After my last post we ended up deciding to take the bus to Madaba, a town about 30 km south of Amman which seemed like a good base for the area. We ended up really liking it there. It is small enough that we (he) figured our way around pretty quickly but big enough to spend a couple afternoons poking around.

Our first evening there we visited the site where John the Baptist was supposedly beheaded. There is now a church built over the site and we happened to arrive during Vespers and decided to stay for the subsequent Sunday Mass. While we didn’t understand any of it we both were touched by the beauty of the church and the acoustics. They didn’t mumble along in the hymns like most of us do at home; everyone was full on belting it out and it was beautiful. After the mass we asked to climb up into the bell tower and were rewarded with a great panoramic view of the city and the desert beyond at sunset.

We ended up at a small upstairs restaurant and soon found ourselves drinking local beer, sharing shisha (hookah/sweet tobacco water pipe) and birthday cake, and dancing with the other families there. It was a fun evening and just what I needed to kick back and embrace being where I am.

I want to take a minute to talk generally about the people here. With the exception of two grumpy cab drivers and some aggressive street kids, the Jordanians have been probably the most kind and welcoming people I have met. While we have gotten some stares walking down the street and maybe a couple dirty looks, anyone that we have directly interacted with consistently say two things: “You are welcome to Jordan,” and “We love Americans.” Then if they speak english many will subsequently offer us a ride or their phone number in case we need anything, and offer advice on where to go and what to see. I have not felt threatened at all, wether that is unique to Jordan or because I am with Jonathan I don’t know; it’s probably a combination of things but it has been extremely relaxing and enjoyable here.

The next day we hired a taxi for the afternoon through our hotel. Our first stop was Mt. Nebo, from where Moses first saw the Holy Land and supposedly was also buried.

The next stop was Bethany, which according to the Gospel of John is where Saint John the Baptist baptized Jesus. The historical site itself was a bit of a racket; we had to pay for a bus to take us from the ticket booth down the parh, and had to pay extra because we were non-Arab (the reason given was to pay for our English audio guide which we didn’t use since the tour guide spoke English the whole time). Because the River Jordan is a boundary between Jordan and Israel it is considered a military zone so we were required to stay with the guide. We managed to make a joke about it since we both dislike guided tours, and enjoyed being able to dip our feet in the River Jordan, within arms distance from others doing the same thing across the ‘border’ as fully armed soldiers looked on. We were told the river used to be 30+ meters wide but it is now only about 3 as a result of Syria and Israel harnessing the water for agriculture and other uses. The geopolitics here are extremely complicated and I have trouble keeping up as Jonathan explains what he knows and has experienced. It is fascinating.

After Bethany we headed to the Dead Sea. The taxi driver informed us he was taking us to the Holiday Inn, where we could pay ~20 USD to swim on their clean beach and use the showers and pools. Being tired of paying for every experience and site, we just had him pull over at a car park off the highway and walked down to the water ourselves. There was no one around so we got in and floated around for a few minutes. And let me tell you it was the most bizarre and amazing feeling!! The water is so salty that it feels oily and we were SO BUOYANT! I don’t think we could have submerge ourselves if we tried and literally could have reclined and read the newspaper without fear of getting our hair wet.

Eventually another family parked and walked down to the water and ended up chatting with us from a respectful distance; the father lived in Ohio for years and has children in the States, and also has a second wife here in Jordan. We asked him why the Sea was so salty and he replied, “Because it is cursed,” and then related the story of Sodom, the damned city, and his stance on homosexuality. Very interesting from an American college educated man!

Floating in the Sea wasn’t actually very refreshing since you don’t want to get your face or hair wet, so we got out after a bit and started the very hot walk back up the hill. First one and then one more and then two more street kids come over and walked next to us, all holding sticks (non aggressively) and repeating, “Hello. How are you. Dinare?” Dinare is the currency here. It wasn’t threatening exactly but I think shook both of us up a bit. We climbed into our waiting taxi without interference and let the driver shoo them away and headed back to Madaba for much needed showers. I didn’t wash my shirt until the next day and it is stained in white streaks from the salt.

Then came the big day: Petra!! We opted to hire a cab instead of taking the 7 hour bus trip back to Amman and then south, and arrived about mid-day. I didn’t realize how expensive it was to get in; 50 Jordanian Dinare for a one day pass, 55 JD (about $75) for a two-day, and 90 JD if we weren’t spending the night in Jordan! We bought two-day passes and started walking down the entrance canyon, past many offers for horse, donkey, carriage, and camel rides.

The entrance walk was one of the most impressive parts of the experience. The Canyon is called As-Siq and is maybe a kilometer long, with 80 meter high walls. Walking along and seeing the first bits of evidence of civilization peek out was exciting and impressive: dual water troughs to bring water in, niches for busts of kings, stairs that used to go somewhere but now end in sheer drops, etc. Then you can make out the famous treasury in front of you, and then the canyon opens up in a cacophony of camels and tourists.

We took some photos at this famous site and then started wandering up a path less traveled to a place called “The High Place of Sacrifice.” From there we climbed and scrambled down what initially looked like a path to more buildings below, and ended up blazing our own way. On the last big drop we saw a bedouin riding towards us from below, on his donkey with a flock of goats. He started waving us away, saying “No, not that way!” Jonathan, thinking he was just trying to keep us away from his area, replied that this was the only way, we couldn’t go back, which was true. Eventually we worked out that he was directing us just 15 ft further along the rock face the a seam that we could more easily clamber down. It is amazing how many people here speak english! Safely on the valley floor again, we were invited into a couple bedouin homes as we made our way back to the main trail.

After stopping at a cave bar for a quick cold beer and salad, we went to the Little Petra Bedouin Camp where we would sleep in tents. It turned not to be a real bedouin camp and more like a campground, but nevertheless the tents were quaint, the staff friendly, the location beautiful, and the dinner (a one-pot dish of rice vegetables and chicken) delicious. The generator was shut off at 11 and we had a magnificent view of the stars.

Yesterday we utilized our two day pass and went back to Petra, but this time we hiked in the back way, aiming for a famous monastery but we didn’t end up making it that far. We looked in some of the impressive tombs and walked around the rest of the main complex before returning to the main entrance and catching a cab back to Madaba.

Petra was awe-inspiring and beautiful, and it reminded me a lot of the ancient sandstone tombs and churches that I explored in the Capadoccia region of Turkey years ago. This was my first Wonder of the New World (Jonathan’s fifth), and I can agree that it deserves that title.