10 days in Jordan

Things to know before going in Jordan - For those arriving in Amman, a visa is required to enter the country. You can buy it directly at the airport for the price of 40JD. If you purchase the Jordan Pass, the visa will be included - For those arriving in Aqaba, by plane or via Israel or Saudi Arabia, the visa is free if the stay at least three nights in Aqaba, as it is a free port. It is possible to leave the Aqaba area for a period of 48 hours, to visit famous locations such as Petra or Wadi Rum. - The currency is the Jordanian Dinar, commonly abbreviated to JD. In the city you will find many exchange offices and ATMs to withdraw money, but you will often have the option to pay via credit card. I advise against changing money at the airport, as the exchange rates are higher. If you can wait until you get to the city, that's even better. Jordan Pass Jordan Pass It's a combined ticket that includes entry to more than 40 attractions throughout Jordan, and a visa to enter the country. There are three different prices that depend on the number of entries into Petra (1, 2, or 3). Other The wifi in the hotels always worked, but alternatively you can buy a Jordanian SIM. The outlets were the same as the European ones in almost all of Jordan. Only in Aqaba did we find English sockets, so I recommend an adapter.

We arrived at Queen Alia Airport at 7.30pm and our driver Khalid warmly welcomed us. With him we organized our itinerary all aroud the most interesting activities in Jordan. He was very helpful and very approachable, who immediately took us to dinner in the most famous and recommended restaurant in the capital: Hashem Restaurant Down Town. For me, it was the first time I had tried Arabic cuisine and I fell in love with it, It was super tasty! Afterwards we moved to our hotel: Shams Alweibdeh Hotel.

The following day we started off our second day with a tasty buffet breakfast on the roof overlooking the beautiful city of Amman. Khalid then picked us up to take us to the first excursion in the north: Jerash.

Jerash was the ancient Gerasa, one of the main Roman cities in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Jerash is among the best preserved Roman sites in the world: most of the columns, temples and theaters are still standing despite three strong earthquakes. I was enchanted by the majestic work of the Romans and their incredible architectural expertise.

After a two-hour visit, we left for Ajlun Castle, a 20-minute drive from Jerash. The castle dates back to 1184 AD. and was built on top of a hill to control the iron mines nearby, protecting the trade routes to Syria. Later it became an important castle for defence against the Crusaders. In the 12th century it was handed over to the governor of Aleppo and Damascus. The castle originally had four towers, loopholes in the walls and a moat surrounding the castle.

Umm Qais Is principally known for its ruins of the ancient Gadara, One of the semi-autonomous Roman Decapolis. This ruins was uncovered in 1974 by the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology.

After a quick lunch with chips, we set off towards the capital to visit the Citadel. The arrived just before sunset, with his magical atmosphere. The Citadel, including its Roman ruins, is located on the highest hill in Amman and offers a 360° view of the city. Also, the Citadel includes the ruins of Roman temple dedicated to Hercules and the Umayyad Palace, built in the 7th century, when the original dynasty of Damascus occupied the city. The sunset at the Citadel was amazing and what made everything even more beautiful was the rising of the full moon which recalled the white colour of the houses.

At the and of the day we had a quick dinner at Mastro Bar and Restaurant, not so far from our hotel. It was funny, because I wasn't so hungry, so I ordered a small hamburger, but I didn't expect my burger to be so tiny. We laughed a lot, but if you decide to go there make shure you order a normal one.

Even today the alarm rings early, for the departure towards Madaba.

Madaba is the city of mosaics and one of the most memorable places in the Holy Land. We start our visit at the Archaeologocal Park I and the Virgin Mary Church, an open-air museum, which houses a collection of ruins and fine mosaics from the 6th century.

Then we moved to Saint George Church, , famous for the oldest map of the Holy Land: in the Church the floor is covered in this mosaic map depicting Jerusalem, hills, valleys, and cities up to the Nile Delta.

As suggested by our driver Kahlid, we went to the Church of John the Baptist. The Church, unknown to tourists is also worth visiting: on top of its bell tower you will get a beautiful view of the town. Also, under the Church, there is a 3000-year-old well where you can still extract water with a bucket.

