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Greece, Egypt and Jordan
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Mark Wade

Greece, Egypt and Jordan

Our first proper overseas post-pandemic trip! Read more
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  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Lunch at Dar Ne'meh

    January 15, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After exploring the citadel, we were going to have a drink and a snack in the site's café but then we spotted a lovely-looking establishment in a prime position overlooking the Roman Theatre and the Odeon. We decided to have lunch there instead. It turned out to be a good choice.

    The restaurant was Dar Ne'meh, a project that supports Jordanian women in home based businesses. As well as being a café, the place also sells handcrafted items.

    The food was amazing! We chose 5 mezze for a cost of 10 JOD (about £12). We ordered falafel, fattoush, batata (spicy potatoes), galayet bandora (fresh tomatoes stewed with garlic and onions in olive oil), and cheeses sambousek (small cheese and black sesame pasties). These came with a huge basket of fresh flatbread 🫓. It was all delicious 😋.

    After lunch, we went to a bottle shop to buy some local beer and wine and then made our way back to the hotel.

    We didn't have any wine glasses but we did have glass mugs!! Just for the record, neither the beer 🍺 nor the wine🍷 were very good 😀    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    A morning of mosaic making

    January 16, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    We met another couple who will be on our tour at breakfast. They are from Australia and are a similar age to us. I didn't get their names.

    At 11, I went down the road to do my mosaic training with Mohammed. I had a lovely time! I met his wife and another very talented lady who was doing micro mosaic. The pieces were so so tiny!! I struggled with the pieces I was cutting! I really enjoyed learning a new skill. While I was at the studio, I made a small square pattern using the Jordanian mosaic technique. It produces a textured rather than a smooth finish which I really like. Before I left, I bought enough materials from Mohammed to make another one when I get home. I love the fact that I can craft even when we're travelling! 😀

    After I finished my lesson, Mark came to meet me and we went downtown to buy some food and some toothpaste.    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Amman to Aqaba along the Desert Highway

    January 17, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We had our welcome meeting for our Intrepid Jordan 🇯🇴 trip at 6pm yesterday. Our guide, Sofyan, explained what will be happening over the next week. There are just 9 of us on the tour - 4 couples (us, 2 from the US, and 1 from Australia) plus 1 single lady from Australia. It's strange because when we've done these trips before, we've often been the only couple! Our fellow travellers seem like a good bunch.

    By the way, the British girl we met the other day, and the mysterious Darren, are not on our tour! 😂

    After the meeting, a few of the group went downtown for dinner. We didn't bother as we'd had lunch.

    We left the hotel at 8am for the five-hour minibus 🚐 journey. We travelled along the Desert Highway which is a bit of a misnomer. In the south of the country, the land is mainly desert 🏜 , but in the north, it's largely fertile, agricultural ground - or it would be if there wasn't such a chronic shortage of water for irrigation! Jordan uses what water it does have very carefully and concentrates its fruit and vegetable production in one small area in the North of the country.

    We stopped halfway for a coffee ☕ and toilet 🚻 break. Inevitably, there was a gift shop where we stopped! 😀 I admired all the incredible mosaics - maybe one day I'll be able to produce something similar! 😂    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Egypt, Israel, and Jordan in one view!

    January 17, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    When we arrived at the outskirts of Aqaba, we drove to a viewpoint to take photos 📸 of the coastline of Egypt, Israel 🇮🇱, and Jordan 🇯🇴. The skyscrapers in the resort of Eilat, Israel show that it's changed an awful lot since Mark and I went there (separately) in the 80s!Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Lunch and a walk in Aqaba

    January 17, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    After our viewpoint stop, we got dropped off in the centre of Aqaba for lunch. It was lovely to be in the warmth again! Sofyan suggested a couple of restaurants. Most of us chose the one with a set menu - a selection of shared starters, a choice of main course, and a cream pudding dessert 🍮. One of the American couples chose to do their own thing. This was to set the pattern for the rest of the trip - they kept separate from us at all times! It makes you wonder why they joined a group tour 🤔.

    Anyway, the remaining seven of us plus Sofyan went to the Susanna restaurant. We sat by the pool in the sunshine 🌞 and had a fabulous lunch. Everyone drank beer 🍺 - except Sofyan and I who had lemon 🍋 and mint juice. It's my new favourite tipple in Jordan 🇯🇴.

    After lunch, Sofyan led us on a walk around Aqaba. It seemed that there weren't many sights for him to point out to us! We didn't take any photos as we are coming back to Aqaba for four extra nights at the end of the tour.

    Just some photos 📸 of lunch then! 😋    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

    January 17, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We drove on from Aqaba to Wadi Rum. We stopped at the Visitor Centre at the entrance to the reserve for Sofyan to buy our tickets and for us to take photos 📸 of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom which so inspired Lawrence of Arabia. The scenery was truly spectacular!

