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Jerash - Part 2

The oval plaza - imagine this as a conjunction of streets. Look how beautiful the plaza is even today!



Panoramic view of what remains of the plaza today!





More on the oval plaza



One of the remaining monuments at the center of the plaza



The beautifully arranged columns/pillars



The cardo / The Colonnaded street





The street surrounded by the columns



The remains of a mosque



More about the mosque



The South Terapylon - the intersection of the streets



Some random remains



What remains of one of the streets



Panoramic view of the south tetrapylon. You can see the intersection of the streets. You can also see the remains of the pedestals which once had statues on it



Remains of the church today



A closeup view of the top of a column



The Nymphaeum - aka the water system monument



One of the bowls of the Nymphaeum . May be this was used as a decoration purpose or used as a fountain



This is the Nymphaeum ! You can see holes for water flow in the monument.







View of the street



Another entrance to another church



The columns



View of the street and the other ruins from a little bit higher view point



Entrance to one of the theaters at the north side of Jerash. You can now understand that Romans valued entertainment more and they created separate spaces for the same.



This theater was at the north side. Similar theater was present at the other side also

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The temple of Artemis





The pillars stand tall even today, withstanding centuries of changes! Sometime I wonder what if the monuments had a voice? May be we can discover the old ages, secrets, historical events, etc? History is fascinating!



Side view of the pillars



You can see a column/pillar is made up of multiple small parts. They are mounted one on one to form the pillar/column





You can see the holes for inserting the rods which will run through the center of the column. This will hold the parts together. Also one interesting observation at this temple. The Columns tend to shake if we give a slight push. This shaking was by design it seems. The shaking of the columns produces sounds. Hence when earthquakes occur, the sound of the columns is warning for the people of the city to find a safe shelter! How brilliant!!!



Some interesting shapes found in a stone. This could have been a storgae box or sacrificial stone!



Some more columns near the artemis area



The Mortuary Church









Some interesting information regarding the excavations.



View of one of the colonnaded street from other end, which was shown earlier



Another angle of the oval plaza



A theater



One more view of the oval plaza



The temple of zeus





Some of the remains of the unfinished zeus temple



Side view of the zeus temple



Another theater






Video showing the acoustics of the theater! The music player was not using any mic or audio equipments!

https://youtu.be/07CwBOT_Gs0

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Day 2 - Part 3 - Drive from Jerash to Petra!

The drive from Jerash to Petra is via the King's Highway! This is one of the oldest routes in Jordan which is still operational. At the end of this post, you will see why i chose this route.

Some random clicks of the roads/highways















Signboards were present everywhere and in English. The signs were in metric system. So no confusion of miles.



Desert on either side of the highway!



Winds kicking up a mini sand storm!



Some more sign boards!





The road to the Petra! It was empty, no sign of life on either side of the road!!





Almost there!



Reaching the Petra shortly!



Some kind of decoration to welcome the visitors to the petra



Some random shot of a waterbody in the highway



Reason why I chose the Kings highway - less traffic and scenic views!! See the photos for yourself and judge!



Panoramic view of the view point

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Day 2 - Part 4 - Petra by the night!

If you have watched Indiana Jones and the last crusade, then you would have seen the Petra! Petra is something which was on my bucket list for a long time! Its an UNESCO World Heritage site! There is a rich history associated with the monuments of the Petra.

Please read this link to know more - Petra Wiki

I checked in to the 2nd hotel of my trip - La Maison. This was a nice hotel, near to the Petra Visitor center. Please select hotel nearer to the visitor park entrance. The reason is Petra involves walking, hiking fully! Once you are done with the visit, you will be very tired to reach the hotel! The hotels are aware of this and there are many hotels near the visitor park.

View of the Petra modern city from the hotel. This was taken at 7pm local time! The sun sets late and rises early in Summer for Jordan. Jordan has summer from late April till September! During summer, most of the monuments are opened till 7pm or so.



I didnt have proper lunch as I was driving and roadside hotels were sparse, especially vegetarian. Hence I requested the hotel chef for a veg meal. The chef made me a veg rice which was similar to biriyani, a salad and some baked veggies! The meal was really delicious especially for the hungry soul!





Night view of the city



One the way to the Petra. Its a 1.2 kms walk to the Treasury monument. You need to buy tickets and tickets are issued only Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays for the Petra by night.



