So one of the many advantages of living away is the opportunity to travel and explore places that you wouldn't normally go to. When we first decided to come to Oman, Jenny and I sat down with a map and picked the places that we'd like to visit. Now there's still lots to do an explore in Oman, but it's always good when you have the chance to get another stamp in your passport. The first place that jumped out at us was Jordan. It's close by (relatively), it came highly recommended and it wasn't on the Foreign Office's list of countries to avoid!
In desperate need of a wee break, we booked flights for September. A very good friend of ours who we met in Chicago, Barry, quit his job last year and has been globe trotting ever since (link to Barry's blog http://www.awolpaddy.com). He was currently travelling round the Middle East and we were able to tie down dates and meet up with him in Amman.
We arrived into Amman in the early hours of the morning and the first thing that we noticed was the temperature. It was considerably cooler than Oman, which doesn't seem to cool even at night. For me it was a refreshing change, but for Jenny the opportunity to moan that she hadn't even packed a jumper never mind a coat. It honestly wasn't that cold, but you know women!
From the little bit of research that we'd done, we understood that there wasn't actually a great deal to see and do in Amman. We booked into a little hotel on Rainbow Street (which is apparently the place to be) and spent a relaxing morning before Barry arrived. We had a great afternoon and evening reminiscing, but we'll keep the details for another day!
Mount Nebo
The second morning we set out for the Dead Sea. Our first stop on the way was Mount Nebo. This is an elevated ridge which according to the Bible is where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. It was a nice opportunity to take some photos, but other than that, just a nice view. After that we drove straight onto the Dead Sea (see separate post).
After a nice relaxing evening, we headed on South towards Petra, making a couple of short stops along the way.
Dana Nature Reserve
The Dana Reserve is Jordan's largest nature reserve. The road to Petra gives spectacular views of the Reserve from an elevation of about 1,500m so we just stopped at the top for some photos.
Shobak Castle
Our driver was very keen to stop at Shobak castle. Coming from both the North and South of Ireland we've seen our fair share of castles. We humoured him with a quick walk around, but at the end of the day it was really just a lot of old stones. We were more interested in the old Citroen outside which had been converted into a bedroom for someone.
Little Petra
Just a short drive away from Petra itself is a small village which is commonly known as Little Petra. Here buildings have also been carved into the sandstone, but the rock is a lot paler in colour.
Cave Bar
We booked into the Petra Guest House as it was really close to the entrance to Petra - handy for the early start to our trip. One of the highlights of the hotel was the Cave Bar - it was a bar in a cave (a 2,000 year old tomb actually)
Mount Nebo
The second morning we set out for the Dead Sea. Our first stop on the way was Mount Nebo. This is an elevated ridge which according to the Bible is where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. It was a nice opportunity to take some photos, but other than that, just a nice view. After that we drove straight onto the Dead Sea (see separate post).
After a nice relaxing evening, we headed on South towards Petra, making a couple of short stops along the way.
Dana Nature Reserve
The Dana Reserve is Jordan's largest nature reserve. The road to Petra gives spectacular views of the Reserve from an elevation of about 1,500m so we just stopped at the top for some photos.
Shobak Castle
Our driver was very keen to stop at Shobak castle. Coming from both the North and South of Ireland we've seen our fair share of castles. We humoured him with a quick walk around, but at the end of the day it was really just a lot of old stones. We were more interested in the old Citroen outside which had been converted into a bedroom for someone.
Little Petra
Just a short drive away from Petra itself is a small village which is commonly known as Little Petra. Here buildings have also been carved into the sandstone, but the rock is a lot paler in colour.
Cave Bar
We booked into the Petra Guest House as it was really close to the entrance to Petra - handy for the early start to our trip. One of the highlights of the hotel was the Cave Bar - it was a bar in a cave (a 2,000 year old tomb actually)
