Christmas in Joran

Well I have been very bad and not posted in a long time!!! Naughty Naamah but here goes.
I was surprised by the amount of Xmas in a Islamic country. Not only were there Christmas lights, a Christmas decoration shop but I did even see images of Santa! So there was no real way that Dad could pretend that it was not happening! Dad have even put up Christmas lights! But Xmas dinner was an very Jordanian experience (and tasty too)



As my tour of Jordan had not included the city of Amman Dad became my latest tour guide. There were two main sites that needed attention. And both again showed the influence of Rome. The first stop on our whirl wind tour of Amman was the Citadel, one of the highest points in the city where you could get a great view. There were also of impressive ruins on the top of the citadel, most of Roman origin but apparently some date back to the bronze age.



Most of the site is in ruins and it was odd to be able to go up to the remains of Roman buildings and not only handle them but walk all over them. Not exactly what Rome had in mind I think, nor would modern Italians be that pleased I think. In Italy you can barely get near things! One of the most impressive Roman ruins was the Temple of Hercules which I did have a really good climb on.



Mixed in amongst all things Roman there were things that you would have classify as more Islamic which of course dad had to get a photo of.



Down on amongst the city itself there were two Roman theater, one quite large but I liked the small, intimate one.




Dad was lucky enough to have a friend who was willing to be our chauffeur so we were also able to visit sites outside of Amman. I was very glad that Dad had spent some time with Nazim (our 'chauffeur'), schooling him in the traditional road rules as driving in Amman was quite an interesting experience but I am pleased to say that Nazim did a great job and there were no accident (even the one flat tyre on the way to the airport was very swiftly dealt with!)
One of the site we visited was Iraq Al Emil ( and Dad's favourite joke of the day was that this was the closest I would get to Iraq!)




Next stop Morocco!

The Power of Rome

Day fourteen saw the group off to Shobak, Madaba and Amman. A lot of the day was spent in the mini van drinking with only the odd stop to check things out. Shobak is home to an important castle that has been around since the days of Old. Surprise, surprise it was first build by the bloody Roman's but was also important during the Crusades and the Ottoman Empire.



The site is up on a very high hill as we could see for a long way! But one of the disadvantages of being high up was the wind! It really cut through you and apparently was really bad, even from the viewpoint of the locals. Our guide was quite concerned about us getting blown off the edges. The group is a little challenged at walking even in perfect conditions.... too busy looking at everything to watch our feet. It has become a habit when we come to a step or tricky ground to have the whole Chinese whisper thing going on as we pass warnings down the line. Even then some people still manage to not 'mind the step'. So far I have only fallen over while climbing Mount Sinai which I think is totally understandable!
Once we were thoroughly windswept and extremely cold we got back on the bus and headed to Madabe, world famous for an ancient mosaic map that was created around 550AD and featured Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. It is currently housed in a Greek Orthodox church but parts of it were destroyed before people realised how special it was.



The final stop of the day was Amman where we would be based for the next two days while we explored the surrounding area. St last I was in the same city as my Dad and that was kind of reassuring - if any thing went wrong Daddy Bear could come to the rescue! I was surprised by how seriously our hotel took it security. We all had to walk through a metal detector, yes they were other places but here if you beeped they would actually check why. Bags were also screened. It was only when I met up with Dad and his local taxi driver that I realised why. A few year earlier there had been a series of terrorist bombings in Amman and my hotel was one of the target. Dad's taxi driver would no longer accept pick ups from it. Glad I found out as I was check out and not in!!!!!
The next morning we head off to Jersah, a major Roman town in it time and with a lot that has survived including two theatres,a working hippodrome, colonnaded streets and arches.




We could have spend a whole day here but were rushed through the site by our tour guide. By now we were sick of the word 'Yella Yella' which basically means hurry up in Arabic. I don't think our tour guide really got the idea that while he comes here once a week it was the first and probably only time for us. He even whistled at us like we were dogs at one point. I think some members of the group became even slower as a form of silent protest!.

