The Sand Dunes of Time - Jordan

A hot blast of dry, inhospitable air hits you as you step off the pleasantly air conditioned plane. The first words that came to my mouth on seeing the dusky, little airport standing a few feet away from the aircraft were, 'Where have I come? This isn't even an airport...'. Only later would I realise how wrong I was. Our guide, who happened to be large when measured in any direction, knew EVERY SINGLE restaurant in Amman; their menu, the prices, the entertainment, the location; there was nothing related to food that the man did not know! By the end of trip we were so stuffed with Hummus, that gave you a kick every time you swallowed it, and Pita breads that melt like butter in your mouth, to the rustic flavours of home made Babaganoush and Labneh. Okay enough with mouth watering food, this is supposed to be a travel blog so I am going to continue with the trip.

Al-Khazneh

The best place to start would truly have to be my favourite wonder of the world, Petra!! Not to brag, but even after seeing the Great Pyramids and the Great Wall of China, nothing beats the Petra.

From the entrance you can see absolutely nothing and you wonder what is so great about this place, and after walking a kilometre on a dirt path stained with horse poop followed by three kilometres in a narrow rock-cut pathway, you really begin to feel bored and tired. But the very next moment, the small passageway opens into the treasury, better known as the Al-Khazneh.

Tombs that "float"

The pink treasury in the evening sun

Imagine one of the palaces in 1001 Arabian Nights, remove some Islamic features and then just stick it to the face of a rock, and you get the dramatic sight that leaves you breathless. Quick Fact: The Al-Khazneh changes colours throughout the day, a yellowish-orange during the day, and a bright pink in the evening ( those are the only two colours I got to see, though it changes colours a lot more times). We stopped for around half an hour just to like take in its beauty, but even that wasn't enough. No angle, and no type of light, could make a photograph of the Khazneh come alive. You have to see it to believe it.

Petra is an ancient city carved out from the large rocks, and as you spend the entire day there, you see tombs of great Nabataen kings and queens aloft sky-high rocks that gave it the illusion of floating on clouds. A monastery located around a 1000 steps above the rest of the city, which entails a lung-crushing climb, followed by a lung-crushing gasp on seeing the monastery, followed by more lung-crushing gasps as you take in the view all around. 

Wadi Rum

Our next stop was Wadi Rum, where a desert safari would show you around different mind-blowing desert landscapes. We even saw one of the sets where Lawrence of Arabia was shot! Jerash, north of Amman, is a purely Roman city ( yes, I know a rarity in the Islamic middle east). The amphitheatre, though in ruins is absolutely beautiful, and walking along the colonnaded walkway makes you feel like Caesar's heir.

The colonnaded walkway that feels kingly

Imagine a HOT day, like very hot with no wind or clouds, just a bright, blinding, white disc laughing at your misery. Well most of our trip was spent like that, though the day we went to the Dead Sea, really cooled everyone. You expect the waters of the Dead Sea to be different, like maybe black, or absolutely weird, but its just like any sea or lake in which you would swim. Entering the Sea for the first time can hurt a bit, as the water yanks you up into a lying position as you float around, and yes it feels very weird in the beginning. Like there is just something wrong, like this cannot be happening. For the first few minutes I kept trying to stand up right like I would do in a pool, but every time I made an effort to bring down my legs, the water would seem to resist with an even stronger force. Though the experience was amazing, the after-effects are something I will never forget. I happened to have really small, almost invisible scratches on my fingers from all the climbing and the travelling. While I was in the water, everything seemed normal, but as soon as I came out to dry myself and take a bath, my hand felt like it was on fire. The salt burned like the blazing sun, and my fingers were red with pain. 

Jesus' Baptism Site

My tryst with the Dead Sea

Lastly, we also visited some crusade castles and fortresses, very much abandoned and lifeless. We also visited the place where Jesus was baptised, and no offence to Christians or Jews, but the Jordan river in which he was baptised looked more like a stagnant drain.

If my trip to Jordan were to be described in a word, it would be....scintillating.