Jordan - "hop in"

Random Driver: Where are you going?

Us: Wadi Mujib (but the bus dropped us 25km short and here we were in 40 degree heat, 400m below sea level on the side of the road wondering how we were going to get there).

Driver: Where are you from?

Us: New Zealand

Driver: Hop in.

And thus to us the hospitable reputation of the Jordanians was reconfirmed.

As is turned out the two in the car were doctors on their way back to Amman after spending a week rostered to a small poor community hospital in rural Jordan. We stopped for roadside tea (tea always follows an introduction) before they dropped us at our destination, refusing all offers of payment but leaving with us their phone numbers, ‘incase you need anything.’

We had actually arrived a week earlier and were thoroughly taken by the country. Amman, our point of arrival was a take it or leave it kind of place and although we actually enjoyed it more on our return we left ASAP and headed to Petra, the famed Nabathean ancient city carved into the soft sandstone of the Wadis (valleys). After two days of non-stop exploring we still found surprises around every corner – and not just of the sandstone kind. After trekking through a very narrow valley we came across a local Bedouin family who offered us tea and a chat. And while walking up to one of the cave entrances we came across the famed Kiwi, Margaruite van Galdermalsen , who on a backpacking trip back in 1978 had met and married a local Bedouin man. Oddly we reminisced regarding Nelson and apple picking before getting a copy of her book titles Married to a Bedouin – a great read and insight into the recent culture and history of the place. 

Taking the local bus we then spent a couple of nights in Wadi Rum, staying in a Goat-hair tent on the edge of the desert made famous by TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). It was incredibly hot but amazingly beautiful, and coming from a temperate country obviously like nothing we had ever seen before. Our local guide showed us how people made use of the natural resources and we even followed in the path of TE Lawrence himself. The stand out in Wadi Rum was undoubtedly the sun rises and sets – not to mention the night we spent sleeping under the stars (and the occasional commercial jet liner…)

Via Aqaba on the southern coast where you can see Egypt, Israel and Jordan all at once (and Saudi is 20kms down the road) we ended up meeting our aforementioned doctor friends who dropped us at Wadi Mujib. Here we enjoyed a wet but awesome walk up the valley, an important nature reserve for Jordan, before settling into our chalet overlooking the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea experience was something we had been looking forward to and it did not disappoint. It is 423 metres below sea level and the water is almost oily in nature given its high salinity (8.6 times that of normal seawater). It is no problem to float completely unaided while reading a book – the classic photo op.

We got a taste of Christianity (all forms) in Madaba and some ancient mosaics before heading back to Amman. In Amman we ummed and ahhed regarding taking a tour north (as opposed to doing it ourselves) but were super glad when our guide for the day could not be kept quiet. He chatted openly about all aspects of Jordanian life, religion, politics and found us perhaps the best lunch that we have experienced in the Middle East. The tour took in several historical sights but perhaps most interesting was the ancient roman ruin that overlooked Jordan, Syria, the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee.

Our 10 days in Jordan were fantastic and flew by. The scenery, history and culture were phenomenal. But as always for us, we realise it was the people who made it so special – and Jordan did not disappoint.