The afternoon was spent at 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. Yes you guess it we were at the Dead Sea and yes I was brave enough to have a wee float. And floating it was! It was so easy to sit on top of the water. It was a most bizarre feeling. Most of the time when you are swimming you have to fight to keep your head above water but not here. Swimming was somewhat trick as your legs were hardly under the water so kicking was not very effective! The water was not as clear as what I am used to in NZ and had the strangest silky yet slimy feel to it. I think I spent about ten mins trying to shower the feeling away!



And yes the Romans came here too for the healing properties of the water!

Indiana Jones and Me

The biggest tourist attraction in Jordan has to be Petra. Petra is most famous for it brief inclusion in the Indiana Jones film The Last Crusade. But it has also featured in the most recent Transformers film ( where the the machines basically destroyed the whole complex.... I was a little worried that there would be nothing left for me to look at). It was something that I was quite looking forward to. But I think I probably saw it on one of those 'off' days and looking back at my photo's I don't seems to have really captured it well. The day was extremely windy. Even the local tour guide and shop owners were complaining about it. Many packed up and went home early! The wind whistled through the cannon and stirred up masses of dust. I could kind of understand why the woman cover their faces as expose skin tended to get rubbed red!
The most famous image of Petra is probably the view of the Treasury at the end of the Siq



And it is a difficult spot to get a photo as everyone (including me) stops and stares in wonder! The night before we had attending "Petra By Night" where the whole of the Siq is lit by candle light and it was equally impressive! The site of Petra was mostly build by the Nabataens but many others have also left their mark. It seems on this trip that I can't get away from the Romans! While this site was known about in ancient times it was 'lost' until about 1812 when it was 'discovered' by the Swiss. In fact the locals who were living in the site itself had 'hidden' it to stop Westerns from coming.



Petra is also a bit special to Kiwis a well because a New Zealander ended up marrying a Bedouin and living in a cave at the site (Marguerite Van Geldermalsen) Dad gave me the book for Xmas and I am about haft way through reading it and rather her than me! I did meet her son while I was there. It was very werid to hear a kiwi accent there (he was educated in NZ and still knew what was going on in rugby) as There seemed to be very few kiwi's travelling through the Middle East. I had met none and normally when travelling you can't help but trip over all the Kiwi's.



The whole site is rich with decoration but my favourite was the elephant carved in one part of the Siq. There were also camels and people but I think the elephants were the best!

Lost in the Desert .... Where is Lawrence when you need him?

Our first big day in Jordan was based around Wadi Rum. This is the place made famous by Lawrence of Arabia who of course was not an Arab but a skinny white English dude. Nowadays it is most famous for the Bedouin tribes who still live in the vast desert. Our group headed into the great openness of Wadi Rum to spend a night 'roughing it' in a Bedouin Desert camp site. Now as most of you know I am not that big on the whole camping thing (in fact I think I can count the number of times I have slept in a tent on my ten fingers and still have a lot left over!). So I had prepared myself for this experience, psyched myself up for it with lots of "you can do it" don't be a girls blouse' and lots of hand sanitizer and hand wipes! But when we got to the camp (after a 30min ride in the back of a 4 wheel drive truck) I was pleasantly surprised. I had a real bed, flashing toilets, running water and hot showers! I was almost dissappointed!



The camp was quite well hidden until you arrived at it and seem to fit in very well with the landscape which was unusual to say the least. The desert in Jordan is very different to the desert in Egypt where the dominate colour was yellowy - you know like sand. Here there is an orange glow on every thing and while a lot of the land is wavy sand dunes and quite flat, you then get these massive mountains that seem to have no way of climb up them. The first 'Bedouin' experience was a ride on a camel.... a first for me, having managed to avoid it in Egypt. As you can imagine there was a lot of squealing and giggling from me!! Especially as my camel decided that it wanted to go first. And when as camel stands up...... interesting experience! Paul, one of the tour groupies did manage to capture the whole thing on his camera and no doubt with be on youtube soon......



