan with some friends (they all currently live and work in neighbouring Saudi Arabia), and asked if we would like to go along on the trip too. Alex was busy with work, but encouraged me to go. So, before he'd really even given me a moment to think about it, he was booking my flights. I had always wanted to see Petra and swim in the Dead Sea to experience the closest thing to weightlessness you can get on Earth... and it was easy to say yes knowing that I would be traveling with a group of people very familiar with the Middle East. I could not have been in better hands or had a more positive experience. The friends who had orchestrated the trip have travelled extensively in Jordan several times, and they went above and beyond to show us everything- the well documented tourist sites, and the sites that are so often overlooked. They were enthusiastic from start to finish and looked after us as though we were paying them to be our private travel guides, but they were doing it out of friendship and a deep love for Jordan and a desire to share it with us. I honestly can't thank them enough.
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After that first very early morning wake up call, the rest of the party arrived at the hotel by mid-morning, we fuelled up on one-dinar chicken shawarmas and hit the road (in the largest Chevrolet that Amman airport could provide us). The first site we visited was Machaerus, or Herod's Castle, the ruins of a fortified palace built on top of a high mountain overlooking the Dead Sea.
Needless to say the climb up was hot and dusty. Machaerus is remote and exposed, there is no shade and very little obvious human activity in the surrounding countryside, a few lone shepherds on the roadsides and a sprinkling of homes, but no real sizeable towns or villages nearby.
Photographs will never properly communicate the vastness or the stark beauty of Jordan. These valleys are immense and provide breathtaking views. To convey a little of the scale, that is a house on the hilltop on the right most hill. Below is the Dead Sea and in the hazy distance is Israel.
Again, in an attempt to show scale, that tiny black spec on the middle hilltop is a group of people. I am pretty sure my camera lens was zoomed in as far as it could go too.
At around 1,100m above Dead Sea level, it was an impressive and strategic fortress. Built in approximately 90 BC by Alexander Jannaeus, the fortress provided a clear view of invading armies from the East and from its high position could easily signal other citadels of impending danger. It was destroyed in 57 BC by one of Pompey the Great's generals, and rebuilt by Herod the Great in 30 BC as a military base. The Romano-Jewish scholar, Flavius Josephus, cites Machaerus as the imprisonment and execution place of John the Baptist. Today, all that remains are the foundation stones and two pillars, though under the current ground level the unexcavated remains are extensive.
One of the most fascinating things about this area was spotting the many caves in the hillsides that are home to the Bedouin. I couldn't imagine a more inhospitable landscape, and yet the valleys were full of cave systems with neat door shaped stonework at the mouth of the caves.
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One of the absolute standout historical sites for me was Umm Al Rasas, a series of ancient church ruins containing remains from the Roman, Byzantine and early-Muslim periods. Largely unexcavated, the area began as a 5th Century Roman military camp. What is special about Al Rasas though, is the high concentration of churches- 19 churches according to our guide- in a very small area. The detailed mosaic floors of these churches are breathtaking.
We enlisted an archeology student working in the tourist office at the entrance to be our guide, and this was one of our best decisions, his knowledge and enthusiasm for the site was wonderful. Though he stated it was up to us whether we should tip him or not, we were more than happy to do so, he really enriched our visit.
[At many tourist sites in Jordan you will encounter people eager to play "guide"- this can be a good or a slightly annoying thing depending on their motivations and actual knowledge (or lack there of). In some places we were happy to be shown around, in others we just wanted to wander and absorb at our own pace. Don't be afraid to state clearly that you do not want a guide if you find them to be overly pestering, and have a handful of dinars on you to tip at the end if you do choose to be shown around. At the larger sites where the guide might stay with you for a couple of hours (such as Jerash and Petra) make sure you agree to a price at the start before you set off. Beware of anyone thrusting a "gift" into your hands. They will ask for money by the time they are done showering you with presents. That lesson cost me three dinar, and some slight annoyance at having to carry around things that I never wanted and tried to refuse in the first place. Likewise, if you visit a remote site that isn't overseen in any real official capacity, and is manned by a neighbouring farmer or shepherd, or a kindly local, do tip them. Five or so dinar was our general rule.]
These are the remains of the earlier Roman settlement. It is quite extraordinary that many of the arches and walls are still standing, some 2500 years after they were constructed, having also withstood two major earthquakes that rocked much of the Arabian region. The remains extend below ground, perhaps by another 2 storeys, but in order to excavate the site properly, the top storey would be ruined, and so it is preserved as best it can be as it currently stands.
The most important and protected of the mosaics is the floor of Saint Stevens Church, dated from 785 AD, and the floor of the Church of Bishop Sergius from 587 AD. These mosaics are incredibly detailed and feature many of the important cities of ancient Arabia, as well as intricate hunting and fishing scenes. The lettering is Ancient Greek.
Constructed of tiny and precise, hand-cut, naturally coloured stones, these mosaics are utterly mind blowing. Very kindly, our guide took us to a covered over mosaic (many of the church floors are covered up with sheets weighed down by sand to protect them from the elements and animals), to demonstrate the true beauty of these works of art.
He swept back the sand to reveal the floor of the Church of the Lions, named quite simply due to the two mosaic lions, and poured water over their faces.
We all exclaimed in awe!
And then a shepherd came through the site with his flock of sheep and goats,
so very Jordan.
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As I go back through my photographs and collate them, I realise that my Jordan trip may need to be recorded over several posts. So, i'll conclude this initial post by sharing a few helpful hints.
The Jordan Pass that acts as your visa when you visit Jordan is invaluable. I purchased the Jordan Wanderer for 70 Jordanian dinar and added the Baptismal site for an extra 8 dinar or so. This pass gets you in almost everywhere, and will save you lots of money if you plan on visiting Petra and Jerash. Buy it before flying into Amman to save on time and visa fees at the border.
You will need to buy lots of water. I took a refillable metal water bottle, but couldn't use it as the tap water is not safe to drink. Most places sell water, but be aware of what you are buying. Make sure the bottles are new, fresh and safely sealed. I am pretty sure I bought a dodgy (old and refilled) bottle inside of Petra, and I was quite unwell afterwards.
Lastly, Jordan is an incredibly welcoming country. It is very poor and many things about it can be a little confronting (the litter, the tent homes on remote roadsides, and the condition that some of the animals are kept in), but the Jordanian people are some of the most hospitable people on earth. They won't hesitate to invite you into their homes for tea, or assist you when your vehicle gets stuck down a particularly acute drop off the side of the road.
Typical remote tent(s) of shepherding family.
Kate
I will cover the likes of Jerash, Petra, and the Dead Sea in further posts.
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