Jordan jaunt: Yalla!

After Egypt’s full-throttle Miya Miya madness, we hopped over to Jordan for what was meant to be a simple little “taster” add-on. (Spoiler: it was not enough.) With a total national population of just 12 million — compared to Cairo’s eyebrow-raising 35 million — the volume and velocity dropped considerably. Same ambitious pace, far fewer tourists and hawkers barking at us. We were still moving fast enough to justify tired feet at the end of the day, but the intensity felt mercifully dialled down.

Jordan, as it turns out, is stacked with centuries-deep history, layers upon layers, with parts of the country woven into the fabric of the biblical Promised Land. Its formal title — the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan — sounds appropriately regal, and for good reason. “Hashemite” traces back to Hashem, the great-grandfather of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, anchoring the modern monarchy in a lineage that’s anything but random. There’s weight to that history and the remaining ruins are a testament to it.

Geographically, it’s also in a neighbourhood that keeps things interesting. With Palestine’s West Bank just across the Dead Sea, and borders touching Israel, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, it would not be unreasonable to expect a bit of spillover chaos. And yet — remarkably — Jordan has remained a pocket of relative calm for decades. Much of that stability is credited to the royal family’s deliberate emphasis on diplomacy and internal peace. They’ve been in power for over 100 years so obviously something is working. With Jordan now in context, we let the itinerary kick in.

Hend travelled along as our group leader, but we had to say goodbye to Chris, Dan, Dave and Syed in Cairo. Clare and Lesa traveled on with us as as did the rest of our group (Danny, Jeff, Matt, Mois, Theresa, Tim, Zack). The Jordanian expertise came from Kamal, a Wadi Musa local who was not only knowledgeable, but (like Hend in Egypt) well known and well-liked by everyone we came in contact with. After two weeks, we were all now “travel family” – connected by this amazing experience.

By the end, the group consensus was unanimous: we have to come back — whether for two extra days or two extra weeks, TBD. Because even on a sampler platter schedule, Jordan delivered. We bobbed around in the Dead Sea and slathered our self in healing mud, scrambled and gawked our way through the drama of Petra and its ruins spanning over 1000 years, and watched the sun melt across Wadi Rum from the very chic comfort of a glamping bubble tent. Naturally, there was a camel ride — because when in the desert — and a bit of joyful chaos bouncing around in the back of a pick-up truck across the sand, just to keep things on brand.

Because we only scratched the surface, this travelogue is really a photo dump, so here’s the visuals – like Egypt, all a marvel.

A dip in the Dead Sea: The trip begins outside of Amman

Petra: By night and day

In the wilds of Wadi Rum

We flew out of Amman after one last stop at the Roman Theatre of Amman, carved into the hillside, back in the second century when the city was known as Philadelphia. “Brotherly love” feels like a fitting translation to carry with us — a quiet note to end on after days of ruins and long walks. We finally slowed down there, beginning to wrap our heads around the fact that soon we’d be scattering back across the globe.

NOTE: As we upload this travelogue, bombing has begun in Iran by the US and Israel. Airports are closed in the region. This will decimate the still recovering tourist market in Egypt and Jordan - and to its people dependent on it, our heavy hearts are with you.