Jordan Experience
Day One – 4 Dec 2009
Weather: Morning fog with clearing and sunshine, 18-22.
Terrain: a number of staircases
I was up at 7:30 and down for breakfast. It was as good as any other hotel with an excellent selection of cheese, veggies and breads. There was an omelet chef and the orange juice was also freshly squeezed. Delicious!
At 9 am, we met up with the day tour operator and he introduced us to our guide, Mohammed. The three of us piled into the car and we drove through a quiet Amman at reasonable speeds. Mohammed pointed out a few sites along the way, including an area of homes that he said were all Palestinians who had fled to Jordan in 1967. He said it used to be a tent city, but the Jordanian government gave them homes and citizenship – something few other nations did.
The drive to Umm Qays took about two hours with plenty to see on the way. The terrain is hilly, forested and farmed. My perception of Jordan was that it was a desert country, but this only applies to the southern half.
We arrived at Umm Qays and the driver pointed us to the entry. He told us we could hire a guide, but we had a pamphlet that explained everything, so we paid our 3 dinar and walked in.
The ruins are impressive. Many of the homes are still intact or restored. The most interesting part is that a lot of the stone used is black. On closer inspection, it was obvious that it was basalt or volcanic rock (which I’ve since learned was local basalt). The road stone is almost all basalt and the main street is lined with limestone or granite columns with a black street. Very impressive. There were also several columns made from the basalt. A real contrast.
At the end of the first street, we got an amazing view of the Golan Heights directly across from the ruins with a valley in between. In the distance, we could just make out the Sea of Galilee. If it wasn’t so hazy, we were told we would be able to see Tiberius.
We walked down the main street and realized the ruins went on forever. We turned around, walked through the streets back to the parking lot.
The walk took us about an hour and a half. We board the car and continued to Ajloun. A few minutes later we came to an army checkpoint and the guard wanted to see our passports which we were told we didn’t need. The driver argued with the guard and threatened to call the guard’s major which changed the guard’s attitude and we were permitted to continue.
We drove towards the River Jordan, descending back down to the level of the Dead Sea. The area is incredibly lush, filled with banana trees and olive groves. Vendors were selling fruit and vegetables all along the road.
The road itself was quite interesting as well. Most of the roads we used were not highways and were full of speed bumps. It made it impossible to maintain a high speed for any length of time and while most were well marked, some were not. When Mohammed hit one hard, he apologized over and over. Police were also present along the road watching for speeders and making random checks. We were pulled over once but the officer just told us to go on.
Mohammed was a fabulous driver and indicative of the incredibly kind attitude the people of Jordan have shown us so far. As we drove through the Jordan River Valley, he stopped to let us take pictures and pointed out some interesting sites like a huge dam built to hold back water collected from rain. Water is a scarce resource and the country does everything to collect as much rain as possible. An underground lake in the south will soon provide water to Amman and is expected to satisfy their needs for 100 years.
After about an hour, we arrive at Ajloun castle. The castle was built by the Turks and successfully defended against Crusaders. It’s what you imagine a castle should look like and is incredibly intact.
We crossed over the deep moat (no water) and climbed several staircases to the top of the castle.
The view of the surrounding area was amazing. It’s unfortunate that Jordan seems to have so much haze
We descended the castle after the short visit then drove to Jerash where Mohammed gave us a bird’s eye view of the ruins that we will see on the tour tomorrow. It looks like an amazing site that extends for more than 2 kms. After the photo stop, we dropped by a restaurant that caters to buses and had a coffee before setting off to Amman. On the way, Mohammed stopped at a lookout where we could see one of the lakes of winter water then he asked if we would like to visit a souvenir shop.
We agreed and the shop in Amman had a fair selection of everything. I picked up a t-shirt and some bookmarks. One of the girls at the store followed me around with a basket, carrying my purchases as I browsed. Just another indication of how well the Jordanian people treat others.
Mohammed dropped us off at the hotel and came in with the day tour organizer so that we could pay for the tour. We were under the impression that the tour was 90 Dinar per person (and were quite willing to pay it) but it turned out it was 90 Dinar for the car, regardless of how many were in it. The most impressive part is that the operator could have easily accepted the 90 Dinar from us and we would have never known the difference, but he refused the money and clarified the cost. We were delighted. We had already given Mohammed a 10% tip based on the 90 Dinar per person, so he got 30 Dinar but we didn’t care. He had given us a wonderful day and I highly recommend the day trip. Umm Qays and Ajloun are not covered in the tour and neither is the Dead Sea which is another choice for those that don’t do the Israel portion.
Insight provided the dinner for us which was a menu with a two or three selections for appetizer, entrée and dessert. The meal was good, but two of us didn’t like the chocolate mousse which was bitter and had a different texture. After our plates were collected, the Sous-chef came out and wanted to know why we didn’t like the dessert. We told him and he offered something else. He said he would send out a chocolate fondant and ice cream.
Well, it was so delicious, it was a wonder we didn’t lick the plates. The chef was quite pleased.
The Insight Rep who met us at the hotel dropped in to see how things were going and to remind us of our timings. I asked him if we could put two bags on the bus, just to lighten the load, but he said that since we were returning to the same hotel on Monday, I could put a bag into storage at the hotel. After dinner, I took a lot of stuff out of my luggage and piled it into my duffel. Somehow, my luggage still felt heavy.
After checking my emails, I turned in for the night. Tomorrow promises to be a full day.
Go to Day Two
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