Photos from Wadi Mujib and the Dead Sea 01

Salty rocks on the Dead Sea shore

Sunset. And the view from Wadi Mujib over the Dead Sea into Occupied Palestine

Chillaxing in ma' hammock

Our Chalets (mine's the one at the front where I'm standing ;) )

Eid Trip Part 03: Wadi Mujib

An hour and a half, two Snickers bars and half a packet of Ulker biscuits later we were back on the road to Wadi Mujib, which is a nature reserve that sits on the Dead Sea. On the drive down (very windy very dangerous – especially in a car with bald tyres) we made the unanimous decision not to hike that afternoon, but rather to swim in the Dead Sea and chillax in our chalets.
We arrived at the chalets, dumped our bags, prayed and rushed down to the water. Any hope that it would be a nice and refreshing dip were dashed as we quickly realised that the water was not only as warm as a bath, but burned every millimetre of skin that it came into contact with! With 9 times the salt concentration of a regular sea, the Dead Sea is certainly salty. Accidently swallow some and you’ll feel like your throat is closing. Get it in your eyes and you’ll swear you’ll never see again! AGONY! But beautifully relaxing once you get passed all that. Truly you do float – no effort required, but it does feel strangely oily... One of the girls can’t swim and she was floating in it for hours! There was one rather serious issue, but I don’t think I can mention that in public... I’ll let you know when I get home!

We swam for several hours and al-hamdoulillah did not see one living soul even pop their head over the stony cliff above us. It was all for us! When we were tired, dehydrated and burnt enough, we headed for the showers and got ready for dinner. We ate at the reserve dining hall (there is no where else to eat) and the food was surprisingly good. We had soup, salad, a huge plate each of chicken and vegies as well as soft drinks and dessert (all for 12JD)! On top the waiter and manager were excellent!

So we wandered back to our chalets to pray and agreed to meet at the chalet I was sharing with one of the girls once we were ready for bed. Amazingly there was only one other couple at the reserve – whereas it had been booked out the night before (there are 15 double chalets)! So we sat together and watched the stars and stared out over the West Bank (of Occupied Palestine). Once the couple went to bed and all the lights were off on the reserve, we chillaxed sans hijab and felt the ever stronger breeze in our hair. Really beautiful. Two hours and one traveller passed out in a hammock later we made for bed.

In the morning we did breakfast and then headed off into the Wadi for our hike. Now the trail we took was described as follows:

“The Siq trail, a lovely 2km splash up into the gorge, ending at a dramatic waterfall.”

Glorious. The splash conjured up images of wading (at most knee deep) through idyllic waters. Not exactly the honest truth of it. Sure the first few hundred metres were at most knee deep and the water only required you to walk at a slight angle to push through, but that description said nothing about navigating mini-(5-10metre)waterfalls often without guidance or ropes! So we all banded together, encouraging each other, pushing each other and guiding each other through the more difficult parts – at one point the water was so deep and current so strong that you couldn’t touch the bottom and had to pull yourself along using a frayed rope that was nailed into the side of the canyon. At this point we dumped our bags, cameras and all behind a rock – everything was getting soaked and Jordanian snaplock bags can only be trusted to keep things dry for so long.

Looking into the Wadi (before the hike began)

Looking back to the beginning...

It seems we weren’t the only ones to have an issue. We had just finished climbing what was the most challenging waterfall (probably a little over 11metres with water rushing everywhere) – about 45minutes – when three other hikers popped out of nowhere, obviously they caught up to us as we were navigating said challenging waterfall. So we stayed to help them up to. First we directed the young lady and then with three of us working as a human chain hoisted her over onto the rocks. Then we worked with her to get her husband and father to the same point. For the rest of the way we stuck together. They were really nice. The woman was German, her husband was Jordanian and her Dad and Mum were visiting them – although her Mum didn’t come on the hike.

Pottering along...

One of the kinder obstacles...

