Jordan

Let’s face it: living in America, we tend to see and digest only “the worst of the worst” news from the Middle East. Wars, conflict, cultural differences, religion…all of these often lead us to ONLY see the differences between our two cultures, while also seeing NONE of the good things about their way of life.

Enter Obied and his family – owners of Obeid’s Bedouin Life Camp shattering any and all such preconceived notions I had. Arranging for us to be picked up from the airport by a friend of his, Obied would go on to personalize the ENTIRE trip for us, coordinating with his sons to make sure that we were driven to every location. Even more so, during the second half of our trip – which was spent primarily in Egypt – he even went out of his way to find connections for us there, all so that we could have the trip of a lifetime. It was truly amazing.

My friend Aaron and I hit the ground running. As soon as we landed, we made for Ma’in hot springs, which is an absolute gem and a MUST visit if you ever happen to visit Jordan. Located near the edge of the Dead Sea, it is – admittedly – slightly commercialized, but mostly still rugged; being there so late at night, most of the shops were closed, allowing us to have the place to ourselves for about an hour. Particularly cool is the waterfall, which shoots right over the cliff and down into the smaller pools below. It’s pretty spectacular to behold, and all around the water are several places to sit and walk (it also doesn’t hurt that the temperature of the area is perfect.)

The next day, our driver took us to several locations in Amman, including the Citadel Hill, several Roman theaters, and Kings Mosque – all of which are well worth visiting. Easily the most inspiring stop of the day was Jarash – if you remember nothing else, remember this: if you visit Amman, you MUST see “Pompeii of the East” or “City of 1000 Columns.” It completely lives up to its name and is nothing less than a visual MARVEL – the whole thing is just incredibly well preserved and restored, and stands as a stark reminder of just how much human history has occurred before us. Truly, take as much time as you can to walk the grounds – it’s a massive space, and well worth exploring. We probably spent about 4 hours crisscrossing the area and could have easily spent even more just imagining what the process to build such a wonder took.

Along the way, we also made a stop at the Dead Sea. There are several resorts along the coast that you can stay at, but honestly, I would say that an hour is probably more than enough time to soak in the full experience. Easily the main attraction of the Sea is being able to float in the extremely salty water (the Sea’s extreme salinization makes you very buoyant – it’s pretty cool. But remember: just be careful to not get this water in your eyes!) Fun fact: the Dead Sea is 430 meters below sea level and the lowest point on Earth – kind of wild. Also, the walk down to the water is a bit of a hike, so be sure to wear some good sandals.

The camp we stayed at was tucked into the rock hill side and – going into our stay – we genuinely didn’t know what to expect from our three nights here. To our pleasant surprise, however, running water, power, communal meals in the tent and a recently adopted kitten all added up to a 10/10 experience. It was pretty wonderful.

From Obeid’s camp in Wadi Rum, we were able to take day trips to Little Petra (Siq al-Barid), Petra(100% inspired by Indiana Jones), and even a sunset camel ride complete with tea and snacks. It surprised us to find just how open these historical sites were to visitors – far from being roped off and protected, the vast majority were open and available for folks to climb and walk around in. Little Petra was particularly fun to walk through – it had far fewer people compared to Petra, and if you walked all the way to the end through the canyon, you found a cool little trinket store that sold semi-cold Cokes for $1.

Petra. Did. Not. Disappoint. The town itself isn’t very large, but looks set to grow quickly, with many of the building sites under construction – almost certainly a good sign of future growth. Once inside Petra you find a massive sprawling maze of elongated pathways, trails, and offshoots, all of which span many miles. I imagine that if you spent the sun up to sun down for two days, you might – MIGHT – be able to see it all….but even that’s not guaranteed. It’s pretty incredible. We stayed in town, approximately a block away from the town’s main entrance.

Obied had set several times over two days for us to be there. It’s easy to get burnt out after a few hours spent soaking in the sun, while also slowly losing appreciation for the structures (particularly after you’ve spent the entire day viewing one after the other). Breaks between sightseeing outings were definitely needed, while also allowing us to better appreciate what we were taking in (also noteworthy: being able to take in some of the same sights at different times of day – complete with different shades of light – added quite a bit to the experience, particularly with the rock carvings). In the evening is a community candlelit storytelling, which is an absolute must (FYI: it requires tickets). There is no seating other than on the ground and everyone is pushing for their best view – the whole experience is pretty incredible.

We closed out Jordan with a sunset camel ride, complete with tiny dessert fire and sweet tea. I would highly recommend it (even if you are a little scared of camels. They’re nice, I promise!)

DALBs Decision:

I would recommend Jordan for just about anyone, including first time travelers, families, or experienced solo adventurers. On the whole, it was safe, clean, and open to any and all cultures that are respectful of the locals. Looking back, a week was probably the PERFECT amount of time to spend in-country, and having Obied to help us only served to make the trip even that much more special – truly, his personality was very welcome, and made us feel right at home. I can still hear his laugh when I bring pictures up to share.