    It was suddenly very windy and the temperature had dropped by a good few degrees since Aqaba!

    This was to be our last chance of an internet connection before going off-grid for 48 hours.    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Drive to camp

    January 17, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    After the Visitor Centre, we transferred to 4WDs for the 35 minute journey into camp.

    The desert scenery en route was amazing! We arrived at our camp 🏕 just in time for sunset 🌇. We dumped our bags 🎒 and scrambled up the hill to get a good view. I managed to fall over half way up but, as Molly pointed out, it was a slow fall so I didn't hurt myself 😂. It was extremely cold but we did stay to watch the setting sun. Stones had been arranged into seats fir those who wanted to relax! 😂 The sky was totally clear - not a bit of cloud in sight - so it wasn't the best sunset we've ever seen, but the location more than made up for it.

    Back in camp, we settled in to our homes for the next couple of nights. Luckily, they had supplied plenty of blankets to help with the freezing temperatures.

    We then went to the restaurant tent for our 6.30pm dinner. They had prepared barbecued chicken and vegetables cooked in an underground oven so we went to see the big reveal! All the food was delicious!

    After dinner, we played cards. The game was 'Shithead' which Mark had played before - on an overlanding trip through Ethiopia. It was a fun evening! Most of us turned in by 9pm - it had been a tiring day!!    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    A hike through the desert

    January 18, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    We were up at 6.45 am after a pretty restless night for me - it was soooo cold!! Mark slept like a log! The camp chefs had prepared us a tasty breakfast which we ate before setting off on a 12km hike through the desert with Sofyan. The usual seven of us went 😀.

    One of the guys from the camp drove ahead of us just in case any of us got into difficulty. He also made tea for us at the halfway point.

    The scenery as we walked was stunning! Everything looked and felt fresh in the early morning light. We walked through landscapes used in films like The Martian and Star Wars. It's also where they filmed the last two series of SAS - Who Dares Wins. It's a harsh and unforgiving environment and yet there are signs of plant life everywhere. We even saw a well and Sofyan explained how it is used to supply the 1000 camps in the Wadi Rum reserve.

    Some of the rock formations made the perfect frames for photos 😀    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Jeep Safari in Wadi Rum

    January 18, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    When we returned from our walk, we sat in the sun until lunch was ready. There was a bit of a wind but we took shelter behind one of the 4WDs! 😀

    Lunch was goat meatballs cooked in goat's milk yoghurt served with rice 🍚 and vegetables which was much tastier than it sounds!

    After lunch, we set off on a Jeep safari through Wadi Rum. Our first stop was at a sand dune. Mark climbed to the top to take photos 📸. I'm suffering from a chesty cough so I stayed at the bottom and enjoyed a good strong coffee ☕. They only serve tea
    in camp so we're missing coffee!    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Jabel Khazali

    January 18, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The second stop on our Jeep safari was at Jabel Khazali Canyon, one of the most famous places in Wadi Rum. It is a long deep narrow fissure in the rock face, the inner walls of which are covered with mainly Nabatean inscriptions and petroglyph rock drawings. The carvings show camels, horses, mountain goats, people, pairs of feet, and spirits. Dating from 400 to 200 BC, they are surprisingly well preserved.

    Sadly, today we witnessed a group of Lebanese tourists defacing the rocks with roughly written graffiti! They then proceeded to take selfies 🤳 with their handiwork! We wanted to say something to them but Sofyan warned us against it.    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Rock formations in Wadi Rum

    January 18, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    We finished our Jeep safari with a couple of stops at crazy rock formations.

    Mark spotted a Sinai Rose Finch, the national bird of Jordan. Apparently, they are quite rare so he was lucky to capture it.

    We the returned to camp 🏕 where the guys had prepared another delicious meal for us. We spent the evening playing cards.    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Journey to Petra

    January 19, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    It wasn't quite as cold overnight as the previous night but I was still up a couple of times. I just decided to take it as a blessing and enjoy looking at the stars!!

    After breakfast, we thanked the camp 🏕 team for their hospitality and took a group photo 📸 before heading off in the 4WDs out of Wadi Rum to meet up with our minibus 🚐 and driver once again. Sofyan had an unexpected meet-up with his Dad who is a tour guide, too. He was waiting for a group of Spanish tourists.

    Before leaving Wadi Rum completely, we called at the visitor centre to pick up some desert maps to give us an idea of where we'd been! 😂

    We then drove on to Petra, stopping en route to take photos of the whole of Wadi Rum from a viewpoint. It was incredibly windy!!    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Petra

    January 19, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    We arrived in Petra at about 11.30am and went straight to our hotel 🏨 - La Maison - just a 3-minute walk🚶‍♂️from the entrance to the archaeological site. Luckily, our rooms were ready so we were able to have a quick shower before having our guided walk around Petra with Sofyan.