The 1.2 kms path is lit by such cute candles, covered by paper. This was magical, walking in a pitch dark area with just candle lights to guide!!





Finally the treasury monument, which is more popular! Sorry for the poor quality photo. This was a mobile click.





A light show was also conducted



Some random clicks while walking back to the hotel.







To sum up, Petra by night was a magical experience! There was a mini musical show put up and later the entire pitch dark area is illuminated from a light source! I can't summarize the experience in words!! Just go and experience it!

Note - Some people may not like it and may feel it ordinary. However my experience was really good and it varies from person to person!

[sairamboko]

Day 3 - Petra and Wadi Rum

To avoid crowds, I woke up around 5am and started to Petra by 6am. The Petra is one of the most visited tourist places in Jordon. It gets pretty crowded after 9am. Also the Petra monuments is not only about the treasury, its also about the monastery, royal tombs and other ruins. Visiting all these sites means a lot of walking. So if you start early in summer, you can visit most of the sites before you begin to feel the heat. Remember, you need to be a fit person to do all the hiking and walking. By fit doesnt mean, gym going person and six packs. Fit to walk for long duration of time. I am an average person. I was able to hike/walk for most of the duration. Then later i got heavy cramps on one of my legs on the way to the monastery! I was afraid on how to walk further. The cramp was accompanied with a muscle strain also. It was paining. So i hired a donkey to take me to the monastery. Its not humane but I didnt have a choice. Lot of tourists engage donkeys for most of the hike. I started my walk/hike around 6am and returned back to the hotel by 11am. I had less time and a packed schedule. Next time I should visit the petra in a relaxed manner. Here goes the photo journey.

The journey to the treasury monument is not an easy journey. One needs to walk 1.2 kms to get this view. Let me take you through the journey.



The Petra monuments are hidden completely in a ridge. It was not known to the world until a traveler rediscovered it. Read the wiki page shared earlier to know more about the discovery and history. This is how the path begins



Poorly maintained description boards



View of the ridges



Some tombs alongside the path





Walking through the ridges



Notice something on the left side near the boulders? Its nothing but rain water collection pipes carved in stone! The Nabataeans controlled the water well in the desert area and hence this region became a major trade hub.



A carving of the treasury on the sides of the boulders. May be this was kind of a sign board used during those days??



A black and white photograph of the path



Some random clicks





More carvings



View of the sky



A check dam!



And there you can see the treasury peeking behind !! This was a breathtaking sight to behold! I got very excited on seeing this view!



The treasury!! Literally no people around! Only a couple of tourists!



I climbed up the stones opposite the treasury to get this view! It was simply mesmerizing! I was just sitting there and absorbing the view and recording it for my memory! Once in a lifetime view and memory!





Camel waiting for the tourists to come



Another view of the treasury shot close. If you observe closely you can see bullet holes and marks. The treasury was thought to be holding a storage of riches and gold! Hence the name! Actually there is nothing inside and is considered to be a tomb



Black and white view of the treasury peeking behind!!

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After treasury you need to cross a street to the right of it and then move further to explore the other sites. There are some risky sites which offer a good view of the entire Petra sites. However its officially closed. Certain local people may promise you to take to those sites. Its not encouraged in the interest of safety. The street is called facade street.

A 1st Century tomb. It reeked of camel urine smell. The local Bedouin tribe still lives here. They use the camels and donkeys and also act as official guides to survive. Please engage only official guides. They can be hired at the entrance of the visitor park







View of the street. You can see lot of holes in the rocks. They are tombs



Panorama view. Left side is normal tombs. Right side is royal tombs



A Bedouin tribe local with his camel. Getting ready for the day



View of one of the tombs



Some caves where the people used to live in early days



A roman theater in the middle of the street



Some more caves



Royal Tombs. Notice the worn out steps in the bottom right



As I walk further to explore more, you can see some vegetation.



The tree you see here is very old. Probably centuries old. Underneath is what remains of a water fountain. Also while walking noticed that there are water canals in the middle of the street. I misplaced the photo somewhere. If i find it let me add to the end of the post.



Petra Temple - this is still being excavated.







What remains of the hadrian arch today



Another temple ruins



Remains of a column



Another view. Notice the royal tombs which is visible in the far. Also Sun started shining heavily!



