Touring Among Amman

Yet another restful night followed by a mind blowing breakfast. Only this time, with the added benefit of no hangover from the wedding the previous night. The grand plan was to tour all over Amman today then poolside and relax all day tomorrow (sorry, last blog of the trip, barring any craziness). 

After our amazing morning feast we headed out towards the Amman Citadel.  It is an archaeological site at the center of downtown Amman. The Citadel has a long history of occupation by many great civilizations (Greeks, Roman’s, cavemen). There is evidence of inhabitance since the Neolithic period and it is considered to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited places.   The Greeks built an enormous temple to Hercules which was all but destroyed during the great earthquake and now all that remains are some marble fingers and an elbow.  We were able to climb all over these ruins as our guide, Ahmed, explained all of the different structures and when they were built. It was hot today, 95°F, but we had experienced hotter earlier in the trip.  Looks like we are acclimatized to the unforgiving heat. At the top of the hill the daily prayer began and all of the mosques in Amman were blaring the prayers, it was a unique sensation hearing an entire city praying. Our guide (after doing his own praying) offered to show us around the city and took us next to the largest Roman amphitheater in Jordan which held 6000+ people and is still occasionally used for concerts and shows!  The acoustics off of the stone was mind boggling. Next he took us to the only mosque that allows visitors. We were not appropriately dressed, me with shorts and Emily being a woman.  So we had to donn Thobes to enter the mosque. It was enormous and quiet. We sat on the ground and leafed through the Koran as he talked about his religion and entertained my questions about his beliefs and the actual religious practices.  His earnestness, and pride while speaking in that holy place was what makes traveling to far off lands worth it.  After the mosque we meandered through an open air market, sampled some sugar cane drinks, and tried the best Kanafeh in the country.  It is made with spun pastry called kataifi, soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar, and typically layered with a gooey cheese, and pistachios.  It was delicious. Then we parted ways and headed back the our hotel to rest before dinner. 

Zenith, the rooftop steakhouse at our hotel, left us utterly enchanted with an exceptional dining experience. From the moment we walked in, the spectacular sunset and cityscape view set the perfect backdrop for a memorable evening. Our waiter Khalid's service was beyond compare; his attentiveness and genuine care made us feel like VIPs. 

The foie gras with berry compote and maple cotton candy, alongside the seared scallop appetizer, were heavenly starters that teased our taste buds.  The off-menu strip loin steak, personally recommended by Chef Omar, was a revelation, boasting a succulent 9+ marble rating. 

Phenomenal cocktails elevated our dining experience to new heights, perfectly complementing the flavorful dishes. Ahed, the warm and gracious hostess, surprised us with a delightful anniversary dessert personally delivered to our table. It turned out to be a magical pre-anniversary night! We can’t wait for a relaxing day tomorrow!! 

The Wedding

Today was a relatively uneventful day. The bed we were sleeping on was soooo comfortable that we slept in hard this morning. Our hotel did a turn down service last night before bed and our wedding attire was pressed and hanging in the closet when we returned from Khalid’s home. After and amazing waterfall shower we headed down to the lobby for breakfast. This was the largest and most impressive spread I have ever seen. It took up 3 rooms!! There was a chocolate fountain, a whole honey comb for scraping honey, and foods from all over!! I tried to stick to fruits but the spread was too enticing. After that we retired to our own cabana by the pool. We spent the day reading, swimming, and relaxing in anticipation for the wedding. The moment came and we readied ourselves. We didn’t know what to expect. So we showed up at Khalid’s house where his family was preparing him for the wedding. All of a sudden the entire house broke out in chanting, singing, clapping, dancing, and ululating. There as a sort of ‘band’ of men dressed similarly and playing bagpipes and drums while clapping and singing. It gave the vibe of pumping the groom up for the marriage. We (the American contingent) stood awkwardly as no one explained what was happening, but Khalid’s family and friends encouraged us to participate nonetheless. We each took turns dancing with the groom in the center of the crowded space. This went on for about an hour! Clapping and singing and dancing. Then we all piled into cars and headed to his bride’s house where she was undergoing the same ritual. We sang and clapped him all the way into her house where their parents quickly wed them and then both families sang and clapped them out and into a car. We all then piled into cars and headed to the reception. I guess photos took a while as we all sat around for about 1.5 hours just outside the beautifully decorated hall. Given it was a Muslim wedding there was no booze which made the long stretches between activities feel slightly longer. Finally, we were permitted into the main/decorated reception hall (which was a part of a huge multi-event venue with multiple other weddings/events occurring in other parts of the venue). We were told that the newly weds would make not one but FOUR grand entrances. The first came when they ‘arrived’ by car. The singing, clapping, and dancing carried them into the reception hall where they promptly disappeared again. About a half hour later they made their grandest entrance through the main façade, under fireworks, to the sounds of a great trumpeting orchestra (via speakers), and waltzed down the center of the hall. They looked happy. Then we sang, clapped, and danced the traditional way for 2 more hours! We felt a little bad for the poor bride who was in an enormous dress and who had probably not stopped dancing for the last 6 hours. Finally the music stopped and they opened a MASSIVE buffet that looked to feed an army. 