We also had a traditional Bedouin dinner that was cooked in the ground but unlike a hangi there was space around the food, and the earth kind of acted like a big oven. The food was great and we were well entertained by the local guides who sung to us and keep us well feed and watered. I particularly liked the sage tea - sage added to 'normal'tea. Something that I am going to try and recreate.
The stars at night were amazing with nothing to get in the way of their light. I am sure that I was not the only one who kept looking up. In Jordan our wee tour family gained two new members, one of whom was a Chief Inspector for New Scotland Yard and she became my new room mate. Very funny woman with a great laugh like me..... you can imagine the noise we made and the fun we had. She did have the interesting habit of yelling in her sleep sometimes. The first time she did it, it scared the crap out of me but the second time was hilarious as she dreamed that someone was coming into our tent and she yelled out in her best British accent "Who Goes There" and answered herself with "It's just you, you stupid cow" Fun Times!

In the morning we went for a walk (unguided) in the desert. We were given the instruction 'Head for that black rock way over there" But luckily we made it safely.



We then had a whirlwind trip around all the key sites eg Lawrence's Spring and house, ancient wall paintings and carving, massive sand dunes,etc and during the whole day our guides were always on their cellphones.... yes vodafone exists even in the middle of the desert.



And yes Horus has done much to improve Aussie/Kiwi relations!

In the footsteps of Moses

On our last full day in Egypt we had the biggest challenge that we had all be gearing ourselves up for. The Ascension up Mount Sinai. There had been a lot of discussion about when the best time to do this was. The choices were in the evening to see the sunset or early in the morning for the sunrise. Can you tell from the following photo which we did?



There were pros and con to both - Evening meant coming down in the dark, a late dinner, no camels to rescue us if we were too tired to come down under our own steam but time to relax the next day before going to Nuweiba to catch a ferry. Morning meant bloody early, the chance of snow, climbing up in the dark, and a rush to get the ferry. I am sure that it will come as no surprise to you all that I favoured an evening trip and in the end this was the preferred option ( and no I did not have to bribe or turn into bossy teacher for that to happen..... no ones likes getting up at 3am!) Mount Sinai is a cruisey walk 2285m up hill...... not! But I was a good girl and climbed all the way to the top! Without the help of a camel. The last part that was approx 900 steps ( and not nice, evenly spaced western step either I must say) was the hardest. But I was not the last member of our group to make it to the time -- some did not even make to the steps! I did even manage to 'keep up' with the lovely teenaged Georgie, although I suspect that at the end she was going slow for my benefit. Her father was a bloody goat (aged 62!!!!) and he make getting up there seems easy. But don't be fooled - it was very hard and I was very proud to have made it to the top with plenty of time to relax (and eat chocolate) before the sun went down. Horus the Kiwi had it very easy, being carried all the way!




I think we all slept very soundly that night! And that was probably the coldest day in Egypt as well (yes it does get cold in Egypt!) I had to use my lovely sleeping bag to keep warm that night and Ayman, our poor tour guide, spent the whole time shivering! And this man wants to go to Antartica.... I don't think he would even cope with a winter in NZ let alone Antartica!

The main event for the next day was the ferry trip from Nuweiba to Aqaba, Jordan's only sea access. And as I was learning about Egypt, transport is 'interesting'. We had to be at the port at least 2hours before the ship 'sailed' but nothing in Egypt runs to time and we could only find out on the day which of the two crossing we would do. Once at the port there would be very little for us to do while we waited. The whole group was not really looking forward to this experience but needs must and in the end it was actually not that bad. We all hung out together and many of us sharpened our card playing skills. I think in the end the ferry was only one hour late so that is practically on time by Egyptian standards. The ride over was fine - the only interesting moment was when all the 'tourist' were gathered up near the end of the trip and taken to the back of the boat and watched over by a big group of official looking people and John aka Ramses II let them all know as we where leaving that I was trouble! We were meant by a Peregrine person (the travel company) who took care of the whole Visa thing - best thing about being in a tour group! And we all cheered when our Tour bus turned up on time. I think our driver, Jihad, thought we were all a little crazy!
The next day we had the morning free to wander around on our own. So a group of us decided to check out the old castle and port. We were skillfully led by Paul (a English man pretending to be Australian - he has told me that he wants a mention on my blog as the cute English guy - so I have done it!), even though his girlfriend had strong doubts! The castle was mostly in ruins but it was quite fun to climb around on it.



