Jerash and the Dead Sea
This will probably be my last post from across the globe, as we catch our flight home to Canada via Frankfurt at 3:30 Tuesday morning. We're hoping to leave the hotel around midnight to give ourselves lots of time to get to the airport and get checked in.
Had another full day yesterday, starting at the ancient Roman city of Jerash, which is about 45 minutes outside of Amman. Unfortunately J and I missed most of the explanation by the guide as J headed back to the bus to get some new camera batteries and I made a hasty retreat to the washroom as something from breakfast didn't quite agree with me. (It was even one of our better breakfasts too! Guess my stomach isn't used to getting meat and fruit at the beginning of the day!) We still had lots of time to complete the tour by ourselves and enjoyed walking through the city. The most interesting site in the area were Arab bagpipers in the amphitheatre playing a medley which included "Scotland the Brave" and "Yankie Doodle!" Seemed strange to have a bit of Fergus over in Jordan! After Jerash, the two Kiwis left our group as they're heading to Syria, while the three tour leaders went back to town and the 6 of us that were left headed over to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is about an hour from Amman and is the lowest point on earth. We drove down into one of Jordan's valleys to get there and stayed at the Deed Sea Spa Hotel for the afternoon. Enjoyed one of the better buffets on the trip (8 JD) before heading out to the beach. Entrance to the hotel, transportation and lunch was 20 JD each, but well worth it. The hotel had three huge pools, a kiddie centre, nice beach chairs by the pool and the beach, and lots of fresh water showers to use after your float in the Dead Sea.
The beach was quite rocky and the sand very hot on the toes but we weren't really interested in swimming, only floating. You only have to walk out a couple of metres before you can lie down and float on top of the water! It's a really strange feeling but really neat. The water is so salty that you can feel it on any nick or cut that you have and if you stay in too long you come out quite itchy! (Our guide warned us all not to shave for a couple of days before this experience!) J wandered out further than I did and could actually float in the standing up position - the bobbing cork position! After running up to the showers to wash all the salt off, we all settled down for our Dead Sea mud experience and covered ourselves in the thick gooey mud. It actually felt quite good and our skin was nice and soft later on. (J opted not to do this but took pictures instead!) After rinsing off again we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and met our driver and guide at 5 pm to take us back to the hotel. (J pointed out that now we've swam in the Red, the Dead and the Med!)
We all met together again at 8 pm to go out for our last dinner together. The Aussies had bought a watermelon at the market the day before, so before we left, they cut it up and we all enjoyed a piece in the lobby. We hailed two taxis and headed downtown, as there isn't much around the hotel area. (The taxis here are metered so it's a bit easier to get around but there's no bargaining power!) Ate dinner at "Varna Roses" a restaurant the Aussies had found the day before and enjoyed a good meal, although the highlight of the evening was laughing at all the strange English translations on the menu. Some of the funniest included Chocolate moose, Hot Fahita, Tuna Sandwish, Greace Salad, French Friez, Spaghette, Chicken Karie and Col Slow Salad. J wasn't too hungry so just had an icecream but I enjoyed a "Shawerma" and a fruity drink called "Sun Sit!" After supper our tour leaders headed to their new hotel where they were starting a new tour, and the 5 of us squished into a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi driver's English was quite good and apparently he was a captain of some pipe band in Jordan and we enjoyed bag pipe music all the way back to the hotel. It was interesting to hear "Amazing Grace" being played in Jordan and we pulled up to the hotel with another blaring rendition of "Scotland the Brave!"
