Today we plan an exploration of the old town and souq area of Dubai while trying in the evening to see the fireworks. We chose a hotel which is close to the subway so we can avoid driving on what we expect to be a busy day. The walk is about half a kilometer long and leads past Burjuman mall that we plan to visit later when returning from the old town.
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| View from the hotel window | Parking lot or building? |
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| Burjuman mall | Interesting skyscraper near mall |
The subway system is quite new and modern even though sometimes the exits are not well marked so we are not sure if we are exiting in the correct area.
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| Modern subway | Really useful if you know where they are going |
Our first stop is in the Dubai Heritage Village. This was built as a representation of how a typical UAE village looked like and the first thing that we notice are the camels. While we have seen quite a few in passing this is the first time we can see them close up so we do just that. There are also some small museums but we don't have time to visit many of them and the one that we enter is a religious one that seems a bit weird so we exit it soon after we enter.
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| Camels in Dubai Heritage Area | Camel relaxing |
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| One of the many small museums | At the far end is the Camel Museum |
The houses in the village are quite interesting and seem to represent different styles from the region. We walk through them for a time before deciding to exit the village and go back toward the waterfront and then the souq.
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| Traditional home | Interior of large home |
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| Facade of palace | Window detail |
The waterfront looks quite peaceful. Well...maybe except for that bus just passing by on the river. It is a nice view and we walk along the Dubai River towards the souq.
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| Dubai Creek waterfront | Not what you expect on a river |
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| Old boat on the water | And an old one on land |
One of the most iconic images of old Dubai is the line of abras (traditional Dubai boat) crossing the Dubai Creek from the Textile Souq to the Gold Souq. As we get to the Textile Souq we can see for ourselves the craziness with abras coming and leaving non stop from the dock.
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| Waiting abras | Disembarking from an abra |
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| Continuous flow to the other side | Arriving on the other side |
Next to the abra dock is the entrance to the Textile souq. The souq is full of tourists and the sellers are quite aggressive which makes it less fun to walk through it as you cannot stop anywhere without being offered something.
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| Souq entrance in the distance | Inside the souq - busy |
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| Textile souq | Fashion for locals |
After exiting the souq we walk back towards to the subway station and pass the Al Fahidi Fort which now is the Dubai Museum. As we do not have the time to visit it we pass it and soon notice a beautiful mosque on a side street and decide to take a closer look at it.
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| Interesting mosque | Al fahidi Fort/Dubai Museum |
The mosque exterior is one of the most beautiful we have seen however even though we look at it closely we cannot find any information regarding what it is so we decide to call it the Blue Mosque before moving on.
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| Beautiful mosque | Mosque entrance |
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| Decorated windows | Close up of decoration |
On the way back we take another look at the abra launch site and the tower that was protecting the souq. There are in fact multiple towers in the area some of them new and some them old and renovated - as Oman it seems the UAE also was quite taken in by building towers.
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| Defending the abra launch site | Resting waterbirds |
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| Heritage area from the subway entrance | Close up of watchtower |
The subway takes as to the other side of the river where we try to find the Gold Souq. It is not that easy with no clear directions and in the end we stumble upon the spice souq. It is less lively that the textile souq which makes for a nicer walk as we can stop and take in the offers - had no idea that so many spices even existed.
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| Air conditioned bus station - so envious | Entrance to spice souk |
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| Lots of spices for sale | So many colors |
The Gold Souq is nearby however hear the harrassment by vendors is really bad so we are really happy after exiting on the other side. The offerings are certainly interesting but if you cannot stop and look at them then it doesn't really matter.
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| Gold in the gold souk | Looks heavy |
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| Gold everywhere | Golden turtle |
After returning to the subway and then to our area we enter the Burjuman mall as initially intended. After looking at the shops for a while we decide to buy dinner from an Indian restaurant and the food is good and also a lot of it.
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| Burjuman mall | Chicken tikka masala |
After returning to the hotel we wait until it is close to midnight and then exit to the main street. We are quite surprised at how many people gathered even here so far away from Burj Khalifa and Burj Arab where the majority of the fireworks are taking place. The fireworks are impressive even so far from them especially the one from Burj Khalifa that we see directly.
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| Lots of people out to see the fireworks | We see mostly the ones from Burj Khalifa |
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| Pretty | Close up of fireworks |
After the fireworks we return to the room and eat the cake we have bought in advance and eat a late dinner before going to bed after such a long day.
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| New Year Cake... | ....and our dinner |
Today our family is returning back to their home country in the afternoon so we do not have time to explore the city as much. We decide to go to a mall that we have seen in a Dubai documentary that is nearby, Wafi mall, before going to the airport. Wafi mall is built in an Egyptian style with pyramids and interesting murals.
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| Wafi City Mall | Ubiquitous Dubai ruler banners |
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| Top of pyramid | Detail on the murals |
The murals and details are quite interesting with a focus on birds which we like. It is more special in a way than most malls we have seen in Dubai and also it is quite empty this early in the morning.
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| Another pyramid top | Detail of old Egypt |
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| Futuristic interior column | Geese on the floor |
One of the attractions of the mall that we have seen in the documentary is Wafi Gourmet a shop with sweets, spices and diverse food where we cannot help ourselves and buy some sweets. After all this walking we are a bit hungry so we go to the food court and to our surprise we find camel burgers which sound interesting. They are good but not that different from other meats we have eaten.
