I can’t title this trip any other way than Jordan: History and Legends.
That the Mediterranean Levant is the cradle of many cultures is something I’m not going to tell anyone. But every time I have the immense good fortune to stroll through the area, I’m amazed all over again.
We began our visit in Amman, from where we traveled to Jerash, one of the most important and best-preserved Roman cities in the world. Recent excavations show that it was already inhabited during the Bronze Age. Persians, Umayyads, Mamluks, and Ottomans are also peoples who have left their cultural mark.
For those of us who love the desert, Wadi Rum is paradise on earth. The desert of deserts, the gateway to the great Arabian sands, a place of the Arabian Nights, skies teeming with stars, mesmerizing camel treks, and the constant echo of Lawrence of Arabia… The history of the Arabian Peninsula was forged in Wadi Rum.
At the Dead Sea, we can relax a bit from the intense emotions we’ve experienced and pamper our skin with the finest mud and salts, as well as enjoy the area’s excellent hotel facilities. But we mustn’t get distracted… we’re in the Holy Land. We set foot in the Jordan River and stood at the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus… Powerful emotions, for believers and non-believers alike.
And it’s difficult for me to even talk about Petra. I’m incredibly lucky to have traveled a lot. My “top” lists don’t vary much, and they’re “expensive.” Petra has made it onto a few lists; in fact, I think I can say that all of Jordan has ranked very, very high. I’m not going to describe Petra to you; I invite you to go. There are places in the world that are hard to describe because they simply can’t be conveyed. Jordan awaits.
