We have just spent the most amazing weekend in Jordan. With only two days, our weekend was filled with sight-seeing around Wadi Rum with our Bedouin hosts and rediscovering the ancient city of Petra for ourselves.
Highlights from Wadi Rum include:
Visiting Nabataean Ruins
Camel ride through the desert
The camels took us through Rum Village and into the desert. We trudged through the sand, sometimes speeding up to a trot. The camels had long, fluffy eyelashes and cute smiles.
 |
| My camel friend. |
4 Wheel-Driving up and down giant dunes (and around the desert)
Our Toyota pickup was our main form of transportation across the desert. This study vehicle brought us up and down sandy and rocky hills. Our guide enjoyed surprising us with quick turns and drops and also impressed us with the skill in which he maneuvered down steep rocky terrain.
Sand surfing down giant dunes
Imagine a snowboard with only 2 straps to insert your sneakers into. The climb up the dune is grueling because you sink into the flowy, hot sand. Boarding down, you pick up some speed, but reach terminal velocity relatively quickly. Others straddled the board and used it like a sled. Afterwards, we all poured sand out of our sneakers.
 |
I'm the tiny speck that surfing down.
|
Jumping into sand from rocky ledges
As we walked through the sand, it flowed as if it were liquid. But jumping into the sand was unlike jumping into water. We took turns running along the rock ledge and jumping into the sand. We always landed with a thud, followed by peals of laughter.
 |
| Jumping into the sand. |
Climbing up different rock formations to amazing desert views.
Our guide took us to different rock formations, like a mushroom rock, a siq, and rock bridges. Climbing up these rocks was surprisingly easy because the desert wind had etched notches into the rocks, giving us somewhere to grip. The view of the desert and mountainous terrain was breathtaking. Not much green in sight, but the warmer color scheme was beautiful nonetheless.
Watching the sunset (and later the rise of the full moon).
We made it back to camp to enjoy a cup of tea before hiking up a bit to watch the sunset.
 |
| Sunset behind Wadi Rum mountains |
Traditional home-cooked meal and tea
Our Bedouin host (or rather his wife) made us a wonderful meal of chicken atop rice, fresh hummus and pita and potato stew. The delicious food had us going back for seconds and thirds.
Listening to Bedouin music and singing along
After dinner, we rested on the carpet outside, watching as the stars (and Venus) came out. Our hosts pulled out a rebab (stringed instrument, kind of reminds me of a banjo in shape) and sang worship songs for us. He taught us some lyrics so that we could sing along. He then asked us to share a song of our own. The only song that our tired heads were able to think of was...
twinkle twinkle little star.
Camping under shooting stars in the Bedouin tents
Once our hosts had gone to bed, we walked out of camp to a flat rock and star gazed. The Perseids are peaking next week, so we were hoping to catch some of the shooting stars. Others saw several, but I missed them. I guess I don't have a very good attention span.
 |
| Missed shooting stars, but saw a beautiful full moon. |
Highlights from Petra include:
Driving along King's Highway
King's Highway was an important trade route in ancient Middle East. It is now a scenic, two-lane highway that connects Aqaba to Petra. The cool breeze made the car ride enjoyable, and we stopped along the way to take in views of low-hanging clouds over the Jordan/Israel border and later on, of Petra.
Reenacting Indiana Jones's encounter with the treasury
A very famous scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade involves Indiana Jones riding up to the Treasury from the Siq on horseback. Without horses or a soundtrack, we sang the theme song as we approached the Treasury on our imaginary horses. Needless to say, we attracted a few stares.
Check out a short video montage of some clips that I took. Skip to 52 seconds for the Treasury.
Watching a sand artist create images with colorful sand
While in Wadi Rum, we were able to appreciate the beautiful burnt red, yellow, and black tones in the sand. In Petra, we also saw beautiful purples, oranges, and blues in the rocks. These beautifully colored sands are used to make sand art, where images are skillfully set in sand in glass containers. We walked by the workshop of a sand artist, and he showed us how he formed camels and mountains in the sand.
Climbing up to the royal tombs
Donkey-ride up to the Monastery and seeing colorful rocks along the way
The 900 step trek up to the Monastery was easier atop a donkey. Well, in my case, it was atop a mule, name Shakira. I struggled to balance atop my mule, since I had no stirrups. Going up was scary, especially since the steps were sometimes slippery. But from the top, we had an amazing bird's eye view stretching far into the distance.
Drinking tea atop the mountain with the Bedouins
Our donkey guides invited us to tea atop the mountain. Here, we were able to experience the view and learn about the lifestyle of those who still dwell in Petra. We watched as kindle was gathered and set afire. Tea and sugar (a full cup of it) was poured in a black kettle, and set in the fire. We drank from makeshift cups cut from water bottles. And we learned a bit about the lives of our new friends.
Highlights from Eilat
We passed from Israel into Jordan from the South. Starting in Haifa, we took the midnight bus down to Eilot and crossed the border when it opened at 8am. Between our 5am arrival in Eilat and our 8am border crossing, we lounged by the beach. On our trip back, we had more time to explore the tourist town.
Boardwalk
Eilat is a resort town, known for its scuba-diving and beaches. The pebbly beaches were not as impressive as the ones in other Israeli cities, but there was a cute boardwalk that was hopping by Saturday evening. There were small shops, as well as higher end shops. Our favorite was the slushie stands with over 20 flavors that we could mix for only 5 NIS.
Israeli Folk Dancing
At the start of the boardwalk, there was a circle of people dancing. I had always heard of Israeli folk dancing, but had never seen it in action. It was lively and everyone looked like they were having a great time. I half wanted to join in, but I was tired from our weekend adventures.
Summer of Seas
As of this weekend, I've visited