On the road to Mount Nebo, we take a visit to Nebo's Pearl, a souvenir shop where guests can actively participate in the creation of ancient crafts, such as mosaic-making, pottery, glassblowming, and arabesque art. The shop also contribute ti preservation of centuries-old traditions and the livelihood of local artisans.

After a morning walking aroud the streets, we set off again to reach Mount Nebo. This mountain is the main Christian place of worship in Jordan because it is here that Moses was shown the Promised Land, according to the Bible. With a clean sky, it is even possible to see Jerusalem! Unfortunately there was a lot of fog and send in the air and we couldn't see anything. In fact, Moses never arrived at his destination: the Bible said that he died and was buried right on Mount Nebo.

In the afternoon we drove back to the Dead Sea. On our way, we stopped at the place where Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist on the river Jordan. In 1996 archaeologocal excavations brought this important findings to life. The area is close to the border with Israel and therefore monitored by the military.

Our day ends at the Dead Sea. We arrived at the Resort just in time to admire the sunset. The sea was rough, and as soon as the sun drops behind the hills, we took a quick dip before the beach closes. Floating in the Dead Sea is a incredible sensation. Tired after a full day, we had dinner at our resort.

Woke up at dawn to enjoy a couple of hours at the beach. The Resort has a private beach where you can swim in the Dead Sea mud, rest on the sunbeds and float in the water.

Around 10 am we left for Wadi Mujib, famous for canyoning on the river. We were very excited for this experience, but as soon as we arrived we were given a terrible news: Wadi Mujib was closed due to the fact that it rained in the nearby desert.

Next stop: Little Petra. Our driver suggested us a road unknown by tourists: the Wadi Araba road. Wadi Araba is a mix of rocks and sand dunes, and here is very common to meet Bedouins with their camels. We saw it only by car, but it was very amazing.

Little Petra is a Nabataean archaeological site built into the rock. Its porpose probably was being a suburn of Petra meant to house visiting traders of the Silk Road.The Painted House is the only building that still has preserved frescoes representing ivy plants and birds that have remained intact despite the Bedouins loghting fires on the inside. Continuing the route of the siq, you can climb up to admire a fantastic view of the rocky and wind-eroded landscape.

After the visit, we arrived at our hotel for the check-in. The building was fascinating, inspired by the Treasur of Petra.

Our day ended with a traditional dinner at Jordan Heart Restaurant.

This day was entirely dedicated to Petra. After passing the Visitor Center, we walked along a 2 km siq until we reached the most famous and characteristic point of the historical site: the Treasure.

Continuing the visit, we crossed the Street of Facades filled with unfinished mausoleums. Walking towards the Roman city, we encountered the Roman inspired Nabataean theatre, built in the pink-purple rock. Up to the Colonnaded Street, we can aidmire the Roman decumanus, the Nymphaeum and the Great Temple, up to the Temenos gate, the second entrance to the Roman city.

Then, we climbed the 900 steps to reach the Monastery. Much larger than the Treasury, it dates back to the 2nd century B.C. and it was the tomb of the most important king of the Nabataeans. It was subsequently transformed into a Byzantine Church with the arrival of the Romans, and finally as the Bedouin residence of the village chief.

After a quick lunch break in one of the stands on the site, we resumed the visit reaching the Royal Tombs, Nabataean tombs still well preserved. Continuing, we reached the remains of the Byzantine Church. Then, we set off to the Visitor Center, to take a quick visit of the Museum.

We had our dinner at Petra Night Restaurant.

This morning we woke up at dawn to be the first to enter the site of Petra and enjoy it free from tourists.

After a breakfast at the stand in front of the Treasury, we set off on the al-Khubta Trail. The route starts from the Royal Tombs and goes up Mount al-Khubtha, until reaching the top of the mountain in front of the Treasury.

The second path we followed is the one towards the Altar of Sacrifice. The monument itself doesn't say much, but the view is amazing. In addition of the immensity of the rocky desert, you can observe the life of Petra from above.

After getting off, we took a second walk around Petra to say goodbye, and then returned to the hotel to rest.

That evening we wanted to watch the famous Petra By Night show, but a downpour hit the city at the time of the exhibition, so it was cancelled.

