Wadi Rum and more, October 11-14, 2025

What's a Wadi Rum, you ask?  Some fancy drink? No, it's a vast, protected valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia.  Part of our tour package included a night in a luxury tent at Memories Aicha Camp out in the middle of the red rock desert.  We were game.

First we had to get there from Petra.  Along the way, we paused at one of these big "rest houses" per usual, so we could use the bathroom (you had to pay, yes, pay to pee! And in Turkey and Egypt).  Of course, you have to traipse through the gift shop where they're sure you'll stop and buy ... the salespeople follow you.  Very tiresome.  Oh look, we bought something!

The rest stop had a sign out front that read,

"Best View," and in this, they were correct, above!

We'd just asked if Jordan used trains, when -- lo and behold -- our driver stopped at the Hejaz Railway station not far from Wadi Rum which features a historic, abandoned steam locomotive you see with Jimmy, above. The station now is merely a photo op.  In this area films like "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Martian" were filmed. Wadi Rum desert is a great place for filmmakers, with its soft sand dunes and craggy rock piles combined with an endless red palette.

Whoa, we finally made it to our site -- which does look otherworldly -- and were taken to our tent.  Ours is like the pointy ones, above.  In fact, I took this pic from outside our door.  Inside, the tent was beginning to show some age (like, who isn't?), but it was roomy, plush and cozy.  Full bathroom with hot 'n cold.  We spotted quite a few of these camps out here.

Ahhh, look at the babe on the patterned chaise lounge.  Pretty comfy, too.  The dining room, upper right was a huge bubble and the food was good.  At bottom is a lounge-bar carved into rock where you can get drinks or sandwiches between breakfast and dinner.  We ordered sandwiches and ate them on the deck where you see Jimmy, left.  We shared our scraps with all the kitties we saw.

After checking in, we were booked on a two-hour "jeep" sunset tour.  I saw this on our itinerary before we left home and kind of pooh-poohed it (never a good idea), yet this turned out to be a highlight.  A young Bedouin man named Mohamed took us to various stops in his "jeep." Here we are, climbing up and onto the bridge you see above.  I do mean climbing up and DO NOT look down!  Can you believe this desert!

From there, he drove us to a giant red sand dune, suggesting we hike up to the top.  OK, "in for a penny, in for a pound," right?  Our shoes came off and -- huff, puff -- we made it to the top, above, left.  We weren't alone, either -- a couple from England shared our aerie and snapped photos.

Mohamed zipped across the wide sandy desert like he was on paved roads.  We were sitting in the back opposite each other on bench seats and were grateful he didn't drive crazy.  He parked where you see the other vehicles and we walked to the cleft in the mountains.

Here we viewed ancient petroglyphs and hiked to the end of the box canyon.  Can you see us, left?  Talk about feeling closed in!

Mohamed took off in another direction, followed by a second "jeep" with the English couple, till he got to this spot where he stopped.  You see these jeeps are, in fact, battered old Toyota trucks, but they work well on the sand.  He gathered some sticks and fluff and started a fire to make Bedouin tea for us to sip while we waited on the sun to set.

While we waited, the four of us climbed up onto this rock shelf, amazed at our surreal surroundings, and feeling a peace that's hard to describe.  All was quiet, and serene.  Lovely memory.

As the sun disappeared, I shot a brief video of Mohamed before his fire.

Dinner was in the giant bubble, and it was delicious.  Check out the size of this pan full of traditional Bedouin food.  Bedtime was early and we slept like logs.

On the long drive back to Amman the next day we talked with Faris.  I asked him about Jordan's major sources of income.  He replied, "Phosphorous," with tourism a close second.  Like everyone else, Jordan's tourism suffered during the COVID years, but people returned afterwards.  Now with the ongoing mess in the Mideast, fearful tourists are staying away.  I told him we didn't feel scared at all and were very glad we came.  He thanked us for coming and asked us to tell our friends that Jordan is safe and well worth the visit.  Done.

Look, above is the Dead Sea! On the way to Amman, we stopped at Mount Nebo near Madaba, the place mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land before his death.  A stunning setting!

