Leaving the spectacular oasis/canyon of Wadi Disah last week, the landscape all the way to Umm Lajj ( on the Red Sea coast ) was probably as boring and monotonous as we have seen in Saudi – lots of sand, lots of camels, and a few small towns in between. More than anything it showed the chasm of difference between the larger cities ( modern, vibrant, generally cleaner ) and the more remote rural areas ( exactly the opposite ). These more remote parts of Saudi are still very quiet and conservative.
Now on the Red Sea coast. It will be a long drive south with stops in Madinah and Jeddah as we head to Abha ( near Jazan ). There will be no stop in Mecca – can’t even enter the city limits unless you are Muslim 🙁
Spent a couple of nights at the large seaside town of Umm Lajj just enjoying its different view ( the ocean at last, after many days of just desert ! ), doing a little shopping, and catching up on washing ( it always takes a day here – nowhere, so far anyway, can one find a self serve laundry and do it in just a couple of hours ). A bonus was that we managed to stumble on a nice restaurant, a real treat after several days of less than appetizing food choices.
This was a first – stayed in a hotel in Hail, where there appeared to be no towels. Turns out they have disposable towels, or “single use” towels ! Prefer normal ones!Here, parked on a beach in Umm Lajj, the first point at which we saw the Red Sea in Saudi.Beautiful warm day, long sandy beach, shallow warm water. Not a soul in sight 🤷♂️Date palms provide a nice backdrop for the beachParked at our hotel in Umm Lajj and came across a first – an Overlander from the UAE. These guys had been all over the world in this rig.From Abu Dhabi, UAE.Another first for us in Saudi- we crossed this street only to realize the traffic light was green for both the pedestrians AND vehicles ! Not sure how that’s possible ?
Mecca is definitely the holiest city in the Islamic world and non-Muslims are not even allowed to enter the city, much less to visit Al Kaaba itself. Medina, next up on our itinerary, is Islam’s second holiest place and non-believers are welcome there. It’s not only the resting place of the Prophet Mohammed, but the city also has other mosques that rank very highly among those that Muslims aspire to visit. There were two in particular that we wanted to see – one that permitted unrestricted access (Masjid Quba – thought to be the first mosque built in the world ) and the other ( Masjid-e-Nabawi – the second mosque built in the world ) that certainly did not ! I was nonchalantly walking through the ( seemingly open ) gates of the latter when suddenly a firm hand clasped my shoulder. The security guard simply asked “Muslim ?”. No, “Masihiun”, I replied ( “Christian” in Arabic ). A solemn and very firm “Not allowed”, followed. Disappointed, as its the Masjid-e-Nabawi (mosque) that contains Mohamed’s tomb, something we definitely would like to have seen. It was only possible to snap a few pictures from outside 😟.
En route to Madinah the landscape was volcanic in places Saw this on an Instagram feed – long road trips seem to be the way to go lol !!!
The city is very conservative and Lois had been advised that in this place a scarf would be required, certainly to access a mosque. One was arranged, but I’d point out that people had, up until now, been at pains to point out that the garment was generally NOT required anywhere else in the country. We’d seen some Saudi women without it and lots of foreign women not wearing one so the advice seemed accurate. Long sleeves, legs covered and generally conservative “wear” seems to be more than enough ( for both sexes ), though there is definitely more focus on the ladies’ coverings. We’ve been surprised just how popular the niqab/abaya still is in Saudi – very widely worn by Saudi women everywhere we’ve been so far. It looks awfully hot to wear right now, I can’t imagine what it’s like when the temperature gets into the 50’s ( and it does !).
Masjid ( mosque ) Quba – Islam’s very first mosque was built on this site and it holds a very special place for pilgrims, many of whom were here today.Lois, scarfed up for the visit.Saw this sign in the mosque – not sure if it meant physically lost or spiritually lost.The crowds were huge here.Inside Quba, non Muslims were permitted here.Madinah’s famous clock tower.Due to Madinah’s importance in the Islamic world pilgrims come from all corners of the Muslim world to visit, many on pilgrimage tours – here some Kyrgistani’s and Uzbeks.Masjid-e-Nabawi, home of the Prophet’s tomb, Madinah.The green dome, inside Nabawi, contains the tomb of the Prophet, Mohammed. This is as close as we could get.For our Aussie readers – never expected to see a classic Holden Commodore SSV in Madinah, Saudi Arabia !
