Jordan Highlights
Wadi Rum is a desert park in Jordan where we again met up with Noah who gave us a walking tour of the red desert covered with sage colored sage brush and red rock mountains. I had been fasting and my energy level was not at peak, so Noah flagged down a land rover for me and one guy got out and sat on top so I could catch a ride to the nearest Bedouin Tent of black goat hair. I waited there while Sarah & Noah free climbed 60 feet up (and down) in a canyon and Jasmine watched and prayed.
Wadi Rum
Meanwhile, I was shopping in the Bedouin tent and bought some Bedouin beads, a shell fossil (who can resist a shell fossil found in the desert?), amber cream and some cardamon from Yemen. It's good I didn't have many dinars with me or I would have blown the whole wad! Maybe I was bored or thankful for the lift or just liked what I bought. I drank lots of tea out of a tiny glass glass while I waited and enjoyed the other tourists who stopped by including a group from Texas.
The Wadi Rum is gorgeous! Also very sandy and full of camels and land rovers and not many trees.
Next day was Petra! Noah bailed us out with the $75 entry fee which needed to be in cash. I had to give all my USD to the Jordan car rental guy, so was running short. I did repay him, however, when I got the insurance portion back. Fortunately we had no collisions even if we did enter a few one ways the wrong way! Sarah did all the driving in Jordan and did a super job. Noah was co-pilot.
Petra
Petra is mind-blowing. I loved the Siq or canyon entryway into it. Very mystical and enchanting. I want one of those some day. The three explorers explored up and down and I waited some in front of where the Raiders of the Lost Ark found it and I got to know several postcard salesmen who were about 8 years old.
Noah's home away from home next and the viewing of mosaics in his city. He lives about 100 feet from a world famous mosaic that I had read about and longed to see. I was stunned someone could live so close to something so famous! We all walked around the city and I bought a floor cleaning tool that I saw everyone using and figured I couldn't live without it either.
Madaba Mosaic
Noah took us to Mt. Nebo but we couldn't see quite as much as Moses did because of the fog but the view must be stunning on a clear day. We poked around on some other lush hills filled with grapes and all sort of fruit and we could hear rushing water through irrigation pipes but couldn't find what we were looking for which was called "Moses' Spring". Directions with hand gestures from a man living there just didn't swing it, so we headed for the border and said good bye again to Noah.
Go back to Kari's main page after Jordan highlights.
