I’ve been back home just over a week after my adventure in Jordan. It’s bloody cold here (around 22 degrees colder than on our final days at the Dead Sea and Madaba) and the news from neighbouring countries of the Middle East makes me glad to be home – not because I felt in any danger in Jordan, but because I wouldn’t want friends and family to worry in any case.
Jordan was a very different experience for me and my first foray into the Middle East. I was expecting to see landscapes and settings that would be a feast for my eyes… and I wasn’t disappointed. I had also read that the Jordanian people are friendly and welcoming – on that point too, it lived up to expectations. We were greeted on the streets – even young children would call out a friendly hello – and welcomed into local communities for food. We were even invited to dance at an engagement party on a visit to Umm Sayhoun near Petra. Women only mind you. I was struck by how much of Jordanian society seems still to be steeped in the patriarchal for sure.
I adored Wadi Rum. I have never been in the desert before (some of our party had seen the Sahara and said this was very different). The varying red tones of the sand and the rock, and the amazing ways in which the sand and wind had gnarled the rock into wonderful shapes was just breathtaking. I was also struck by the miles and nothingness. At night, the dark skies allowed us a most wonderful stargazing experience and the beauty of the silence was palpable. It was also very lovely to have 12+ hours with absolutely no mobile phone signal!
I was also blown away by Petra. It was way beyond what I imagined in terms of scale. If you have the chance to go, go soon. And don’t expect what you see in the publicity pics. It is a total tourist trap, and getting photographs of the many wonderful edifices without a throng of people in the way is a tall order. Allow two days, take plenty of water, and wear good walking shoes. You can expect to be ‘hawked’ at every corner by what our guide called the ‘Jack Sparrows’ – local young men offering rides by camel / horse / donkey / carriage and assuring you they know short cuts to all the best places. We were advised to politely but firmly say no.
I was ambivalent about the Dead Sea – it’s ticked off my list now as an experience, but I am unsure why people would want to return time and time again, or holiday beside it.
Some of the religious sites that we visited were unexpectedly inspiring. I am not a religious person at all and I remain unconvinced by the religious significance attached to some of the places. I do feel more inclined to believe that some of the biblical stories have truth in them as stories… but as religiously significant events, less so. But our meeting with the Director General of the Baptismal Site at Bethany Beyond the Jordan was nothing short of inspirational. Here was a man with total conviction about what he was doing, and why he was doing it… total belief in the the significance of his work. That in itself is inspiring, whether or not you agree with the the beliefs.
In Amman, one of the things that has stayed with me – apart from the constant, furious and noisy traffic – was the view from the Citadel of what our tour guide described as a ‘refugee camp’. It was in fact more like a housing estate, and had been built on land gifted to Syrian refugees who had subsequently been granted citizenship and now took a full and active part in Jordanian life. We learned that the population of Jordan comprises more ‘refugees’ than it does ‘born and bred’ Jordanians – a truly multicultural society in which different nationalities and faiths seem to rub along together . I can think of some countries that could learn a thing or two about the country’s positive attitude and acceptance of refugees.
As we travelled, I was struck by how much of Jordan seems uninhabitable and/or inarable. There were places where we could see obvious attempts to irrigate, and where tiny oases of green stuck out amidst the otherwise dry terrain. The landscape varied between vast flat plains (along the ‘Desert Highway’ and after descending from Petra, out towards Israel and the Dead Sea) and stunning rocky mountains traversed by slim winding roads. At points, we would see the odd ‘encampment’ – sometimes a single tent, sometimes a few grouped together – alongside which may be a pen of sheep or goats, and the odd washing line. There was obvious poverty both in rural and urban areas. In the towns, there were many people looking to sell you stuff, be it in shops or on stalls. It’s a barter-based system, but there were times when I felt awkward haggling over a price that seemed affordable and fairly reasonable to me, so I paid up without question as I felt the extra gained by the seller meant more to him than the extra saved by me.
I loved the cuisine. From the very first evening when we learned how to cook Maqluba (a classic Middle Eastern rice dish that is flipped upside down to reveal delicious layers of vegetables and meat), to the many instances of eating Arabic mezze (mutabal, hummus, fattoush and tabbouleh) and the wonderous spices we encountered (sumac, zatar and cardamom) – I really enjoyed the food. I think my favourite meal apart from the one we cooked ourselves was the lunch we had near Machaerus, at the home of the lovely Halima – lamb kofta with tahini, mufaraka potatoes and a tomato and aubergine dish that I forget the name of). Just delicious.
All in all, I would thoroughly recommend Jordan as a travel destination. I think I would recommend longer than the week that I had to do it justice. I would have liked our initial days to be less jam-packed and I would have liked to get as far south as Aqaba and the Red Sea. I felt safe, and consider that it is a country you could visit as an independent traveller if you didn’t feel the need for the company of a group or the services of a guide. A most awe-inspiring experience.
PS
One final reflection … women rock. I chose a women-only expedition because I had an inkling of this before I went… but the women I spent my week with confirmed without doubt that women rock! Thanks ladies ❤️
50shadesofbrave 