Jordan - Amman, The Dead Sea and South to Aqaba

(John) Three days into our Jordan experience and I am fast putting India behind me. It's not worth trying to make comparisons. I could, but Jordan is best discussed without too much reference to any where else. We have met many people here, sadly they have been mostly men. Women as one gregarious taxi driver told us are not important in Jordan. Men are everything. He laughed heartily when I explained that where I am from men are half and women are the other half. I didn't even try and go into the subject of same sex relationships.

We met a very nice man in our hotel in Amman, called Ernest. He is from Texas and is has been travelling through the Holy land doing a little searching for over 4 months. (Hi Ernest, hope you are well, it was nice to meet you). The owner of the hotel was Mohammed, he was the life and soul of the party, a charismatic character with great ideas and a ton of ambition. Also at the hotel was a woman called Leanne from Alabama. She has Jordanian citizenship and is a Muslim with a southern US accent. We all liked her a lot too. Then there was Abrahim, the taxi driver who drove us to the Dead Sea and Mount Nebo. We weren't sure what to make of him at first as he did not speak any English and was kind of quiet and stoic. He did not seem to know where we wanted to go other than a couple of sights. We had expected our guide for the day to be a bit more guide like. But instead we were supposed to tell him where to go. Sam and Lesley were in the back seat frantically reading the guide book trying to work out an itinerary. Actually it was pretty fun. We managed to break the ice though and Abrahim even bought us all bubble gum.

One of the first Jordanians we met was the man who served us food at the Hashem restaurant close to our hotel. We ordered food for 4 people that would have easily fed 8 people. It cost just 10 JD or $15 CAD. He was memorable because he was so exuberant and happy to see us. Being white foreigners we stick out and people are always saying Welcome to Jordan, sometimes they would like us to come in to their store but usually they just want to be friendly. There is an element of pushy toutism here but the protagonists are no match for the touts we came across in India. These guys are pussy cats. I have had to completely reel myself in and go back to being a nice guy. Having said that, we still managed to get ripped off by our fist experience in a non-metered taxi; we paid way over the odds when we had to get to the Syrian embassy. In every other instance though, the taxi drivers in Jordan have been great. Well, so far, I can't let myself get lured into a false sense of security.

So what have we been up to? Tuesday we flew into Amman. The guide book had prepared us for crazy, dangerous streets that are impossible to cross. The writer had clearly not been to India. While there are few crosswalks, drivers actually slow down and allow people to cross so long as you make your intentions clear. Also there are no two wheeled vehicles. At least very few. This makes crossing the street pretty straightforward. We got off the plane and got in a taxi. Amman was 45 kms away. The trip cost 20 JD ($30 CAD), the going rate. The driver found the hotel with a little asking around. (The hotels we stay in are usually not very well known.) We settled in to the Bdeiwi Hostel and Hotel. It is a small place but the management have worked hard to make it welcoming and it certainly felt like that. We all got a cup of tea as we walked in the door and were able to relax while we sorted out the details.

We were all awake pretty early on the first day, still pretty much on Indian time. It took a while for breakfast to come but we were done by 9.30 and headed out to the the Syrian embassy to learn that they could not give us a visa. (Despite being assured by the Syrian embassy in India that we could seek a Syrian visa at the Syrian embassy in Jordan) Only the Syrian embassy in Canada can give us one. As that isn't going to happen, our only hope is to try our luck at the border. A far as we can make out from research on the net and from what local knowledge we can get, we have a 50/50 chance of getting into Syria. It depends on the mood of the fellow at the border and how much we sweeten his pot.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Amman. We saw a fantastic roman amphitheatre, an ancient citadel site with ruins of roman temples on a hill overlooking the city, and spent time roaming through the shopping streets trying to learn Arabic numbers.

The following day we arranged through our hotel to go to the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, Bethany Beyond the Jordan and Madaba. It cost a staggering 50 JD or $75 CAD just for the transportation, but it was really the only way to get it done. We saw Mt Nebo first. This is where Moses came and saw the promised land and then is believed to have died. The view across the valley and the Dead Sea to Israel is quite spectacular. Then we went to the Dead Sea. You can swim anywhere along the coast, but if you want to have a good time you need to have a fresh water shower after your float. Also, if you are a woman who doesn't want to be outnumbered by men (200 to 1) and would like to wear a western style bathing suit, you have to go to a resort. The cheapest option cost us 50 JD ($75 CAD). It was pretty nice though and swimming in the Dead Sea was really neat. The water was pleasantly cool. It was fun being at the lowest place on the planet. I thought I might feel depressed being so low, but it actually just made me smile.

After we had washed off the salt and lazed around by the freshwater pool for a couple of hours we set off to see the sight where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Seeing the sight involves a shuttle bus drive and a 40 minute walk through olive groves, taking in some holy spots with the main attraction being the place where Jesus was baptized. The guide book said we should have to pay about 7 JD for adults and at least one of our children would be free. When we got to the sight, we discovered that it would cost us all 12 JD each with no discounts for our children. We had a quick conference and decided that 48 JD ($72.50 CAN) was too much to see the sight and Jesus would probably have agreed with us, so we declined the tour. A representative tried to talk us into it but it was all academic as we after our conference had just missed the last tour of the day. Still we can say that we have been to Jordan and seen the parking lot next to where Jesus was baptized. It was quite special. I'm getting emotional just writing about it.

After that we drove back up to the top of Mt Nebo and turned to visit Madaba. On the way we passed a check point where earlier our driver Abrahim had told the soldiers that we were all French. The soldier must have been pretty stupid as he had looked at me and believed him. The second time through Abrahim told them were French again, just to be consistent. At a different check point nearer the Dead Sea we had been announced as Canadians. Abrahim explained that it doesn't matter where we are from, and he he obviously thought it was pretty stupid that they even ask.

In Madoba we visited a small Greek orthodox church that has a mosaic map of the holy land on the floor that is 1500 years old. Then we found some fruit to eat and Abrahim drove us back to Amman. We regrouped then went out for supper.

Today, we made our way to Aqaba, in the south. Here, we are in a hotel near the beach. The Red Sea is a 100 metres away and we can see Israel clearly across the bay. We came on a government bus. It could have been a great journey but as smoking laws in Jordan don't exist, there were a number of people smoking on the bus and where we were at the back of the bus was particularly bad. On top of this, the bus was clearly overheating which may have explained why there was hot air blasting into the passenger compartment right under the back sat where Sam and I were sitting. The driver had at least insisted on all the windows being kept open. I had a stinking headache by the time we arrived in Aqaba. I think that every man in Jordan smokes. Many women do too. There is no point even asking for a non-smoking hotel room. Next bus we get on we'll try and sit nearer the front, maybe the back rows are the worst.

On the bright side, our hotel room has a TV and a fridge. Aqaba is a fun city. The waterfront area is vibrant, people are out all along the beaches and the shopping streets. We took a walk along the Red Sea front and along the beach. It was early evening and full of people. From the beach you can see four countries - Jordan, Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia. I went prepared to get in the water but not really expecting to be able to. However, there were lots of kids and at least one man playing in the shallows near the edge so I jumped in and instantly washed all the cigarette smoke of the bus trip away, the cool water soothed my head and I felt good for the first time in quite a while. I think I might like Aqaba.  

Photos: Our first meal in Jordan, Mmmm; Roman Amphitheater - Amman; Roman Temple - Amman; Fingers from 13m high statue; View from Mt Nebo; 1500 year old mosaic map in Madoba.

Dead Sea Photos