The food was great and interestingly eclectic! After eating, the music, clapping, and dancing returned. It was an interesting experience but the exhaustion and sore palms from clapping started hitting all of the non-Arab guests hard. We all wished Khalid and Dina good luck and good fortunes and slipped away. What a wedding! And bonus, no hangover tomorrow!!

Wadi Rum and the family

Talk about your early mornings!! Emily and I were up at 3:30am and piled in to the backs of multiple trucks to transport us to our balloon ride. It was a surreal experience, bumping in the back of a truck over the dark desert under a sky dusted by stars while warm air whipped around us. We traversed the open sands in a seemingly random fashion leaving us wondering how they knew where they were going. At one point during this trip Emily yelled at me, “stop trying to be one with the desert” as I was having a mind blowing experience. 

We met up with a Floridian family who rode the balloons with us. When we arrived they were setting up the balloons and our pilot, Bill, with 25 years of experience, gave us our safety briefing and explained the process. He was a jovial guy with an interesting path. Then we were off, literally, off the ground and floating up to 5000 feet above the desert floor. We couldn’t feel acceleration or the speed as we floated with the winds. Up and up we went soaring over massive rock formations, herds of camels, and at the peak we watched the sunrise over the monolithic desert. The colors became more vibrant with each passing moment. Fortunately we were with a group that appreciated the spectacle as much as we did and we all stood in silence with the occasional burst from the propane flamer of the balloon. We were all just so speechless. We coasted around for an hour snapping photos and staring out at the wide expanse.  The landing was smooth and we disembarked and rode another truck back to our hotel. After another filling breakfast with returned to our glass domed room and relaxed with a panoramic view of the desert at our feet. Then we went for a short ride on two handsome camels. It was only an hour but the desert sun was making its presence known. They are interesting creatures.. similar to horizontal giraffes. The ride was not only peaceful but a great stretch for my hips. After the ride we fell asleep in front of our panoramic view and awoke just prior to checkout. We met our driver at the edge of Wadi Rum and began the 4.5 hour drive back to the capital, Amman. It was uneventful but very restful. Our hotel, St. Regis, was incredible! We had 9 people greet us at the door, a butler take us to our room, and the view of Amman was expansive.  We rested for a bit and sent our wedding clothes to get pressed for free! We got dressed then headed to Khalid’s house for a rehearsal dinner. His family was amazing! As soon as we walked in the the door we were almost tackled by this short and bubbly woman wearing a sash that read ‘mother of the groom’. She was beaming! It reminded me of the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ when the mom was pushing everyone one to eat. She filled the room and her husband was just as engaging and sincere. Then Khalid’s siblings poured out with immense social energy hugging us and wanting to know everything about us. We met Khalid’s international cohort of friends and they all seemed to be good people. We discussed traveling in Jordan, then the food came out. OMG! Khalid’s mom had homemade Mansaf (a traditional Levantine dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur)! It was incredible, a wonderful orchestra of spices, textures, and perfectly cooked lamb. We all went back for more helpings while singing her praises. We chatted and then ended the night with dancing.  Khalid’s family dancing on one side of the living room and all the non-Arabs standing petrified on the other. But that didn’t last long as his joyous family pulled us in one by one showing us the traditional Jordanian dance moves, clapping, and ululating (look it up). It was so fun! Exhausted we called it a night and we slunk back to our hotel. What a day! Tomorrow is the wedding!

