Jordan- A land of history and culture

It was an eerie feeling as I had got a short notice to travel to Jordan. A country about which I have not heard much except geographically I knew it was a part of Arab World. I was visiting there alone. Nevertheless, I had boarded the “Royal Jordanian” flight – a 5 hours flight direct flight to Amman (capital of Jordan). In the flight I tried to look around to see if I knew someone or if anyone would give me some friendly gestures. To my utter dismay, nothing as such happened and I just knew I am being taken to a land where I knew none. As I would look down from the Royal Jordanian I would see miles and miles of barren, arid land. It was as if the water had been filled with still yellow sand and hills were colored black. It was a unique, suspenseful sight.

Amidst the Wadi (the deserts of Jordan) deserts, the flight skimmed to the Queen Alia Airport, Amman . I was very disoriented after my travel and could see everyone speaking in Arabic. However , as I went out of the airport , I sighed a breath of relief to see a man carrying the play card which had my name. He led me to a Toyota SUV that zipped along 120kmph. I only had a fortnight’s time in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; I could see their King Abdullah II and Queen Rania beam a welcome from large posters everywhere.

Next day I was supposed to go to my office, a lady in charge of the of Oracle  training (I had gone there to deliver training for Oracle) picked me up from the hotel and dropped me to the office. I tried to memorize the roads we passed by so that next day on wards I could go by myself.

The office had a nice and warm ambience. There were 2 interpreters (for Arabic to English) - Mu, Ah; very nice and helpful people. Most of the trainees were very aged people with various backgrounds and language was a barrier as most of them were not so well-versed with English. However, the interpreters had done great job in this respect. Gradually,I developed interest in one of the world’s oldest and rich language, the Arabic language.

After the training, Ah,Mu, would play a role of perfect host and drop me to the hotel . But, everyday they made sure my drive was an eventful one. They would take me around the various parts of the city of Amman. In a day’s time my eerie feeling dried up. I could not believe that the people in this unknown country would be so warm and benevolent.

Amman city had a downtown market where you could shop in a very low price. Ah, Mu took me there, but it was advisable for females not to go alone to shop. I preferred to do as advised.However, there was an historical architect to visit and that was the Roman theatre. It was a nice place with a “Colleseum” look . The city had steep slopes and also flat roads. This made the city look unique in itself.On one day of my return I also visited the famous mosque there called "Late king Hussein mosque"

As the weekend approached I had to plan to make maximum use of it as it was 3 day long weekend for some festival. In the morning I left early for what the BBC called one of the 40 places to see before you die: 2,200-year-old Petra. This rock-cut city, filled with the cave dwellings, tombs and temples of the ancient Nabataean people, is the pride of Jordan and was recently voted one of the new Seven Wonders of the World.

The stretch to Petra looked awfully like Bible country, and then I remembered that it is actually the Bible World. There were flocks of sheep trickling down the mountainsides and we passed by Wadi Musa. This is named after Moses and the place Bethany is where Jesus was baptized. Jordan isn't all rich, but it’s one of the more liberal economies in West Asia. At the end of a three-and-a-half hour drive, we see the lumpy set of dark mountains from which ancient Petra is carved.

As you walk down miles, we walked through the ” Siq” – which is a fissure in the rock that leads to the city.

The remains of a collapsed arch mark the start of a dramatic walk through a sheer gorge with walls up to 120m high, roofed with a strip of blue sky. Wild fig trees grow from the rock; fossil bones lie in it; iron, phosphate and sulphur light it up in reds, pinks, whites and yellows. The floor retains patches of 1st century BC paving (romantic, but hard on the ankles). The Nabataeans’ expert water managers lined the gorge with water channels and sedimentation basins, and built an 88m tunnel outside the Siq to divert floodwater. Still, as late as 1963, a group of French tourists were killed by a flash flood, so officials built a dam to secure the gorge.

There are baetyls, or sacred rocks, carved into the walls of the Siq.
The god “Dushara” and the goddess of beauty “Al-Uzza” are represented by vertical rectangles with square eyes. Erosion has made an elephant’s head out of rock.

