10/11
We land at 11.00 on Jordanian soil. For the first time in my life, an unknown person is waiting for me in the arrival hall with my name stamped on a sign (pick up 14 JD). Not even time to blink our eyes, and we find ourselves in Madaba. Given the short time available, I decided to avoid Amman. From Madaba you can in fact easily reach all destinations in northern Jordan. Our room (no. 414) at Mariam Hotel is on the fourth floor, simple, but very clean. The windows are double glazed, and the environment is perfectly isolated……. from street noise, which is already a great thing. On the other hand, any type of internal noise is amplified, especially a nice doors splashing, and then tables creaking, trolleys rolling, neighbors burping, and various amenities ..
Despite everything, we fall in lethargy for a couple of hours and at 15.00 we decide to reach Jerash, to go on with the program.
For 40 JD, with amazing speed, they find us a taxi driver who will accompany and wait for us all the time we want. I will discover later it’s overpriced, since the hotel rate is 30 JD with one hour waiting.
Actually before we left I did not know if I would have visited Jerash, being Roman ruins seemed a not very exotic place, (being Italian I have been to Rome many times) but already during the visit I’m glad we have gone. Entrance costs 8 JD.
Let’s say that wandering among columns and arches without reading a line on guide book (on the other hand, why take an opportunity to acculturate when we can remain ignorant and happy to be so ??), simply observing and listening, while the late-afternoon golden light cloaks the landscape is already worth the price. But then, at 18:30, when the moon rises and the windows of the surrounding houses illuminates like many cribs, (the site is located next to the village),
here comes the magic touch of the so much coveted exoticism: the call of the muezzin, which surprises us in the beautiful and well-preserved amphitheater, amplifying every vibration.
Since we are dead tired we do not feel like going out for dinner, so we stay at the hotel restaurant. We spend 12 JD in two.
For the next day, we plan the classic tour that combines history, entertainment, and relaxation of the body: Mount Nebo, Bethany, Dead Sea, Dead Sea Panorama, and the hot springs of Main (JD 50 in two)
I leave Lorenzo in the room, and go down in reception at 21.30 to book a taxi, but specifying that we do not want to stop that much at the Dead Sea, because we plan to be there again for longer time on Wednesday.
In the lobby, I meet a young man in his thirties, he is Australian from Italian family, so he is able to talk in a quite fluent Italian. He is traveling around with a rented car.
10/12
Breakfast is plentiful, delicious pancakes, and huge jars of homemade jam, the palm syrup then, is fantastic!
In short, a sweet meal of such proportions that it could lead to diabetic coma….
In the lobby waiting for us, at 11, is same driver as yesterday. He will prove to be a lovely person.
First considerations of the landscape: barren hills, sand-colored, soft wavy lines that follow degrading towards the blue-tinged and somewhat tarnished Dead Sea in the distance; just interrupted, from time to time, by some green patch of vines and olive trees. Even rarer, meanders here and there the black snake of the road surface.
At Mount Nebo (1 JD) a sanctuary is being built, the most interesting thing, apart from a small museum with some pottery and photographs, is a small square where you can enjoy the view and where a kind of map stands. From here Moses saw the promised land. We are now in the midst of the world’s powder keg, the mother of all current conflicts. Jordan and Egypt are now friends of Israel, but 20 kilometers further is Bethlehem, in the torn occupied territories, and the holy and disputed city of Jerusalem is 50 kms away. I really wanted to visit it, but the ballet visa on the passport made me give up. Will it be possible one day to return and pass freely from Jericho to Jerusalem, and then return to Beirut or Damascus? Who knows, at the moment no, and let’s hope not to get a rocket on our heads.
Second stop: Bethany, on the Jordan river, the place where Jesus Christ was baptized. We are in a very delicate area, we cannot go around on our own. A bus runs between the entrance (7 JD) and the real site, right on the border with Israel, barbed wire, flags and, I imagine, machine guns leveled on the other side. Jordan is now a small river, the place of baptism, remembered by a plaque, is dry. Water is also the subject of dispute, Israel does the lion’s share and appropriates the majority leaving the crumbs to the Palestinians. Our driver, who is also a kind of guide, never leaves us alone, and hurry us up. I would have liked to stop a moment and reflect. Although I am not a particularly religious person, I am still very sensitive to incorporate the mystical and religious aspect, whatever religion it is. And here religion is connected with politics, with chronicle news …. But unfortunately they drag me away !!
Third stop: touch and go at the Dead Sea. In the area there are only luxury hotels, the Holiday Inn to the north, just near the Madaba road intersection, and further south the Moevenpick and a couple of others. Next to the Holiday Inn they are building various types of residences, but at the moment there are only concrete skeletons, and no workers. Along the road between the two groups of hotels there are a number of parking lots, today there is absolutely no one but I imagine that on Friday they must be packed with people, because here there are no real beaches and they are the only free access to the sea.