"Visitors ascending the summit will find far more than just a view. They'll enter the remains of a 4th-century basilica, pass Byzantine mosaics, trace monastic walls, and gaze upon a horizon shaped as much by story as by geography."

At roughly 3,000', overlooking the Holy Land, on a hazy day.

And this sign showed us what we were seeing.

Standing beside the Brazen Serpent sculpture.

 

Beautiful floor mosaics!

Gathering olives the old-fashioned way.

Mount Nebo was a great conclusion to our last day.

Sunday was the beginning of an ordeal that gave me a stomachache just thinking about it:  The journey home to California.  I wish we'd planned better, hindsight is swell, isn't it?  I wish we'd been offered other options, like driving the 30 miles to Aqaba and flying to Istanbul the next day.  Instead, we hauled the five-plus hours in the car to Amman, got stuck in traffic, ate dinner with Faris, spent four hours in the most beautiful hotel room we've ever seen, had our driver take us to the airport at 10pm for our 1:30am flight to Istanbul, eight hours in THAT airport, 13 hours in the air, and so on and so on, arriving home Tuesday at 2:15am.  A nightmare.

View from our room on the 33rd floor of Rotana Tower Hotel.

Amman, Jordan

When I woke up at 10 Tuesday morning, got up and looked out the window, I was beyond grateful to be home.  We spent a week recovering!  The entire trip lasted five weeks (a bit long!), starting in Maryland, two weeks with OAT in Turkey, into Egypt and finishing in Jordan ... and it really was sensational.  We probably tried to do too much, but it's been our contention that if you spend a wad of dough on airfare to get halfway across the world, why not see as much of the area as possible.  And we did!  Worth it?  You betcha!

Petra! Fri, 10/10/25

Petra, Jordan, may have been a trip afterthought, but now we were like two little school kids on a field trip, excited, filled with anticipation and ready to explore, its mystique looming large.  Our guide, Faris, met us in the Mövenpick lobby and we walked across the road toward Petra's V/C, stopping for a prerequisite photo, below.  The morning was sweet, cool and sunny, but the temp would inch toward 90 in the afternoon.

BTW, Mövenpick puts out a great breakfast buffet.  I'm waffling here (no pun intended) because I truly didn't know what to expect regarding Petra.  I was thinking there was more to see than the building everybody knows as "Petra."  Jimmy agrees.

Faris and Jimmy approaching the entry gate.

Hoy!  This is probably easier reading if you're on a computer, but even then, you'll need to enlarge the pic.  We're starting at the far right, where it says Mövenpick, and it appears we'll be doing A LOT of walking!

From the Visitor Center, we walked along a dusty road, though we could've ridden a horse, but I wanted to walk with Faris and hear him talk about the ancient people -- the Nabateans -- who lived here, who made this city.

Petra's heyday occurred during the 1st century BCE, when it served as the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom. The city flourished due to its strategic location along trade routes, making it a significant center for trade in frankincense, myrrh, and spices.

After the dusty road, we approached the iconic Siq. The Siq is a natural 3/4-mile-long sandstone gorge that gently winds toward the ancient city, until it opens on to the magnificent Treasury. A triumphal arch once spanned the Siq entrance (above), but it collapsed in 1895.  I saw an old photo of the arch, and it was perfect, like icing on a cake.

Water channels ran along each side of the Siq and held clay pipes that carried fresh water to the city from springs.  We could see some parts of the water channel even after all these years.  One side was for people, the other side for animals.  Some sections of the old road were still visible, too.

Dramatic.

Consider this:  The Siq's narrow, winding path also served a strategic purpose—restricting entry and shielding Petra from potential threats.

I could've spent the entire day in the Siq, with the interplay of light on the rocks, in the often narrow, other times widening gorge which allowed sunlight to enter.  Occasionally we walked without others close, but too often we ran into a French-speaking tour group and had to walk away as they were loud (not those above).  I love this picture.

I swear, the Nabateans were wizards.  They knew what happens to narrow gorges when flash floods occur, so they built dams (far left) in prone areas.  They controlled the water.  Niches and "god blocks" (middle, left) were carved throughout the Siq to protect those entering and leaving the city.  Two large carvings of camels with drovers (middle right), a testament to Nabatean trade, were weathered, but recognizable. There's always something to capture your attention in the Siq.