We attempted to sleep in today, as our tour was over and we had no plans, but for the last three mornings we've been awakened at 4 am for the call to prayer which is broadcast from all the local mosques. They've had these calls throughout the rest of our trip but usually we had the air conditioning on and the windows closed so they didn't bother us as much. This hotel has air conditioning but since it's the slower season they won't turn it on so we've had to endure a couple of stuffy nights and early morning wake up calls. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a quiet call to prayer but it actually sounds like someone is at the end of your bed with a huge blowhorn! We met Carol at 9 am for breakfast, a bit tired and wishing we could go back to bed. Headed out around 10 and decided to see the Citadel, a Roman fortress and more ruins in town. Only stayed there for 45 minutes or so as there isn't that much to see. There was a small museum which has some skulls and tools dating back to Jericho as well as some pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Not as impressive as the pieces that came to the Museum of Civilization though.) Walked from the Citadel down to the Roman amphitheatre, stopping on the way to talk to some school boys who wanted to shake our hands and know our names. They seemed quite pleased with the Canada flag pins which J gave them. After talking with them we saw another little boy playing at the side of the road with his toy gun. When he saw us, he turned around and pointed his gun at each of us, pretending to shot us. Bang, bang, bang! Not really humorous given the recent shootings in Amman. Halfway down we stopped at a good viewpoint to get some pictures of the theatre and were approached by another little boy who wanted us to take his picture. (For some money of course!) We declined and kept on walking but as soon as we were out of site he picked up a handful of stones, threw them at us and them ran off! We haven't found Amman very friendly and I'm not sure if it's because we're suspicious of everyone or if it's because they're suspicious of us! Needless to say, we didn't spend too much time in the downtown area. Looked around the outside of the theatre (lots of security!) but didn't pay to go in. Walked up the street to find a money exchanger and then attempted to cross the main road and hail a taxi . Crossing the street in Jordan is just as risky as in Cairo but you'll just be hit by a newer and more expensive car! Arrived home around noon and we've spent the afternoon catching up on our sleep and trying to find an English news channel! Since nothing will be open for supper until 8 pm tonight we'll stay here for a couple of hours before having one last meal in Jordan. Hopefully our next post will be from Canada or perhaps the Frankfurt Airport as we have 7 hours to kill while we wait for our flight to Canada! Looking forward to landing on Canadian soil very soon!
The pools with the Dead Sea in the background.
Had another full day yesterday, starting at the ancient Roman city of Jerash, which is about 45 minutes outside of Amman. Unfortunately J and I missed most of the explanation by the guide as J headed back to the bus to get some new camera batteries and I made a hasty retreat to the washroom as something from breakfast didn't quite agree with me. (It was even one of our better breakfasts too! Guess my stomach isn't used to getting meat and fruit at the beginning of the day!) We still had lots of time to complete the tour by ourselves and enjoyed walking through the city. The most interesting site in the area were Arab bagpipers in the amphitheatre playing a medley which included "Scotland the Brave" and "Yankie Doodle!" Seemed strange to have a bit of Fergus over in Jordan! After Jerash, the two Kiwis left our group as they're heading to Syria, while the three tour leaders went back to town and the 6 of us that were left headed over to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is about an hour from Amman and is the lowest point on earth. We drove down into one of Jordan's valleys to get there and stayed at the Deed Sea Spa Hotel for the afternoon. Enjoyed one of the better buffets on the trip (8 JD) before heading out to the beach. Entrance to the hotel, transportation and lunch was 20 JD each, but well worth it. The hotel had three huge pools, a kiddie centre, nice beach chairs by the pool and the beach, and lots of fresh water showers to use after your float in the Dead Sea.
The beach was quite rocky and the sand very hot on the toes but we weren't really interested in swimming, only floating. You only have to walk out a couple of metres before you can lie down and float on top of the water! It's a really strange feeling but really neat. The water is so salty that you can feel it on any nick or cut that you have and if you stay in too long you come out quite itchy! (Our guide warned us all not to shave for a couple of days before this experience!) J wandered out further than I did and could actually float in the standing up position - the bobbing cork position! After running up to the showers to wash all the salt off, we all settled down for our Dead Sea mud experience and covered ourselves in the thick gooey mud. It actually felt quite good and our skin was nice and soft later on. (J opted not to do this but took pictures instead!) After rinsing off again we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and met our driver and guide at 5 pm to take us back to the hotel. (J pointed out that now we've swam in the Red, the Dead and the Med!)
