Road Trip Highlights (Day Two)

I was so tired and sore from Day One that I spent most of Day Two sitting on my hotel room couch. In the late afternoon, I ventured out to get some tasty schwarma, go grocery shopping, and return the rental car. It wasn't Petra, and it wasn't the Dead Sea, but it was awesome.

Road Trip Highlights (Day One)

The call to prayer woke me at 4:30 a.m. this morning (open hotel room window near a mosque in a small town) and I couldn't get back to sleep. This turned out to be a good thing, because I was waiting at the ticket counter for the 6:00 a.m. opening time and I was the first visitor in the gate.

But I am really, REALLY tired, so please forgive me for not posting much at this time. I'll fill in the details later.

There were only three pitifully slow tourists behind me, and I kept well ahead. As I walked through the siq to reach the Treasury, Petra's most famous attraction and the focal point of the ruins, I couldn't see anyone around me and the only noises I heard were mine. I felt completely alone.

Walking through the siq to see the Treasury was unbelievable. See a video posted here.

I was the very first person to reach the Treasury, which meant that I had an incredibly rare and much-coveted experience. I had all of Petra all to myself -- for about 5 minutes. Even the Bedouins were still asleep.


The Treasury was just overwhelming.


I hiked up to the top of a hill to look over the valley, with the help of this awesome donkey and my Bedouin guide. When the donkey slipped and I got nervous, the guide said, "Do not worry. You are with the Bedouins!" It was very reassuring.

I saw everything I wanted, took a million pictures (I'm in the process of uploading), and was also the first tourist out of the park in the mid-morning.

I jumped into my car and drove into the mountains, up the King's Highway, and then over to the Dead Sea.

Late in the afternoon, I bought a day pass to one of the fancy beach resorts and used their beach to access the Dead Sea and some fresh-water showers. There was plenty of Dead Sea mud for all.


Next, my mighty Nissan Sentra climbed to the top of Mount Nebo, the place where God showed the Promised Land to Moses just before his death. I could see Israel across the Dead Sea, but it was not clear enough to see Jerusalem or any of the other sights that are visible on very clear days.

Finally, I drove back to Amman, got some dinner, went up to my hotel room, and collapsed on the couch.

Petra By Night

I arrived just in time for a Petra By Night tour. The park usually closes at 6:00, but they re-open it three nights a week for a special tour of Petra ... at night.

Before the tour started, I enjoyed a refreshing drink at the Cave, the world's oldest bar at 2,000 years old. I was sad that the bar did not have cave-like furniture. I expected the bathroom walls to have tons of historic grafiti, but, alas, there were no bathrooms. If it wasn't in a remote corner of Jordan, in the middle of a tourist trap, and ridiculously overpriced, I would go all the time.

The tour started with a "gather round" lecture by the group leader. He asked us to be silent on the walk into the site, to walk single-file, and to wait until after the Bedouin music concert and lecture before taking pictures. "I do not mind if married people want to walk together or hold hands, and we wish the single people the best of luck." He also cautioned us to keep track of our possessions. "All the time people leave things at the site: cameras, mobile phones, children,
wives ..."

We walked single-file into the site and through the siq, a long mountain corridor, to the Treasury, Petra's most famous and glorious monument. The path was lit by candles in paper bags. The light was strong enough for us to see the path, but soft enough to imagine what it would be like to travel this path by candle or torch, as people did long ago.

(In case you are wondering, these are not my photos -- my point-and-shoot was completely useless in this setting.)

Finally, we arrived at the Treasury. The courtyard in front of it was lit by thousands of candles. The effect was just amazing. The guides arranged us in neat rows around the courtyard, and we sat on the ground, staring up at the Treasury with our mouths hanging open.

I laid down, and looked up at both the Treasury and the brilliant, clear, starry sky.


It was perfectly still and tranquil until we heard camels moaning from far in the distance. Sigh.

Tomorrow, I'm going to check it out in the daylight. I'm hoping I can overcome a bad case of ruin-itis (diminishing returns on enjoyment of ruins). I'm also hoping I can drag myself out of bed for the 6:00 a.m. opening time and avoid the scorching mid-day heat.

On the Road

I love to travel, and break away from my familiar surroundings and routines, but I've hit a point in the trip where the excitement of the novelty has worn off, and I just want things to be simple and hassle-free. But when you're away from home, and in a foreign country where you don't speak the language and don't know how to operate the kitchen equipment, hassle is inevitable.