Walking through the Siq was so cool.

Faris became animated as we approached the end of the Siq, above left.  Then, suddenly, we burst out into bright sunlight and in front of us was:  Petra.  It's called The Treasury, carved into the cliff face.  It left us breathless.  This is what I thought constituted Petra.  Lots of people were milling around in this wide-open space, everyone vying for the best photo.  No, you can't go inside, it's off limits these days, but it's empty anyway.

Petra was a city, but essentially what we're seeing here are tombs.  We continued walking, along the "Street of Facades" lined with more tomb fronts.  Look up at the top right and you'll see a guy standing next to the flag!  We didn't join him.

Next came the Roman-style theater, but Nabatean made -- carved out of solid rock! It could seat approx 8500 people.  All the other ancient theaters we've seen on this trip have been made with blocks stacked upon blocks.  This theater, above, is all carved.    

The colors!  Oh, the beauty of these rocks.

Continuing along the path, we reached the Royal Tombs, a series of grand burial places including the Urn Tomb, the Silk Tomb, and the Corinthian Tomb.  We climbed up here, but they're also empty so we didn't go in.  People are atop the tombs (but not us).

Look wayyyy down there, beyond the lone horse, and you'll see tiny people and more Petra!  We'll eventually walk to those buildings.

All carved in solid rock.

North of the Colonnaded Street lies the ruins of the Byzantine Church, with its wonderful mosaics.  Wiki tells us:  Archaeologists concluded that the Church was originally built in the second half of the fifth century CE. It continued to be used as a religious structure until about the early seventh century CE, when it was destroyed by fire.  These mosaics retained color and clarity!

Above are the remains of Colonnaded Street, the city’s main shopping street two thousand years ago. On either side of the street are the ruins of the once-grand city center, including the Great Temple, one of the largest Nabatean public buildings.  You can see groups of people in the clearing.  We'd walk down there after our lunch at the Basin Restaurant, near the trees at right.

I usually don't wear a ball cap, but with my sun visor gone, the cap worked.  Here I stand on the Colonnaded Street.

"The pavement marks the emplacement of the main colonnaded street that ran through Petra's city center. Built by the Romans in the second century AD, it replaced an earlier Nabataean street – a spacious dirt-and-gravel road, which may have been lined with houses that followed the winding course of the Wadi Musa, Petra's main riverbed."

But still very rugged.

We skipped hiking up to the Monastery (800 rock-hewn uneven steps) and rejected the offer of a donkey ride up to it.  That building very much resembles The Treasury, and we were already on fumes.  We're fine with our choice.

More folks were coming in as we were walking out.  Jordan is a 97% Muslim country.  Today being Friday, Jordanians have the day off for religious reasons (their workweek is Sun-Thurs).  On Fridays, Petra offers locals a one-dinar entry fee, so native Jordanians were taking advantage of this.  

Jimmy's encounter with Bob:  Top -- Bob's head is painted orange, and he has orange spots, don't ask me why.  Jimmy says howdy.  Bottom left:  Jimmy moves in and Bob sticks his neck out to give Jimmy a sniff.  Bob then turns his head toward me and the camera and laughs!  Honest.  I about died laughing.  Enlarge the pic and you'll see.  Too funny!

Dead on our feet by this time and back at The Treasury, we were willing to spend the 30 Jordanian Dinar each for a shuttle ride back to the VC, but woe on us when we saw the line!  Hey, no woe, it was lucky us to share the line with these folks.  The lady with the little girl was from Palestine, and she was with relatives from Jordan, Dubai and maybe Lebanon.  They all spoke broken English, but they were so happy to talk with people from California, from America.  They took our picture. She'd shaved the little girl's head because she thought her hair was too coming in too thin, believing it would now come in thick.  I smiled.  Special times.

One last pic of us in front of The Treasury.  To think I thought this one "building" was Petra.  I'm glad I discovered how much more Petra is.  This is the Best of the Best.