Another click of the Hadrian Arch



The temple of Dushares



The basin restaurant. Only restaurant operating inside the Petra site.



After crossing the basin restaurant, i pulled up cramps and muscle strain! Hired a donkey to make the climb to the monastery. It was steep. Post which i was greeted to this view of the monastery. There was a nice juice stall facing the monastery. I sipped a cool drink and relaxed for a while





Your truly posing in front of the monastery



While descending met some dogs and cats



The Lion Triclinium



One of the caves. lots of caves in the rocks and hills

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One last view of the treasury before leaving





Walking back to the hotel



Reached the hotel and checked out around 11:30am. Started to Wadi Rum. On the way saw this.



Notice the cracks among the rocks? Thats where the Petra sites are hidden. Treasury and the other sites are well hidden from the outside world



Some random click



Another view of the ridges and rocks!

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Now on the way to visit Mars, sorry Wadi Rum You will know why i called it Mars later. Wadi Rum is desert with some unique terrain and rock formations. It has been filmed in many movies like The martian, Lawrence of the Arabia, Transformers, etc. I had booked a camp and they took me to a desert tour also. Highly recommended. You can find camps in all sorts of budgets. To get a magical experience, please do stay in a camp for a night. Its magical.

On the way to Wadi Rum - some road clicks







Sign boards





Thats Wadi Rum Desert from the far!



Railway tracks! Jordan has no railways. These tracks were once used for mining puposes. Now its non functional







Camels welcoming me !





Abandoned Wadi Rum Railway station. Engine and some goods coaches lying unused.











Reached the wadi rum visitors center. If you bought Jordan pass, need to get it stamped before proceeding to the camp.



The unique terrain starts!





Spotted an Alto car at the office of my camp. One need to book a camp to tour the wadi rum desert. Stay is optional but recommended. I parked my car and packed only the essentials for a night stay and hopped on a 4x4 toyota jeep to see the desert.



The desert starts! Its unreal to see them in person!

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The first stop in tour was the Lawrence Spring. It was here that Lawrence found water.

Lot of camels resting here





A panoramic click



One needs to climb to the top to see the Lawrence Spring! I gave it a pass as i was tired due to the morning trekking in Petra.





We moved further.





Some unreal terrain everywhere











Sand Dunes











My name in Arabic it seems. Look at the different colours of the sand. This place is called the Khazali Canyon. The canyon has numerous inscriptions and paintings. Also the canyon's water source is not known it seems.



Entering the canyon



Centuries old inscriptions







A water hole. Nobody knows the source for this water and since i went in summer, its kind of dry.



The canyon



We moved further



I noticed this kind of rocks almost everywhere. I believe this entire desert would have been a great sea or ocean once. Now its a desert due to climate changes. The erosion is bringing out some sea shells which are in the rocks. I found this plenty.



A panoramic view



We move further





The unreal terrain continues!

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We venture more deeper into the desert. Time was going slow.



At one place my driver/guide stopped in the middle of a canyon kind of thing. And told me to walk alone and meet him at the other end of the canyon. To be honest this was scary. Not a soul around and in a foreign land!!



Finally i was nearing the end of the canyon and I was able to meet my driver and hop on to the jeep. We proceeded further.







look how the rocks have eroded in time







It was time for sun set







After driving for a while, the driver took me to a view point. He told just climb the rock, find a spot to sit and enjoy the sunset. I did the same. It was a calm experience. There was a little bit of breeze. So it was pleasant too.



Sunset views



Enjoyed the sunset and climbed down the small hill to meet my driver





To my surprise, the driver was preparing a Bedouin tea made from the local shrubs. It tasted like thulsi tea but it was different.





Finally after enjoying the tea and sunset view, we proceeded to the camp.



It started to get dark





Nearing the camp. We spotted a small desert snake here.

https://youtu.be/XEc7505oSjc

Finally reached the camp and thats my room for the night







The dining hall was nearby and it was candle lit. It was pitch dark and only the stars and moon were my company.





The dinner was Bedouin style cooking. What they do is, they put the food underneath the ground and let it cook for hours. I enjoyed the baked potatoes and the pita breads. After the dinner, we just sat down with others for a camp fire. I couldn't believe what i was seeing in the sky. It was pitch dark sky and stars everywhere! No other source of light anywhere!Later i retired to the bed and slept peacefully.

