Best of Egypt and Jordan

Time goes so quickly--we're at the end of another journey of discovery! Before the "best of," a few travel advisories:

-Tourism in Egypt and Jordan is way down because of Western misperceptions about security. Bad for them, good for us. Fact is, the Nile Valley and Jordan are very safe, people are friendly (we always got the thumbs-up for being from the US), and the crowds that mobbed the major attractions pre-2011 just aren't there. We found ourselves almost alone at wonderful sites like the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid and Abu Simbel.

-While most countries outside the US don't use tipping, in Egypt and Jordan it's a constant. We scrambled to find small change to tip bathroom attendants, guards at temples and tombs, hotel housekeepers (all male, don't know why), and restaurant servers.
-Almost all the men, especially in Jordan, smoke. It's a Mad Men scene. If you want clean air, use forethought in choosing restaurant tables (preferably outdoor, which there are many), places to use the internet, etc. Internet, by the way, seems much improved overall since our trip around the world two years ago.
-While many people speak English, only a few speak it fluently, so don't assume that every word is understood.
-Hospitality is shown through massive amounts of food and frequent cups of highly sweetened tea. Unless you're a linebacker, I'd suggest ordering just one main course and a couple of sides at a restaurant to feed two. The food is great--best falafels, hummus, and babaganouj ever!
-Egyptians and Jordanians are extremely polite and welcoming when it comes to visitors. However, the traveler may observe different perspectives on problem solving. For example, Judy asked the hotel clerk in Aqaba about a persistent noise outside our room at night. He said it was a ventilation system at the upscale hotel next door, that his management had talked to them about it and then "destroyed it three times" before the other hotel hired a security guard.

Anyway, it's hard to narrow down, but here's my take on the best experiences:

-In Cairo, our first sight of the Giza pyramids was a wonder, and the Egyptian Museum's collection is vast and amazing.
-The temple of Ptah at Karnak temple containing a statue of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet was truly magical. I don't know how to put it into words, but I'm an empirical sort of guy yet felt altered in a very good way.
-Many of the 3000+ year old tomb paintings in the Valley of the Kings, tombs of the nobles, and workers' village looked like the craftsmen had left their mark yesterday.
-The Jordan Museum in Amman is truly world-class. Its collection includes some of the first known human statues from 7500 BC and a few of the Dead Sea scrolls.
-Floating in the Dead Sea was great fun, as was experiencing local culture at the nearby hot springs.
-The swirling natural hues of rock in the tombs at Petra. It was worth compiling a gallery of natural rock art.
-I love diving, so can't leave out the myriad of colorful fish and corals in the Gulf of Aqaba.

I have just two short videos to share: baptisms in the narrow Jordan River, and a carriage ride through the streets of Luxor.

Some humble submissions for best photos:

Djoser, builder of the Step Pyramid

Nile fisherman

Stairs at Edfu temple

Tomb of Sennedjem at Workers' Village

Sekhment, temple of Ptah at Karnak

Neolithic plaster-covered skull, Amman

Shrine of John the Baptist (credit Judy)

Siq, Wadi Rum

Royal tombs at Petra

[Gallery of Petra natural rock art]

Jellyfish (credit Judy)

Aqaba mosque (credit Judy)

I hope you had a wonderful vicarious trip! We are already thinking about the next one--maybe Cuba if it opens up.

Bedouin & Wet: Wadi Rum and diving Aqaba

After a second long day at Petra, our driver took us to Wadi Rum. "Wadi" means valley, and "rum," depending on whom you ask, means it's elevated or sand. One of the first sights is the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, so called because of T.E. Lawrence's book of that name. The movie was filmed here.











The package deal here was to spend the night in a Bedouin camp and take a tour of the desert the next day. Bedouins are known as nomads, and aside from the camps for tourists, there are many living in Wadi Rum looking after their goat and sheep herds. Salaman, on the right, was in charge of the operation, and his buddy is the cook. Accommodations were basic; we stayed in a tent like those in the background.

