Discovering Jordan - Chapter 1 - Planning

 

Peaceful Umm Qais, near the borders of Israel and Syria

 

Many Westerners visit Israel, and skip holy sites on the Arab side of the River Jordan.  They might spend one day admiring Petra, the hidden jewel of the ancient Nabataean Empire, on a highlight tour of the region.  We like to take the roads less traveled, and as we are just getting to know many Arab people in Dubai, we want to continue learning about their perspective.  We also discovered that Jordan offers ancient historical sites, adventure opportunities, beautiful vistas, and friendly people who welcome American visitors.

Two weeks to plan a major trip is not our usual modus operandi, but after moving to Dubai over the summer of 2012, the holidays arrived quickly.  And not knowing how long we’ll live in the Middle East, we didn’t want to miss an opportunity to see nearby countries.  So the day after Thanksgiving, we started scheduling our Christmas vacation.

First, we held a family meeting to list qualities of a great vacation.  I wanted a safe and interesting country, where it would be cold in December, and we might join Christmas celebrations, as I was a little homesick.  Our energetic teenagers wanted to hike, climb rocks, learn about history, see beautiful natural areas, and maybe go to a beach.  Hubby’s coworkers recommended Jordan, where we could do all these things and also ride camels!

Map courtesy of Lonely Planet

Our last-minute plan was actually well-timed, because Syria’s civil war and Egypt’s civil unrest have chased many tourists out of the region.  The hotels and guide should not have been available during a major holiday with only a few days’ notice.  But Jordan was safe and had plenty of room for us, and we hope we helped their struggling economy just a little.

After reading suggestions and reviews on the VisitJordan, Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet websites, we mapped out a personal tour starting in the north and concluding at the Dead Sea.  We chose a Jordan-based tour operator that sounded small and interesting, yet professional.  Raami Tours was started by the son of a Dutch New Zealander, Marguerite van Geldermalsen, who fell in love and married a Bedouin Jordanian, raised their children in a cave in Petra, and later wrote a highly-recommended book Married to a Bedouin.  I was charmed by the literary connection as well as the promise that all Raami guides are Bedouins with inside information on local culture and the best hiking trails.  

Then, following suggestions from friends and reviews from Booking.com, we booked our own flights and hotels for 9 nights in Jordan.  If we had more time to plan, it would have been better to let the tour company guide us and book the hotels.  Not realizing the area is mountainous, I scheduled four nights in Madaba, which looks close to Amman on the map.  We would have saved hours of drive-time by staying in Amman for the first two nights and northern tours.  The drives were interesting, though, and we had fun exploring Madaba in the evenings, so no regrets.

To prepare for the trip, we watched Lawrence of Arabia, which was filmed mostly in Wadi Rum.  The kids thought it was too long, even when we pointed out that Prince Faisal is played by a young Alec Guinness, aka Obi wan Kenobi. 

 

 

I anticipated having a Bedouin Omar Sharif guide us through Wadi Rum.

 

 

 The girls prefered the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which concludes in Petra.

 

We bought sturdy hiking shoes, and packed flashlights and towels as we would be camping in the desert at least one night.  I also picked out my Christmas present, a Panasonic Lumix camera with a zoom lens. 

Our adventure descriptions will consume future blogs, but for readers who are planning trips to Jordan, the highlights of our tour are listed below.  We listed too many activities, but weren't disappointed when plans changed a little – unexpected hitches make an adventure, and one of the many benefits of scheduling a private tour is the flexibility to go at our own pace.  This was a memorable trip!

Day 1 – Amman City Tour, Roman Theatres, Citadel Panorama, Archeological Museum, lunch in local café, Cave of the Seven Sleepers

Day 2 – Drive through Rift Valley and Irbid, Umm Qais Tour, Abdulla’s Shortcut - skip Ajlun Castle, Jerash

Day 3 – Madaba Mosaic - Church of St. George, Mt. Nebo, Elijah’s Hill, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Kerak Castle, drive through Wadi Musa, Christmas Eve in Madaba

Day 4 – Drive along King’s Highway, Shobak Castle, hike Dana Wilderness Reserve (south of Tafila), night at Feynan Ecolodge

Day 5 – Hike out of Dana Wilderness Reserve and drive along Jordan’s Worst Road to Petra.  Exhausted and near melt-down, skip a Little Petra hike and check in early at the Petra Moon Hotel.  After naps, showers, ice cream and dinner, enjoy Petra by Night with candlelight.

Day 6 – Full day in Petra

Day 7 – Wadi Rum Camel Tour, Jeep Tour, Camp in Bedouin tents

Day 8 – Wadi Rum Sunrise, Dead Sea Resort

Day 9 – Dead Sea to Amman Airport, bid a sad farewell to our driver and guide, Abdullah

 

The Dead Sea is not your typical beach, but a fun place to relax and clean up after touring Jordan.