    Mark visited Petra once before - on a day trip from Israel 🇮🇱 in the early nineties. He said the town and the entrance to the site were both unrecognisable from those days!

    We bought our two-day tickets and Sofyan showed us on a large plan of the site what our options were for exploring on our free day tomorrow. We began our visit by walking the 800 metre downhill path through an area called Bab as-Siq (gateway to the Siq).

    Petra is a vast concealed city built by the Nabateans (Arabs who dominated the region in pre-Roman times). These desert tribes chose to make Petra their capital. They carved the buildings into the towering rock walls of multi-coloured sandstone and made them impenetrable by cutting a 1.2 km path (siq) through the rock. This was the only way in or out of the city, meaning that enemies had no chance of attacking unnoticed.

    The most iconic of all the buildings in Petra is obviously the Treasury. It's the first building you see as you emerge from the siq. It is instantly recognisable from movies 🎬 like Indiana Jones. However, there are 800 registered sites in Petra including 500 tombs! I had not appreciated the sheer magnitude of the place! It is completely overwhelming at first. I'm glad that we had a guided tour on the first day, and that we had the opportunity to go back on the second and explore some more at our own pace.

    I shall break down our time in Petra into several footprints 👣. We took hundreds of photos 📸 so I will try to pick the best!

    Accompanying this footprint 👣 are photos 📸 of the entrance, the Djinn Blocks (enormous monuments built by the Nabateans as dedications to their god, Dushara), and the Obelisk Tomb.    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    The Treasury, Petra

    January 19, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The first sight of the Treasury as we emerged from the Siq is an image that will stay with me forever!

    The Nabateans who built it in the first century were very clever. They carved it into a sandstone cliff from the top down and positioned it in such a way that it was protected from the worst vagaries of the weather. As such, it remains in an excellent condition today.

    The structure is thought to have been built as the mausoleum of the Nabatean king Aretas IV. It became known as Al-Khazneh (The Treasury in Arabic) in the early 19th century by the area's Bedouins as they believed it contained treasures.

    We paused in front of the Treasury for a much-needed falafel sandwich before continuing our tour 😀    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Exploring more of Petra

    January 19, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    From the Treasury, Sofyan guided us through the rest of the main sites of the city of Petra. It really is overwhelming!

    He left us at the lowest point and we went for a coffee ☕ before making the long trek back up to the entrance.

    Once there, the seven of us (all members of the newly formed 'fun group' on WhatsApp!) went straight to the Cave Bar for a few very expensive drinks before going to Mom's Best Recipe for dinner!!    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Our second day in Petra

    January 20, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 7 °C

    We had a free day today and were in no rush to go anywhere. So, we had a leisurely breakfast with Selim and Matt who had decided to hike the 1000 steps up to the monastery. Sam had already left with a plan to do all 3 major trails within Petra on the same day! Molly and Laura were both feeling unwell so were staying at the hotel. We decided to go and find a pharmacy to get me some throat lozenges (I still have a wracking cough!) and then go back into Petra to have another wander around.

    We retraced our steps from yesterday, took more photos 📸, and then paid an astronomical price to get a golf cart back to the entrance. I don't think either of us could have managed the walk today!    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    A visit to the Petra Museum

    January 20, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Once we got back to the site entrance, we went for a drink at The Cave. It was lovely just to sit in the sun 🌞 for a while! When we'd recharged our batteries, we went go the Petra Museum. It helped us to understand the historical timeline better.

    I picked up a copy of 'Married to a Bedouin' by Marguerite van Geldermalsen, a New Zealand born nurse who visited Petra in 1978 and ended up changing her life completely. I look forward to reading it when we get to Aqaba and I have time!

    After the museum, we went to the Red Cave restaurant for a delicious lunch. Later, we skipped the evening's drinking with the rest of the 'fun group' and, instead, spent the time editing photos 📸 and catching up on posts.    Read more

  • Greece, Egypt and Jordan

    Driving from Petra to Kerak

    January 21, 2023 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We set off from our hotel 🏨 in Petra at 8am for the drive to Kerak. We had a couple of stops en route at viewpoints. The first was just outside Petra. It was fascinating to see the entrance to the site from above. We could see the pathway down to the Siq but then nothing else! The sandstone cliffs conceal everything! It really is a hidden city.

    We had driven south from Amman along the Desert Highway. We returned north on the King's Highway, a much slower but more scenic route. It was a vitally important trade route in the ancient Near East, connecting Africa with Mesopotamia. It ran from Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba, then turned northward across Transjordan, to Damascus and the Euphrates River.    Read more

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