I can't just go somewhere; I have to wait for a bus and plan around schedules. I can't just walk upstairs to my dwelling; I have to stop by the desk, ask for the key, make pleasantries, etc. I can't just get in a car and go somewhere; I have to flag a taxi and give the driver directions. I can't just cook breakfast; my face gets burned. And since then, I can't just walk outside; I have to put on sunscreen, a scarf, a hat, and sunglasses.

This is why I was so incredibly excited about the prospect of driving myself around Jordan this weekend. I get to be in control of where I go, when I go, what music is playing, when I stop, and how fast the vehicle goes around hairpin turns. There's no language barrier, no aggrivation, just me in control. And freedom. Me in control of my freedom, if that makes any sense.

I'm also excited to have the car because it means I can be super-efficient in my sightseeing. I don't have to wait for buses and taxis -- if I'm done after 10 minutes at Mount Nebo, I can get in the car and leave. I'll need this flexibility to hit all of Jordan's major sightseeing attractions in two days. (I'm finishing work on Wednesday and likely leaving Jordan on Thursday.)

Getting the car was difficult (not many cars left when we started looking), but well worth it once I got going. I had no problem getting out of Amman -- after weeks of taking taxis and cars around the city, I knew exactly where to go to find the roads leading out of town. All signs for the tourist destinations were clearly marked in both English and Arabic, and there were lots of helpful signs along the route that led me right to Petra. I left Amman at 4:30 and arrived in Petra by 7:30.

Off for the Weekend

Sorry I haven't posted much in the last few days. I disconnected the Internet at the hotel (applying the savings to my burn-related expenditures and eliminating incentives to stay inside my hotel room), so I can only get on the Internet at work, where I'm supposed to be ... you, know, working.

I'm renting a car and spending the weekend driving around Jordan, hoping to see as much of the major tourist spots as I can: Petra, the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, Madaba, Jerash, and the King's Highway. I won't have e-mail or Internet access, but I will have my cell phone.

Grrr

I am SO ready to get into a car this weekend and not have to deal with anyone else for hours at a time and go back to living my life as I am used to it for a little while.

I love to travel, but I hate that I'm always at the mercy of other people. I can't just go somewhere; I have to wait for a bus and plan around schedules. I can't just walk upstairs to my dwelling; I have to stop by the desk, ask for the key, make pleasantries, etc. I can't just get in a car and go somewhere; I have to flag a taxi and give the driver directions. I can't just cook breakfast; my face gets burned. And since then, I can't just walk outside; I have to put on sunscreen, a scarf, a hat, and sunglasses.

At the moment, I'm entirely at the mercy of the (incredibly sweet and wonderful) L, who is in the process of arranging my car rental for the weekend. Yester

My New Hat

I bought a decent hat earlier this week. Beige. Bucket. Makes me look like a tourist who wants to protect her face from the sun. Not as hideous as a broad-brimmed straw hat, but not cute and not a hat I want my grandchildren to see me in when I show them my Petra pictures.

Thus, I continued the search for the perfect hat. I define "perfection" (with respect to hats) as the one worn by Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Basic black, broad-brimmed, elegant with a classic shape.

Ideally, my hat would protect my face from the sun AND make me look just like Audrey Hepburn. But if such magic was possible, I would just be healed and not have to wear a hat at all. It does not do to dwell on dreams; we must work with what we have.

After work, I jumped in a cab to the enormous Mecca Mall, in search of said hat. The mall was HUGE -- every time I turned a corner or walked down a corridor, there was more mall. The stores were mostly local and very inexpensive (lots of 50% off sales in progress).

I did not find perfection, but I did find a hat I like an awful lot. Basic black, broad-brimmed, with a pretty nice shape for a bucket hat. I think it's pretty cute, and I feel pretty cute when I wear it. I also feel protected from the sun, which is the most important thing.

Look what I found!

Kunafa! A sinfully delicious cheesy, syrupy dessert that Ariel introduced me to in Turkey (where it's called kunefe). More here.

I hung out with E on her roof last night (it's shaded!), and us and some of her roomies took a long walk down the steep hill to Habibah, one of Amman's most popular kunafa places. Everytime I've walked by, the tiny shop and the alley it spills onto are packed. My guidebook likens the waiting crowds to junkies waiting for a fix, and that seems pretty accurate. Now that I've had the stuff, I understand why.

HRH Princess Dina

I'm interviewing her tomorrow! I am told that she's very down-to-earth. She's also amazing.

Progress Report: 48 Hours

I'm still fine. Recovering. Healing. Aloe vera-ing and lip-balming constantly. The details are boring. This will be the last post on this topic.