Notices
General Trip Reports Reports that don't fit in to the other categories

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 8 Feb 20, 03:57 PM  
Link to this Post
#1
Gunna
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Gunna's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 11
Mobile Jordan & Petra - 3rd February - Amman, Mount Nebo, Madaba & Petra.

Today we where checking out of our hotel in Amman then after a tour of the city heading off to Petra. Khaled had talked with us about shuffling some things around to allow more time to relax at the Dead Sea on our last day so on route to Petra we would stop at Mount Nebo and Madaba as we had time to do this and didn’t need to be at Petra until later on as we only planned to do Petra by night this evening. This worked great and showed again how good Khaled was as he knew what would work best for us time wise to maximise us seeing everything but still having some time to relax. We checked out and met up at 9:00am setting off for our first stop off the citadel.



Evidence of occupation of this site goes back to 1800bc and since then various people have lived there. There is lots to see and I loved the views across Amman as well as being able to get up close to the temple of Hercules





We spent a good hour up here exploring the site, museum, Umayyad palace and citadel before meeting back up with Khaled who was having a coffee in the sun.





He offered to get me one but I was still okay from breakfast so we headed down the hill towards the Roman theatre. The streets where very narrow and steep and we had a slight head to head with a refuse truck but we where soon at the bottom and once parked up and we had negotiated getting across the road ( case of being brave mostly and just heading out ) we went in to explore the Roman theatre.



The theatre is huge and it was a fair climb up to the top but it offered some great views across to the citadel and downtown Amman. It is still used today for various events and at the bottom are two museums, which were included with the ticket, which we also visited about Jordanian culture and history. Once we had finished we set off and visited the smaller theatre and then headed off to meet Khaled who said he was taking us for a traditional Jordanian dessert.

We drove further into the city and saw the gold market and one of the most popular local restaurants where loads of locals eat, plus the King of Jordan at times, before parking up and heading to a place called Habibah for Kunafa.



It was one of the oldest sweet shops in Amman and they are famous for this dessert - its made with a syrup soaked cheese which is cooked with a crispy topping and sprinkled with nuts. It was so good, hard to describe but I could of eaten loads of it. Don’t think it’s that healthy but it was worth the calories and great to experience a local eatery with the locals. Suitably full we headed out of Amman for our next stop, Mount Nebo.

This place is mentioned as the place where Moses climbed to and was granted a view of the Promised Land.



The view was stunning and you could see for miles, the map also pointed out directions and places of religious significance. There was a church up here with some beautiful mosaics as well as a stunning sculpture depicting Moses and the serpent which also looked out across the view. Once we had finished we headed back to Khaled and our next stop in Madaba. On route we dropped into a place making and selling mosaics since the area is famous for them before making our way to Madaba. The Madaba map is a mosaic map from the 6th century AD which was discovered in a church floor, it’s one of the oldest maps of the Holy Land, showing Egypt, Jerusalem and Lebanon. It’s only partially left but still great to see.

Once we had finished in Madaba we where them driving down to Petra which would take about 3 hours. We passed the time talking with Khaled, snoozing and seeing the sights as the landscape changed to become more barren than the greener north of Jordan. We stopped again for a late lunch and tried some more local food with their great tea and Khaled managed to find a keffiyeh I’d been looking for before and slightly cheaper then the one we’d bought for Sam too.



The final approach towards Petra became more mountainous and Khaled was telling us that last week there has been snow. We where going to stop at Shobak castle but as time was getting on it had closed for the day but we did get to see ‘the smallest hotel in the world’. If you have watched the Travel Man Jordan episode you’ll recognise this, we didn’t go ‘in’ but I was really happy we had stopped to see it.



Khaled had timed the drive perfectly as when we arrived in Wadi Musa the sun was setting and we stopped to take in the view and sunset before heading off for another impromptu stop at Moses Spring.



This is the place where Moses is said to have struck the rock with his staff and water gushed out for the thirsty. Locals apparently collect water from the spring but we made do with a cup full. It was very clear and fresh and something we totally didn’t expect to see.

We then made our final drive towards our hotel, The Petra Guest House, which as the name suggests is close to Petra. It was very close, right at the entrance to the site of Petra. We where upgraded again and Khaled sorted the time our guide would meet us the next day in the lobby and when we would meet him the day after as he wasn’t going to be with us as we where spending the whole day in Petra. We said our goodbyes and he headed off to get our tickets for Petra and the seperate night ticket and advised us he’d leave them at reception.

We headed to our room which was build up into the rocks and very impressive, having some time to relax before heading into Petra when it was dark at 8:00pm. The famous image of Petra that most people know, the treasury, is only a small part of the overall complex and is where the majority of visits start. It’s over a kilometre walk from the entrance and the majority is through a narrow gorge in the rocks called ‘the siq’. On the night tour the whole of the way is lit only by candles and it’s very impressive. Seeing the treasury for the first time was breathtaking. I still remember as a kid seeing it in the Indiana Jones movie and being blown away so to see it for myself was a dream come true.



