4 August 2008: You can’t go to Jordan without visiting the majestic and ancient city of Petra.

Petra is a famous city carved out of stone, hidden by towering sandstone mountains in Jordan. This historical site was unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced to the West by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Petra was built as a capital city by the Nabateans around 100 BC.

It was famously described as “a rose-red city half as old as time” in a prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon.

We got the same taxi driver to take us to Petra for 60 Jordanian dinars (~US$85). Each way took around 4-5 hours. That day must be one of the hottest days during our round-the-world trip.

In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.

 Petra is spread over a vast land area, and is full of mysterious charm.

 Behind are ancient tombs carved into stone

 The Siq

This impressive entrance leads through a dark, narrow gorge (in places only 3–4 m wide) called the Siq (”the shaft”).

It was formed naturally from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa.

 The steep chasm blocks out the sun

The Siq leads to the treasure of Petra - Al Khazneh (popularly known as “the Treasury”), carved into the sandstone cliff. This is the most elaborate ruin in Petra. Its original purpose and date of construction remain elusive.

Imagine the work, sweat and blood that went into carving this building.

Inside the Treasury - Some features still look crisp and well-preserved.

 Another building in Petra

You could walk around or go around on camels, horses or donkeys. We chose to walk on foot even though we were utterly exhausted and dehydrated.

 The Theatre

It was so hot (~46 deg C) that we couldn’t finish exploring the whole complex.

2 August 2008: One of the places we really liked in Jordan was the Dead Sea! Where else could you float automatically but there? You must experience this place at least once in your life.

The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest places on earth. Its surface and shores are 422 m below sea level - the lowest point on the Earth’s surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.

We hired the same taxi driver who drove us to Jerash to take us to the Dead Sea for 40 Jordanian dinars (~US$57). We set off very early in the morning around 7am so that we would be back before the sun became unbearable. To use the beach, we had to pay admission fees, which were around 7JD per person. The “changing rooms” were filthy and disgusting; there was pee and shit on the floor in both the male and female toilets.

 Early morning in the Dead Sea. Across it is Israel.

The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges. There are no outlet streams.

Due to the high salinity of the water, you can’t sink. You automatically float!

See the Dead Sea before it disappears. In recent decades, the Dead Sea has been rapidly shrinking because of diversion of incoming water from the Jordan River to the north, and the scarce rainfall doesn’t help matters.

 A salt crystal stone

 We had a fun time floating around!

The water was very warm, and felt oily.

Any small cuts will hurt a lot in this sea due to its high salt content. Also make sure you don’t get any water in your eyes.

We saw some Arabic females dipping their feet into the water but because of their traditional dress attire, they couldn’t enjoy the Dead Sea to the full.

We lathered the luxuriant mud all over our bodies and faces. 

The mud in the Dead Sea was supposedly used by ancient famous people thousands of years ago, such as Cleopatra, Herod the Great, and Roman emperors etc. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets.

Salt crystal deposits are found on the rocks and boulders.

The Dead Sea is 8.6 times as salty as the ocean.

We hope to go back there again.

1 August 2008: We paid 30 Jordanian dinars (~US$42) to a taxi driver to drive us to the well-preserved ancient city of Jerash, 48 km north of Amman.

Jerash is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River.

The big dampener was the hot weather. It was at least 45 deg C that day! Because of the unbearable heat, we didn’t walk to as many places in Jerash as we had wanted to. The heat just sapped all the energy from us.

Here’s a bit of history about Jerash:

In the 3rd century BC, during the Hellenistic era, Jerash became a member of the Decapolis, a federation of Greek cities. It was then known as Gerasa.

Gerasa and other Decapolis cities were conquered by Pompey in 63 BC, and was part of the Roman province of Syria, during which it prospered from its position on the incense and spice trade route.

This is one section of the spacious Oval Plaza. Surrounded by a colonnade of 1st-century columns, it had two altars in the middle that were replaced with a fountain in the 7th century AD.