Finally we reached the end waterfall and promptly sat down in the middle of the water – not the brightest idea as it carried me about 10metres down before I managed to get afoot wedged on a rock. So we sat. And talked. And sang. And then a group of about 20 rounded the corner and we decided it was time to head off. So did our friends. We helped each other back down – her Dad was particularly concerned for us which was quite cute. Back at the beginning, totally drenched, with see-through clothing we sloshed our way back to the visitors centre where the chalet manager picked us up in his ute – not before I gave my email to the German lady so she could send me her photos of the waterfall (she had one of those old school waterproof cameras we used to take on school camps). Insha’allah we’ll get pics soon (first the camera is returning to Germany to be developed, then the photos will be emailed back and then hopefully on to me).

Back to the chalets and one final swim in the Dead Sea before showering and clambering back in the car for the drive back to Amman.

Wadi Mujib was amazing – better than Petra even! We are even planning to do the “medium” trail at Wadi Mujib in the coming Eid holidays (yes both Eids will fall in this term) *yay* But we’ll have to see – with the Aussie dollar as it is I can barely afford to feed myself let alone blow the equivalent of $180 Aussie a night on a chalet! Kheir insha’allah.

So that was the trip. Hope you enjoyed the read, sorry about the pics being everywhere – blogger has serious issues.

Much Love and Ma’a salama.

Photos of Kerak 03

Castle kitchen with cool shaft of light. We got a little excited and started taking uber-cheesy du'a shots!

Can you see the Dead Sea? from the top of the castle

Surrounding fields

No that is not me!

Castle walls...

Photos from Kerak 02

Castle walls - you know like 1/2 the modern city is built on top of the remains of the castle... Its like they woke up one day and said "so there's amazing historical value in this place...khalas lets just build on it"

No that is not me^

On the road again

Photos from Kerak 01

Eid Trip Part 02: Kerak

We awoke early, packed and wandered on down for breakfast. After a quick eat, we packed the car, paid the hotel (which we got that lovely discount on) and began out drive to Wadi Mujib via Kerak.

On the road..to where?

Initially I had intended to drive all the way back to the highway and go to Kerak that way, but on the way there we saw a sign that said Kerak so we turned off and began a little journey through a lot of open space, small and sleepy towns and empty roads. Eventually we got to a town (not sure of the name) and the sign to Kerak pointed to a road that was blocked off. So we drove around the concrete road blocks and continued for about 5 minutes until we realised that about 10 metres ahead of us there was no more road. So we back tracked and took a right before the concrete blocks. This led us back the way we’d came (albeit on a different road), so we stopped and (thank God for our Jordanian traveller) asked a man with more tatts than I’ve ever seen on one bloke in my life which way exactly was Kerak. He told us to take the next left and rejoin the road into the town, and then take the first right then first left. So we did – with the exception of taking the last left. We drove on a little, then did a u-turn and stopped in front of the sign that stood approximately 1x4metres but had only 2 readable LETTERS on it (the rest had faded or fallen off). There was some semblance of an arrow so we decided that we’d follow the man’s instructions after all. So we are driving along another empty road surrounded by desert which looks like it is going nowhere, then we see a couple of Bedu blokes looking after a truck so we stop again and ask for directs. They confirmed that we were on the right track, so we continued... Can you believe that we eventually rejoined the highway I had initially intended to take! ARRRGGGHH the signs in this country!

Scenery

So back on the highway we followed the signs, decided not to get petrol, watched the freight train go by and continued on. Finally we came upon a sign telling us to go left for Kerak, so I pulled a u-turn (only option, no left actually existed) and then came to a stop at the very next road. There was a sign. It said “Qadsiyyah, Husseinyah”. Being that it didn’t mention Kerak, we drove on for another 20mins until we realised that there wasn’t another left, and the signs on the other side of the highway were pointing to Kerak back the way we’d come. So after another u-turn, 20mins of driving and yet another u-turn we returned to that very sign and turned off the highway. It was an amazing sight, the desert was flat for kilometres (very unusual in Jordan) and the road looked like it disappeared somewhere off on the horizon. So we happened upon a small town (maybe 10 houses) and came to yet another sign. “DETOUR”. Not good. So we take the detour, driving along. We come to a right – there is no sign. We have two options: I know we have to drive across Jordan (west to east) to get to the Dead Sea but there’s no sign to tell me if this is the detour or not, so do I go right or continue to go straight. We took a vote. 3 for straight, one (me) for right. We were down to less than a ¼ tank of petrol and another detour could see us breakdown. So we went right.