Dinner was served in a long tent, and the typical meal of chicken, rice, hummus, salad, cheese, and pita bread was quite good. There were three other guests who were from India and working tech jobs in Finland, but more than enough to eat. The leftovers go to local Bedouins, so we didn't feel bad about leaving a lot on the platters.

The next morning was perfect for a desert safari. The weather this time of year is cool enough for a jacket in the evening and warm in the day. July and August are not so much so, at over 120 degrees F.

The mountains and canyons are spectacularly sculpted by wind and the very occasional rain.

We hiked though a siq (slot canyon) to meet our guide at the other end,


where he made tea for us and chatted with a guide friend who happened by. The Arab culture exhibits hospitality by overfeeding the guest and offering frequent tea.

Birds, insects, and reptiles have found a way to thrive here. This guy had a very pretty song.

Wadi Rum is a popular location for making movies. The Martian was shot here, and we thought this might be the place.

The landscape is rich with natural bridges.

Our final stop was Khazali Canyon, which contains a freshwater spring and petroglyphs made by the Thamudic culture 3000 years ago. It seems that not much is known about them.

The last destination in our journey was Aqaba, a modern, touristy city. Jordan has just a nine-mile stretch of territory here on the Red Sea between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It was refreshing to clean up and empty the sand from our shoes.

Don't ask.

We included Aqaba in the itinerary to dive in the Red Sea. Though the water was a bit colder than the tropical sites we've been to (like S. California in summer), the colorful reefs and fish were worth it. On Monday we dove on a sunken cargo ship, the Cedar Pride. As in Egypt, tourism is low and we were the only ones on board Sunday. A couple from Texas joined us the next day.






Aqaba is Jordan's only port, and several ships were on/offloading or waiting offshore. This one is loading Jordan's biggest mineral resource, potash.

On the way back to port, the crew serves a sumptuous lunch of chicken kabobs, salad, vegetables, and of course hummus.

Israel is close by, and on a clear day you can see Egypt and Saudi Arabia farther down the gulf.

My 100th dive came on our last day of diving. Apparently it's tradition to dive naked on this occasion, but I told the crew I'd need warmer water.

Many wonderful underwater sights have been recorded by our divemaster, Shadi, on the dive shop's photo gallery. Judy got a nice jellyfish picture from the boat.

To avoid a nasty case of the bends, you need to wait 24 hours between diving and flying, so we spent Wednesday checking out a small archeological museum and the Aqaba Castle, a 15th-century fortress where Lawrence of Arabia scored a victory over the Ottomans during the Arab revolt in 1916.

Well, another adventure wraps up. Our last day in the Middle East was sunny, warm, and placid. Stay tuned for one more blog post, the "best of" photos and experiences, along with a couple of videos and some cultural observations.

Dana Reserve and the magnificent Petra

Making our way south, we stayed a day at Dana Biosphere Reserve. Over 400 of Jordan's indigenous species of plants and animals are found here.

Our hotel (top of the picture), sat in the midst of 500-year-old Dana village. Entrepreneurs have turned some of the old buildings into tourist accommodations.

Though it's not perfect by Western standards, the owners have made the interior seem quite lavish.

A hike in the Reserve reminded me of canyon country in the southwest US, and the springtime flora--particularly the perfume scent of tiny white flowers--eased the steep climb out of the canyon.

On Thursday we were off to the famed ancient Nabataean city of Petra. First we stopped at "Little Petra," a nearby site with a biclinium, or dining room, with rare painted ceilings showing influence from the Romans.

The entrance to Petra is a 1.2 km siq, or slot
canyon, leading to the old city.













Alongside the siq is a water channel that carried water from Little Petra. The siq opens to a view of the Treasury, a towering structure carved directly into the cliff face.

The facades of the royal tombs are carved into the sandstone as well.

Petra has the only theater in the world carved from rock. The Romans continued to use it after conquering Petra in 106 AD.

As impressive as Petra's great structures is the swirling color in the sandstone. The tomb builders took advantage of its decorative nature, I'm sure. In the final post of this blog, there will be a link to a gallery of natural rock art.

One final look at the Petra area from the King's Highway, and we are on our way to Wadi Rum, where we'll spend the night as Bedouins, and where Lawrence of Arabia spent some time.