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| Wafi Gourmet fruits | Lots of interesting baskets |
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| Christmas tree in Wafi Mall | Detail at the base of the tree |
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| We had to get camel | Not that different from a normal burger |
After lunch we take our relatives to the airport and return the car before taking the shuttle to the hotel for the night. We take stock of our inventory and notice the stamp on the food we bought a couple of days ago that mentions it is for non-muslims only which is interesting as it is soup only. We also have time to eat a few sweets and smell the Amouage perfume we bought before going to sleep. Amouage perfume is one of the products Oman is known for but we never could find it so we were hapy to find this in Wafi mall and bought a sampler.
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| Hotel room near airport | Pork products (and other non halal foods) have this warning |
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| Our loot from Wafi Gourmet | Amouage perfume - we had to try it |
Next day it is our time to leave to Jordan for the last leg of our trip. We go early to the airport as we don't have a lot to do in the hotel and examine the different shops and the decorations of this large airport. Time goes fast and soon we are in the airplane flying over the Empty Quarter to Amman.
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| (Fake) palms in Dubai airport | The Christmas display |
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| Leaving Dubai | Empty Quarter (not so much here) |
While we arrive at 3 just exiting the airport takes a long time due to queues at the entry points and the need to pay in Jordanian dinars to enter the country with the officers not necessarily respecting the queue. The car rental goes ok except for a weird insistence to pay with cash while we want to pay with a credit card for insurance and safety. By the time we leave it is already getting dark and even though the first place we want to visit, Um er Rasas, is only about 30 km away we do not get in time as we have to pass through a few checkpoints and drive really carefully especially on the side road to Um er Rasas due to speed bumps. At the site there is a guard who we hope will let us take a look but he says it is too dangerous so we take a few pictures and leave for Petra. There is still a three hour way which is made exciting due to cars without light, unmarked speedbumps on the main highways and other interesting roadblocks. The parking lot to the hotel is difficult to find but we find the entrance after a few false starts and after checking in and a really long walk to the room we can finally rest. Actually we rest only for a short while before exiting to buy some water and see where the entrance to Petra is (while waiting for the hotel room to heat). Returning to the room it is better now so we can go to sleep as the next day will be a long day of exploring Petra.
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| Jordan first view - already dark | Um er Rasas - Stylite tower |
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| Welcome bed | Big bathroom |
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| Petra Monastery View |
Today we wake up early and uncharacteristically we are first at breakfast. It is buffet type but we notice that as people arrive they go to a secret station where from time to time a cook is preparing eggs so we go also and order some. They are quite good and we decide to remember the trick for next day. After this we leave the room towards Petra which is in walking distance from the hotel.
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| Unusually for us - almost the first at breakfast | Need energy for the walk |
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| Our hotel | Looks like a good option to eat on the way back |
At 7:30 AM there aren't many tourists yet so we buy the very expensive tickets (in the $70 range per person which is a bit unreasonable) and enter the site. Afterwards the trail is large and we see the horses nearby that tourists are supposed to determine whether they are mistreated or not according to the signs (not sure how they are supposed to do that).
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| Petra entrance | Is this really what tourists should be doing? |
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| Parallel track in the beginning for horses | Horses start area |
As we walk we start seeing the first tombs and even though we cannot get to them they look interesting to explore and we can't wait to get to other tombs that maybe can be accessed. Soon after we see the first named sight - the Djinn Blocks which are impressive. They are actually tower tombs and one of the earliest tombs in Petra and quite different from the one we see next the Obelisk tomb which is carved in stone on top of the Bab as Siq triclinium and is the first major tomb we see. The tricliniums were used by the Nabateans who built Petra for memorial feasts in the honor of the dead. After this first taste of the named tombs we soon arrive at the well known siq with the Nabataean tunnel close by. The tunnel was part of a complex system of water control that the Nabataeans built in order to avoid the flash flooding of the siq and of the city.
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| First tombs at Petra | The Djinn Blocks |
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| Obelisk tomb (top) and Bab as Siq triclinium (bottom) | Nabataean tunnel |
The siq is the well known entrance to Petra made famous by the Indiana Jones movies and we are reminded of that at almost every step by the guides who want to show us the hidden entrance, the only entrance, the special entrance and whatever else entrance of Indiana Jones. On top of the guides the horse handlers are really pushy as well as the sellers which distracts from the majesty of the siq as we cannot stop in peace in most places without being hassled. Still whenever we can escape and enjoy the siq it is quite impressive, a narrow canyon created by an earthquake and not water for a change. There are even from time to time remains of the old roman road through the siq - the entrance in the ancient times must have been breathtaking.
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| Entrance to the siq | Siq (or slot canyon in the US) |
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| Some people take the easy way | Old Roman road through the siq |
Throughout the siq we see multiple dams providing modern flood protection and multiple carvings and tombs which make for an interesting walk as we stop to examine them when possible.
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| Dam trying to reduce the risk of flooding | Living up to their name (rock dove) |
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| Carving in the siq wall | There are even a few tombs |
And then we are through (the siq is about 1 km long) and the view opens up onto the Treasury. This is the view made famous in Indiana Jones and documentaries and it is quite impressive. Everyone is trying to take the perfect picture which makes this a busy place but it is quite understandable.