In the end a good decision, we finally came to one of the towns mentioned on the original sign on the highway. We stopped at a small shop and asked the guy for directions – turns out we were going the right way. He also said there was a petrol station at the end of the road which was a relief. So after refuelling (and being starred at by far to many men) we drove and drove until we finally reached Kerak.

Interesting place – all the road were one way, which proved a problem when I did the Aussie thing and began driving the wrong way... We stopped at the Crusader Castle in the centre of Kerak. The castle was built in 1142CE by Crusader king Baldwin I of Jerusalem and passed through a succession of Crusader hands until it was laid siege to and taken by Salahdin’s armies in 1183. Interestingly more than ½ the castle has still not been explored because the passageways are to unsafe – but that doesn’t mean you can’t climb all over it!

An hour and a half, two Snickers bars and half a packet of Ulker biscuits later we were back on the road to Wadi Mujib, which is a nature reserve that sits on the Dead Sea.

Photos from Petra 04

Uneishu Tomb

The Great Temple

Beginning of the stairs on the way up to the High Place of Sacrifice

Looking back down the stairs mid-way

Still not at the top...

Sorry all the pics are out of order - blogger is giving me a massive headache getting them uploaded and published... Lets hope it works out better for the next two posts...

Photos from Petra 03

Urn TombThe front of the Theatre

Homes and tombs cut into the rock face
High Place of Sacrifice
Little kittens (not-so-friendly)

Photos from Petra 02

Another niche

The Siq
Tree growing out of the rocks
The Siq widening and narrowing
Remains of a goddess

Photos from Petra 01

Wandering down The Siq

Water channels running alongside The Siq

Niches along the walls of The Siq

Peeking out of The Siq onto the Treasury

The Treasury

Eid Trip Part One: Petra

So, I returned from our little Eid trip almost a week ago. This maybe a long post – be prepared!

So as with all trips, there needs to be some form of drama , initial hiccups – thankfully we got ours out of the way before we had even left the Hayy. The first problem was typically Arab. So I had booked the rental car to be picked up at 7am – thinking it highly unusual that an Arab company would be open at such an hour I decided to ring them the day before to make sure. Well, lets just say that it was a good thing I did. My first surprise was that I was meant to pick up the car from somewhere other than the place they told me to – obviously I was just supposed to “know” this somehow. The second was slightly more amusing. It went like this:

Me: I’ve made a reservation to pick up a car tomorrow morning at 7am.
Car Guy: Yes – I see that Ms X.
Me: I just wanted to confirm that everything is fine for me to come at 7 and collect the car?
Car Guy: Yes yes that is fine.
Me: So you will be open at 7?
Car Guy: Yes yes... *pause* No no no. We open at 8.
Me: So you open at 8 but it is fine for me to pick up the car at 7?
Car Guy: Yes. Wait. No. Come between 8 and 8:30.
Me: OK. *shakes head at Arab mode of operation*

So we turn up to pick up the car at 8am. We wait till 9.15. Finally the place opens. One of the girls with me asks the bloke why we were told to pick up the car between 8 and 8:30 and it is now 9:15 and they have only just opened. To which he responds “Jordanian time”. Well, don’t tell a pissed off Jordanian that is is because of Jordanian time that you are a slacker – she gave him a massive earful and al-hamdoulillah he got the message and we were driving out of the parking lot at 9:45.

Now, as some may have guessed, I was driving. Yes, people drive on the other side of the road over here. It was a little disconcerting. So we got off to a good start – firstly I attempted to drive up the wrong ramp to exit the car park, and then after reversing back down again I mounted the curb (fully) when going out the correct exit. Now in my defence, I must maintain that it was not my fault – it is very difficult to get used to being on the wrong side of a car.
So when we finally got out of the car park, we headed out of the city towards the airport to get on the highway.