Another 420km drive brought us to Jeddah, Saudi’s Red Sea gem and second largest city. By all accounts, more interesting than Riyadh so we were looking forward to it, the drive down enriched by the sighting of a troop of wild baboons beside the highway. We’d both thought baboons were known only in Southern Africa ( how wrong we were ), the first hint of them being the “Don’t Feed The Baboons” sign a few kilometres before we actually saw them. One immediately jumped on our car – with more beelining towards us we beat a quick retreat. They can, apparently, get very vicious.
We had no idea there were baboons in Saudi, but, minutes later……..….there they were. Admittedly very poor lighting/exposure here, but it was a hurriedly shot picture ( through our very dirty windscreen ) before we drove off as one jumped on our car, while others were coming. Kind of scary-looking up close, these baboons !
Jeddah’s old town ( Al Balad ) is one of its major attractions and was an easy walk from our hotel. Wandering its backstreets and imagining what life was like here back in the day was not difficult as much of the area retains the charm of yesteryear- old traditional buildings with beautiful latticed wooden verandahs. Very Arabic ! Seems the local tourist authority is pouring millions into this area since much of it is under reconstruction, though we had no problem finding many old original buildings, some now converted to boutique cafés and restaurants. It was in one of these cafés just off the main square that we bumped into a young Saudi lady named Sahar. She had travelled and studied abroad and in fluent English gave us some great insights into Saudi history and culture. She was typical of all the Saudi’s we’ve met – warm, chatty, helpful and genuinely interested in our experiences in the country – charming people. Unfortunately a badly stubbed big toe ( right in the aforementioned main square ! ) limited my mobility for a couple of days and hence any further “walking” exploration of the town. It’s long and pedestrian-friendly seaside Corniche, along with the King Fahd fountain ( the worlds tallest) are a couple of Jeddah’s other sites of note which we’d passed on the way in. Will have to do the walk next time we are here !
Jeddah, vintage art poster.Modern, but in the traditional style, architecture in Jeddah.More “original” Jeddah architecture, Al Balad ( old town ), Jeddah.More of the old town,Coffee with our Saudi friend, Sahar, in Jeddah’s old town. Bab Makkah ( Mecca Gate ), on the east side of Jeddah’s old town. It was through this gate that pilgrims walked, or rode, to nearby Makkah.Main square, old town.
Next blog we head to the far south of Saudi and explore Abha and historic Rijal Almaa before heading back east towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The most logical and shortest route to Abha would have taken us right through Makkah ( Mecca ) but since we are not Muslim one can’t even enter the city, much less the Kaaba itself. Not the “red zone” around Mecca, beyond which it is Muslims only.
When planning our route around the Arabian Penisula, for a variety of reasons travelling “anticlockwise” made most sense – so from Jordan the next country on our itinerary was Saudi Arabia, by far the biggest of the Persian Gulf states and hence likely where we will spend the most time – if for no other reason than it simply takes a very long time to get anywhere ! That, and the fact the Kingdom actually has quite a list of world class attractions ( they’d just kept them hidden from us previously).
This will gives a sense of just how big Saudi Arabia actually is. Superimposed here over a map of the USA.
A little background first. Saudi has not always been easy to get to ( it was formerly not really “open” to mass tourism ), nor easy to travel in. That all changed in September 2019 when “the Kingdom” ( or simply KSA as it’s called here), did a full 180 – the doors opened wide, the visa process was relaxed, as were dress codes and driving rules for women. Word spread quickly and perhaps unsurprisingly it’s been an increasingly popular destination since – particularly so with overland travellers. Fortunately for us this time of the year ( Saudi “winter” ) is the perfect time to come.
We came to Saudi for a few reasons but the weather was definitely one. Best time of year to visit ( this is their “winter” ) ! These temps are in centigrade, of course.
First impressions were great, Riyadh has a stunning airport and the entry process was easy, right through till we picked up the car. We have 2 separate phone providers, both with global roaming, but neither “data” pack was connecting, so this left us navigating to the hotel ( at night ) with only map screen shots ( the “blue dot” just was not moving on Google Maps which it normally does even without a data connection ). We made it, but not without some drama, and wrong turns. Fist lessons in Saudi – people drive fast, lane markers are treated like road decorations ( essentially, ignored ! ), and they love big cars and trucks.