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| One moment it is this | And then you have this |
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| Well known view | Where is Indiana Jones? |
The Treasury is not really a treasury - it never was - likely it was a tomb or a temple. This did not stop people taking potshots at the vases at the top - just in case. In addition according to Islamic tradition you should not carve faces of humans and animals which likely led during the intervening times to the obliteration of the faces of the sculptures on the facade of the Treasury. You cannot enter the Treasury anymore but according to the guidebook there wasn't really that much to see inside only a small room so we take pictures from the outside before moving on.
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| Treasury - impressive | Faces are destroyed |
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| Not even the head of the horse survived | Real camels are allowed |
In the large (compared to the siq) plaza in front of the Treasury there are multiple vendors and of course tourists but then we notice a weird thing - a man only in his undies trying to climb or pretending to climb the cliffs. We think it is a photo shoot but we cannot see anyone taking pictures only a few policemen looking at the man - not what we expected to see in Jordan at the Treasury in Petra.
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| This is the Siq exit | This is where we are going |
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| What is that? | Ok - this is officially unexpected and weird |
Along the way as in all of Petra multiple tombs are used by Bedouins (likely the ones making the hard sell in all of Petra) to store their things including donkeys and also seem to use them as restrooms which is totally unexpected given the extremely high cost of entrance which we were hoping was put towards maintenance and restoration. This makes many of them impossible to enter due to the smell - some of them are closed off anyway but somebody (likely locals) removed the bars in order to enter (and store the donkeys based on the smell). The few signs donated by USAID (again the question of what happens with the entrance gate income pops in our mind) are informative but also badly in need of repair in many cases and the destruction seems intentional, maybe guides that didn't like that tourists don't need their services anymore?! Even with this Petra is of course impressive with the tombs being so massive that it is difficult to make their size justice in the pictures.
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| Locals seem to like to remove protective grates | And destroy signs provided by USAID |
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| The tombs are huge | Some have interesting stairs/handholds between levels |
Soon we exit the Outer Siq and arrive at the point where we plan to diverge from the main trail through Petra and ascend to the High Place of Sacrifice. Right after starting up we are stopped in our tracks by a beautiful view of the Street of Facades, it looks like in a fantasy world where a whole mountain side has been carved by dwarfes but in this case they are simply tombs upon tombs upon tombs built by Nabataeans.
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| View before starting the climb to High Place of Sacrifice | Street of Facades |
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| Tomb details | Is a huge bird nesting there?! |
Going up we are thankfully getting away from the major areas of hard sell where people follow you for meters begging you to buy this or that (and reducing to zero in our case any chance of even looking at the wares) but we are saddled with a boy with a donkey that follows us trying to convince us to hire the donkey (which we don't want but he doesn't want to understand). Finally he finds other people to bug and we enjoy the view from high up of the area where we started from - it didn't feel like we climbed that much.
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| Some people use them for the climb | Royal Tombs view on the way |
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| We started at the bottom | Barely see the bottom - how far can you climb? |
After a bit more climb we meet with another donkey boy that tries offers us a ride to the top for 7JOD ~ 10 USD. We refuse and after the next bend we are on the top so he basically offered us a ride for about 2 minutes for 10 USD quite a ripoff. The first place we visit at the top is the obelisks - they are on a plateau near the High Place of Sacrifice which has great views of the valley below.
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| Obelisk on top | Obelisk and the Petra "canyonlands" |
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| View of Royal Tombs - they seem so tiny | Column fragment near obelisk |
The High Place of Sacrifice was an important place of sacrifice for Nabataeans even though it is unclear what the sacrifices were for. Still it is quite clear where the altar was and where the sacrifices were performed as there is a channel that collects the blood from the sacrifices. Gruesome, but likely at that time that seemed normal for most people.
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| Relaxing at high place of sacrifice | Wonder what is written here? |
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| High Place of Sacrifice | Altar |
We plan a different return route from the High Place of Sacrifice which allegedly can be more difficult to find but we find it is easy enough even without asking for directions. Soon we are descending and passing different places of interest including some inscriptions and what looks like a Muslim cemetery. After a few more stairs we arrive at the Lion Fountain which is carved in the rock and missing its head (again) which in antiquity was channeling water into a basin below for a nice respite for pilgrims to the altar above.
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| Wonder what was hiding here? | Is this a cemetery? |
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| How old is this writing? | Lion Monument |
We continue our descent and catch glimpses of the Soldier Tomb below before a more difficult descent with many stairs brings us to the canyon below. This is a different canyon that we are going to take back to the main tourist area but it also has multiple tombs that we hope are less visited than the main ones.
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| Peek at Soldier Tomb from above | Going down - better view |
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| Glad we are going down | Last stretch of stairs to the tombs at the bottom |
The first named tomb in the valley is Garden Tomb which has an austere facade but can be entered for a view of the valley. Near the tomb hogh in the cliffs is a wall that was creating a cistern that was holding water to irrigate the area.
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| Garden Tomb | Wall part of the cistern irrigating the Garden Tomb |
Next tomb is the Roman Soldier's tomb named after middle figure which resembled a Roman Soldier. While the facade is impressive inside there isn't much to see. In front of it a colonnaded courtyard linked it to the Triclinium in the opposite cliff face. The Triclinium is well known due to its colors and carved interior however we cannot enjoy it all as there are three Bedouin children outside that as soon as they see start shouting "Candy, Candy" and follow us inside continuing to beg even after we made it clear that we don't have any candy on us. So we exit almost immediately and luckily another group of tourists appears and the children latch unto them (they don't look happy either).
