The night wasn’t very comfortable… The point where we had camped was near the exit from the beach! Chatting, laughs and singing sounded during the whole night. At about 6a.m in the morning I woke up to have some photos… there were still people on the beach! At 7.30a.m the beach was empty and peace surrounded us… so I slept again, but not for long. The heat and the flies made us wake up at 9a.m, so we thought it a good chance to have a dive before departing.
At 11a.m we departed for the Mountain Nebo (20-30km). The route was climbing on bare bulges to end up at the small Apostles Church (ticket price: 1 Dinar/person) at 802m height. You can see from there a wonderful view to the west side of Jordan River and Dead Sea. As it’s referred, this is the area where Moses found his last den, even if his grave hasn’t been found until today. What characterizes the monument is the big cross on which a snake is twisted.
Three roads cross Jordan - from the north to the south - this of Dead Sea, King’s Highway (mountain path) and Desert Highway (road of the desert). All of them begin from Amman to result in the only Jordan port, Aqaba. We chose the King’s Highway. We followed the signs to Madaba, well known for the Mosaics Academy. We continued through a quite narrow route with a mediocre condition motorway full of corners. In the beginning we met villages which resembled the Cycladic ones, white houses in an area with bare any low germination.
20-30km southern we met an impressive canyon! Through a 10km route there was a quite good twisty road. At first, it descended in the depth of 500m - where the river’s barrier was - to ascend then from the other side. Properly formed spots in the edge of the road were provoking us to stop and enjoy the wonderful view!!!
Driving through the King’s Highway we arrived at Al Kerak, with its imposing fort and its rich history that towers on the top of a 950m hill. We made a stop at the central square to eat and drink tea. We had the chance to meet a nice Egyptian employee who gave us information for Al Kerak and his country. We left with our destination Petra (145km). We drove once more through the King’s Highway which was full of turns in that area.
We made about 20km and we found ourselves at the wonderful canyon Wadi al Hasa. We went through the beautiful mountain village Tafilah with its unique panoramic view to the canyon. As we continued, we saw the signs to the natural park Dana Nature Reserve, a dependent area which is the natural shelter of wild animals (eagles, foxes etc.) and over 600 different species of plants! Unfortunately we didn’t visit it because it was getting late…
The road before arriving to Ash Shawbak is narrow, in bad condition and isolated. Many times I wondered if we had taken the wrong way!
At Ash Shawbak we supplied with the necessary and continued to Petra (40km), while it was already night… We were entering Wadi Musa and from far away the village appeared full of lights among the rocks. We looked for accommodation and we found it quite easy and quick. The Orient Gate Hotel (15 Dinars/double room & breakfast) was a simple and cheap hotel with a nice owner and friendly employees… We spent the night on the terrace, smoking argyle and watching the view of the mountains where the ancient town of Navataius, the famous Petra, was.
A destination I had always wanted to visit… my dream had become true!