Literally, the first store we saw when we landed in Riyadh airport was a Canadian “Tim Hortons” !A little Saudi style vintage art. Riyadh may once have looked like this but no more !We’ve been in plenty of hotel rooms over the years – but never one where room “309” ( ours ) was actually on the 2nd floor !
With the weather looking great we were keen to head north-west right away leaving any exploration of Riyadh until we circled back later. The immediate destination was Al Ula, one of Saudi’s biggest attractions – so much so that this rather small oasis town actually has its own international airport now. People come from far and wide to see this place, obviously. It took two days of driving to get there, long days, yet still interesting as it was our first experience of the country. All was well until a police roadblock just 80kms from Al Ula forced us to do an additional 250km detour to get there. Not what we needed after having already driven 500kms.
Typical scenery en route to Al Ula.This sign we saw often, and at time with a purpose built overpass so the camels could cross from one side of the highway to the other.
The roads in Saudi are generally very good, certainly the main roads at least, all multi lane and usually with 140km/h ( 85mph ) limits. Our first couple of days proved pretty much what we thought – lots of desert, monotonous at times, but periodically interspersed with unique red rock bluffs and always the ubiquitous camels. Have seen more camels so far in Saudi than anywhere else – far more than Jordan.
As for Jordan, all road signs are in Arabic and English in Saudi. Easy enough to learn the Arabic numbers, the written language – indecipherable ! Note the distances ( and we started in the middle of the country ) – Saudi is huge.
Pulling into Al Ula it was more of the aforementioned red rock bluff scenery, mixed with acres and acres of palm trees – Al Ula is the quintessential oasis town and it’s easy to see why it has been a travel crossroads for centuries ( and is now becoming an international hotspot as well ). Tellingly, while we were there an international bike race was held over 4 days ( the Al Ula Tour 2026 ) which attracts some of the worlds finest cyclists. While the cycling was not our bag, Al Ula’s other attractions kept us busy over the next few days.
The road closures caused by the cycling event caused us some grief getting around at times.
The “Old Town”, while slightly kitschy, portrays Al Ula as it used to be and was enjoyable to explore, the mud brick buildings in various states of repair. The heart of it all, ”The Oasis”, is a wonderfully cool and tropical-like area fun just to wander through – interesting to see how many things they grow out here in what is essentially the middle of the desert. The area has a lively cafe scene ( but no “bars” – alcohol is an absolute “no no” in Saudi – that was not relaxed back in 2019 ). Beyond the oasis and old town there are a few other big name attractions in the town, two of them we got to ( Maraya and Elephant Rock ) while we could not get to Hegra ( the Petra “lite” Nabatean rock formations ). Unfortunately, unlike Petra, Hegra has visitor caps and requires joining a “tour” to enter ( not something we like as a rule ) and the tourist volumes here for the international cycle race meant they were booked out long before we arrived. The Elephant Rock was impressive and the Maraya ( “mirror” ) building and setting was nothing short of stunning – I’ll let the pictures below tell the story.
Part of the “Old Town”Old Town.Rock formations around Al Ula, which reminded us of both the the “Hoodoos” at Bryce Canyon in the US and some of the rock formations around Karijini NP in Western Australia.One of the many boutique coffee shops around the oasis at Al Ula. Enjoyed a nice breakfast here.“Maraya” ( mirror, in Arabic ) is the world’s largest mirrored building. It’s stunning, and contains a restaurant and conference centre. That’s Lois beside it giving some sense of its size. While not an exceptionally hot day when we visited, walking past the sunny side and feeling the reflected heat made it feel like a furnace !It’s the setting, as much as the building itself , that makes this place so impressive.We’ve seen a few “Elephant Rock’s” in different places but this was the biggest and most realistic – the eye and mouth especially. One sits and watches as the sun sets on it providing a variety of colours. I had not been missing our van that much…..until I saw this at Elephant Rock ! 😟
Beyond Al Ula, there was one major attraction remaining in the northwest of the country that we were absolutely determined to see – Wadi Disah. Often called the “valley of palm trees”, Wadi Disah is a stunning lush mountain valley, known for its towering wind-carved sandstone cliffs and natural freshwater springs. Access is by 4WD vehicle only so we hired a local with an indestructible old Landcruiser who took us 7km into the wadi. Spectacular ride, amazing scenery and we were appreciative of doing it in an older vehicle – it’s pretty rough going, would not have taken the Sprinter in even if we had it with us. Another long drive to reach Wasi Disah but very glad we did.