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| Roman Soldier's tomb | Inside the tomb - bedouins stay here it seems |
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| Courtyard in front of the tomb | Column remains |
After this the trail is mostly empty from sellers and the ones we meet are passive so we can enjoy exploring the different tombs along the way. There are two named tombs we see, the Broken pediment and the Renaissance tomb, both interesting from the outside but the Renaissance tomb is more interesting inside with what looks like excavated tombs filling the room.
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| Broken pediment tomb | Renaissance tomb |
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| Are these all tombs? | Looks like one |
There are a lot more tombs that are not named as far as we know and as we walk we try to give them names - the "Smilie" tomb is an easy one. It is a nice walk here with only a few other tourists and no locals.
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| "Smilie" tomb | Inside one of the tombs |
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| Lots of unnamed tombs | So many to explore |
The trail finally curbs away from the cliff face towards the plains where it is supposed to meet with the main trail. There are even more tombs to explore along the way and find even some pottery shards on the way. We stop at a nice spot to eat lunch before continuing on.
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| Another tomb interior | Exterior grave?! |
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| Pottery shards | There are even flowers |
In the plains area the ruins are different, we see walls and columns but no tombs. The only tombs we see are in the distance again in a rock face and here apparently inhabited by bedouins. Soon we reach a viewpoint of the main trail and we see Qasr al Bint, the least damaged of all built monuments in Petra, that we will visit later. For now we take another side trip this time to the nearby Crusader fort.
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| Old walls on the hills | Pharaun column |
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| Some tombs are used by the bedouins | Qasr al Bint View |
The Crusader fort sits on top of a small, steep and well fortified hill and it is not clear initially where to start the climb but as soon as we find the stairs the climb is fun with great views and a few goat and dove encounters. The fort by itself is not that interesting but the views and animal encounters make it worth the short climb.
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| Old city view | The climb to the Crusader Fort |
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| Goats on the way | Dove stealing from the goats |
After enjoying the views we descent and start walking around the hill to the main area of Petra with a restaurant and restrooms. Everywhere we look there are tombs which make it difficult to advance quickly as we have to stop and take pictures of all the different tombs.
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| Expansive view from the top | Great Temple |
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| Colorful bird on the trail around the castle | Canyon full of tombs |
As this is not the official trail we are not sure if we can continue around the hill especially as the trail gets narrower and narrower. Soon however we start to see the visitor center and the trail is widening and we start to pass a few (closed) museums. In fact we didn't find one open during our visit even though we actively looked for them.
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| Trail down | This is where we are descending to |
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| Truck in a cave | Relief on the way |
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| Not really | Lots of museums - none open |
The last side trip that we plan is to the Monastery, another well known monument and according to our guidebook as beautiful if not more than the Treasury. The trail to it is uphill with many stairs which means there are multiple donkeys for hire along the way but it is late in the day which makes the handlers a bit less pushy. There are also more tourists including a black couple which is harrassed quite weirdly by a guide with references to the Bible - it is a really weird moment and they also seem shook afterwards.
Soon after starting the climb we pass the Lion tomb which has two lions guarding it hence the name. The climb is long and a bit difficult after climbing all day to the different attractions. But the sellers by the side provide a good reason to keep the pace and not stop and be hassled.
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| Lots of people on the path to the Monastery | Donkeys for hire |
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| Lion tomb - can you see the lions? | Close up of lion |
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| It is stairs and then more stairs up | Looking back |
Arriving at the top we catch a glimpse of the Monastery and soon we are in front of it. It is quite huge and impressive even though it is empty similarly to the Treasury (and similarly it can't be entered). It seems to be modeled on the Treasury and it is bigger and more impressive but there are no statues and decorations.
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| The Monastery | With a person for scale - it is huge |
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| Looks like a scene from the past | Looking up |
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| Not a lot inside | Writing on the walls |
Afterwards we climb towards a few viewpoints of the surrounding area and on the way we catch a few more glimpses of the Monastery from above - it is an impressive sight.
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| View from above | And from a distance |
On the way to the viewpoint we even find a tomb which has an interior altar with another defaced human figure. The viewpoint itself has some nice views of the area but they are not that special compared to what we have seen on the way and it seems only like a way to draw you to the shop near the viewpoint (at least there is no hard sell here).
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| Interior of plateau tomb | Human representations are defaced consistently |
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| Lots of trails to viewpoints | Viewpoint view of the area |
After this we go down towards the central area and this time there are both fewer tourists and fewer vendors which makes for a more relaxing walk and we can take in the landscape more and spot the donkeys resting near the trail.
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| Going down now | Find the donkeys in the landscape |
At the bottom we arrive again at the restaurant which is now closed with Qasr al Bint next to it. It takes a bit to find the entrance to Qasr al Bint, the largest freestanding structure surviving in Petra and the interior is not that special now but we can see it was an impressive building during the ancient times. Nearby there is a field of reliefs from the buildings some of them quite intricate and interesting.
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| Looking for an entrance to Qasr al Bint | Inside Qasr al Bint |
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| So many reliefs | Close up of relief |
The area that we are passing after Qasr al Bint seems to have been the central area of the town with the Temenos Gate on one side leading to the Colonnaded Street which still has some original pavement from the Roman times.
