This weekend was amazing. I don’t even know how to try and describe it. I went on a tour of southern Jordan, including Kerak, Dana, Wadi Rum, Petra and Aqaba.
Kerak – famous for its Crusader castle which is enormous. Standing inside it was the first time I’ve really been inside a building built over a 1,000 yrs ago that is still completely standing. Its on top of a big mountain overlooking the city.
Dana – a nature reserve in Jordan that has spectacular views .. the drive to get to it was amazing. Our guide pointed out the different separations of the ancient kingdoms of the Moabites and the Edomites, which just blows me away.
Wadi Rum – the strangest, yet most beautiful place on earth I’ve yet to see. It looks like how I picture Mars. Yellow/redish sand with enormous wadis (canyons) of brown/black rocks. It was made famous by the movie Lawrence of Arabia apparently .. but its like an outdoorsy persons dream come true. I slept out in the middle of the desert and have never seen more stars in my life. We took camels just to get to our remote campsite – which was uncomfortable but entertaining.
Petra – who knew that it was more than just that one building seen in Indiana Jones? Its an entire city – probably a mile long, completely carved out of the canyons surrounding it. The engineers of the city were some of the smartest people who ever lived I’m convinced. It was built over 2,000yrs ago and some of the water channels are still being used today.
Aqaba – the Jordanian sea port on the Red Sea. WOW! The water there is crystal clear blue. Its the 2nd best scuba diving in the world. Yesterday I went snorkeling along the reefs – which I’ve never done before – I was in awe. The sheer beauty of the ocean and its creatures is dumbfounding. A few times my breath was literally taken away by the colorful reefs, schools of fish and exotic sealife only feet away from me. Eels, flounders, puffer fish.. everything… I can’t wait to go back and explore more. Who can look at that and not see purpose and design? I don’t know.. but it was incredible.
yardenxanthe: Amazing. I would love to see all that stuff!5 years ago
basementdweller:
I loved Petra too next time I go I want to hike up to the top of some at least one of the high places above the city…Last summer I was planning on going to Kerak..but it didn’t pan out….Wadi Rum & Aquaba are on my list of things to see as well, I hadn’t heard of Dana, how cool, I’m a bit jealous….;-)
5 years ago
strawberry14: Sounds like a dream weekend….I just finished studying the geography of that area of the world and so I was imagining how grand it must all be. Maybe I’ll get to visit someday…5 years ago