Me driving - OMG two hands!

Desert Highway

First stop: Petra! So we drove along a mostly boring desert-surrounded highway and learnt one very important lesson. Jordanian road signs are not reliable. For example, sign would say, “take next right”, if you took said right you will end up in the middle of nowhere when the road mysteriously disappears from sight and you are left confronting sand. So bear in mind – wait a couple of rights before you bother. We stopped for petrol which was great – they still fill your car for you here – and I almost lost the rear-view mirror on the right-hand-side of the car – I swear the pylon moved! The only other issue we had was my problematic drifting. It seems I am unable to align myself with the middle of the road when driving here – I kept running us off the highway which was not all that funny for the girls in the back who were trying to sleep, or my front-seat buddy who thought she was going to die. We thought we were lost no less than 6 times, but al-hamdoulillah everything was fine and we arrived in Petra three and a bit hours later and found our hotel.

Beds...

Window... looks out onto...

Graveyard!!! YAY

So this is our hotel room – it was a budget, but the staff were incredibly friendly and we had a great view over a graveyard from our window! Only downside was that, as with most other budget hotels in Jordan, hot water is only available at certain times of the day. But it was nice, and we got a discount on the rooms when the owner realised that we were “real” muslims (whatever that means)!

Looking out over Petra City

So we dumped our stuff, prayed and headed out to do Petra by day – lets just say there was a LOT of walking involved!

Healthy snacks for hiking!

On entering the Petra tourist site, we payed an exorbitant amount for our entry fees (21JD = A$45 each) – crazy stuff – and purchased our tickets for Petra-by-night (12JD each).
Petra is amazing. Really there are not to many words to describe the insignificance on feels when walking through the Siq with the massive stone walls extending further than you can see, merging with the sky. Or the amazement one experiences when looking at centuries old carvings into unforgiving rock faces that have maintained the minutest detail despite the passing of the years. Subhan’allah. I let the pictures do the talking:

The Siq
Interestingly the Siq was created by tectonic shifts, not water erosion. It extends for about 1.2 km, starting at a (modern) bridge which was built over a dam that was built by the Nabataeans around 50AD. Along the walls there are many niches and carvings, some have been almost completely destroyed, others can still be made out. Amazingly, the water channels either side of the Siq – which were used to bring water into Petra – are almost fully intact! The Siq seemed to go on forever, continually widening, then shrinking again. At one point I turned around to speak to one of the girls, only to find myself face to face with one of my teachers from Amman – quite the unnerving experience! Anyway, eventually we arrived at the Treasury – but not until after we’d almost been killed by a number of horses, donkeys and camels rushing past at high speeds.

The Treasury
As the Siq opened up on the Treasury, we were faced with what is undoubtedly the most common image to spring to mind when one thinks of Petra. The facade of the rose-red Treasury has been preserved in the most amazing way. The smallest details remain to be seen. Although initially carved out of the sand stone to serve as a tomb for Aretas III (a Nabataean king), the Treasury gets its name from the story that the Egyptian Pharaoh hid his treasure in the urn on the second level of the tomb apparently.

The Street of Facades and Theatre
From the Treasury we headed down The Street of Facades until we reached the Theatre. The Street of Facades is filled with about 40 tombs and homes built by the Nabataeans. We were extremely interested in exploring them, but unfortunately in Petra, these days everywhere is used as a toilet by less than respectful tourists (and yes, there are porta-potties available for those who are desperate)! On several occasions I was wandering up to look at something, only to be confronted by a man who was zipping himself up – honestly it was disgusting! On to the Theatre, which, despite its distinctly Roman look, was originally built by the Nabataeans more than 2000 years ago.