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| Temenos Gate | Colonnaded Street |
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| Before | And after |
On one side there is a large temple, the Winged Lions Temple, which is still under excavations. It is interesting to explore with passages and tunnels we spend some time in it until we encounter an old Bedouin grandmother that seems safe as we are on the other side of a large plaza. Suddenly she starts shouting and a young girl appears who she sends after us for begging - quite irritating especially in a place that we paid such a huge amount to enter. As an aside everywhere else in Jordan the people were friendly with none of the hard sell we encountered in Petra so it is an isolated case which unfortunately destroys the experience of one of the New World Wonders for quite a few of the visitors.
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| Winged Lions Temple | Passageway in temple |
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| Excavations are ongoing | Large plaza/room in temple |
After exiting the temple we see something that looks like wild squash which is welcome after very little vegetation most of the way. Soon we also see camels that are waiting for tourists too tired to walk back.
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| Are they safe to eat? | Camels relaxing after a busy day |
The last major part that we haven't seen has a lot of named tombs. As it is late we do not enter any of them and view them only from a distance but they are quite impressive many with interesting decorations. The one thing that we wanted to enter, the Nabataean Theatre is unfortunately closed so we have to view it through holes in the surrounding fence..
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| Palace Tomb (left) and Corinthian Tomb (right) | Urn Tomb |
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| Old Nabataean/Roman Theatre | Entrance to the Theatre |
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| Uneishu Tomb | Another beautiful tomb |
Arriving at the Treasury we have to stop to take a few more pictures before continuing back towards the entrance through the siq. On the return trip we notice a few things that we missed initially including the old water channel that was supplying water to the city.
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| Treasury in the evening | Last view of the Treasury |
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| Old water channel through the siq | Obelisk Tomb and Bab as Siq triclinium in the evening |
We are really tired when we exit after almost 10 hours of walking and climbing so we stop in the restaurant that we have seen in the morning that had some Jordanian specialties. It takes a bit for them to arrive at the table but they are quite good with yoghurt sauce and well done meat. After a bit more souvenir shopping we retreat to our hotel room and fall instantly asleep.
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| Mansafe | Traditional Jordanian food |
Today we drive back from Petra towards the airport but instead of using the fast Desert Highway that we used when we arrived we are going to use the more scenic King's Highway and the Dead Sea Highway in order to see more of Jordan. Our first stop is the Shobak Castle a crusader castle close to Petra. It sits a bit farther out from a city which makes it more impressive when we first see it and it means also that it has a parking area and we can find a parking spot. It is also free to visit and the caretaker is really friendly showing us the museum and then directs us to the road to the castle. He also allows us to look at the different souvenir stands in peace and as a result we can find things that we like and buy a few. After that we start the hike towards the castle - the parking lot is at the bottom of the hill the castle is standing on and we have to climb to it.
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| Shobak Castle - First View | View from the parking lot |
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| Exhibit at visitor center | Objects from the area |
It is bitterly cold so we walk briskly to get to the top but still have to stop just to take in the breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and ruined houses.
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| Geological wonderland | Settlement at the base of the mountain |
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| Houses on the hillside | Close up of ruins |
We arrive at the top where the only shopkeeper engages in a discussion about different countries while letting us browse his wares without any pressure which makes it more fun than in Petra and in the end we buy a nice pendant from him. The castle is impressive from the start with lots of different stairs, rooms and hideaways to explore. With no one else in the castle we feel like Indiana Jones exploring the connecting rooms, entering here and exiting there, quite fun.
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| Entering the castle | Walking among the ruins |
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| We feel like Indiana Jones | With the requisite dead ends |
There are lots of interesting details to see including a collection of cannonballs and pottery shards and other objects that we try to identify as we pass them by.
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| Door hinge holder - I think | Cannonballs |
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| Pottery shards | Whetstone(?) |
After starting around the exterior wall we continue our exploration in the fortress interior where we find a beautiful double archway door - likely the church or another important building was here during crusader times.
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| Pathway along exterior wall | Lots of places to explore |
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| Double archway on top | Inside the building |
From time to time we notice also some inscriptions but they are in Arabic - Shobak was ultimately conquered by the great sultan Saladin who defeated the crusaders and reconquered Jerusalem and most of the Holy Land for the Muslims. There are also of course great views of the valley in all directions but we try to avoid getting to close to the rim as the wind is blowing fiercely and is cutting us with the cold.
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| Quranic inscriptions from Saladin's time | Close up of inscription |
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| View from castle wall | That is the visitor center |
We continue our exploration visiting the different towers and exploring a few interesting corridors, some of them having side areas for rooms and guard posts.
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| Some towers are well restored | And some are not |
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| Scary corridor | Another interesting corridor |
Another interesting thing is that you can walk on multiple levels - either at the base of the walls when they are excavated or at the top when they are not. This leads us to a few dead ends us we get stuck at the bottom level but overall makes the exploration more exciting.
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| You can walk on different levels | Best views are from the walls |
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| Another preserved portion of a building | Is this new or historical? Wouldn't enter there anyway |
Finally after noticing that a big tour group has just arrived we decide to leave as we still have a lot planned for the day. However the visit was great fun and we are glad that we were able to stop here and see this piece of history.
