Wadi Rum

It is a 5 hour drive to wadi rum from Amman. We stop for drinks and food for the journey. I pick up a couple of the cheese and meat breads and some snacks.

As we leave town the landscape turns more dessert like.

First we stop to gain admission to the site, since it is a protected area.

We gather our things and move to jeeps that will take us around in the sand.

First stop is at a natural spring and place to get tea. I skip the climb to the spring due to the heat. The temperatures are not as hot as Egypt but I am still weary of getting overheated. The tea is good, it is a black tea with sage and other spices as well as sugar. The tour guide talks me into getting a scarf which is common in the region. He helps me tie to my head. We see camels and goats.

My guide and I wearing Jordanian scarves

When everyone gets down from the hill we go to our next location. It is a hike up a sandy mountain to a lookout point.

The guide advises us no shoes for part one and shoes on for part two of hike up.

I take off my shoes and have a very calf intensive hike up in deep sand. I cannot say that part is fun but it is a relief when it was time to put shoes on for the rocky part. At that point there is a light climb (but it could have been higher and more challenging if I wanted) to some beautiful views of the region. I took copious photos then started to head down.

When I arrive at the sandy area once more I start to sort of jog down. It is quite fun. I am in the shade and the sand softened each step. I can’t run anymore because of my bad feet but this is the closest I have had to it in a while. Plus it was a heck more fun than going up.

The third stop is a natural bridge. I loved Arches National Park in Utah so I would normally say I am not as impressed but at this arch you are allowed to stand on top. I don’t remember being able to do this in Utah.

We snapped our photos and went on to our camp site.

I paid for the single supplement so I have my own tent.

We throw our stuff in our tents and head off to watch the sunset which is beautiful.

Dinner is lamb, cucumber salad, rice, vegetables. Very good.

After dinner it is time for campfire. Dining area lights are turned off and we lie down and look at the sky. It is amazing. So many stars. I never get to see the sky this way because of all the city lights.

Early to bed for long morning hike tomorrow.

But I hear wild cats off in the distance maybe?

What is that sound?

In Jordan

I arrive in Jordan and things are already going well. A fancy town car picks us up and our hotel seems pretty nice.

Hotel is nicer than any we had in Egypt. It is a welcome change.

Amman is peaceful but lively. People talk to you because they are interested in you. It is refreshing to have people not trying to sell you something or to ask you on a date.

We decide to walk up to the citadel because I read somewhere that the Dead Sea scrolls were on display (we later learn those were moved to the Jordan museum). Very disappointed about that mistake but the museum did have a couple of cool things.

Roman Temple of Hercules

Also on the hill is a temple built during the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

We also see other ruins at the top.

Soon it is time to meet with our tour leader. After a brief meeting he takes us on a quick food tour of the area.

We stop first at Habibah Sweets and try some kunafa (one of my favorites) and something else similar.

Soon we are taken to the fruit market. We pick up some snacks for our journeys the next couple days.

Have I said how much I love visiting local food markets?

Soon we say goodnight to our guide the group splits up to grab dinner. I decide to join the girls who are going to get falafel. It is a good choice because it is probably the best falafel I’ve ever had.

Hashem Restaurant Down Town

Then it is off to bed. We head to the desert tomorrow.

Turkish food

I had many different food items in Turkey during my time there that I thought it would be appropriate to have a post dedicated to food items.

Fermented carrot juice is not as good as I thought it would be.

Dinner on a rooftop bar

Vegetable plate

Raki is an anise drink like Sambucca or Ouzo.

Stuffed bread and some sort of dried fruit pudding at Topkapi Palace

Manti

In Cappadoccia

Old Cappadocia Cafe & Restaurant

The bread dipped in that spice and oil is heavenly

Turkish ice cream is sweet, creamy, stretchy and sticky at the same time.

Turkish delight

That time when I should have used google translate and did not I end up eating a raw meat sandwich. Luckily I did not die.

Random Istanbul

In case you haven’t figured it out these posts are many months old. It has been impossible to keep up daily with my travels. And most of the time the internet is terrible. I am playing catch up with stuff back home or trying to sort through and save travel photos. What I write is from what I remember of my travels and if I am lucky, excerpts from notes I took.

For this post I am back in Istanbul. I planned this return as a “catch all I missed before” plus get some chill time before I head to Egypt. I am heading to Egypt and Jordan for a couple weeks on a fast paced group tour. I purposely planned this downtime prior.

The time was spent pretty well; besides the poor internet I was able to catch up on some things, I bought a couple articles of clothing that would be more Middle East appropriate, and I made one more shipment home (boy is it expensive!).

The following pictures are some of the attractions I stopped at.

Basilica Cistern

My new hotel is off Istiklal Street. It is a busy area but less mentally demanding then staying in the Sulthanhmet area. I mean in the Sultanhmet area I always had to be on guard. In my new location it was more chill: I got way less male attention and shop owners were not aggressive. If I go back to Istanbul I will stay in this area or on the Asian side (as my new Turkish friend recommended).

Balloon watching

My hotel is close to the top of the hill in Goreme. A short walk uphill (and a small “admission” charge) is the place to be for sunsets and to watch the balloons fly in the morning.

Today I wake up before sunrise and walk up the hill to catch the balloons. I think I am too early because I have to wait a while for the balloons to rise. I do get a picture of the sun starting to rise through.

Off in the instance I can see some balloons inflating. A short while later they are in the air.

It is beautiful to see.