We all met together again at 8 pm to go out for our last dinner together. The Aussies had bought a watermelon at the market the day before, so before we left, they cut it up and we all enjoyed a piece in the lobby. We hailed two taxis and headed downtown, as there isn't much around the hotel area. (The taxis here are metered so it's a bit easier to get around but there's no bargaining power!) Ate dinner at "Varna Roses" a restaurant the Aussies had found the day before and enjoyed a good meal, although the highlight of the evening was laughing at all the strange English translations on the menu. Some of the funniest included Chocolate moose, Hot Fahita, Tuna Sandwish, Greace Salad, French Friez, Spaghette, Chicken Karie and Col Slow Salad. J wasn't too hungry so just had an icecream but I enjoyed a "Shawerma" and a fruity drink called "Sun Sit!" After supper our tour leaders headed to their new hotel where they were starting a new tour, and the 5 of us squished into a taxi back to the hotel. The taxi driver's English was quite good and apparently he was a captain of some pipe band in Jordan and we enjoyed bag pipe music all the way back to the hotel. It was interesting to hear "Amazing Grace" being played in Jordan and we pulled up to the hotel with another blaring rendition of "Scotland the Brave!"
We attempted to sleep in today, as our tour was over and we had no plans, but for the last three mornings we've been awakened at 4 am for the call to prayer which is broadcast from all the local mosques. They've had these calls throughout the rest of our trip but usually we had the air conditioning on and the windows closed so they didn't bother us as much. This hotel has air conditioning but since it's the slower season they won't turn it on so we've had to endure a couple of stuffy nights and early morning wake up calls. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a quiet call to prayer but it actually sounds like someone is at the end of your bed with a huge blowhorn! We met Carol at 9 am for breakfast, a bit tired and wishing we could go back to bed. Headed out around 10 and decided to see the Citadel, a Roman fortress and more ruins in town. Only stayed there for 45 minutes or so as there isn't that much to see. There was a small museum which has some skulls and tools dating back to Jericho as well as some pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Not as impressive as the pieces that came to the Museum of Civilization though.) Walked from the Citadel down to the Roman amphitheatre, stopping on the way to talk to some school boys who wanted to shake our hands and know our names. They seemed quite pleased with the Canada flag pins which J gave them. After talking with them we saw another little boy playing at the side of the road with his toy gun. When he saw us, he turned around and pointed his gun at each of us, pretending to shot us. Bang, bang, bang! Not really humorous given the recent shootings in Amman. Halfway down we stopped at a good viewpoint to get some pictures of the theatre and were approached by another little boy who wanted us to take his picture. (For some money of course!) We declined and kept on walking but as soon as we were out of site he picked up a handful of stones, threw them at us and them ran off! We haven't found Amman very friendly and I'm not sure if it's because we're suspicious of everyone or if it's because they're suspicious of us! Needless to say, we didn't spend too much time in the downtown area. Looked around the outside of the theatre (lots of security!) but didn't pay to go in. Walked up the street to find a money exchanger and then attempted to cross the main road and hail a taxi . Crossing the street in Jordan is just as risky as in Cairo but you'll just be hit by a newer and more expensive car! Arrived home around noon and we've spent the afternoon catching up on our sleep and trying to find an English news channel! Since nothing will be open for supper until 8 pm tonight we'll stay here for a couple of hours before having one last meal in Jordan. Hopefully our next post will be from Canada or perhaps the Frankfurt Airport as we have 7 hours to kill while we wait for our flight to Canada! Looking forward to landing on Canadian soil very soon!
The rocky beach
Floating in the Dead Sea!
Dead Sea facial!
The pools with the Dead Sea in the background.
Main gates of Jerash
The start of the columns
posted by The Patterson Pair at 10:04 AM
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