There was a small show with traditional music, songs and tea which added to the atmosphere but nothing could take away from the view of the treasury. It was srunning. Once done we headed back via candlelight to our beds ready for a full day exploring Petra.
It had been such a great day. We’d seen lots and had some unplanned stops which Khaled had put in for us to show us more of Jordan and it’s culture. I knew we where just really scratching the surface of this place and no matter how great our time here was that we really would need to come back to see and experience so much more that Jordan has to offer.
__________________

Neil

Life's not meant to be lived in one place

The One Stop Trip Spot - all my trip reports all in one place
Gunna is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 8 Feb 20, 04:30 PM  
Link to this Post
#2
Melbatb
Imagineer
 
Melbatb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 13
Another fabulous day! So many beautiful sites! The dessert sounds interesting!

Thanks for sharing!
__________________

Index of my trip reports
2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg
Melbatb is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 8 Feb 20, 04:34 PM  
Link to this Post
#3
kateh134
Imagineer
 
kateh134's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 08
Absolutely stunning pictures!
__________________
Kate
kateh134 is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Feb 20, 07:44 AM  
Link to this Post
#4
Gunna
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Gunna's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 11
Originally Posted by Melbatb View Post
Another fabulous day! So many beautiful sites! The dessert sounds interesting!

Thanks for sharing!
It really was a great day and the sites we saw were stunning. I’ve been looking online for a recipe for Kunafa but know it won’t be as good as the one we tried.

Originally Posted by kateh134 View Post
Absolutely stunning pictures!
Thank you, I took hundreds of photos whilst we where in Jordan there was so much to see but really glad you liked those I’ve shared
__________________

Neil

Life's not meant to be lived in one place

The One Stop Trip Spot - all my trip reports all in one place
Gunna is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Feb 20, 09:44 AM  
Link to this Post
#5
Sparksy72
VIP Dibber
 
Sparksy72's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 14

Sparksy72's Reviews
Hotel Reviews: 1
What beautiful scenery, your photos are fantastic! That cheese dessert looks delicious too A great day!
Sparksy72 is online now Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Feb 20, 10:27 AM  
Link to this Post
#6
Gunna
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Gunna's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 11
Mobile

Originally Posted by Sparksy72 View Post
What beautiful scenery, your photos are fantastic! That cheese dessert looks delicious too A great day!
The dessert was amazing - could of happily eaten a few plates full it was so good!
__________________

Neil

Life's not meant to be lived in one place

The One Stop Trip Spot - all my trip reports all in one place
Gunna is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Feb 20, 09:10 PM  
Link to this Post
#7
Tinkermom
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Tinkermom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 14
Oh my the treasury, stunning!
__________________
Dreams are forever - Tinkerbell
Tinkermom is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 9 Feb 20, 09:32 PM  
Link to this Post
#8
Gunna
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Gunna's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 11
Mobile

Originally Posted by Tinkermom View Post
Oh my the treasury, stunning!
It really is, definitely worth the trip to see it.
__________________

Neil

Life's not meant to be lived in one place

The One Stop Trip Spot - all my trip reports all in one place
Gunna is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 15 Feb 20, 09:04 AM  
Link to this Post
#9
CrispyA
Imagineer
 
Join Date: Oct 11
More great pictures and I’m intrigued by the dessert! Khaled sounds like he was doing a really good job as well.
CrispyA is offline Girl Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Old 15 Feb 20, 02:03 PM  
Link to this Post
#10
Gunna
Thread Starter
Apprentice Imagineer
 
Gunna's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 11
Mobile

Originally Posted by CrispyA View Post
More great pictures and I’m intrigued by the dessert! Khaled sounds like he was doing a really good job as well.
I loved the dessert, we where offered another plate full and declined but could of easily eaten more.

Khaled was so good, I do think without him we certainly wouldn’t have seen and enjoyed it so much.
__________________

Neil

Life's not meant to be lived in one place

The One Stop Trip Spot - all my trip reports all in one place
Gunna is offline Boy Mouse Click to view Members Trip Plans Add Member to Ignore List
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:27 PM.


Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
DIBB Savings
AttractionTickets.com

Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10

Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS


theDIBB Blog
Disney announced that a new nighttime show, “Disney Dreams That Soar,” will run nightly at... Read More »
Walt Disney World Resort guests can get ready to have a “glowing’’ good time when... Read More »
Aquatica Orlando announce the grand opening of its newest attraction, Tassie’s Underwater Twist, on 15... Read More »


theDIBB Menu


Exchange Rates
US Dollar Rates
ASDA  $1.2347
CaxtonFX  $1.2296
Covent Garden FX  $1.2429
FAIRFX  $1.2350
John Lewis  $1.2380
M&S  $1.2178
Sainsburys  $1.2337
TESCO  $1.2343
Travelex  $1.2353
Updated: 12:00 28/03/2024
Euro Rates
ASDA  €1.1426
CaxtonFX  €1.1403
Covent Garden FX  €1.1509
FAIRFX  €1.1432
John Lewis  €1.1457
M&S  €1.1263
Sainsburys  €1.1419
TESCO  €1.1425
Travelex  €1.1435
Updated: 12:00 28/03/2024

DIBB Premium Membership
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership?

Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as...

"No adverts on theDIBB Forums"

Upgrade Now



X