I was disgorged smack opposite Petra’s most impressive monument, known for half a century as the Treasury. Nobody knows the real name or function, but the locals named it after the huge urn sculpture that was thought to contain treasure. It is pockmarked with bullet holes, where eager people tried to shoot the rock apart for gold 200 years ago. Corinthian columns and Greek pillars, carvings of Nike and Isis, soar almost 40m high. The sight of the magnificent structure was a breathtaking experience. I can imagine the thrill that Johann Burckhardt must have felt when he rediscovered Petra in 1812. Indiana Jones , the Last Crusade , Transformer 2 from Hollywood was filmed here. Recently, a Bollywood movie, of our famous Himesh Reshamiya , called Kajraare was also shot here. As I walked down, there were tombs where  bodies were wrapped in a sheet and laid under a slab of stone. In the main city, where 35,000 people lived, the rock is bee hived with dwellings, some with beautifully coloured natural striations. There was a vast amphitheatre—seating capacity about 5,000—cut out of a single face of live rock suggests that cooperation was not to be sniffed at.

On my return back from Petra , we went to Wadi Rum for the desert safari and an evening in the desert where there was Arabic music and local dance. It was another amazing experience. I had always wanted to take a ride to the deserts in Arabic country and it was a dream come true and the time of the day was just right, sunset! Nothing was more amazing then getting the last glimpse of the sun for the day in the desert!

Next day was a tripped planned for Dead Sea or Salt Sea.
It is eight times more salty than the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment where aquatic life cannot flourish, hence its name. As we drove downhill, I was acutely aware that it is the lowest point on the surface of the earth. It’s a special thrill to wade in—422m below sea level—through sticky, sucking, world-famous black mud, and experience one of the weirdest things in the world: the Dead Sea float. The salt makes the water unusually buoyant, so you just bob about like a cork without trying, as if you were sitting in a deck chair just under the surface. You can read a book, sip a drink, possibly get your hair done, just sitting there in the water. This is insane amount of fun, and highly recommended.

The Amman city had a downtown market where you could go for street shopping. Very close by the market I caught the glimpse of the historical architect called the Roman theatre. It was a nice place with a “Colleseum” look. The city looked amazing with alternate steep slopes and flat roads, which made the city, look unique. The best part of the day in Amman city is the evening time .It is buzzing with young crowd as they flock in the Cafes. The Coffee shop has the traditional Hookah (Argeela in Arabic) served and the Jordanians would enjoy relaxing with Argeela.

In the city of Amman , I wandered in the ‘First Circle’ of Old Amman, though I can see by gazing out at the so-called city of seven hills (now more like 19 hills), that this is a place worth spending some time in. The down town market for cheap shopping. Amman city is buzzing with young crowd in the evening and they would flock in the Cafes.The Coffee shop has the traditional Hookah or “Sheesha” (Argeela in Arabic) served and the Jordanians would enjoy relaxing with Argeela. I remember the few Cafés – Old View Café (a lovely café overlooking the hills made in a traditional Arabic style one more was “Jafra” in the down town Jordan)

Oh well before I end my trip I should visit the food area. Well in my days there I had started loving their local vegetarian food – called Falafel (fried chick peas or green pea’s balls with Pita bread and hummus) this was simply amazing! I also remember the place - “Abul shukur”.

One more traditional food, thanks to Mu and Ah for introducing it to me , a traditional sweet called “kunafe” (a sweet was very rich made of layers of cheese and condensed milk and a mandatory sweet in every Jordanian celebration) from the place called “habeeba). It was a very unique sweet with awesome taste but it was too rich that I could not finish I /4^th of it. A must recommended food there. For all the meat lover friends and family – “Shawarma” is what you should have! Just amazing!
If you are looking for any traditional Arabic stuff and Jordanian stuff (“Sheesha”, jewellery, gems and stones, scarf’s etc) the place is “Al-Afghani” . They have chain of shops which has amazing souvenirs and lovely traditional items. Again a must visit!

Time flew away and the day for my return had come. I waved goodbye to King Abdullah and Queen Rania. I had pledged to myself that Jordan would be a definite revisit! I loved very bit of the country!