Our flight on Royal Jordanian Air proved uneventful, and, by what we could tell from the landmarks viewed from the cabin, took us on a somewhat indirect course that avoided Israeli airspace, over the South Sinai peninsula. Those of our party on the right side of the aircraft viewed the two northern fingers of the Red Sea, which border this terrestrial triangle and separate the continents.
Upon landing we found Jordan to be cool and comparatively lush, with much small shrubbery and trees. Our drive from the airport to our hotel in Petra brought us through a good deal of this countryside, which consisted primarily of rolling rocky hills covered with shrubs and punctuated by rocky outcroppings for the majority of our journey, before becoming more mountainous and foresty nearer our destination. Much of the former land looks to be farmed at some time of the year, despite being quite dusty for our drive.
The towns and small cities we passed through mostly resembled those we saw in Egypt but for their smaller density and slightly increased cleanliness. We even saw more of the unfinished buildings which I had previously taken to be an Egyptian phenomenon, with incomplete floors and exposed clusters of rebar. The motivation behind this design yet remains unclear, but I suspect structures may be left this way to facilitate the addition of more floors. The dry climate here probably puts less value on a complete roof than we are used to, making them a luxury.
Driving in Jordan is nothing like Egypt, and we found no problem negotiating the streets apart from the occasional unmarked speed hump which interrupted our smooth path. Street signs are fortunately bilingual (as are most of the natives) and the route to Petra was further accentuated by periodic signs such that we could have nearly found our way with no map. Our hotel is situated fortunately near to this historic site so that we found it by following the signs to the latter, for the modern city of Petra (Wadi Musa) is a regular labyrinth of small streets and alleys which could baffle even Theseus.
Arriving earlier than expected, we stopped for lunch before checking in to our hotel, which we mostly enjoyed in a small restaurant a ways up the road (found by venturing away from the ancient city and the more expensive eateries there). Here we got Jordanian dishes reminiscent of those in Egypt and likewise pretty good. The beer situation on the other hand proved to be poor, and against our better judgement we tried a local non alcoholic brew. This proved to be so bad (with the smell and taste of a camel) that we returned the two unopened cans and got water instead.
We were surprised by a slight drizzle when we checked in to our hotel and then by a more regular rain later, which according to a local shopkeeper is not unusual (they even get snow here occasionally, so much for my theory about no roofs). Rain or no rain we will visit the buried city today (Tuesday) unless the park is closed due to flash flooding. At any rate Wednesday should bring clear skies and if needed another visit to this ancient wonder.
-Theodore
Off to Amman
A sliver of the Red Sea
Driving in Jordan is much more civilized than in Egypt, but then again we did not experience the hectic traffic of any big cities.
Particularly lush airport grounds
A mosque on the way to Petra
More unfinished buildings
The rolling hills of Jordan
Trees in the more mountainous countryside
Looking down into the valley leading to the entrance to the buried city. Our hotel is one of the buildings near the center right of the frame. The entrance to Petra is at the end of the road pictured.
Mummy and Tut 1 with the mountainside in the background. The looming clouds forshadow some rain.
Happy travelers (until they taste the beer)
When I was in a village in Tanzania, they offered us a local brew made with honey, and there were a whole bunch of dead bees floating in it. It was pretty horrible.. Got to be careful with these foreign brews.
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