Family is the BEST & Petra Made Me Cry!
For so many reasons, Amman was a great reminder of just how awesome it is to be surrounded by your family and loved ones. After nearly 2 weeks of our traveling group of 7 being separated across three countries (Kenya, Egypt, Turkey), we finally reunited in Amman, Jordan.
My parents and Sophia were the first to make it to Amman, arriving on our previously planned date of January 24th from Egypt. Ava and I made it to Amman on January 26th after a snow storm stranded us in Istanbul for two days, and Ben and Paul finally tested negative and made it in on January 27th.
We were thrilled to be together again, but our reunion was not without its hiccups. First, my bag did not make it to Jordan from Istanbul and the airline couldn’t confirm where exactly it was and when it would arrive…it didn’t arrive for 6 days! Ava and Paul also both tested positive for COVID upon arrival (after testing negative at departure) and we weren’t sure if the government was going to make them adhere to the 14 day quarantine in a government-approved hotel. We were also concerned about getting my cousin and her family sick.
Fortunately, Denise and Duke were incredibly welcoming and allowed us to all stay with them, despite our two sickies. Not wanting to get crossways with the Jordanian Government, we kept Paul and Ava quarantined at my cousin’s home while we went to Petra and Wadi Rum.
While hippos made Ben cry, seeing Petra made me cry. For me, it was a combination of awe for the natural beauty of the rock walled entrance, the stunning design and detail of the iconic “Treasury”, and the fact that we were in a scene straight out of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (complete with theme music from my mom’s phone). It was an awesome moment and I couldn’t help but tear up.
We were totally spoiled to be at Petra when the crowds were at their lowest. Pre-COVID, there could be more than 20,000 visitors a day at the site. Post, it was down to maybe 150 a day. It felt as though we had the whole place to ourselves, something we did not take for granted.
The iconic temple carved into the mountain known as the Treasury (and the entry to the location of the Holy Grail in the Last Crusade movie) was never a treasury and only contains a shallow room on the first level. Though the name would suggest it once held large sums of riches, it never did and was actually carved into the mountain to serve as a giant billboard at the entrance to Petra telling traders from Asia and Africa the benefits of coming to Petra over the rival Roman trading city. Seems that the Roman city provided women and alcohol and was altogether a lot more fun than Petra. Traders stopped coming to Petra and to woo them back, the officials of Petra decided to give them a Vegas style menu of everything they wanted - women, booze, gambling, etc. They even promised to give them a proper burial in the city if they died while there or ship their belongs and body back to their home. The carvings on the façade basically communicate this and would have been visible to any traders still coming to Petra. Once word got out, the number of traders coming to Petra increased again. Rome did not like seeing their business reroute to Petra and so ultimately invaded Petra and took it over…taking “don’t get mad, get even” to another level. 😊
After walking 2.5hrs into Petra, we decided to ride camels back to the entrance. This was SO MUCH FUN! I totally giggled like a little girl as the camel started trotting. I’ve decided camel riding is the way to go and so much more fun than horseback riding (which we did a bit of on the way in). The best part is being on their back as they stand up or sit down. They are so tall and wobbly on their legs as they rise and lower.
After a full day in Petra, we had a relaxing evening at our hotel, which had a dry and wet sauna and a fantastic view of the sunset. Sibling free, Sophia reconnected with several friends from her Girl Scout Troop for what was supposed to be a 1 hour zoom. We finally cut her off at the 3 hour mark.
In the morning we drove 1.5hrs to Wadi Rum a protected dessert area that has been the filming site for some epic movies, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Martian, Transformers, and some Star Wars scenes. Here we stayed in bubble tents, which I’d definitely categorize as glamping. They had air conditioning and heaters, private bathrooms and showers, and large clear windows to gaze at the stars from at night. Looking out over the dessert at our camp and the red dunes surrounding us, I totally felt like we were living on Mars. Not to mention the fact that when we checked in we were the only people at the property beside the staff. That night we ran into one other couple from the UK who were also staying at the camp, but that was it. A small silver lining of COVID for us travelers.
The next morning we took the Dead Sea Road back to Amman for some new scenery. Back in Amman we found out the quarantine had been changed to 7 days with no symptoms. Since Ava and Paul hadn’t had symptoms since before we left Kenya, we decided it was safe to take them out for day trips to the Dead Sea and Jarash.
The Dead Sea is only 45 mins from my cousin’s home and so we left in the late morning with plans to have lunch at the Holiday Inn there, which we heard had great beach access to the Dead Sea. For about $30 a person we got a day pass that included a three course lunch, pool and beach access, and dead sea mud. Having experienced a major snow storm the day we arrived in Amman, it was a bit crazy to be swimming outdoors only a week later, but the weather was in the mid-60s and the Dead Sea was surprisingly warm.
The experience of floating in the Dead Sea is a bit surreal. It has to be like being weightless in space. The water is 10X salter than the ocean and you float on the surface with no effort at all. In fact, it is pretty difficult to get your legs down into the water without flipping over to your stomach or back immediately. Everyone got in the water, but only a few of us made use of the free mud, which is supposed to be really good for your skin.
On our last day in Jordan, Denise and Clara joined us for a trip to Jarash, where there are incredible Greek and Roman Ruins – honestly these are on par with the Acropolis in Greece and Pompeii in Italy. We all had a great time and ended the evening with Chinese takeout back home.
We can’t thank Denise and Duke enough for welcoming us into their home and helping make our time in Jordan so magical. It really was fantastic despite all the hiccups and challenges and even better because we were all together and able to share it with family. ❤
