We had a quick whirlwind trip to Jordan! I know...it's crazy! Josh had a few days off of work that he had to take, so why not?
We flew Emirates into Amman airport and arrived at 9 AM. We were a little sleepy, but when you are traveling without children it is much easier!
We used AmmantoJerusalem tour guides and were pleased with most of the activities. Our guide met us at the airport and we drove to Madaba to see the famous mosaic artworks at the Church of Saint George. It contains the oldest, original depiction of the Holy Land. It goes all the way back to 6th century AD.
The church is covered in amazing mosaic artwork.
We had a quick bite to eat at a cafe right by the church, but I forgot to get the name of it. We then headed off to Mount Nebo!
Mosaic artwork was everywhere!
Standing in front of a Crusader castle in Shoubak
We ate at a great restaurant right by our hotel called
Deretna. It was Middle Eastern food, which we are used to, but it was delicious! We also checked out the Cave bar which is the oldest bar in the world. In Jordan everyone smokes and they are allowed to smoke in the restaurants. It was hard to get used to that when we were eating. They have sections for smoking and non, but the smell still lingers.
The girls had hidden some sweet surprises in my suitcase. ;)
The next morning we had a quick breakfast at the
Movenpick Petra and were off to Petra! At breakfast, I noticed everyone was in shorts, but I was cold- the temperature was 60 degrees outside! However, when we reached Petra I realized that I could have gone without the jacket. It warmed up quickly.
You can take a carriage ride to the Treasury- but since it was just the two of us we walked there and back. It's an easy walk and we saw some cool things along the way.
This is an olive tree growing in the rocks. They will break the rocks as they grow.
Some people would come to this spot and worship different Gods.
They call this the elephant rock.
This is where they carved famous people's autographs when they would come to Petra during the
Nabataean in habitation.
Walking towards the Treasury.
It's good to go as early in the morning as you can. We left our hotel at 7:30 AM and it was already crowded. When we walked by the Treasury at 1 PM later in the day, it was worse.
Josh had an Arabic coffee at the Why Not Shop. Our tour guide told us that when President Obama came a few years ago this is where he had his coffee.
Visiting the Royal Tombs of Petra
We hiked and climbed for hours in Petra. It was fun to explore. We had to stop a couple of times for water breaks! We could not keep up with all the 20 year old backpackers passing us!
You can take a donkey up to the Monastery. At times we regretted not doing that!!
There are young boys everywhere trying to sell you things and get you on a donkey ride.
You can see the Royal Tombs behind me.
We were so proud of ourselves when we made it to the top! There is a small cafe at the top with water and Gatorade. There are also restrooms.
Our last day on our trip we went to see where Jesus was baptized. It was surreal.
Where we are standing- right across the Jordan River is Israel! There were guards everywhere.
We then were off to the Dead Sea for a night of relaxation!
We are so thankful we got to do this trip.
