Jordan

Three years ago, just before the pandemic, I went to Israel and was kind of dissapointed about their attitude when they saw my Moroccan visa (muslim country) so ever since then or maybe even more since then I had Jordan on my list.

There were words that a man is needed when travelling there so I was looking for one and when a friend booked a ticket with her husband, I was in! In the end we did travel together to and from there but in Jordan we were four girls, on our own, perfectly safe and welcomed.Jordan Pass is what we bought online to cover the entry visa in the country plus several entrances to touristic sites (Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum among them).

We started our trip in Aqaba, by the Red Sea. A city not really touristic, if not for the excellent snorkeling/diving experience. It looked nicer from the israelí side- with the mountains in the background…First stop was Petra which is a complex of “caves” spread in a valley. We had accomodation booked in Petra and our host suggested we take a ride to little Petra, drive to 40min walking to the monastery at the end of the valley and do the walk in reverse, to the main entrance. This was a very good idea, especially since we had the two days Pass and the way to the monastery (following the valley entrance) would mean going up…800 stairs. So this is what we did the first day- all the walking backwards plus a detour to see the high place of sacrifice. Second day we started pretty early and did the walk through the valley and the detour to the kings’ tombs which actually ended into a viewpoint of the Treasury.

After taking all the Instagram photos we headed towards the Dead Sea where we reached our hotel just in time for access shut down to the beach- 5pm…army restrictions, troubled borders…We did search the internet for a good local place where to eat and found one very authentic.

A pharantesys here maybe to talk about the food: amazing! Hummus, falafel, mutabel, labneh, chicken liver, shawarma, kunafa, zarb, za’atar…one would definitely not starve there!

So first day at the Dead Sea we went for the full body mud experience, of course! But we also did a trip to Madaba, to see the mosaics (including the largest map of the Christian World). We passed Mount Nebo- where Moisés was lead to see the Promise Land and where he also died and we also went to see Jesús’ baptism site. Ironically, in a región so politically disturbed, this sacred place of Christianity is on the border between Cisiordania and Jordan. Next day we started with the mud/floating experience and then headed north. First stop was Amman. Honestly, there’s not much to see there apart from the Citadel that gives a nice view on this hilly capital. We actually spent more time going into and getting out of the city than on the site itself.

What I would reccommend/put it mandatory on a visit list for Jordan is Jerash. The Roman ruins are amazing, a huge lesson of civilización that we unfortunately do not take care of as we should.

We then headed south again for a last stop before Aqaba into the Wadi Rum reserve. The área is served by the bedouins, all included: accomodation in bedouin tents, food, activities like 4×4 drive, climbing, camel riding, hiking. Wadi Rum is another must see. The vastness, the colours, the nature…everything meant to let us know how small we are in front of nature.

And too soon we were back in Aqaba, at 24 degrees in December. I did a snorkeling session just the morning of my departure and it was definitely a great experience. Because of the warm temperature of the Red Sea all year round, the waters are blessed with colorful and diverse corrals so close to the sea shore. I rented some googles and snorkel finns at one of the dive centers at the south beach and saw the Japanese Garden with a boat plus a tank and a plane- all on the bottom of the sea with no neoprene needed.

As a conclusion I would definitely reccommend visiting Jordan. It’s beautiful, the people are very nice, the food is great and the touristic offer is of 5*.

Shukran Jordan!