Jordan, Israel, Palestine - The amazing Middle East

30 October 2009 - 6 November 2009

30 October, Dubai - Amman
Today, my solo travel to these much-discussed Middle-Eastern countries start with a nice, cheap and convenient Fly Dubai flight from Dubai to Amman, Jordan.

I've arranged a confortable hotel close to the city center for my first night, the Kempinski.

Safety standards are high in the international chain hotels. My taxi is being checked from top to bottom before we can enter the premises.
Jordan's capital Amman, the Temple of Hercules on the hill

My only mission for today, is trying to find the place to buy a bus ticket to travel to Petra tomorrow morning, so I go for a stroll on this rainy day and find the bus station after half an hour. Whenever I look at my map, there's always someone asking me if I need any help getting around or even accompanying me for a few minutes to get me back on track. I get lost in the city a bit more, before returning to my hotel for an early night.

31 October, Amman - Petra

No time for breakfast this morning. My bus to Petra is departing at 6.30 am from the Jett-bus station. The ancient city of Petra, with it's rock cut architecture, was established around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans and is considered one of the 'new seven wonders of the world', so .. yes, I'm excited!

On the 3 hour bus ride I meet 2 other solo travelers and we decide to explore Petra together. I quickly drop my backpack at a the 'Petra Moon hotel', basic, but clean, cheap and close to the entrance and bus station and entrance of Petra. That'll do!
The siq, leading visiters from the entrance to the Treasury

We start walking through the narrow siq. After 15 minutes you start getting a glimpse of the most well-known site, the amazing Treasury.

The Treasury - and - Desert police guiding the site .. well .. posing for tourist more off ..

After admiring the treasury for a little while, you'd be mistaken thinking you've seen most this city. It's really only the tip of the iceberg. Fom there is will take at least 45 minutes of walking up this amazingly large city all the way up to the view point overlooking the Monastry, It's definately worth the effort. The less fit, can consider taking a donkey ride to the top.

View from the viewpoint over the Monastry - Amazing colours off the carved rocks

I wandered around the city for the rest of the day, admiring the beautiful sand stone carvings and imagining the ancient frankincense, silk, spice and slave caravans passing through these streets....

The evening, I spend engaging in a more modern activity, drinking beer with the locals in the Cave Bar at the entrance of the city. Good fun! Local people I've met so far, are always friendly, helpful, hospitable and fun.

01 November , Petra - Wadi Rum

Through the hotel, I arranged a mini-bus pickup at 6.30 am to Wadi Rum. I'm not sure exactly how to proceed from now. I decide to have the minibus drop me at the Wadi Rum Visitors center. I'm the only one arriving here alone and without any reservations. The Wadi Rum Desert is huge and there are several desert camps in the park. They all seem to be fully booked by tour groups though. The guys at the visitors' center make a few calls for me and find a guide available to take me in the desert and have me stay at his personal little camp. Excellent!

My local bedouin guide Sabbah picks me up 30 minutes later. He's born and raised in the desert and he perfectly understands what I want to do. Yes, I do want to see a few of the sites, but I also want to spend some time hiking through the vast empty desert and just relax all by myself.

We drive through the desert and visit the remains of a Nabataenen Temple and Lawrence Springs, where Lawrence of Arabia set camp and got their water from the springs here. I personally think the nature of this red-rocky desert is the most impressive 'site'. Such a beautiful place!

Nabataen rock inscriptions - me enjoying the red-desert

I feel really priveleged when Sabbah takes me to have lunch and tea with his parents at their Bedouin tent-home. Such a unique experience, although I cannot communicate with them what so ever, the are so hospitable. I can't even begin to immagine how basis the life must be for them, coming from my high-life apartment in Dubai ... These people, seem to be so happy with their tent, camel and some goats though .. gives you something to think about!

The startling view of an un-named place Sabbah took me up to - WOW - Sunset in the desert

After lunch we went to the camp owned by Sabbah and his family. It's very small, with a few Bedouin tents for tourists, no electricity but a very basic toilet and shower. All I need.

He has to go into 'town' to buy our barbeque dinner. I'm staying in the camp. The only thing around me is a desert, no people, no nothing, just nature! It's incredible!!

The Bedouin tent camp I stayed

A few more tourists join later and we all have a very nice Arabic barbeque together.

I decide not to spend me night in the tent, but out in the open, looking at the stars. It's a bit cold, but I have been given more than enough blankets to keep me warm. Life is wonderful .. !

Sabbah might be a bedouin living in a tent or sleeping outside in the desert somewhere, but he has a really nice website, check it out : http://www.desert-experience.org/

2 November, Wadi Rum - Aqaba

The experince in the Wadi Rum desert was unforgettable! But, I don't have much time and want to see more of this region.

I find a shared taxi (there's no public transport) from the Wadi Rum visitors center to Aqaba in the morning. The girl I'm sharing with is English, but has moved to Wadi Rum recently.

It takes about an hour to get to Aqaba. The taxi driver recommends 'Bedouin Garden Village hotel' if I want to go diving. It's cheap, close to the sea and looks like a happening place, so I happily take his advise.

In the afternoon I go for a dive in the Red Sea, my first coast dive. No boats, you can just get in from the beach. It's a shallow dive, but there's much to see. I loved the baby moray eels, not bigger than my little finger!
I meet some nice people and we all go out for dinner in town. We can't find a licenced restaurant, but manage to pick up some local beer called 'philadelphia', like the capital Amman used to be called.

We have the beers together when we get back at the hotel. When I tell them about my plans to cross to border into Israel the next day, the Austrian couple Heimo and Andrea offer to give me a ride to the border on their way back to Amman the next day.

Aqaba beach, Red Sea Jordan

TO BE CONTINUED

Wadi Rum Desert - with Dutch comments ..