My quests to understand the middle eastern world took me to Jordan, a country that prides in its culture and picturesque beauty, and to my amazement I found in it, the true identity of ME..
We often take to these countries as ones behind the veil, backward and with hostile environs, now get to the real side, they are very well educated, learned and practice their religion as per choice! They have individual views on what they want to acheive for themselves and thier country and for them life is all about working hard and partying harder!!
My intial expectations from this country were not many, I knew it was a crucial and strategic country on the silk route of the world and bred many civilizations in the past 2000 years and more, it had valuable hidden treasures which many never explored..but the moment I landed and our hotel van zipped through the streets, I could smell it, a quaint enthusiasm..
We were parked at this budget hotel, the owner of which was not a very well to do man, his main aim was not to earn a lot of money from his foreign backpackers but to let them have a taste of authentic Jordan, this hotel (Ironically called sydney hotel) and was right on the corner of he road to Hisham restaurant, a very famous, most delectable food joint in whole of Amman.
Our attempt was to see this country in another 3 days, Jordan is a small country that rubs borders with Syria and shares land and sea with Isreal. Dead Sea was a must have, a landlocked sea with 5-6 times more salt content than the normal sea water, it offers the world's best natural spas and skin treatments. For me it was the treatment of the mind, it was so unique an experience, one only has to be here, to feel the esctacy.
Petra, another hidden marvel of the world, is a city of the nebateans, dead rose city as they call it, it lay submerged in the sands for many centuries until it was excavated in 1900s. This was build in the 2nd century by the Nebateans, who surveived in the desert, due to their skillful water management systems! It is a whole city of rose coloured rock, cut into funtabulous palacial facades. We found a whole team of excavators from Robert brown university USA working here from past 16 years, they have literally seen this city grown in front of them, as if rising from the sand!
Wadi Rum reminds one of the Lawrence of Arabia, you have to watch the movie after you have visited the Wadi rum, only then you will live it like real. Wadi rum is a dry moutainous desert, that had one of the highest and longest natural arches in the world. Its amaassness makes one wonder : how would the inhabitants survive here during the previous centuries, now locals beduoins (the local tribe) run desert camps and safaris here, before that was the way of life!!
Jordan is more than just a country, its a living example of the 'seen it all and done it all' culture, it housed 4 civilazations over the past 3000 years and has many hidden tales to tell.
Jordanians are very friendly and hospitable, unlike the GCC counries, however to the contrary I have always found the middle eastern and the GCC culture very open and welcoming!
It all makes me wonder, when we all are good human biengs.. how come few were left behind to create all the voilence?
We often take to these countries as ones behind the veil, backward and with hostile environs, now get to the real side, they are very well educated, learned and practice their religion as per choice! They have individual views on what they want to acheive for themselves and thier country and for them life is all about working hard and partying harder!!
My intial expectations from this country were not many, I knew it was a crucial and strategic country on the silk route of the world and bred many civilizations in the past 2000 years and more, it had valuable hidden treasures which many never explored..but the moment I landed and our hotel van zipped through the streets, I could smell it, a quaint enthusiasm..
We were parked at this budget hotel, the owner of which was not a very well to do man, his main aim was not to earn a lot of money from his foreign backpackers but to let them have a taste of authentic Jordan, this hotel (Ironically called sydney hotel) and was right on the corner of he road to Hisham restaurant, a very famous, most delectable food joint in whole of Amman.
Our attempt was to see this country in another 3 days, Jordan is a small country that rubs borders with Syria and shares land and sea with Isreal. Dead Sea was a must have, a landlocked sea with 5-6 times more salt content than the normal sea water, it offers the world's best natural spas and skin treatments. For me it was the treatment of the mind, it was so unique an experience, one only has to be here, to feel the esctacy.
Petra, another hidden marvel of the world, is a city of the nebateans, dead rose city as they call it, it lay submerged in the sands for many centuries until it was excavated in 1900s. This was build in the 2nd century by the Nebateans, who surveived in the desert, due to their skillful water management systems! It is a whole city of rose coloured rock, cut into funtabulous palacial facades. We found a whole team of excavators from Robert brown university USA working here from past 16 years, they have literally seen this city grown in front of them, as if rising from the sand!
Wadi Rum reminds one of the Lawrence of Arabia, you have to watch the movie after you have visited the Wadi rum, only then you will live it like real. Wadi rum is a dry moutainous desert, that had one of the highest and longest natural arches in the world. Its amaassness makes one wonder : how would the inhabitants survive here during the previous centuries, now locals beduoins (the local tribe) run desert camps and safaris here, before that was the way of life!!
Jordan is more than just a country, its a living example of the 'seen it all and done it all' culture, it housed 4 civilazations over the past 3000 years and has many hidden tales to tell.
Jordanians are very friendly and hospitable, unlike the GCC counries, however to the contrary I have always found the middle eastern and the GCC culture very open and welcoming!
It all makes me wonder, when we all are good human biengs.. how come few were left behind to create all the voilence?
2 comments:
So you recommend Jordan for my next travel destination??
Absolutely! Its divine!
You can actually travel in May and june as well, as the weather is very cool, it can be sunny but crisp and fresh.
Dont miss the beduoin tents in Wadi rum and also Aqaba.
Each place has a special place in history, mainly Jerash (north jordan), Amman (centre), Petra and Aqaba are a must visit!!
U can visit the website: www.hostelsweb.com for cheap, clean and comfortable accommodation.
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