At the port you really realise that you are at the pointy end of a very sharp stick with the borders between Egypt, Israel and Jordan being so close together.

Sleep ... what is that?

Our final day in Aswan was to be a buzy one! One with little or no sleep. The morning adventures were to Abu Simbel - site of two important and impressive temples that were rescued when the Awan High Dam was build. The temples were build by Ramses II, who was fast becoming our fav Egyptian Ruler. One member of the tour party was nicknamed Ramses after a physical similarity with his mummy was noticed by his daughter. (what was my nickname you ask? I acquired two, both egyptain words - Trouble and Crazy Girl).
The day began at 3am. The drive to Abu Simbel was about 2 - 2 1/2 hours and you had to go in a military convey with a police guard..... interesting! Very fast driving with alot of overtaking that would not have met the NZ idea of having 100m clear road at the end. You could only visit the site in the morning and while there was a later convey it meant that the site would be crowded and apparently the site was best seen as the sun rose.



The site was made up of two temples. One build by and to honour Ramses II and featured alot of huge statutes of Ramses in the Osiris pose - ie Ramses thought of him self as a god!
But he was kind enough to also build a temple in honour of his favourite wife (Nefertari)! Yes he had many wives ( and over 100 childern, many of whom he out lived!) The wife's temple was not a big or impressive but it was still quite a remarkable feat to build and a remarkable feat to move for modern man as well.



Both temples were carved out of the mountainside and the main temple was designed so that the sun light would highlight an important altar/ group of statues in the heart of the temple twice a year, once on Ramses II birthday and....... I can't remember the other time.... But anyway when it was moved in the 1960's the people in charge got the placement slightly wrong so now the light hit that part a day later.... proving that maybe we have not come as far as we think!



On arrival back as Aswan we were booked into a really nice hotel for the afternoon so we could relax and prepare for the overnight train back to Cairo. The less said about that the better!! But no I did not sleep for the 10 hour journey and while the train left on time ( a rare thing indeed in Egypt) we arrived late into Cairo. But our guide was pretty relaxed about everything and decided that we should still do all the day events even though it meant that we would not finish until around 7 and he was meant to have the afternoon off!
The first place on the Cairo adventure was the oldest mosque - Ibn Tulun Mosque.



Built in the 9th century this mosque is one of the few that will allow women in and it was really quite beautiful and peaceful considering that it is found in the heart of Crazy Cairo ( don't get me started aon the insane driving here! Road rules, lanes and lights seem to have no meaning for these people!) After the mosque we visited two old villa that have been turned into museum. They both featured a range of things from the Ottoman period (17th century) While there were different areas for men and women it seen that the women had the best areas, objects and views of the city.




After so much looking at stuff we headed for a very late lunch at our tour guides favourite place - apparently his dad used to take him there when he was a kid. It was all very authentic food and very tasty. Our last Cairo stop was the famous Khan al-Khalili Bazaar. Hundreds of tiny shops squeezed into very small alleyways where you can buy everything from spices to gold to cloth. And of course all the shop keeper try to get you to buy in their shop and constantly talk to you. As many of you know that is not something that I am overly fond of but by this stage of the tour I had befriended Georgie, a 15 year old Australian girl travelling with her family and she LOVED that whole bartering thing and was actually very good at it. We developed a wee code for when I wanted stuff and she just took over! I probably still paid too much for stuff but it was fun to watch Georgie do her thing!

Images of Egypt

A short clip of some of the things I have seen so far