Last thoughts on my trip to Egypt and Jordan - 2010

I’m glad my friends talked me into going on this trip.  I was scared to visit this part of the world.  Thank goodness I went in 2010 before the Arab Spring because there is no way I could safely visit some of the places I went on this trip now.  The best part of the trip was experiencing the wonders of the world; the second best part was spending time with my friends and their families.  Most of the pictures on this blog from the trip are pictures my friends took, they are very talented photographers. Traveling in a group is fun and traveling with tour groups adds to the excitement and limits the stress of trip planning.  I’m blessed to have these experiences and I hope in the future to take more group trips. 

Funny moments & highlights I’ll never forget:

-          The boys eating tobacco on the bus thinking it was fruit rollup.  They all started coughing and getting sick, it was hilarious!

-          Rob flipping off all the ancient ruins.  He literally did a flip off the Giza Pyramid.  In these parts of the world they let you climb all over the ruins, it isn’t like in America where there are “do not touch” signs everywhere.  

-          Going to the Zoo with Ron

-          Watching Chris dance and sing with the children in Jerash.

-          Hearing Jason singing at the theater in Jordan.  Johnny Cash cover songs never sounded so good!  Also won't forget giving Jason a camel ride for his birthday and how fun it was to live with Jason on the trip, except in the morning since he isn't a morning person.

-          Watching Bridget as she was followed around by the little girls that were her fans at the Pyramids.

-          Listening to Andy and his one-liners Egyptian style. 

 

-          Shayna’s story about the cat messing with her camera when she was taking the picture on the Petra hike.  That cat really wanted his close up.

-          Watching Jeff & Libby patiently listen to the guy in the Cairo market telling his opinions of Obama.  

-          Our wonderful tour guide in Jordan. 

-          The moment I thought we were kidnapped when we followed the guy wearing FUBU through the Cairo market.

-          Playing frogger in Cairo traffic.  

-          All the fun we had with security.

-          Visiting the Queen’s store in Jordan that sold art and other things made by people with disabilities.  I bought several beautiful Christmas ornaments so each year I’m reminded of the trip.  

-          Our last dinner in Jordan.  The tour group tried to get us to buy a $20 per person dinner.  We went out on our own and found a neat place to eat for under $1 per person.  Gotta love a good deal on falafel!

This picture is from Google Images - our meal looked just like this!

-          And so much more…

This trip was an adventure and I’m glad I went.  I love traveling and would like to return to the region someday.  Hopefully Egypt and parts of Jordan that aren’t stable become more safe again soon because it would be a shame for future generations to miss the experience of traveling to Egypt and Jordan. 
 

Amman, Jordan & Our Adventure to the Dead Sea – 2010

My favorite day of the trip!

We started our day with a tour of the Citadel and the Roman amphitheater.  Amman is an amazing city.  It is the largest City in Jordan and serves as the capital.  In the middle of the bustling city we found the Citadel.  

There was a Roman amphitheater and the Hercules Temple.  We also went inside the Archaeological Museum and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls.

After touring the museum and looking at the ruins we got back on the bus so we could go to Jerash.  The City of Jerash was amazing!  The best way to describe this site is as the Pompeii of the Middle East.  The Roman ruins are extremely well preserved and the site was so large they still hadn’t finished excavating.  We were able to tour what would have been the market area.   

Jason singing

During the tour we spent time in the theater.  The tour guide talked Jason into singing to prove the theater had superior acoustic design.  I will never forget seeing Jason sing Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash.  Every single seat in the theater could hear Jason crystal clear as if they were standing next to him.  The other tourists and kids that were playing all stopped to watch.  They also had a guard that played bagpipes. 

The theater

When our tour of Jerash was done we had lunch at the on site restaurant.  It was buffet style so we were able to try a lot of unfamiliar local food.  After lunch it was back on the bus for the next part of the adventure. 

This is when our awesome tour guide surprised us.  When we got back on the bus he said we had to decide what to do with the rest of our day.  The choice was go back to the hotel or go to the Dead Sea.  I was so excited!  I desperately wanted to go to the Dead Sea but it wasn’t offered on our tour.  I was really bummed that we were so close and that we weren’t going.  I wasn’t the only one to feel this way.  The minute our guide gave us the choice we all pulled out our wallets and signed up for the extra excursion.  Out of our tour group there were maybe 2 couples that skipped the trip to the Dead Sea. 
   

We were all happy to go on this surprise adventure.  The way it worked was the tour group had a deal with one of the 5 star resorts at the Dead Sea. The bus dropped us off and we were able to use the pool at the resort and access to the beach at the Dead Sea.  The best part was that we could help ourselves at the mud station if we gave the employees a tip. The Dead Sea mud is considered very therapeutic and healing so people travel from all over the world to lather up in the mud. 

We covered ourselves in mud, yes it is as fun as it sounds!  Then once it dried we all ran and jumped into the Dead Sea.  

This was my favorite part of the trip!  Floating in the Dead Sea is like having an out of this world experience.  The salt content is so high you become extremely buoyant and you just float.  The best way to experience a float in the Dead Sea is on your back.  Whatever you do don’t let the water touch your eyes or on your lips because it will burn badly.  The employees at the resort told us that most people that drown in the Dead Sea do so because they try to go on their stomach and then they can’t go underwater to flip over so they panic, swallow too much water and drown.  

Floating in the Dead Sea is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done.  I hope someday to return to the Dead Sea but on the Israeli resort side.  If you ever get the chance to go to the Dead Sea – go – you will be glad you did!

Petra, Jordan – December 2010

Our tour of Petra began with a walk through the Siq, which is a narrow canyon surrounded by huge cliffs.  At the end of the walk down the Siq we saw the Petra Treasury for the first time.  It was beautiful!  The red stone glowed in the sunlight at the end of the tunnel, it was a breathtaking sight. 

After a few Kodak moments our tour guide gave us free time and we were able to hike and look at the ruins for a few hours.  Half of our group took a hike and the rest of us stayed and explored the tombs and structures in the site.  It was fun to explore the area that was featured in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”   The red city, or rose colored city, must have been marvelous at the height of Nabatean history.   We spent time at the amphitheater and practicing speaking English with a local child that was selling souvenirs.  The guide told us before we arrived at the site not to buy anything from the children.  They are forced by their families to work rather than going to school.  We didn’t buy anything but we helped her practice speaking English.  

 

When our free time was over we rejoined the group for the walk back through the Siq to the parking area.  We had the option of taking a horse ride or walking.  I rarely get to ride a horse so I thought it would be fun, wish I had chosen differently.  The horse guides were aggressive because they wanted our money.  I picked one based on the horse.  The horses were the saddest I’ve ever seen, they weren’t starving but they were very thin and worked long days.  The whole way back to the car my guide made inappropriate comments to me.  I’m still not sure if he was being inappropriate because he didn’t know what he was saying in English or if he meant to be perverse, but it was really annoying.  If you are ever in Petra and get the opportunity to take a horse ride as part of your tour, take the walk instead.

Once we got to the top of the Siq we stopped and had lunch before hopping back on the bus to Amman.      

This is the spring. I was sad to see the trash people left.

On our way back to Amman we stopped at a building with a spring.  It is believed that the spring at Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses), is where Moses struck the rock to get water.  It is also thought that Aaron, Moses brother, died in Jordan and was buried in Petra at Mount Hor, now called Mount Aaron.  The guide told us that this was also a meeting place for the three kings, who took frankincense, gold and myrrh to baby Jesus in Bethlehem.  During this part of the trip I wished I was more religious so I would better understand the significance of the history of Petra.