The Royal Tombs
From the Theatre, Wadi Musa opens up and along the sides a are whole heap of ornately carved Royal Tombs. The first, which I only noticed because there was a rather sad (and cranky) looking dog nursing a broken leg coming in my direction, was Uneishu Tomb. It is dedicated to a minister of the Nabataean Queen Shafialt II (the wife of Aretas IV) and located almost directly opposite from the Theatre. The second, more obvious tomb was the Urn Tomb, which you climb several hundred uneven stairs to reach, but it is well worth it. The centre tomb is huge, and the Greek inscriptions at the back detail that the space was once used as a Byzantine Church in the mid-5th century.

The Colonnaded Street and Great Temple
After clambering down a rock-face, we rejoined the worn path through Wadi Musa, and wandered through the Colonnaded Street. Built in 106CE by the Romans, on top of an existing Nabataean walkway, the Colonnaded Street begins at the Nymphaeum – which is only marked by an incredibly old Pistachio tree – on the left are the remains of the market area – which was coincidently filled with Beduin women selling their wares – opposite the barely recognisable remains of the Royal Palace, and futher along the ruins of the Nabataean Baths. Eventually one happens upon the most remarkable set of even stairs – the entrance to the Great Temple. Built in the first century BCE, the Temple was in use until the late Byzantine Period.

Unfortunately for us, we did not have enough time to do the climb up to the Monastery (it took our friends a total of 6 hours up, they ran out of water and managed to hitch a ride back with the police). On the way back we decided to see how close to the High Place of Sacrifice we could get.

The High Place of Sacrifice
After hiking up about 800 uneven and steep stairs, we found ourselves at the High Place of Sacrifice. Highly unimpressive in and of itself – it is basically a large square hollow on top of the mountain with a sacrificial alter (not well preserved) and drainage points which were, apparently, to allow the blood of sacrificed animals to drain out and run back down the mountain. The views from the top though were amazing. On the way back down we found some not-so-friendly kittens attempting to sleep on the edge of the mountain path (verrry close to the edge).

It was getting late, so we high-tailed it out of Petra (it closes at sunset) and headed back to the hotel. Thankfully I didn’t get a fine for parking on the pavement and the car was still in one piece – although the pain in my legs from all the walking made driving near impossible.

Odd signage...

Once back at the hotel we prayed, then ran out to eat dinner at an interesting Pizza shop, whose sign told us that we could access the shop either by wandering into the middle of the road or walking into a wall (probably not as funny to those who did not experience it!). After a quick dinner of pizza (which was remarkably good) we headed back to Petra to do the night tour. This was AMAZING! The walk through the Siq and into the Treasury was lit by 100s of candles. I wandered off by myself for the walk down to the Treasury which was nice, easy to think. I believe I mostly was imagining myself as a camel (I know weird eh?) walking with my eyes closed and a strange sway to my walk. Beautiful! When I reached the Treasury I was promptly accosted by a Bedouin whose dialect was completely incomprehensible to me so I sat down to wait for the other girls and watched the stars. No sooner had I parked my bum, I saw a shooting star race across the sky above the Treasury! Anyway, the girls joined me, and our handy Jordanian sister explained that the Bedu bloke wanted us to sit at the back where there were tables. But we ended up sitting on the ground not quite able to figure out where exactly he wanted us to go. There were two beautiful performances – one on a lute-like instrument performed by a Bedouin who sang poetry to his tune about Allah swt, the Prophet saaws, the Qur’an, life, marriage death... the usual. And then a second performer who played an instrument not unlike a flute which was completely enchanting. He played a wedding song and a couple of others, but I can’t remember what they were for. The performances were outstanding and so was the atmosphere – with the exception of the tourists who insisted on taking photos with flash every millisecond and those who tought we’d all like to bask in the stink of their cigarette smoke. Anyway, after the performances, the same Bedouin bloke saw us sitting on the ground and came over. He began apologising profusely saying that we should have been sitting at the back at the tables because it was improper for his Muslim sisters to be sitting on the ground. He was such a nice guy, he practically had tears in his eyes when he found out that we weren’t Arabs, and were indeed Muslims raised in the west. Al-hamdoulillah it was a beautiful night.

We returned to the hotel and promptly fell asleep. No sooner had my head hit the pillow, but I heard my alarm going off to wake me for fajr prayer!