Petra and Hiking in a Desert

Today was an early morning rise. We wanted to beat the heat and the crowds through Petra, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. Our hotel sat right at the entrance and was beautifully decorated in a pure middle eastern style. We got out early but no tour guides were around so we spent some time at one of the vendor stalls and purchased some trinkets for outrageous prices while we waited. But the tour guide that showed up was worth it. He walked us through Petra pointing out ancient carvings, damns, water ways, tombs, unique items, and the coloration differences in the stones due to various minerals (black = magnesium, red = iron, yellow = sulfa, grey = silica, purple = phosphorus, etc). The vibrante colors flowed carefree through the entire landscape, ribbons crossed in every direction. A very interesting feature were the cave ceilings as they looked like colorful mosaics. The morning temperature was perfect, 80°F, breezy and shaded as we hiked through the narrow canyons. Our guide pointed out the millennia of water, sand, and earthquakes that naturally carved out the aisles of Petra. The stark difference in light from the night before provided us an entirely new experience. We traversed gaps as narrow as 3’ and as wide as 20’. Throughout the entire expedition there were carvings, aqueducts, and tombs. But when we reached the most iconic sight, the treasury of Petra, it was perfect. Aside from a few local vendors and camels we had the place to ourselves. The sun had just started to hit the treasury from above and the temperatures slowly started to rise when we arrived. We pondered the massive structure awhile and shot some amazing photos before others started to arrive. Our guide took us further into Petra, which I have to admit I didn’t know existed but Petra is actually 102 square miles, with significantly larger structures than the iconic treasury. As we slowly left the narrow canyons we came out into open areas where the Nabataeans carved their tombs, shrines, and temples directly in to the colorful mountain sides. There were too many to count! Some as small as a breadbox cave to some that were 100s of feet high! By this time we were no longer under the cover of the canyons and the sweltering sun began its siege. The temperature climbed to 99°F and each sweat soaked step was felt. Our guide pointed out several ‘fun’ hiking routes and short cuts. But laugh med openly at us while exclaiming, “Jordan in July!? You’re crazy people!”  Sadly after 2 hours our tour had concluded. He made several recommendations for continuing which we followed. Our first hike was a 1.5 hour hike to the ‘monastery’. It was midday and there was nowhere to hide from the blazing sun. We hiked slow and steady taking frequent water breaks as our clothes and brows were drenched. It felt like hiking through and easy bake oven. Step by step we climbed over sand cover stones and boulders, through narrow canyons, and up redden hillsides until we reached the furthest point for tourists, the monastery. It did not disappoint. This was a mammoth sized temple carved straight from the mountain (look closely at the picture to see Emily standing near a column for scale).  High fiving with sweaty palms we turned around and marched back. Along our long trek back under the midday scorcher we hiked up to and in the royal tombs. Again, massive open rooms with mosaics of red, yellow, black, blue, and grey stone ceilings and walls. The bedouins had made living spaces of many of these tombs and caves. Some were covered wall to wall in carpets and pillows and some had signs of decades of heating fires etc.  Up and down we hiked in the sizzling weather, passing incredible sites after sites. Finally we returned to the treasury and we had a special ‘unlawful’ spot we wanted to hike to for good pictures. The locals were ruthless in their fees for passage but we haggled with the best of them and had an 8 year old take us up the steep goat trail to get a great shot above the treasury. With that complete, we caved and rode horses back to the hotel to save our legs. All together we hiked 9 miles in the sizzling desert!! Once back, we relaxed poolside for a few hours before driving further into the desert to Wadi Rum. 

Wadi Rum was jaw dropping. We were dropped off at this sketchy concrete shack and told to hop in the back of some trucks to be driven to the “luxury camp”…. So there we were, bumping along a true sandy desert in the back of a truck near the border of Saudi Arabia… the views were reminiscent of Joshua tree, and Zion put together. We rolled up on this quaint little camp with dome dwellings and the spectacular-ness started to sink in. No lights, open desert, domed rooms… no words…

Our room was crazy! The domes were covered when we arrived as to not cook the guests, but they moved the covers soon after we arrived! We signed up for hot air ballooning tomorrow morning at sunrise, and camel riding.. we explored the luxury camp and found a hookah bar the has been built out of the red mountain and I sat under a portion of a massive boulder in the most middle eastern styled room I’ve ever been in and smoked apple hookah. In front of us lay massive redrock mountains as the sun started to set. We then had a crazy hair and hiked up (yes, again with jelly legs) to a sunset lookout and it was spectacular. Reminded me of the epic vista in the southwest United States. 