On the way to Wadi Disah. Sometimes the camels get lazy, I I guess !First sight as we 4×4’d into Wadi Disah.Metabh, our driver. Skillfully navigated his trusty Landcruiser through some pretty serious “4×4 only” terrain.Picture time at one of the more scenic stops.Distant view of the formations at Wadi Disah..Seems every “tour” we go on it’s just us. Room for 6 or 8 but it was obviously a slow day and he agreed to take just the two of us.Lots of thick reeds, water and rocks.Ditto.Picturesque no matter which way one looked.
From Disa, we’ll travel over to the Red Sea coast and head south, but more on that in the coming blog.
Rather than head straight to nearby Wadi Rum from Petra, we first made a little detour to Aqaba, Jordan’s main ( and only ! ) port at the very south end of the country ( at the very north end of the Red Sea).
Road to the Red Sea ( Aqaba ).Lots of signs like this but not too many camels are just wandering around !
Were it not for a relatively short 12km sliver of Red Sea coast, Jordan would in fact be totally land-locked. Until 1965 it had even less coastline, when a friendly deal with Saudi Arabia gave Jordan a few more kms of coastline in exchange for Saudi getting more desert ( like Saudi Arabia needs any more desert – but that was the deal !). It’s a busy road down to Aqaba since everything that is shipped in comes via this road. Aqaba is an interesting spot – warmer, very tropical in appearance, and home of the original Arab Revolt in 1916 which was the beginning of the end of Ottoman rule in the area. There’s an interesting castle, a not too impressive beach, but with the option to snorkel in the Red Sea – sadly, at only 18 degrees it was a bit cool for us. Perhaps we’ll do that when it warms up as we head further south. We did uncover some great local restaurants and bakery/coffee shops ( a little hobby of ours ) while we waited a day for weather to improve in advance of driving on to Wadi Rum.
Map showing where Aqaba is at the bottom of Jordan, wedged between Israel to the left and Saudi Arabia just a few kms to the south.Street scene, Aqaba.Historic Aqaba Fort..Fort from the inside.There’s not much beachfront in Jordan but there were a lot of people out on a midweek day that was definitely too cold for swimming..! Everyone seemed kind of out of place.
If you remember “Lawrence of Arabia”, Wadi Rum will be a familiar name. A stunning section of UNESCO – listed Jordanian desert and now a Protected Area, we were keen to explore it. Once past the throng of touts (who descend on you as you exit your vehicle at Wadi Rum village) our hosts at the Wadi Rum Desert Camp collected us and took us out to the camp site where we would spend the next couple of days. A wonderful spot, relaxing, quiet, and a bit of a crossroads for traveller’s from all over, we shared our time with an interesting cast from Turkey, Poland, China and South Korea. The hospitality from our hosts was exceptional and their 4×4 Wadi Rum tour got us to places our own Sprinter probably could not have. Wadi Rum played a pivotal role in the 2016 Arab Revolt which saw the local Arab population (with a little help from T.E. Lawrence 😉) evict the occupying Ottomans from the region.
Wadi Rum has become a huge draw in Jordan.On the way in to Wadi Rum you pass a section of the old Hijaz railway. They recreate scenes of the Arabs attacking what was, at the time ( 1916 ), an Ottoman supply train running though Wadi Rum up to Damascus. Sadly, not running the days we were there.Our “bubble” glamping tent at Wadi Rum ( there are no hotels ). Very comfortable and well equipped just like a hotel – beautiful view to the east for desert sunrises…..….or just to sit back and chill out..!The glamping experience includes beautiful traditional Bedouin dinners- they were delicious!View out in the desert on the tour.Regular stops always included the offer to sit and drink tea in Bedouin tents. With every visit, “Welcome to Jordan” was the greeting we got. We were made to feel very welcome everywhere in this country.Camels kept by the Bedouins. Rides available for those so inclined. Had no inclination to do this again !You can make out a rock wall in this picture, the crumbling remains of what was T.E. Lawrence’s desert home.Lawrence’s image carved into rock nearby, with the date, 1917.There was just Lois and I on the 4×4 tour so our guide insisted on taking us up high onto a sand dune to show us how capable the vehicle was – lots of fun !“Bridge” Rock.“Face” rock.Wadi Rum is famous for its sheer canyon walls and rock bluffs. They were interesting to walk around and explore.