From the Oval Plaza, a staircase leads up to the sacred Temple of Zeus (162 AD).

The main Roman road, the Cardo Maximus.

Look at the ground

It is still paved with its original stones and bears the ruts of chariot wheels. As part of a remodeling of the street around 170 AD, the original columns were replaced with a more decorative Corinthian colonnade.

The Cardo Maximus was lined with a broad sidewalk and shops and an underground sewage system ran the full length of the street, into which rainwater was channeled through holes on the sides of the street.

A market place

Sitting on what used to be a fountain

The gateway to the 2nd century Roman Temple Of Dionysus, which was rebuilt as a Byzantine church in the 4th century. It is now known as the “Cathedral“.

 The Temple of Artemis (150 AD)

 The large Roman theater of Jerash

Arch of Hadrian

This monumental gateway spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, Greece, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus. This arch was probably built to celebrate the arrival of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him for his many benefactions to the city.

31 July 2008: Amman has a mix of the modern and the ancient. Taxis in Amman are modern compared to Egypt’s 30-40-year-old Ladas. Amman even has a few shopping centers, with Mecca Mall being the largest and newest shopping mall in Amman.

When we stepped into Mecca Mall, the feeling was strange, after not being in a mall for quite some time. It was a bit of a reverse culture shock.

Mecca Mall’s foodcourt 

Jordanians don’t really queue up; they subtly push in line. Often those near the rear of a line will try to sidle forwards and pass those in front of them. We had to jostle for service at food stalls.

People smoke everywhere, in shopping centers, in the streets, in hotels, restaurants, taxis. Almost every taxi driver would smoke even while we were inside. That’s one downside of being in Jordan (like Egypt).

No one speaks English here. Most of the hotel staff can’t communicate in English, almost all taxi drivers don’t understand English. We had to get someone at the hotel reception to write in Arabic on a piece of paper the name of the places we want to go, and then showed them to the taxi driver. Unlike in Egypt, the taxis in Amman are metered, so we didn’t have to bargain.

 The Temple Of Hercules on the Citadel in Amman

Two temples were apparently built on the Citadel during the 2nd century A.D., with no other structures. The Temple of Hercules was built on the southern end during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (169-80). The columns were 33 ft tall and were originally part of a six-columned podium. The standing columns were re-erected by the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman.

We also visited the Jordan Archeological Museum, which is a few steps away from the Temple of Hercules. This small museum is a must-visit! Despite its size, it houses an excellent collection of antiquities ranging from prehistoric times to the 15th century. There is even an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 Ancient items from the Roman times

 Roman coins

A female skull found in a south Jordan valley, dating back to the Neolithic Age (New Stone Age, beginning about 9500 BC in the Middle East).

 Skeleton of a child

A truly ancient figure found in ‘Ain Ghazal - a Neolithic site located in North-Eastern Jordan, on the outskirts of Amman. The site dates as far back as 7250 BC, and was inhabited until 5000 BC. At 15 hectares, ‘Ain Ghazal ranks as one of the largest known prehistoric settlements in the Near East.

This could be 10,000 years old!

These are some of the oldest human-form statues of large size ever found in the Near East. The statues were discovered in 1984 at the prehistoric site of ‘Ain Ghazal.

 The room containing the famous Dead Sea Scrolls

 A Dead Sea Scroll

  Another Dead Sea Scroll

We didn’t know the Dead Sea Scrolls also come in the metallic form.

 The Temple of Hercules

 On the highest hill in Amman

 On the Citadel

 Overlooking the Roman Theater

Al-Qaser (the Palace) dates back to the Islamic Umayyad period around 720 AD. Its exact function is unknown, but the building includes a monumental gateway, cruciform audience hall and four vaulted chambers.

The Byzantine Basilica Church 

 The white city of Amman, with the Jordanian flag in the background

 Residential buildings

 While in Jordan, we bought the only English newspaper called The Jordan Times.

 Picture of the Jordanian King

 Downtown Amman