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| Is there treasure inside that hole? No | Looks like a big mortar to me (and a round pestle) |
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| Excavated castle decoration | Entrance gate decoration |
After Shobak we plan to follow the King's Highway up to Karak which is a bit easier said than done. While we were hoping that given that it is a tourist attraction the road will be clearly marked it is nothing of that sort. A couple times we get on a different road inside a village but luckily it always loops back to the main road in the end. With the speed bumps being ubiquitous and poorly marked the cities are congestion magnets and we drive really slow through them so we can look at the stores and goods sold along the way.
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| Which is the main road? | Scary when all cars are pointing the other way |
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| Is this really the main road? | Who wants meat? |
The worst congestion we face is in Tafila about halfway to Karak. The whole city is almost like a car trap - the road divider is raised so you cannot avoid parked cars by shifting to the left and then the conveniently double or triple parked cars with hazard lights on stop the traffic completely as the person goes to buy whatever he needs. It is a traffic nightmare made worse by the large number of pedestrians and a gasoline station with a queue in the middle of town that also blocks the traffic as the queue spills into the street. We lose about an hour here - but afterwards the traffic opens up and it is smoother with fewer major cities until Karak. We try to park at Karak but there is no parking spot so we give up us it is already late, take a few pictures from a distance and start descending to the Dead Sea.
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| Neverending congestion | That road is gone |
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| Rare spot of green | Karak Castle |
The road to the Dead Sea descends quite quickly to below sea level altitudes and it seems we are in a different country as the temperature has increased significantly - it was cold before and now it is hot almost. It is also sunnier and there is less traffic which makes for a nice drive. The only stop planned is at the site where we can see the salt pillar that is supposedly Lot's wife from the bible that was turned to salt because she disobeyed god.
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| Going down to the Dead Sea | Bedouin homes by the side of the road |
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| Along the Dead Sea highway | Lot's Wife salt pillar |
We are also at one of the lowest point on earth with the Dead Sea being one of the saltiest water bodies in the world making this a place of superlatives. We try to find a place to take a bath but it is quite difficult so we give up and just take pictures of the salt deposits at the shore before starting towards Madaba our place for the night.
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| Dead Sea | Salt deposits from the Dead Sea |
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| Typical Jordanian landscape | It is a miracle that anyone can live here |
Madaba is close to the airport and we have chosen it as our place for the night because it is also well known for its beautiful mosaics. We are not sure if we are going to be able to see any of them as we have to leave early the next day and today the sites close at 6 but we arrive at 4 in Madaba and after some searching on some confusing one way streets we find the hotel and the parking lot. After checking in we run to the Saint George Church where the most well known mosaic is a map of the Holy Land. It is an interesting place especially with some explanations of what you see and how it relates to current cities and towns. After that we buy some souvenirs and then return to the room to pack for the flight. Right before going to sleep we receive an email stating that we have to call our travel agecy, Expedia, as there were changes to our flight and they will cancel our tickets unless we agree with the changes. We look online and we see that the plane suddenly (we checked a few hours before) changed the departure time from the morning to the evening. This throws a lot of plans in disarray and we have to find a way to call to the US to agree with the changes (why no email is provided is a mystery to us). The hotel is not sure if we can and if we can how much it would cost but finally we remember that Skype can be used to call toll free numbers in US so we start by confirming with Expedia that we agree with the new flight plan. Then we have to announce our work places that we will arrive late (from Monday evening now it is Tuesday morning) and our family that we will be stuck for some time. This takes a lot of time as the internet connection is not reliable and drops repeatedly but we succeed in the end. After doing all that we have to go to sleep as it is already really late but we don't have a good night sleep after all this adventures.
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| Famous map mosaic in St George Church in Madaba | Detail with Jerusalem on the map |
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| Sinai Peninsula part of map | Holy Land part of map |
With the changes to our plane schedule we do not have to leave early in the morning but have time till the afternoon to explore Madaba and the area. The hotels in Jordan including this one have breakfast included which is nice after the UAE and Oman where breakfast was mostly not included. Here the breakfast is buffet type and served in the rooftop restaurant and there are no other guests which makes us feel almost like VIP guests. The food is good and plentiful and we fill ourselves as we are not quite sure when we are going to eat again today.
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| Madaba room/airline calling office for us | Breakfast - need energy for long day |
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| Hummus is a staple at breakfast in Jordan | Olives are also popular here |
Before leaving the restaurant we take a look at the city from above - the nearby mosque and multiple churches are impressive and quite loud with calls to prayers/church. After this we exit the hotel to visit Madaba with a focus on a couple museums which protect many of the mosaics discovered.
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| Mosque close to hotel | Hotel parking lot looked similar |
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| Hotel from the outside | Street in front of the hotel |
On the way to the first museum, the Madaba Archaelogical Park, we pass again the St George Church with the map mosaic and quite a few souvenir shops. The city is relatively empty this early in the morning and it seems we are the only tourists up and about.
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| St George Church | One of the many souvenir shops |
Soon we arrive at the museum and after paying for the entrance we immediately are captivated by the number of mosaics. We assumed that it is only one but there are multiple ones of different sizes. Most of them were done during Byzantine times but some of them were retouched or done during the following Islamic times. Most retouches that are described are basically covering animals with designs in order to comply with Muslim restrictions that animals and humans cannot be represented.