Working our way north back towards Amman, a brief stop was made at Karak Castle. This place was a little disappointing – the history of it ( a major Christian fort during the Crusades ) attracted us but the fort itself ( at least in its current state ) was less than impressive. Fortunately Karak was on our planned route to the Dead Sea so the detour was not material and the drive down a very winding desert road to a point 440m below sea level took us to a place that is the lowest elevation on earth. Famed for that, of course, but also for the fact that it is extremely salty ( 10 times normal ocean salt levels ), which means one can literally float “on” the surface rather than float “in” it – quite the surreal experience !
Sadly, the Jordanian vehicle rental did not permit us to travel into Saudi or Iraq 😟. Kept driving !Karak castle looked quite imposing from a distance….…but was not so impressive inside.The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth and has some of the highest salt content anywhere. Here, approximately 440m below sea level. Sadly the Dead Sea is shrinking by almost a metre ( 3 feet ) a year due to irrigation demand on its on its inflows. One can easily see how high it used to be.One can float “on” it rather than “in” it due to high salt content.It’s now a bit of a walk down to the Dead Sea from the road, since levels have dropped considerably over the past decades.
Only a stop in the old heavily Christian town of Madaba stood between us and Amman and this stop proved to be an entirely unexpected highlight ( made up for Karak ! ). In addition to stumbling on an excellent little boutique hotel, enjoying our best meal in Jordan at a nearby restaurant, the Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba contains an incredible, original 6th century floor mosaic showing a map of the Holy Land. Well worth a stopover as was the nearby Catholic Church which had been visited by two recent popes. Not a lot of Christians here but those that are go back a very long way !
Pretty night view of a mosque in Madaba.Madaba Greek Orthodox Church, home to the Dead Sea mosaic map from the 6th century AD.Much of the mosaic was destroyed in an earthquake centuries ago but what remains is in very good shape. Ditto.
Dropped off our rental car and bussed into Amman for our last couple of days (in the preceding 8 days we’d put 1,000 kms on it exploring this amazing country). Amman is an easy place to discover, with an excellent National Museum, two Roman era ruins ( the Citadel and Amphitheatre, the latter far more impressive than the former ) and a host of great markets – a thoroughly enjoyable way to wrap up our first couple of weeks in the Middle East.
Roman amphitheatre, downtown Amman. Very well preserved and still in use !Ruins of Amman’s Citadel. We found the Jerash ruins far more impressive ( much better preserved ).More Citadel.Jordanian sweets. If you have a “sweet tooth”, this is your town !
Till next week, as we continue exploring the Arabian Peninsula.
I think it was the poet Burns who first mused about the “best laid plans”, and how they often came undone. Perhaps even back then it was ‘travel’ plans he was talking about – certainly this past week threw us a couple of a curveballs, one fairly minor, the other, well, not !
Managed to squeeze in one more visit to downtown Athens ( we were camped a bit out of town ), here entertained by some excellent street performers. Shipping challenges, logistics planning, and then a vehicle battery issue used up much of our first few days in town.
So, we got back to our van in Athens and clicked the door opening fob….nothing. No reassuring “click” (as when all the doors would normally open in unison). Hopefully just a dead fob battery ( as has happened before ) so we opened the van manually, then tried to start it. Still nothing. No reassuring display of multi colored dash lights, not so much as a ‘click’ from the starter motor. No, this battery was probably dead, likely VERY dead ! Alas, hope springs eternal – tried a trickle changer over 24 hours ( nothing ), then a “jump” from a big diesel Landcruiser, still nothing. Seems there must have been some phantom “draw” on the battery over the past 5 weeks while it was stored. Fortunately our host, Thasos, connected us up with a nearby battery shop – the manager, born in Canada as luck would have it, took kindly to us and they delivered and installed a new unit the following day. Now all was good with the van ( I also learned a trick about how to avoid this problem during future long storage periods ). In the scheme of things this was a minor issue, easily fixed – the next ‘issue’ was far more impactful on us.
