Yalla!!! (Arabic for let's get going, hurry up)

Call us spontaneous, we up and went to Jordan for 36 hours. Originally it wasn't part our our plan though Petra was on our bucket list but the media makes it sound like Jordan is not safe, plus the trip from Israel is pricey. Yet, once in Jerusalem and seeing all the tours offered we decided to splurge and live it up. Our only regret, not opting to pass through Wadi Rum.

After some research we booked an overnight trip to Jordan but we actually ended up getting outsourced to "Fun Time Tours", a pretty shady name if you ask me. However, it actually ended up being a very fun time, because the people on the tour were awesome. We met the family we will henceforth aspire to be one day, a family that takes 2 trips somewhere in the world every year (we don't have cushy professions, so for us it would be more like 1 trip a year/every other year). Seriously, the parents were so cool and the kids were mature, grateful, and have great social skills. I hope my future kid(s) are as cool and awesome as Isabel and Fred. Okay, I will stop gushing about this family. Other people on this tour included: Duncan (another very cool teenager) and his Mom, Marshall (doing a 9 month around the world trip), plus 3 others.

So, we get picked up at 6:30am and head out for the Jordanian border. Crossing the border, in the words of the great Kai Lokken, was a shit show. Before we could even get to the border we had to go through militarized Israeli check points and once we got to the border there were 3 more checks. Oddly, the tour company doesn't accompany you, they drop you off at the border, leaving you to figure it out for yourself, and then your guide picks you up on the Jordanian side. The result, the border people rip you off. When you arrive they expressly tell you you must pay in the Jordanian currency and only offer you a shit conversion rate because you have to pay a fee that can only by paid in Jordanian currency. So, they won't let us cross until we convert money, which we do, and when we get to the next check point, no Jordanian currency needed. Fun Time! So, if you go to Jordan, don't believe them, you don't need any Jordanian currency to pay fees to get into the country. And yes, you should visit Jordan because even with all this, it's worth it. Six check points later, we're in Jordan! Yalla! Our guide in Jordan kept saying this to our group as we sped through the different sights.

Stop #1: Jerash

Our previous stops were Rome and Greece, so we've been seeing a lot of impressive ancient stuff, but this still impressed! For me, it was visual overload, there was just so much to see. It's crazy to see how far reaching the Greek and Roman empires went.

Stop #2: Mount Nebo

This is where Moses saw the Holy Land and is believed to be buried.

You can see Jerusalem on a good day, but not this day.

Byzantine monastery rolling stone door

Stop #3: Madaba
Byzantine mosaics

The mosaic on The Church of Saint George's floor is the oldest known map of the holy land. This is the part that shows Jerusalem.

Though our tour said we would visit Amman, we merely drove past the city. A bit disappointing, but oh well. We spend the night at our hotel, pumped up to see Petra in the morning.

And now...Petra!
Petra is epic, like the Grand Canyon or Macchu Picchu level epic. We walked 16 kilometers up to the Monastery and back (just over 10 miles). The guide said you would need 3 days to really see all of Petra and to hike everywhere, so we got the chance to see a slice.
The photos don't capture the brightness of the colors or the marbling in the rocks, it's beautiful.

And then, back to Israel...which was a bumpy ride. There are speed bumps all over the highways and sometimes they are not marked so you get a little surprise. Heading back into Israel was an experience, it's a very long border, with several checks and you have to get out and show your passport at each check. At the last check Joel and I got pulled aside, which we found odd. One of the workers kept staring at Joel and as soon as we went up they set our passports aside. Then, the manager interviewed us separately, asking detailed questions that didn't seem relevant. For example, the name of the universities I attended, the name of the high school where I last worked, how much money is in my checking account...the strange thing is they didn't write anything down or verify any of my answers so I don't know why the questions were necessary. After my 10 minute interview Joel only got questioned for 2 minutes, go figure, and then they let us go through. The driver that was picking us up said not to take it personally, it's just what Israel has to do to feel safe.

Despite the overkill on security check points (mostly all from the Israeli side) this trip was totally worth it and we are so glad we went. I know that the we had the idea that Jordan was not safe from the media and different governments have travel warnings but things seemed fine in the touristy areas we visited. I guess what I am trying to say is that don't necessarily be dissuaded by what you hear, of course, don't be reckless. We talked to a few people who had recently visited and as long as you are aware and cautious then you should be fine. Just like I wouldn't walk around the Tenderloin late at night by myself I also wouldn't wander around a shady neighborhood in a foreign country. YOLO!

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More Jordan photos