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| Madaba Archaelogical Park entrance | The park has lots of mosaics |
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| Many mosaics have been redone to cover the animals | Very nicely restored |
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| Another covered lion | Detail of the mosaic |
The main exhibit is covered and we have to climb on a walkway that snakes around the building the mosaics are in. The mosaics were part of the church of the Virgin Mary and then partly redone also by Muslim artists and they are well known due to the intricate geometric design. The Church likely has been beautiful during its heyday with the mosaics covering the floor.
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| Moss at the entrance to the main exhibit | Stairs to see the main mosaics |
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| Church of the Virgin Mary main mosaic | Well known for the geometric design |
In fact the church has been built on top of a Madaba mansion that in turn was built on top of a Roman temple. From this earlier times comes the most well known mosaic in the museum the one representing the Greek tragedy of Phaedra and Hippolytus and also has the well known panel of Aphrodite and Cupid. Around the panel there are bird and animal motifs that are quite interesting and varied.
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| Church and Hippolytus Hall | View of famous mosaic |
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| Goose mosaic | And a deer one |
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| And some quail | Lots of interesting mosaics |
Outside there are parts of the old roman road on show and another side building with a few more mosaics. It is an interesting museum and we are happy that we had the opportunity to visit and are surprised at how few visitors there are (maybe it is too early in the day).
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| Main building from outside | Old roman road through the museum |
The other museum that we want to visit is the Madaba Museum. It takes a bit to find it as it is in a back alley but after entering we are surprised at the structure of the museum with multiple houses and cellars linked by rooftops. Right next to the entrance is the first exhibit hall in an cellar where they found a mosaic of Bacchus and Ariadna. It really feels that if you make a dig here you will find a mosaic.
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| Madaba Museum entrance | Bacchus and Ariadna |
In another room there is a small folklore museum with exhibits about the Jordanian culture and dress codes and an unexpected visitor - an orange cat.
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| Exhibit in folklore section of museum | Overview of folklore museum |
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| Gold coins found in Jordan | Another (unexpected) visitor |
Continuing there are mosaics everywhere both inside the rooms and outside between the rooms.
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| Another mosaic found in a room | Some mosaics are outside |
The rooftop courtyard between the different houses is not empty - it holds a collection of columns and other artifacts including mosaics from different archaeological sites in the area. It almost feels like there wasn't enough place inside so they were stored outside. There are nice views of the city and we even discover the museum cat searching for food in the trash cans of a neighboring home.
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| Courtyard between the building | Old columns are preserved here |
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| So many columns | Is this really safe? |
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| View of Madaba's rooftops | Same cat already outside the museum |
Entering in another museum house it has two rooms both with mosaics that are clearly from the Byzantine times due to the Christian motives and Greek writing and also there is a full lamb and birds represented. It is surprising how well the mosaics were preserved for so many years until they wre rediscovered.
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| Another room with mosaics | Interesting patterns |
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| Greek writing at the doorstep | Possible Christian symbol |
Another part of the museum holds the historical collection with exhibits from finds from the area. There are some fascinating objects and it is a nice smallish exhibit.
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| Museum with artifacts from the area | Interesting figurine |
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| Lots of pottery | What is following that deer? |
It is getting late already, towards 11 AM, and we have to leave at 12 so we go towards the museum exit but it is difficult to leave as we find new mosaics everywhere, tucked in corners, hidden in alleywalls and so on that we missed on our initial walk. After exiting it is a 5 minute walk to the hotel passing the John the Baptist Catholic CHurch on the way which also has mosaics but we do not have time to enter.
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| Outside mosaic | And one with fish |
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| Stairs towards the exit | John the Baptist Catholic Church |
After checking out we go to the hotel parking lot and are surprised to see that the exit is blocked by a parked car. We ask the hotel for help and they send someone to ask around but for 15-25 min we are stuck. A crowd gathers trying to help but nobody knows the person with the car. But they know the person parked in the back who moves their car however if we go that route we have to jump the curb which we are not sure that our car can make it. But everyone helps us in carrying stones and we build a ramp that we can use to exit after 1/2h in the parking lot - everyone was really friendly and interested in helping us.
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| Hotel parking lot | Exit is blocked |
Before checking out we looked at the airline website and the plane has an additional 1:30h of delay so we decide to do one more attraction before going to the airport - Mount Nebo. Mount Nebo is close to Madaba, only about 10 km, and is the biblical spot from which Moses saw the Holy Land. However to get there we have to exit Madaba which is no easy feat which congested streets and no lanes but we got the hang of the traffic here (close your eyes, pray and press the gas pedal) and we proceed at good pace.
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| Busy streets | Interesting roundabout |
Soon we arrive at Mount Nebo and park and immediately a guy appears asking us if we want a taxi - quite weird given that we just stepped out of a car. After refusing we pay for the entrance and start the walk towards the Monastery built on top of Mount Nebo. On the way we pass the Pope John Paul II monument erected in honor of his visit and a huge round stone previously used as door to the monastery.
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| Arriving at Mount Nebo | Road to Mount Nebo Church |
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| Pope John Paul II Monument | Stone used previously as door to the monastery |
Behind the stone door are some nice views of the valley and close by there is a tent that protects a huge mosaic which again contains a lot of birds which seem to have been quite popular in decorating churches and houses. It also wets our appetite for the main course which should be the mosaic in the main church.
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| View of the valley | Closer look of the valley bottom |
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| Large protected mosaic | Birds were popular for mosaics |
Near the mosaic is a small museum with description of the importance of the site and different artifacts found in the area related to Mount Nebo. There is also a description of the interior mosaic that we hope we will be able to see as it seems impressive.
