Jordan - 100km of Wonder

It is one of those magical travel moments, the kind that simultaneously takes your breath away and is seared into your memory, a special moment hard earned. 

We have just climbed over eight hundred worn and sand slippery steps to reach the Ad Deir Monastery, one of the true highlights of any visit to the rose-red city of Petra. Our climb took us past numerous local vendors selling souvenirs, cold drinks and tea, and as we pass, the sellers almost reflexively throw out “Good price here”, but there’s no hard sell and our polite refusals are met with smiles and nods. The Monastery itself is astonishing, an enormous edifice carved into the rock and bathed in the Jordanian sun, it emits a pinkish/orange glow, it is wonderful. In fact, everything about Petra is amazing; this ancient Nabatean city surprises at every turn, and it is well worth the shock of leaving our desert camp well before sunrise. We meandered through the high rock walls of the narrow Siq, Mohammed our guide pointing out shrines and tombs on the way, when eventually we see the tiny chink of light ahead that signals the entrance proper and then another huge, wonderful building, The Treasury, standing there before us. The hustle and bustle of camels, immaculately uniformed tourist policemen and tea sellers in front of the building add colour and life to the spectacle.

Petra is the finale of our trip after four days of hiking through the Wadi Rum desert. It has been a challenging one hundred kilometre route taking in the highest peak in Jordan, Umm ad Dami, with its magnificent views over the border into Saudi Arabia. We have seen twelve thousand-year-old Petroglyphs etched into the ochre rock. We have lunched with wandering camel herders under shady cliffs as their charges wandered sedately by. We have camped on dunes under mesmerising night skies jewelled with stars whilst our fantastic hosts cooked wonderful meals and plied us with endless tea warmed through in blackened kettles on the open fire. We have visited spectacular rock bridges, watched ravens soar above us, followed animal tracks in the sand and even seen rare desert blooms and green shoots emerge after an overnight shower. We have visited sites associated with T.E Lawrence (of Arabia) and passed remote encampments where Bedouin families care for herds of wandering sheep and goats eking out a tough existence in the most challenging of environments. We have pulled together as a team, supported by our guides, our chefs and our drivers, to succeed in an epic trekking challenge and raise money for an important and worthy cause. Every evening in camp, as we sit and reflect on our day, it feels as if we are all part of one enormous family. Harb tells us the names of the constellations that dot the sky above us. His cousin and son join us for tea whilst the camp staff bustle around lighting lanterns, pouring tea and cooking those seemingly impossible quantities of wonderful food.

Jordan is a wonderful country and the trekking here is some of the most interesting I have encountered. The desert is a wonderful environment and we have learned about the human as well as the natural history of the area. Petra is justifiably one of the wonders of the world, but what, I think, will stick most in my mind is the genuine kindness and openness of the people. The Bedouin culture is a culture of welcome and hospitality and the warmth with which our hosts treated us and the support we received as a team through this journey have me eager to return to this beautiful corner of a beautiful country.

With the current situation in Israel and Gaza, it was understandable that there were a few nerves before we set off for Jordan, but we, and I, couldn’t have felt safer when in country. Jordan has a long-held reputation as a stable and safe country, and nothing I saw on this trip felt any different from previous visits. The people of Jordan welcomed us with open arms, and clearly appreciated our visit, wanting to welcome us to their beautiful country.  I am so very glad that we experienced all it had to offer.