Canadian World Traveller Spring 2024 Issue

the ancient city of Petra, where we had spent
the morning. Stray cats eager for food scraps
kept us company. A peaceful setting indeed.
Tourists Feel Safe and Secure in Jordan
In a region of the world rife with conflict, the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan itself has been
an oasis of calm and stability for decades.
During our six-night trip, we felt safe and
rarely brought up the Israel-Hamas war.
Watching reports on my hotel TV in Jordan, I
didn’t feel any closer to the fighting in Gaza
than I did watching the news at home, despite
our obvious proximity to the Israel border.
To no one’s surprise, tourism to the Middle
East is suffering. In many cases we had hotel
and tourist restaurants to ourselves. At highway
rest stops, our bus often was alone in the
parking lot.
Toronto-based Goway Travel and other tour
operators are still offering trips to the region,
often combining Jordan with Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and other countries. In dreaming about
your next international trip, don’t automatically
dismiss this fascinating part of the world. It’s a
captivating mix of Arab culture, mesmerizing
desert scenery and world-class archaeological
sites.
“Jordan is an ideal destination for globetrotters
who seek culture, history and hospitality,” says
Moira Smith, vice president, Africa and Asia,
Goway Travel. “Despite the tourism slowdown,
Jordan is safe, open and welcoming. It is a
great time to visit with fewer crowds.”
Like neighboring Israel, Jordan is compact, so
the main tourist sites are not more than a few
hours apart. The infrastructure is excellent,
hotels are up to Western standards and the
Jordanian people are among the most hospitable
anywhere. English is widely understood,
and many signs are in both English and
Arabic.
These are some of the trip highlights:
Petra: A World Wonder
Petra, in southern Jordan, ranks among the
greatest monuments of antiquity. Hidden for
centuries from prying eyes, the “lost city” was
known only to nomadic Bedouin tribes until
discovered in 1812 by a young Swiss explorer.
Carved from reddish sandstone outcroppings
tucked within a series of rugged gorges,
Petra—particularly the towering Hellenistic
facade of the Treasury—commonly appears
on travel posters and guidebook covers. The
Rose Red City, as it’s called, is the “rock” star
of Jordan tourism.
Before the Romans took Petra in 106 A.D., it
was the capital of the Nabataeans, an industrious
Arab people who traded in silk, spices,
frankincense and myrrh. Clambering up stony
trails or leisurely walking the valley floor,
tourists encounter cave-like tombs, an
amphitheater, and remains of temples and a
Byzantine church.
Movie goers recognize the iconic Treasury
from the final sequence in Indiana Jones and
the Last Crusade. Outside Petra’s gates, shops
with names like Indiana Jones Super Market
peddle Indiana Jones hats and whips, along
with Nabataean-style pottery, colorful caftans
and other souvenirs.
It’s about a 20-minute walk from Petra’s
entrance gate to the Siq, a chasm that leads to
the Treasury. Upon your emergence from the
shadowy, sheer-sided passageway, the sight of
the sun-splashed masterpiece is simply magical.
Decorated with Corinthian columns,
friezes and figures sculpted from the cliff face,
the Treasury (really a tomb) is crowned by a
funerary urn, which, according to local legend,
contains a pharaoh’s treasure.
Wadi Rum: Romancing the Desert Sands
South of Petra, another Hollywood classic,
Lawrence of Arabia, was partly filmed in Wadi
Rum, a vast desert area with rippling expanses
of deep-pink sand interrupted by craggy
monoliths. British Colonel T.E. Lawrence and
King Faisal based their headquarters there
during the Arab revolt against the Ottoman
Turks in World War I. The dreamy, surreal
landscape continues to color my best memories
of Jordan.
Splitting up into 4x4 vehicles with seating in
the truck bed, our Goway group enjoyed a
two-hour ride through the sand, making stops
to examine petroglyphs, see camels, have tea
in a Bedouin-style tent and hike up one of the
crags. Visitors also can opt for a guided camel
trek.
At night we bedded down in relative luxury at
Sun City, one of several Wadi Rum tourist
encampments equipped with modern conveniences.
Cabins, built on plank platforms and
covered in fabric resembling Bedouin goathair
tents, feature a comfortable bed and a
bathroom with flush toilet and shower. In the
dining hall, a geodesic-domed building, we
filled our plates at a dinner buffet offering
slow-cooked lamb and chicken, fried fish,
roasted potatoes, rice, salads, breads, and a
dessert table with Middle Eastern pastries.
Life is Good at the Dead Sea
89
After touring archaeological sites and
Christian shrines heavy on history, tourists
welcome the chance to relax at one of the
deluxe resorts fronting the Dead Sea’s eastern
shore. At 1,312 feet below sea level, the
super-salty body of water (actually a lake) is
the lowest spot on earth.
Goway accommodated us in the 5-star
Movenpick Resort & Spa Dead Sea, perhaps
the most beautiful hotel in the whole country.
The main building, a stunning example of
desert castle-style architecture, is opulently
furnished with antiques, artwork and Arabic
motifs. Many of the 358 guest rooms are
housed in a two-story village complex lushly
landscaped with palms, bougainvillea, citrus
and olive trees, waterfalls and fountains.
Nothing lives in the Dead Sea because it’s 10
times saltier than the ocean. The high mineral
content makes it virtually impossible to sink,
so you can pose for a picture in the buoyant
water while effortlessly floating on your back.
Just don’t get water in your eyes—it will be
sheer agony.
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World Traveler Spring 2024