We treated ourselves to a delish dinner at the hotel restaurant and then crashed.  We had 5-6-7 miles on the ol' fitbit (I forget exactly), but a ton o' steps.  Tomorrow, we move on to a tent in Wadi Rum!  That'll warrant one last post.

Jordan, Thurs, 10/9/25

 

Let me say that I was woefully unprepared for this phase of our trip (though I wasn't aware of it). Jordan was sort of an add on anyway -- you know, as long as you're 7,000+ miles from home and in the neighborhood, why not see it if you can?  After landing at the Amman airport, we were met by Faris, our guide while in Jordan, and were whisked away by auto south toward Petra, which ended up being an all-day trip.  When I looked at the map of Jordan at home, Petra appeared to be like 20 miles from Amman; nope, it's 150 miles.  The plan was to stop on our way to tour Karak, followed by Little Petra, neither of which I'd ever heard of.  But, okay, let's go!

This is what much of Jordan looks like.

Treeless.  Rocky!

And this -- goats crossing the road in front of our car.

While on the Kings Highway, we crossed the Mujib Dam,

then climbed yonder mountain at right.

Seeing villages interspersed.

Maybe around the halfway point of our drive on Kings Highway, Karak Archeological Castle loomed atop a mountain in front of us.  It's only 15 miles east of the Dead Sea and at the top we could just barely make out the blue of the sea in the distance.  (So close to Israel!)  This is one of those places that had its beginning way back in the 7th Century BCE when it was a capital city of ancient Moab. Nowadays Karak is best known for its relevance in the Crusades. 

Medieval Karak Castle was built in the 12th Century, and it was the stronghold for Crusaders in their ongoing war between them and Saladin's army.  It was only in their hands for 46 years before surrendering to Saladin in 1188. There isn't much left of the castle, but seeing and exploring the underground passages and etc., was kinda fun.

Faris and Jimmy.

Very few others here.

Lots of dark passages.  Interesting place to visit.

Great views from the mountaintop.

As we left, we encountered "juice" man.  His specialty was on-the-spot-squeezed pomegranate and orange juices mixed in a go-cup.  A bit tart, but very tasty and full of good juju to keep us healthy.  We saw these juice stands in Turkey, too.

From Karak, we motored on.  Jimmy, above, is entering Little Petra. The Arabic name of Little Petra is Siq al-Barid, which means "cold canyon," as in no sunlight enters in this narrow, steep-sided canyon.

Siq-al-Barid.  I was amazed at what we saw here.  Apparently, Little Petra was used by ancient Nabateans (who knew?) as a sort of reception area for travelers from other lands, a place for them to stay before granting them access to Petra.  (Petra was on the spice trade route.)

"The Painted Biclinium." I didn't know what that meant, so I looked it up. This place is called Painted House, a rock-cut biclinium, or smaller dining room, with well-preserved wall paintings and famous frescoes you can see on the ceiling. We didn't use the stairs to go up, so we missed the frescoes. (not sure if it's even allowed)

The Temple Above Cave Rooms, believed to have been used as a ceremonial building, and possibly for rituals, is a significant archaeological site carved into the sandstone cliffs. Holy cow -- carved!  It's one of the most fascinating sights in Little Petra. The temple is supported by two massive stone columns and features intricate details, including Nabataean horn capitals and a two-level structure.  The top level was off limits, but we went in the bottom caves (which were empty). 

As we exited, a young Bedouin boy was offering rides on "Bob the Camel," but we ixnayed.  A photo was okay.  We also passed by the Bedouin vendors, who had their wares set up on tables at the exit.  Some of the Bedouin vendors still sleep in the caves.  I believe they're "grandfathered" in.

I snapped a pic from the moving auto of this Bedouin temporary community near Little Petra.  Jordan reminded me a bit of Morocco in this respect, with their Bedouin tribe camps.

We had many thousands of steps on our feet by the time we finally made it to the Mövenpick Petra Hotel in time for dinner.  I can tell you we were both exhausted by the time we finished dinner (up since 3:30am!).  And, get this -- the hotel is directly across a road from the Petra entrance, so tomorrow all we have to do is walk out the door and we're there!  Faris said if you think Little Petra is "really something," wait till you see Petra -- the real deal!