25 years after the event (March 2022) I am starting to write up the wonderful 1997 trip Janie and I took to see Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, followed by some restful time in Eilat.
Hopefully my diary/log together with the many pictures we took will prompt my memory to tell the whole story, as my notes are light and even the Abercrombie and Kent itinerary (a bespoke jobbie for us as independent travellers) seems to have gone walkabout in the intervening quarter of a century.
Writing about it now is tinged with sadness, as I realise that many of the things we saw have been destroyed and can never be seen again. The artisan depicted in the headline photo, working away in the Aleppo Souk, is but one example of that.
The photos have been available on Flickr for some time, so Ogblog readers who like to look at pictures and read captions can glean much about the journey without reading the Ogblog pieces.
Here are links to the pictures divided by country visited:
The Ogblog pieces (will) mostly cover a day each, with highlights from the photo albums (and some stock photos where desires/required) to illustrate the stories.
Then straight off to Wadi Rum in open top jeep to see Lawrence’s Well plus rock formations with Nabatean and Thamudic inscriptions.
Not a poser
Another hugely photogenic place – Wadi Rum – we took loads more pictures than shown in this piece and it is well worth a click through to see the full highlights set (link at bottom of this piece).
Then on for weird border crossing alone but it all came right in the end.
This border crossing was quite a thing.
There had been a terrible shooting, subsequently known as The Island of Peace Massacre, at one of the few other Jordan/Israel road border crossings, just a few days before our crossing. As a result, the Aqaba crossing site was more or less completely deserted.
Unconnected with the extra security, there was a strict “passengers only” rule at the crossing, so our Jordanian driver/guide had to say goodbye to us at the Jordanian barbed wire and we had to do our own thing walking across several hundred meters of no-mans-land between the Jordanian side and the Israel side. The site was surrounded by hills from which you couldn’t help feeling an Island of Peace-type lunatic could shoot having secreted themselves there with ease, despite the enormous security presence at each side, but not in no-mans-land.
We each had a trolley for our baggage. The trolleys had traditional “minds of their own” making it extremely difficult for us to walk in anything vaguely approximating a straight line, which rendered the several hundred meters of no-mans-land even longer.
Worst of all, our trolleys were squeaky, which meant that the only sound we heard in the eerily vacant no-mans-land was the “eek…eek..eek” of our own progress wheeling the trolleys.
It felt a bit like a scene in a Sam Peckinpah or Sergio Leone movie. This scene might give you some idea of it:
Once we got to the Israeli side, we learnt that border control and all the additional security was the entirety of the waiting party…our Israeli driver/guide had not turned up.
A bright spark at border control asked to see our travel documents and quickly worked out which agency to call, placed the call and told us that our driver would be with us within 10 minutes…which he was. I don’t think anyone imagined that we would press ahead with the road/foot border crossing in the circumstances…no-one else had done so that day!
Spent a tired evening relaxing in [Princess] hotel.
Petra must be one of the most photogenic places on earth and it is not hard to take or find good pictures of it. Even our highlights album (linked at the bottom of this piece, with narrative on each picture) has more than 35 Petra pics and I have limited this post to just 10 – the highlights of the highlights – as eye candy.
Set off at nine – Ali introduced us to our [local] guide Talat. Went by foot to Siq and through Siq – saw Treasury [see headline picture] etc, streets of facades, Roman theatre, look at the royal tombs, central city, colonnaded Street, Kasr Al Bint…
One thing Janie and I particularly remember is how immature the local guide, Talat, was. He insisted on holding Janie’s hand a lot and we suspected that Janie’s natural friendly manner was being received as “the wrong signals” by him. He was quite a contrast with the rather gruff, fuddy-duddy guide, Ali, who has been showing us around the rest of Jordan – himself a contrast with the truly excellent Syrian guide Abdel.
Quick look at museum and then up “back way” to Zibb Attuf (Great High Place) – superb vistas…
No chance, Talat
…then secret route back (more amazing vistas) and tea with Talat’s uncle Mohammed…
I have long suspected that Petra’s “secret way back” from the High Place is one of the worst kept secrets in tourism. Lovely walk though.
…then short rest before dinner of Mansef and Musakhan at Al Mehbash.
Headed off after hotel confusion – vouchers to pay etc.
We still cannot remember what that hotel confusion was, so it must have been relatively minor even though I felt it worthy of writing down – perhaps I thought there might be some come back on our return to blighty.
We had a whistle-stop ride through the posh suburbs of Amman on our way out towards Petra:
Saw Mount Nebo (including Moses Tomb!) and church relics. Then St George’s Church in Madaba ([including] map mosaics).
We absolutely fell in love with that tasty yet simple Palestinian chicken dish, Musakhan, just as we had fallen in love with the lamb dish Mansef a couple of days earlier. 25 years on, such dishes have become well known through celebrity chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi, but back then we only knew to ask for them because Janie’s Middle-Eastern clients gave her such good notes ahead of our trip.
Arrived in Petra in time for glorious sunset, meeting with agent to sort out the hotel confusion and arrange tomorrow night’s “last night of touring feast”.
Cross the border (quick) went on to Jerash – excellent Roman ruins but oh boy have we done ruins this holiday.
Not just spoilt by seeing so many splendid ruins…we’d been ruined by ruins.
Jerash was extremely photogenic though. There are loads of good pictures in the album linked below – all labelled up so you can see which ruin is which.
Into Amman & false start shaking into Philadelphia – upgraded to Forte Grand – then short tour of Amman with Mohammad. Saw amphitheatre, city centre etc.
Neither of us can remember the Philadelphia Hotel debacle, but the old grand Philadelphia had been closed/demolished some 10 years before our trip and the only Philadelphia Hotels that remain (and remained then) are/were very modest places. An upcock that was quickly uncocked, it seems.
No idea why we didn’t take photos – perhaps linked to the hotel confusion.
Then early knock off for rest in hotel then dinner at Reem Albawadi for Mansef, Narjilah etc.
The Forte Grand had fine views all right.
It was mostly locals at Reem Albawadi that night and I don’t think they quite knew what to make of us, ordering mansaf which is most certainly a dish for more than two people and then indulging in the local narjilah habit like a couple of old lags.