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| Small museum | Description of interior mosaic we could not see |
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| Mosaics in the museum | Minimalistic vase |
The monastery is nearby but we cannot find how to enter it until we notice a bridge over the surrounding wall but unfortunately it leads only to the a viewpoint - the church and mosaic are closed of to visitors. In fact looking afterwards on the internet it seems that it is closed since 2007 - that is a long time to close your main attraction and still charge a fee.
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| Moses Memorial Church | Entrance to the viewpoint |
The viewpoint has a plaque showing the major biblical sites nearby but it is difficult to determine what is what. We can see the Jordan River and therefore can guess where Israel and the Palestinian territories are but it is difficult to name the cities we are seeing. It is also a bit foggy which makes seeing over large distances difficult. But it is an impressive sight and you can see why they chose this as the place to built the monastery.
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| Many biblical sites are visible | Looking for some of them |
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| Jordan Valley | Very dry hills |
It is getting late as we still have to drive to the airport through the busy streets of Madaba. We are really happy that we have a GPS that directs us through the confusing maze of streets and after exiting we are on a four lane road going to the airport. While a divided four lane road sounds safe we know it is not that way here necessarily as we have seen cars entering the opposite roadway and driving against the traffic for hundreds of meters to get to their destination instead of going a bit more and making a U turn and go the right way. During the day we can easily see them at night it is a bit more scary if that happens. At the airport after returning the car we have to enter the secure area even for checking in - the security here is heightened for good reason. At the counter they do not let us check in because the plane had another delay so we are waiting for a bit before we are called and given our boarding passes. We also ask and receive some food vouchers but they cannot offer anything for Chicago where we will be stuck for the night - they tell us to ask when we arrive there.
Passing passport control we have lot of time to eat and buy souvenirs with our remaining dinars while waiting for the gate to open. It opens only 1/2h before the plane is scheduled to leave and we actually have to pass another heightened security check in order to get to the gate. This one is unexpected and off putting - for example we bought water after we entered the secured area as we can always take it on the plane and now we have to throw it away. In addition it is much stricter than any rules that we are aware (no empty bottles of water for example which makes no sense) and they make random decisions with no one to complain to because if you do you will miss the plane. The search is really invasive with them checking inside all bags and then giving you a security pat which is gender specific so families are broken apart as they have to stay at different lines. From our bags they are stuck on an extender cord and throw it - luckily it was a cheap one but still what could I have done with that extender cord that I cannot do with my charger cord for my photo camera (glad that they didn't think that way and throw it away too because that one is expensive). Another person had some of his souvenirs (small replica of Burj Khalifa) thrown away and so on. While I understand the need to do the secondary check if they would have been clear that it exists and what you can and can't bring we would have packed those things in the checked baggage - it is quite bad customer service. And then on board they serve you food with real cutlery not plastic which makes what we just passed through surreal.
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| Delay food | Amman airport |
After a long flight we arrive in Chicago at midnight and here we enter in customer service hell with American Airlines. Even though we are late and missed our connections due to American Airlines and their partners they refuse to give us a hotel voucher for the night because the hotel is 1:30h away from the airport (!) and it doesn't make sense for us to go there and return according to the representatives. This is unacceptable (how can a major airline in Chicago that is a major city with many hotels want to accomodate people in a hotel that far away?) and we and quite a few other passagers argue but this late at night the person has no power (or doesn't want to use it) and we are stuck in the airport. In addition he does not give us any vouchers for food as everything is closed and he says that when we check in we should receive the vouchers.
We and other passengers stuck at the airport now have to go to the terminal where we are going to be leaving from for which we can take an automated train. We are glad for this as it is bitterly cold and snowy outside and we do not have clothes for this as we were going from a warm climate to another. However we are less glad when the train doesn't stop at our station and only stops at the next one. We (the whole group from the plane) try to find someone to get an answer to what happened but the only person in the terminals is a cleaning lady that doesn't know what happened but tells us that going back to our terminal is a walk outside of 15-20 minutes which is not what we want. So we decide to go back to the train that luckily stops at the correct station now. Next we have to wait 4 hours but there are no chairs (really in a huge terminal there are no chairs) and we cannot enter in the safe area as all the security checkpoints are closed so we are forced to wait on the baggage scales until the airport opens in the morning.
In the morning we get in the line for American Airlines (which is what our boarding pass says) in order to check in the bags. After waiting in line for some time we arrive at the counter and they say they can't check us in as the ticket is serviced by US Airways. There is nothing on our ticket mentioning that but we have no choice and now we have to go to a different line and wait. When we get at the counter we are too exhausted to even discuss the vouchers with the person as we are happy to get tickets as people in front of us were told that there were no more tickets and we are scared that we won't be able to make it to Phoenix and our work day in time. This is the last of our adventure the flight is ok, our taxi shows up in time and we go home in time to start work without having to take extra vacation.
Overall the trip was quite interesting with both Oman and Jordan certainly being worth a visit with multiple historic and natural sites to see and we feel we just scratched the surface of what to see and do in these countries. Dubai and the UAE are also interesting to visit but more if you are interested in man made superlatives (biggest building, mall and so on) which we are less attracted to. The historical areas were more average except those in Al Ain which were worth a visit.
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| Snow in Chicago | Lots of New Year ornaments |
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