After a good breakfast at the hotel, we set off towards Wadi Rum, stopping to see the Heraz railway, built by the Ottomans between 1900 and 1908, to facilitate pilgrims heading to Mecca. It is currently no longer in operation, but an old train has been refurbished and put back on the tracks for visitors.

This morning we decided to relax in the hotel pool, even if the water was too cold for us. Luckily, the Red Sea was warmer, so we spent a great morning nonetheless.

Then, after a quick lunch, we set off to get back to Amman, with a detour towards the desert castles.

Qasr al-Kharana is one of the best-known of the desert castles. It's uncertain when the palace was constructed, but it likely originates from the Umayyad Dynasty. An inscription on an upper wall dates the building to before 710 CE. The purpose of the building is a subject of debate among scholars.

Qasr Amra was built some time between 723 and 743, by Walid Ibn Yazid, the future Umayyad caliph Walid II, whose dominance of the region was rising at the time. It's considered one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture. The building is actually the remnant of a larger complex that included an actual castle, meant as a royal retreat, without any military function, of which only the foundation remains. The foundation has a simple layout with a rectangular audience hall, hydraulic structures, and a bathhouse. The bathhouse is also one of the oldest surviving remains of a hammam in the historic Muslim world. It is most notable for the frescoes that remain mainly on the ceilings inside, which depict, among others, a group of rulers, hunting scenes, dancing scenes containing nude women, working craftsmen, the recently discovered "cycle of Jonah", and, above one bath chamber, the first known representation of heaven on a hemispherical surface, where the mirror-image of the constellations is accompanied by the figures of the zodiac. This has led to the designation of Qusayr 'Amra as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Qasr al-Azraq was known in antiquity as Basie and the Romans were the first to make military use of the site, and later an early mosque was built in the middle. It did not assume its present form until an extensive renovation and expansion by the Ayyubids in the 13th century, using locally quarried basalt which makes the castle darker than most other buildings in the area. Later, it would be used by the Ottoman armies during that empire's hegemony over the region. During the Arab Revolt, T.E. Lawrence based his operations here in 1917–18, an experience he wrote about in his book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the Castle was closed and we couldn't go inside.

Then we arrived at Amman at dinner time, so we went to take a walk through the Abdali Boulevard with its modern mall. There we had dinner in one of the restaurants located along the street

In the evening we slept at the Olive Hotel.

We spent our last day in Amman to catch up on the places in the capital that we hadn't visited yet. We started with the Roman Theatre. It dates back to the Roman period when the city was known as Philadelphia. The large and steeply raked structure could seat about 6,000 people: built into the hillside, it was oriented north to keep the sun off the spectators. The theatre is now used as a venue for cultural activities including the Amman International Book Fair, the Amman Marathon prize ceremony, and musical concerts, most notably the Al-Balad Music Festival.

The Abu Darwish Mosque was built in 1961 with a distinctive look thanks to the black and white stone. It's named after Abu Darwish, also known as Mustafa Hassan, since he built it on his own land and funded the building. Unfortunately, non-Muslim people are not allowed to enter.

Rainbow Street (originally named Abu Bakr al Siddiq) is a public space in the historic area of Jabal Amman, near the center of downtown Amman. It's really colourful and alive, full of shops and cafés. Walking through the street was fascinating.

The Wild Jordan Center is also located in Rainbow street, and its a magnificent place overlooking the old city of Amman. It's owned by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature and operated by ATICO Fakhreldin Group, a Jordanian holding company operating in multi-service hospitality management. It offers beakfast, lunch and dinner, so we stopped here to have lunch.

Last but not least, we visited the King Abdullah I Mosque. It was built in the 1980s by the late King Hussein as a memorial to his grandfather, and it's open to Non-Muslim visitors. The nave, with an area of 1,615 m2, has the capacity to house 3,000 believers. It's octogonal and distiguished for not having pillars inside. Its dome of 35 m in diameter, has a height of 31 meters. The suspended chandelier of 168 lanterns consists of three circles, with the Holy Quranic Verse with the word of Allah recurring on every lantern. It's very awsome.

Our journey in Jordan came to an end. In the evening we took the plane to come back home. I fell in love with this country, it will be in my heart forever. I hope I'll get the change to go back there again.