We finished the night with some stargazing. We walked out into the middle of the desert and laid on the soft sand and stared up at the dusting of stars. It was the perfect night cap!

Dead Spa Day and Candles

Today’s objective: relaxation. Last night we arrived in the Dead Sea right at sunset and crashed hard. It was an action packed day. Emily booked us at a premier Dead Sea spa resort and it didn’t disappoint. The resort was a massive complex that was immaculately cared for with an Italian-meets-middle-eastern motif. The inside was cool with marble tiling and many water features with mosaics and the outside was a maze of infinity pools, relaxation spots, stone structures, and little side path shops. This morning we woke up to a giant middle eastern breakfast spread. Also, we are probably 2 of 16 people staying at a resort that holds 100s. There were two attendants per person here and they were all super overly eager to help. After a divine breakfast of complex spices and textures we set out exploring the compound winding our way towards the beach (the sheer lavishness of this place was impressive). We made it to the small private beach on the Dead Sea. Not the saltiest (at 33% salt!!!) but the lowest point of water on earth. The mud was thick and rich on the shore and we coated ourselves with it and let the sun bake it into our pores.  Then we waded out into the mysterious waters. Through the water I could see that we were walking on pure salt outcroppings. Then when I tried to lay down struggled because I was super buoyant.  I could lift all of my limbs completely out of the water and still float without effort it was insane. I even went so far as to taste the water and almost gagged at how salty it was. I could feel the sea trying to turn me into a raisin as we floated staring out across at Israel.   The cool shower felt nice under the hot sun and washing away all of the saltiness. 

Next we enjoyed the various pools and lounging around poolside before going to the spa. The views of the sea reaching towards the mountains of Israel were tremendous.  Prior to picking this place Emily found out it was rated as the best spa in Jordan and since we scheduled massages we got the run of the place.  We were warmly welcomed at a serine entrance and given a tour through the sanctuary-like space complete with hydro/massage pools, infinity pools, saunas, a Dead Sea pool, and iconic places to relax overlooking the Dead Sea. What was even crazier was that we were the only ones in the giant spa complex and we were being waited on hand and foot.  So we enjoyed relaxing by the pool reading with the hot winds blowing on us from across the Dead Sea. It was surreal.  Next we had scheduled massages and a mud wrap, again, we were the only ones so we received royal treatment. I even had an attendant following me around in the bathroom. I’ve never been slathered in mud before but I must say I am now a fan. 

After such a relaxing day we packed up and caught a 3 hour Uber to Petra. This was the most harrowing portion of our trip so far. The driver didn’t speak a word of English and drove like the apocalypse was chasing us. With peddle to the metal, AC blasting, we wound our way through the harsh 107°F desert. We initially climbed slowly out from the Dead Sea but eventually we hit the craggy mountains. They were very reminiscent of Zion. Red rock formations jutting out everywhere and we continued our breakneck pace curving around goat trail like roads never knowing if there was an approaching car around the next bend or whether we would just skid off the mountain completely. Emily slept like a rock as I white knuckled the whole way. At one point the car started to over heat and our driver tried desperately to explain the situation to his two non-Arabic speaking passengers which ended in utter failure. But through the use of sign language we turned off the AC and crept the rest of the way over the desert mountains. Meanwhile I was running through dying in the desert scenarios in my head. Talk about steep; the grades on some of those hills must have been >25%!! But we made it in one piece, barely.  The reason for leaving the bosom of the spa was to hopefully see Petra at night lit up by candles.  We made it with an hour to spare. After changing my shorts we walked over to the entrance and started our climb. We were hoping to be the only ones by there was a crowd. We raced the 2 miles to the famous Petra Treasury and sat with a bunch of people listening to a flute player.  I convenced Emily to head back early with me and we got to enjoy ALL of Petra by ourselves, at night, lit by candles.  It was one of the more picturesque moment of my life. The photos simply didn’t do it justice. We ambled through a large and secluded rift in the tundra. The stone was smooth and had deep red hues. Above us was the night sky, filled with stars. It was magical.  After we picked our jaws off the ground we made it for a late night roof to dinner of middle eastern bbq. What a day!!