If you, like us, do not want to use the beaches of the big hotels (non-guests may do so by paying an entrance fee which is about 30 JD and also includes the use of their thermal pools), there are some public beaches equipped with sunbeds , umbrellas, showers, restaurants, swimming pools, etc. The most famous, indicated on the Lonely Planet, is Amman Beach, entrance 15 JD but driving south, we will see the O Beach.
We sit on some plastic old chairs, and, tormented by flies, we eat our picnic lunch (cheese, bread sticks, bananas), then we go down to the sea, we take two photos and leave again
The intention is to come back tomorrow and stay for a while …
We skirt the coast for a little while, then, turning to the left we climb on a steep ascent over gorges and very suggestive curves (remember that the Dead Sea is 376 meters below sea level), until it reaches the Dead Sea Panorama, a point from which you can enjoy incredible views of the landscape below. There is also a restaurant.
The last stop of the day is to Hammamat Main, a group of hot springs, entrance 15 JD.
After the steep climb, at a turning point we take a sharp descent that leads us to the bottom of a gorge, a restaurant on the right, on the left a tiled path takes us to a hot waterfall. There are changing rooms but not lockers to store the belongings.
The customers are mainly locals, the few women dive into the water fully clothed. I think the temperature is around 38-40 degrees, warm but not uncomfortable. These vapors are a blessing for my cold
After having rested a bit in our room, we decide to go out into town to dine decently. The Mariam is in fact a 10-minute walk from the city center.
In the lobby we meet Antonio, the Australian guy, and we invite him to come with us. Following his recommendations, we would like to reach the Haret Jdoudna Restaurant. While we get there, we take a look at the other ones, especially those mentioned on the Lonely Planet. Some of them, like Ayola, are cafés, others, like the Moab Land offer food that seems a bit too “western” . The Haret Jdoudna is inside a courtyard, in a beautiful stone house, full of locals, it seems there is a banquet going on, but the guests are exclusively women, and we do not understand what it is. A singer is performing local melodies, I think this music is very catchy, several ladies are bellydancing sinuously swaying hips and arms.
Dinner is spectacular. The rich menu includes traditional Jordanian food, the list of mezze (appetizers), hot or cold, disorients me. I eat a lentil soup, flavored with cumin (2 JD), a fattayer (JD 1.75) a batter that contains inside green herbs spinach type, and then a chicken Sawani (JD 5.75), baked chicken with vegetables. Antonio takes the lamb sausages with cloves or nutmeg, very tasty, but I could not finish the dish, then the famous baba ghanuj, a cream of cold eggplant. Then a dish like the Egyptian shawarma.
The bread is fantastic, I will never eat such a good bread in the rest of the trip. It’s a kind of flat bread, but with the thinner pasta and slightly greasy, air bubble separates the two crunchy layers, they serve it hot. I still dream about it. It reminds me a little of the Indian naan, but is thinner and less greasy.
Returned to Mariam, I ask at reception how much it costs, for the next day, a round-trip taxi to the Dead Sea. They ask 40 JD. I also ask info about the beach I noticed today, the O Beach. They explain that it is neither better nor worse than the Amman Beach, just more expensive, 25 against 15 JD. Contrary to what is written on the Lonely Planet I get also reassure that I can wear a bikini without being scanned by the looks of the local boys.
Antonio, who is directed to Petra for the next day, offers us a lift up to the Dead Sea.
10/13
We meet Antonio at breakfast, the departure is scheduled at 10.00.
We take the wrong way, it is clear that we are going down, the Dead Sea is at the bottom and seems to encourage us, but the narrow and steep path, packed with tight curves is not the easy road the taxi took yesterday. In any case, in one way or another, after some vicissitudes we arrive at the same crossroads we saw yesterday, where there are residences skeletons. We encounter a roadblock, when they see that we are foreigners they do not stop us. Antonio leaves us at Amman Beach. We pay 15 JD each at the reception, but they confiscate the food we kept in plastic bags. So, better hide it in the backpack. I think they do this to oblige as many people as possible to eat in their restaurant. In addition to this, a nice pool, changing rooms with lockers, a small general store that sells creams, costumes, fins, etc. There are padlocks, 1.5 JD
The swimmers are mostly tourists, and some local family, women, like yesterday, are fully covered. The receptionist was right, the bikini does not attract curious looks
There are umbrellas and sun beds, in small quantities. Since we arrive early, we can take 2 of them. The sun is not very strong, and there are the usual annoying flies. For 3 JD (to be paid to the lifeguard at the beach) we can take black mud to spread on our body, then we rinse in the sea, except the face. The sea water is warm, it’s terrible when some stills end up in my eyes, wow what a suffering! The easiness of floatation is outstanding!!
Gradually the beach fills up, but the most of people stop just long enough to take a bath, and then immediately leave.
We are not in a hurry, and it would be a pity not to take the pleasure to relax a bit in such a special place, without mention to the multiple properties of this water and muds.
After a couple of hours, we move to the pool, just to dry ourselves a moment, and negotiate 18 JD to go back to Madaba.
After having rested a bit, we go back to the same magnificent restaurant as yesterday.