Secrets of Jordan

Beyond the Rose-Red City: Discovering Jordan's Little Known Secrets
By Keith Kellett, Freelance Writer

The "Big Four" tourist attractions – Wadi Rum, Petra, Jerash and the Dead Sea, are why many people visit Jordan. Indeed, just one of these would make a visit worthwhile. That, in fact, is how many people regard it. One of the guides at Petra does an excellent impression of the kind of tourist who travels down the Siq … that’s the narrow canyon leading Older than its more famous neighbor to some miles to the South, "Little Petra," carved from the rock of the canyon, receives far fewer visitors. to the city … and simply takes two pictures of the Treasury before scampering back on to the coach which will take him to Egypt!

It’s a pity, because there’s much more to see, both in Petra and in Jordan, as King Abdullah II himself recently demonstrated on the Discovery Channel program The Royal Tour of Jordan. King Abdullah does a lot for tourism in his country; he's on record as saying, of the "troubles" in the Middle East "Just because there's a riot in Boston doesn't mean I shouldn't go to Cincinnati"

Most of what the King showed us on the TV program could be visited while in transit between the "Big Four". The good thing is, you don’t have to be shown around with 40 others, on a coach. We arranged a "personal", tailor-made tour with a Jordanian company. We had our own guide, the friendly and knowledgeable Adeeb, with a Toyota Hi-Lux four-wheel-drive car, and it didn’t cost much more than a package holiday would.

Even people who haven’t been to Jordan conjure up a mental picture of Petra at the mention of the country’s name. Much less well known is another site where dwellings have been carved from the living rock of a canyon. Al-Beid, commonly known as "Little Petra" lies about a half-hour drive north of Petra. It’s not as dramatic, but it’s free!

It’s thought to be more or less contemporary with Petra, and the guide said that he thought it might have served as a caravanserai, or resting place for travelers and merchants bringing goods to Petra. It’s good for a short hike and some photography, and, apparently, the acoustics are pretty good, too – as a German choir demonstrated, when they arrived during our visit, formed up outside the Treasury (yes, Little Petra has one, too!) and began singing hymns.

Not far away is the partially excav The Staff of Aaron decorates the summit of Mount Nebo, where Moses was given sight of the Promised Land, and where he spent the rest of his days. ated ancient village of Al Beidha. There isn’t much to see, and an Austrian TV crew we were lucky enough to meet here said that not much is known about it. The "Lonely Planet" guide book devotes a short paragraph to it, and says it "will only excite archaeology buffs". Well, archaeology buff, I’m not, but I can still get a charge from putting my hand on a wall built 9000 years ago!

Apart from the canyons which contain the cities of Petra and Little Petra, there are many more throughout the country, where the grandeur of Petra is equalled, without any help from Man, only water, wind, sand and God.

You can see some examples of these on the eastern side of the Dead Sea Highway. Although the sea itself is as sterile and lifeless as anything nature can produce, much of the high ground on the Jordanian bank is a Nature Reserve.

The Reserve takes its name from Wadi Moujib, a superb gorge, sometimes referred to, with tongue in cheek, as "Jordan’s Grand Canyon", through which runs a permanent river, with many waterfalls. Sadly, we had to satisfy ourselves with the images shown on The Royal Tour of Jordan for the moment, as a dam is being built across its mouth, and entry isn’t possible from the Dead Sea end. You can, however, still access the canyon from its source, miles away, near the King’s Highway, the main Amman-Aqaba road. But, there are many other gorges to try.

The one we explored isn’t in any guidebook that I know of, although it deserves to be. It’s near the southern end of the Dead Sea, and is a narrow fissure, a Three visitors hike through Khutera Canyon, an imposing, water-worn gorge leading to the dead sea. gain carrying a small permanent river. Unfortunately, we ran foul of transliteration of Arabic. We asked two Jordanians to write the name down for us, and now have alternative names of Khuthera and Numeira for this feature – but, so there’s no mistake, it’s the one with the massive boulder wedged between its walls near the entrance.

The river is rarely more than ankle-deep most of the time, but be aware that flash flooding can occur. Consider those water-worn rocks; check out the massive boulders deposited at bends in the river, and remember that it’s said that more people drown in deserts than ever die of thirst. Get a reliable weather forecast before you go or, better still, take a local guide.

Drive along any road in Jordan, and you’ll come upon a castle. Many of them were built by the Crusaders, from western Europe, but we were taken to Ajloun Castle, a stone-built affair on a hill top, built in the late 12th Century by a nephew of Salah ad-Din (Saladin), which was never taken by the Crusaders. In fact, I remembered that it was around the time of the Crusades that the first stone-built castles appeared in Britain, and wondered if, among many other things, the Crusaders had brought the idea back from the Holy Land?

Even if you aren’t into early Islamic military architecture, the castle is worth the visit for the views, especially at sunset … an experience heightened by the Call to Prayer, amplified by a bowl-shaped depression in the hills, echoing from the modern town on the other side of the valley.

Jordan is well geared to welcome visitors, and I wonder if that’s because they’ve had more practice than most? Even before Joe Tourist started to discover that there was a world beyond the nearest seaside resort, churches and r Built by the Saracens in the 12th century, Ajloun Castle was never captured by the Crusaders. It remained in use to protect a trade route, long after the Crusaders were gone. eligious groups used to set up tours of the Holy Land, which often included Jordan. And, before this, pilgrims would come from Europe to visit the holy sites.

We only visited two … and there’s much of secular interest, too. On the way to the Dead Sea from Amman, the Eastern Orthodox church of St. George, in Madaba, is noted for its colourful murals, and for the 6th Century Mosaic Map of the Holy Land. This map, in fact, proved invaluable to researchers trying to locate places associated with Jesus and his ministry.

Not far away is the hilltop church on Mount Nebo … it looks Orthodox, but is actually run by the Franciscan Order. This is where Moses is supposed to have had his only glimpse of the Promised Land before he died and, indeed, if it’s not too hazy, you can see the hills of Israel in the distance.

But, that’s another country. Unlike Moses, we can cross the River Jordan … but, there’s still a lot to see on this side of the river.

* All Photos by Keith Kellett

If You Go

General Information

www.middleeastuk.com/destinations/jordan

Tours of Jordan