After much coercion and several attempts to bring it to life we accepted that this battery was VERY dead. Learning – vehicle AGM batteries do NOT like multiple extended periods of inactivity.Fortunately, a replacement was available at a nearby shop. Delivered, then installed and suddenly all was good. Most importantly they provided some excellent advice on how to prevent the issue in future.If only I had known sooner. The Sprinter actually has a battery setting that preserves the main starter battery during long periods of storage. This “standby mode” setting should ensure it stays strong for up to 22 weeks. Good to know.
Battery issue resolved we moved to the bigger of our two problems – renewed political tension in the Middle East, specifically Iran. And, of course, the Middle East was exactly where we had been planning to ship our vehicle next. The mass protests and killings in Iran were causing alarm all over the world but especially in the Middle East. The original plan after returning to Athens and collecting our van, was for us to send it on a Salamis Lines RoRo ship from Athens to Haifa, in Israel – Israel being a planned conduit for further travels through to the rest of the Arabian peninsula. Now the fact that just six months ago Israel and Iran fought an all out war gave us pause for thought in terms of how the current situation in Iran might affect our own van-based travel plans. We certainly don’t go looking for danger but with the United States pulling troops out of neighboring gulf states, one had to take the threat of expanded hostilities somewhat seriously. Even the shipping line, which had only a day before finally confirmed passage for our van on their ship, issued a warning ( see image below ). When these things go sideways in the Middle East, they can go seriously sideways very quickly – meaning shipping routes get canceled, borders get closed and even personal movement can be restricted. We also had to factor in our van likely leaving the region via the same route ( Haifa to Athens on the return journey ) and there was now no guarantee that would be possible. While we were still super keen to go to the Middle East ourselves, we now really had to reconsider taking the van. While we can always fly out ourselves if things heated up, matters become exponentially more complicated when you are cruising around in a 7m long ( non-containerable ) camper van, a vehicle for which where your exit options are already limited. We needed to think very carefully about proceeding with the original van-shipping plan, and if not, then decide how to proceed instead.
The warning provided to us by Salamis Lines, the shipping company that was to ship our vehicle to Haifa, Israel. It was not exactly confidence-inspiring. Not a cheap shipping route and we could not afford for it to go sideways, or to have our rig stuck in the Middle East with no other way out.While we waited in Athens for our shipping confirmation to the Middle East, the region was getting headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Following a very deep dive on all the pros and cons, putting our van on the ship to Israel just did not make good sense right now. The only practical option was flying to somewhere in the region, just renting a suitable vehicle(s) and hoteling it everywhere for the couple of months that we planned to travel around. Not the way we prefer to travel, and certainly not the way we would normally travel, but the best of the limited options that were available to us in the current climate.
Decision made, we then had to confirm that we could leave our rig for 2 or 3 more months in Athens ( got a quick green light there ), and so decided on a route. Amman, Jordan ( also an ideal gateway for onwards exploration ) had a convenient direct flight the very next day, so without further ado, we packed up, prepared our rig for more storage time, and hopped on the flight to Amman. In the end it all happened rather quickly…no looking back now !
One must stay “flexible” with one’s plans when overlanding. Literally overnight we decided to store the van and do our Middle East leg with rental vehicles. Too much drama going on in the region right now. The reunion with our van was sadly brief !We’ve seen some weird and wonderful overland rigs, but this no name ( we could not find one, anyway ) vehicle from Poland looked positively scary. Parked near us in Athens, looked like it was out of a Mad Max movie.
There are few ( if any ) countries we’ve been to where the hospitality and warm welcome we received has matched that which we experienced in Jordan, way back in 1990. We were keen to see how it had changed and specifically to make sure that this time we got to Jerash ( for its historic ruins ) and Wadi Rum ( for the spectacular desert area ), both of which we missed on the earlier visit. Having picked up our rental car on arrival in Amman we took off for Jerash right away, figuring we’d then work our way north to south exploring the country.
