Every time any list emerges of the greatest films ever made, “Lawrence of Arabia” ranks in the top ten. Not only is it a great and stirring story that’s truly worthy of the description “epic,” but it’s also a sweeping advertisement for wandering the Middle East, and especially Jordan.
While Jordan’s main cities have modernised, much of the countryside has remained relatively unchanged since the days of T.E. Lawrence – or at least since David Lean shot part of his masterpiece there. The red cliffs of Wadi Rum are still as red and spectacular as ever, and although more developed than a century ago, Aqaba remains a frontier town on the edge of the beautiful waters of the Red Sea.
Amman is a busy city that pulses with culture and tradition…as well as international hotels and great restaurants. Not only can visitors lose themselves in the Old City exploring the old souk and King Hussein Mosque, but they can use the country’s capital as their base to visit the nearby Dead Sea, Jerash and the desert castles.
The Dead Sea is so buoyant that even I probably couldn’t drown there – unless I was sporting concrete sandals – but unfortunately it’s shrinking at such a rate that some say it will be gone completely by the mid-point of the century. Until then, visitors can bob in its saline waters or cover themselves with the mud from the lowest point of dry land in the world before watching the spectacular sunsets.
Venturing further south through the starkly beautiful desert, there is Petra, the “…rose-red city half as old as time.” Arguably one of the most breathtaking man-made structures in the world, photos of its rock-hewn treasury glimpsed through the narrow gorge of the Siq are amongst the most evocative of any travel photos. A short distance away from the World Heritage Site is Little Petra, a site sadly missed by the majority of travellers.
If deserts are your thing, Jordan is definitely for you. Endless sands, rolling dunes, colourful rock formations and rocky plains cover much of this wild country and are littered with remnants of history from Roman ruins to biblical sites and crusader castles. You can visit legendary spots like “The Seven Pillars of Wisdom” or Mount Nebo from which Moses saw ‘The Promised Land’. And if you yearn for a bit more activity there are plenty of opportunities to head off on a 4-day trek through the wilds, a jeep safari to Wadi Rum or simply spending a night in a Bedouin camp.
When the time comes to wash the sand away from between your toes, how better to do so than snorkelling in the warm, clear waters of the Red Sea before wrapping your head in a white cotton scarf and preteneding to be Lawrence himself!
Post by: Simon Vaughan
Photo by: Jordan Tourism Board
The Adventure Zone 