Bedouin Style of cooking - underground pits

https://youtu.be/iGL-QDDSsho

[sairamboko]

Day 4 - Wadi Rum to Dead Sea. Woke up around 6am and freshened myself. Continental breakfast and Bedouin tea was there. Post that jeeps dropped us to the camp office. My car was there safe. Started to dead sea. It was more than 5 hours journey.

The camp and dining hall in the morning hours.







Morning sun falling on the rocks









Started to dead sea



The roads were curvy and nice.









Those white things are dead sea salt slabs



The Mujib bridge. The Wadi Mujib river drains here to the dead sea. You have seen the Mujib dam in the desert highway clicks in earlier posts.





Proceeding further. Almost nearing the dead sea hilton hotel.

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I reached dead sea around 1pm. It was sweltering hot and adding to that humidity of the sea made me exhausted! I booked room with Hilton Hotels. Hotels in the Dead sea have unusual check in time - 3pm and check out is 11am. I reached the hotel to find a long queue for check in!! After 5 hours of driving in the summer sun and one hour of standing in the queue, finally it was my turn to check in. The reception staff asked me check in time is 3pm and why did you come early!! I was furious at this! Escalated to the manager about this behaviour and got a room quickly. Finally i got time to relax!

View from the room balcony



The balcony



Room was good and comfy



Ordered a nice margarita pizza for lunch



The hotel lobby



After a small nap, went to the private beach to enjoy the dead sea floating experience. One more item ticked off the bucket list!! Floated in dead sea. Do you know the dead sea is evaporating almost 3ft an year due to climate change?? The floating experience was surreal. First you need to apply the dead sea sand which was kept near the sea. After applying it you need to go into the sea and float. The water was too salty! You should take great care to not let water touch your eyes. As i entered the waters, i tried to lie down on the water. As i tried that, the water pushed me and i was floating!! The water felt like oil because of the high salt content!! After enjoying the floating experience, there were open showers nearby. Just showered and went to the room. I had to order two lemon drinks because some water entered my mouth and it was too salty!!!

Sunset view





The lights you see in the other end is Israel





Morning click



I retired for the day and had a nice and comfortable sleep. It was much needed rest. Next day morning, I had plans to visit the Bethany beyond Jordan. It was the place where Jesus was supposedly baptized. I gave it a miss. Relaxed till noon. Post that started to the airport as my time in Jordan is coming to an end.

[sairamboko]

Started from the hotel. Check out was smooth. No issues or queues.

Reached the car rental office. The rental guy checked the car and found no other damages apart from the existing ones. He then dropped me off at the Amman Airport.



Covered close to 1000 kms in 5 days that too in a foreign land!



Unlike the airports in India, Amman airport didnt allow passengers inside 3 hours before departure. Passengers were allowed inside for check in only 2 hours before departure.

The airport undergoing some renovations



Bought some souvenirs for my kid in the duty free

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Emirates A380 business class experience

Emirates flight experience was more than ordinary. I picked this flight for the service and A380. It was my long time desire to travel in an A380 aircraft. Another bucket list item ticked off

The flight back to Dubai



Business class seats - comfy and premium



An ipad and lot of beverages in the mini bar



The infoscreen was too big!



Got some goodies for my kid. Friendly air hostess



The headphones were of premium finish and the sound quality was definitely much better



Spotted an Iraqi airways flight before take off



Ambient lighting inside the aircraft



Empty business class! Only a handful of passengers



While booking my flight i ordered Hindu veg meal. It was sumptuous and tasty!





Some nuts and chocolates to finish the meal

[sairamboko]

I reached Dubai around 10pm local time. My flight back to Bangalore was around 3:20am only. So loitered around the airport. Shopped for my kid. Then went to the business class lounge to take a nice shower and then have something. The flight was delayed and departed 30 mins late but landed before time.

The flight back home



Since this was also a business class, there was a flat bed option. The aircraft was Boeing 777-300ER. I slept for almost the entire duration of the flight. I requested the air host to serve me food just before landing. He obliged and served me breakfast before landing. It was good and delicious food!



After landing, completed my immigration and customs formalities. Immigration officer was a bit surprised that I did a solo trip to Jordan Post collection of luggage, I was picked up by a BMW chauffeur. Courtesy the Emirates business class. I was dropped at my home in hosur. It was a luxurious end to the trip!

The BMW Car which dropped me at home