Amman ...

On our last morning in India we were up early and had a great breakfast from room service and were off to the airport for our flight to Jordan. We arrived early especially since it was an international flight and because of all of the tight security at Indian airports. There were many last minute check-ins from the locals who never think they need to arrive early and therefore are always late. We arrived early only to find that we had arrived too early with nothing to do. The Cochin airport security was not as strict and there was nothing to occupy our time. Our flight had a lay-over in Dubai that was supposed to be only 2 hours, but we had a 2.5 hour delay in our flight. We tried to get into the airport lounge (fail) and so spent some time browsing all of the duty free shops instead. We arrived in Amman and were greeted by our driver Hamza and a company rep. From the start, we knew that the tour in Jordan was going to be more relaxed than the tour in India. For starters our vehicle was not a brand new SUV driven by a man in a formal uniform. Hamza was driving an early 2000’s Chevy sedan that smelled of smoke and Hamza was in jeans and a T-shirt. We checked into the hotel and were excited to continue the last leg of our trip in 5 star luxury.

The next morning we toured Amman & the countryside. Our first stop was Ajloun, an Islamic military castle that was used by the Islamic armies of Saladin to protect the region against the crusaders. Six meters of the upper level of the castle was destroyed by an Earthquake in the middle of the 700’s AD. The castle is on a peak of a mountain range overlooking the entire region. We didn’t have a guide at Ajloun, so we had to make up stories to tell each other about the purpose of each room; it sure was an interesting castle!!

Next, we went to Jerash, Pompeii of the East. We had an excellent and very distinguished guide here. We entered the ancient city through the monumental South Gate and spent nearly 2 hours wandering around this ancient Roman city. We started in the Oval Plaza, which is still surrounded by colonnades and then strolled along Jerash' main road the Cardo and passed by the remains of the Nymphaeum (an old water fountain fed by gravity). We also saw both of the two Roman theatres within the city walls. The acoustics in the main theater were amazing! Standing in the middle of the theater you can hear your voice amplified, even scuffling your feet can be heard throughout the theater.

After Jerash, Hamza took us for a traditional Jordanian feast. We had tabbula salad made of parsley and tomatoes, vegetable salad, GIANT freshly baked pita bread, lamb/chicken and beef scewers and lots of yogurt with garlic and dill. On the city tour we visited the Citadel, which are the ruins of another Roman city, and another larger 6000 seat Roman Theatre. Hamza had intended to show us a few more sites but we had already spent 9 hours visiting sites and were tired. Before we headed back to the hotel we stopped briefly at the King Hussein mosque, just to snap a few pictures from the car. About 3 minutes after we left the mosque, Hamza was pulled over by the secret police. Someone at the mosque had reported our activity as suspicious and the police were hot on our trail. After a quick interrogation with Hamza and a cursory inspection of our camera we were set free. It was a little unnerving to see how quickly the secret police responded to the call. The hotel had a gym so we enjoyed a quick work out and took full advantage of their wonderful mint-infused steam sauna.

The next day we were waiting for Hamza….again (he was late practically every day to pick us up) for our drive to Petra. Along the way we stopped at the small town of Madaba, famous for a unique mosaic map of the Holy Land, which is in Saint Geroge’s church floor. Then we visited Mount Nebo, which is supposedly where Moses looked over the Holy Land and the Dead Sea. This is (supposedly) where Moses was seen for the last time, and is considered to be his burial place. From the top of the mountain on a clear day, you can see Jerusalem, Jericho, Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. There was a slight wind and blowing sand, which partially obscured our views. From Mount Nebo, we drove to the Dead Sea! The Dead Sea lies on the western border of Jordan (Israel is on the other side) and it is the lowest spot on earth at 400 meters below sea level. The water is super-saturated with salt and other minerals. There is so much salt in the water, that the ‘sand’ along the shore is actually mostly salt crystals. When you get in the water, the change in temperature from your skin causes a thermal gradient and change of concentration in the salt. This creates a magical looking swirling of the water, just like heat waves on the highway. Due to the high salt content you become extraordinarily buoyant when you are in the water. You have to struggle to keep yourself under the water. You can float with ease on your stomach and on your back and it’s something that’s hard to describe in words. After our cold dip in the sea we were back on the road to our hotel in Hamza’s hometown of Petra, but not before another Bryan Colvin special. Hamza decided that he would take a shortcut through the back-roads. This shortcut took us through the mountains instead of along the very new and comfortable highway around the mountains. His shortcut was a one-lane road with sheer cliffs over 800 meters high… without any guardrails. The twists and the rolling road made it hard to see which way the road was turning and if there was any oncoming traffic or if the road continued at all. We survived the two hour ‘shortcut’ and live to tell about it.

Amman, Jordan