The beginning of 2017 has given me one of the greatest gift: a travel experience at the end of February in a land that I dreamed for a long time: Jordan. Admiring one of the seven wonders of the modern world with my own eyes was one of the greatest feelings ever.
A place far just 3 hour of flight from Italy but apparently difficult in some aspects. I will not conceal that friends and relatives were not excited about my departure. In reality, I never felt in danger or in trouble, NEVER EVER. Of course it is always good to take out travel insurance just in case. When it comes to a country outside Europe it is right and necessary practice. In this case it was already provided in the package offered by the tour operator . But usually when it is not included, I entrust myself to Allianz Global Assistance, a small expense that can makes the difference.
Following this recommendation I will tell you about my itinerary calibrated for a long weekend.
It starts on Friday from Rome Fiumicino with scheduled flight of Royal Jordanian, the national carrier among the safest in the world and the only one to have a direct flight Rome – Amman (and throughout Italy).
Three hours of flight, perfect time to watch a movie and start to know a little ‘the rest of the group, I am the only blogger..
We arrive in the capital Amman just in time for dinner. Start looking around, without having the slightest idea of how the city was.
I see skyscrapers and a clear distinction between the new town and the historical. A decidedly uneven skyline.
I fall asleep with intense curiosity to discover what is hidden in the darkness behind the curtains of my room, waiting impatiently for the hours of sunshine for immerse myself in the jordanian atmosphere.
Awakening at the Marriott is the most pleasant: off at 7 am the sun is high and hot.
This is perhaps one of the things that struck me: the intensity of the sun, so hot from the earliest hours of the day, when in Italy still means dawn dew.
A quick stop to admire the points of interest (Teatro Romano cities and The Citadel) and off we go to the desert of Wadi Rum, we expect 4 hours of bus.
One of the things most comfortable of the trip was to always have the wi-fi on board. My Jordanian experience is a package created by the tour operator Mistral headed by the famous Quality Group.
It is a type of complete itinerary: from meals to transfers, accommodation, the tickets for archaeological sites and the guide in Italian all the time. The latter, Ismail, told us wonderful stories of his homeland and made us fall fully in a world so close but also culturally very far.
The first sandy desert of my life. An incredibly red sand, scorched by the sun and rich of iron. My eyes eyes were completely enraptured by a landscape of dunes, rock formations of granite, camels and Bedouins. I was incredibly excited, looking back my heart still beats, all so fascinating … a so far away world, but only three hours away.
We stop at a tented camp for our lunch made of humus and local sauces with Arabic bread and spicy chicken.
In some tours you can spend a night in the desert; the camp, in fact, constitute a real hotel complete with a toilet “room”.
Sleeping in the desert is one of my dreams since I fell in love in California’s Joshua Tree park.
Sooner or later I will able to see the stars in the desert area!
But back to the sun of the Jordan, lying beneath it to feel the warmth that at the end of February I had never tried.
I turn around and here’s the train of the desert, I run to admire it and shoot it, but just few minutes… the jeep excursion awaits us!
The desert of Wadi Rum is a real natural paradise! I recommend a stop to walk on the magical natural arch, climb the largest sand dune and immerse yourself in the Siq, where you can still see traces of prehistoric settlements (8000 A.C.)
The nearest village to one of the seven wonders of the modern world is Wadi Musa, but first we will have a relaxing night at the Marriott.
In the morning I do not feel ready, I’m excited, thrilled and very excited.
Petra, the ancient Nabatean city, carved into the rock capital … they called Raqem (“The Colorful”).
Ignorantly I had the conviction that the archaeological site was only made up of the Treasury (the famous facade). Instead Petra is… to the next chapter 😉