Conveniently all Jordan’s major attractions lie more or less in a straight line, running north to south.While Jordan requires a costly visa to enter, pay just a little bit more and they provide you a “Jordan Pass” where the visa fee is waived and access to ALL major tourist sites is included. Burned by some expensive admission costs to famous Turkish attractions we jumped at this offer.
Jerash did not disappoint, the ruins are expansive and in most places extremely well maintained. Remarkable to travel in the parts we have travelled over this past year and see just how far the Roman influence had reached – and this was all 2,000 years ago ! The images below show the extent of the ruins and how the modern day city of Jerash has just grown around the ancient site. As large as it is, as with so many such places not all of it has been excavated – probably a hundred or more years to get it all done.
As is typical of many Middle East sights, you run a gauntlet of tourist stalls and trinket sellers before getting to the main entrance. In Jerash we met up with “Shorty” ( yes, his actual nickname ) who was one of the friendliest, and quite likely the tallest Jordanian we had met. He stood 7 feet 2 inches tall. We’d never met anyone 7 feet tall before. Lois is 5’2”.Main gate into Jerash Ancient Ruins.Famous colonnaded street, Jerash.Oval plaza.Theatre, Jerash.Some trick photography, Temple of Artemis, Jerash.
Leaving Jerash our itinerary took us south, back past Amman, on the long Desert Highway to the town of Wadi Musa, home of Jordan’s most famous site, the rock-cut architecture of Petra, carved by the ancient Nabatean civilization over 2,000 years ago. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Famous for all those reasons of course but given a further boost when Steven Spielberg chose it for a scene in “Raiders of the Last Ark – The Last Crusade” ( click on the link to watch the scene ). Of course, it’s on everyone’s bucket list now. Petra is a full day affair ( some spend 2 days ), involves long hikes and considerable climbing to see it all but it’s absolutely worth any and all effort expended. The place just leaves you breathless. How this was done over 2,000 years ago boggles the mind – right up there with Machu Picchu and the pyramids of Egypt as far as we are both concerned.
Jordan has some famously stunning attractions, but also a lot of sparse desert in between. Wadi Rum and Aqaba are planned for next week.Breakfast provided by our hotel in Petra. All the Middle East/ Mediterranean favourites included here, including hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, yogurt, fruit and various cheeses. The fried egg done on request !We were very excited to revisit incredible Petra. It was a stunningly clear, sunny, day and we enjoyed the company of people we met from all over the world. Resting with a couple of young Greek ladies. Lots of tea breaks where we could soak in the views as we hiked in through the “back door” ( a more circuitous route, but involved more downhill walking than uphill – recommended. We saw some pretty exhausted people coming the other way).Bedouin “guides” were a constant presence, offering donkey rides for those who could not handle the walk. In 7 hours we estimated we’d walked well over 20kms. Thankfully it was not hot. Many of the Bedouin men wear a kind of mascara which gives them a very distinct appearance ( a kind of ‘Jack Sparrow’ look )Views from the hike in to Petra.Coming into Petra from the “back door”, it’s very famous Monastery is the first structure you see. Sculpted out of pure rock by the Nabateans around the time of Christ, it’s an incredibly impressive sight.They also constructed some free standing buildings which have not survived as well. Note the many caves in the background which are found all over the site. Here, Qasr Al Bint.Others appear to been started an not finished. Nonetheless an impressive testament to the craftsmen of the time working with what would be considered primitives tools today.A sneak peek of the most famous sight in Petra, the Treasury accessed through the “Siq”, a narrow chasm between the rock bluffs. A famous scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Last Crusade” was shot here.The Treasury. Absolutely impossible to get a shot with no people in it. Moments later there were hundreds in front of us !Treasury, close up.
Going to be hard to top Jerash and Petra but next week brings us to Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and a few other highlights that Jordan has to offer. Stay tuned.
Till next week…
Jeff + Lois
The PanAm completed in April, 2022 and with the truck camper sold, we shipped our new Sprinter van to Australia in late 2022. We travelled there through all of 2023 and into 2024 before shipping it up to North East Asia where we travelled for 4 months between Korea and Japan, before shipping it back to North America. It’s our plan to continue exploring the world in 2025.
