The trip to Jordanย ๐ฏ๐ดย was actually only to visit Petra, one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Before my trip to Jordan I have visited Taj Mahal (August 2016), my very first Wonder of the World and the Pyramids (October 2016), my second Wonder of the World.
During the summer of 2016 I booked two flights to visit in two short weekends the Pyramids in Egypt and Petra in Jordan.
In my first full traveling year I didn’t realize the high risk of booking a 2-day or a 3-day trip to another country, the importance of some ” preparation ”ย
ย but become a better (solo) traveller it is really necessary to make a lot of mistakes.
First my biggest mistake was discovering very late (!!) that Turkish Airlines changed my destination from Aqaba (the south of Jordan, closest airport near Petra) all the way to north, to the airport of Amman… I didn’t had time or possibilities to re-book or whatever.
When I arrived at Brussels airport, the check-in staff on behalf of Turkish Airlines were telling me that I couldn’t get the connection flight ย because my luggage couldn’t get in time from the first plane into the second planeย … I also arrived quite late on the airport, because of all the other flights that I did that year (Morocco, India, Cuba and Egypt) I was kinda like the plane leaves at 15:25, so time enough, it was merely just checking in, go to the gate and board the plane. There was some stress and panic, having the idea that I could get to Istanbul, but not from Istanbul to Amman, knowing that I was going to return in 2 days, so simply calculated that I was not going to Jordan at all … since this bad experience I learned to have more ” time margine between connecting flights ” to avoid a non-fly situation.
Eventually they found another connecting flight, but instead of arriving late evening, I would arrive early morning so that meant by missing not only a lot of sleeping hours but also the start of my first day in Jordan, knowing that I was only there for two days …
Because of arriving late than scheduled in the airport, I couldn’t get to the bus that go from the north of Jordan all the way to the south of Jordan, that bus only departed at 6:00 a.m., knowing that I arrive around 4:30 in the airport, already booked my hotel in another city, Madaba, not far from Mount Nebo, the place where Mozes looked to the Promising Land and where he was buried.
Arriving as a solo traveller is sometimes a challenge, especially as Japanese Maffia-looking guy with a dragon tattooed sleeve , a Belgian name ๐คย (ask 100 Jordans what my (last) name would be
)ย and passport, only staying for two days in Jordan, for the Jordan airport border police agents I looked like a guy who was passing their country, going to meet someone from Asia to exchange some stuff, so they didn’t let me in … but luckily I also carried my Belgian identity card and I said to them ” ana Belgici ” which is Arabic for ” I am Belgian ” and after showing my Belgian identity card and the resemblance with the same name and particulars on my passport … I was allowed to visit their country, almost 6:00 a.m. after 15 hours on the way …
Day 1 in Jordan:
So after 2,5 hours of sleep I manage to fix a ” taxi ” because in Jordan it is illegal to transport someone through the country, there are many military posts on the roads. And it was really expensive to have the car for the whole dayย
Mount Nebo – Mozes:
So my first stop was at Mount Nebo, where Mozes saw the Promising Land. And where legends says he was buried here.
Jerash – Roman Empire site
Jerash was a city in the north of Jordan, where we had to pass Amman, the capital of Jordan, in the city there is this amazing Roman Empire site where you can see some ancient culture.
It was really funny to see a lot of goats passing this ancient Roman Empire siteย
Amman
On the way to the south before we were going to pass the Dead Sea we had to pass Amman, the capital of Jordan. They have McDonalds there as wellย
When you are traveling you need to have to eat something along the road and in some countries they not always have cashew nuts, I like to keep myself in ‘ shape ‘ and not to eat fast food and with these bag of cashew nuts I had my late afternoon snack and some for the evening during the long drive to the south of Jordan. It was a ride of more than 300 kilometers with only sand, rocks and a high road.
Dead Sea
It was on my bucket list to float in the Dead Sea, this was the last stop before we make the long trip to the south.
Day 2 in Jordan:
After a troubled and very challenging start of this short trip to Jordan, luck was starting to be more favorable for meย ย the hotel that I had booked was just 2 streets away from the entrance of Petra! So in this hotel I only slept like 5,5 hours to be sure that I was one of the first visitors of this amazing site. So far Petra is together with Taj Mahal one of my most amazing visits to a Wonder of the World.
The entrance price for 1 day is 50 Jordan Dinars, it is like โฌ 60 / $ 75.
This lost city of Petra is covered by a canyon, the Siq is a magical way to enter this amazing site. I passed this site around 7:15 a.m., just seeing the Bedouins, the local people just building up their souvenir stands.
Once you walk the first part of the Siq you come to The Treasury (Al-Khazna), most people will recognize it from the Indiana Jones movie ” Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Sean Connery played the role of Indiana Jones his father.
And what it made this memory even more memorable were the cats that were also running around the siteย ย making new friends is always a great plus when you are traveling.
And my ‘ Signature Pose ‘ย
Some of the photos to show why this is for sure a Wonder of the World, more than 2000 years ago people manage to build a city here in the rocks:
And long the way I have met apparantly a famous Greek actress, here name isย Marisha Triantafyllidouย ๐ญ
๐ฌ๐ทย ย http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2626820/ย
Then after buying souvenirs, packing my bags I found the bus that goes from the north to the south of Jordan and from the south to the north of Jordan.
Amman
Here in Amman, I have met Sofia via couchsurfing and here Jordan friends, most of them are studying to become industrial engineers. They were amazing and it was to meet some locals and exchange a lot of ideas and stories and I was mainly ” on fire ”ย ย for the people who know me, when I talk … mostly I was really happy to inspire some of them. We had a nice dinner in a Turkish restaurant and some drinks before I return back to the airport, it was nice to close my crazy 2-day trip in Jordan with good vibes and lots of smiles.
For the people who never been to Jordan, I recommend you this country for 250%. If you have practical questions, message me here or on Instagram.
All of the photos were taken by me, just with a simple iPhone SE, to give you an idea how beautiful and magical this place is.