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[aggiedog]

Very excited to keep reading, as we just signed up for Egypt and Jordan with Collete. Thanks so much for the excellent report.

If Egypt is like Turkey or Morocco, then cats and dogs are something between celebrated and tolerated. Istanbul has 7 mobile vet vans for the street animals, and we saw cats and dogs inside stores, and even one cat on top a security x-ray machine at the port sleeping in one of those "put your small things in here" buckets. Morocco had cats houses set up near entrances to various places for the street cats to sleep. We heard a story about Mohammed cutting off the sleeve of his robe so a sleeping cat would not be disturbed as one of the reasons for the cultural tolerance. That still leaves lots of animals without the care and keeping we would like to see since ultimately they're still street animals. It's a sometimes uncomfortable dichotomy.

 

[sayhello]

Wow! This was really quite the adventure! I've actually been to a lecture by Dr Zahi Hawass. It was definitely interesting, although I found him more than a little self-aggrandizing. Everything was "I" "I" "I" with really no "We" for the people who did all this stuff with him. But it looks like they run a really great tour! One of the best things about ABD's itinerary is the up close access to the Sphinx; it's good to know this other company does that, too! Although those early mornings sound brutal!

And the camel photos are great! That wide shot Kyle took of all of the camels and the pyramids in the background is quite impressive!

Oh, and I thought I'd mention, based on the experiences of a couple of friends, there is no such thing as a "free" cat from another country. It's quite the hassle and rather expensive to get a cat out of the country and into the US!

Looking forward to more of your post-trip report.

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

Wow! This was really quite the adventure! I've actually been to a lecture by Dr Zahi Hawass. It was definitely interesting, although I found him more than a little self-aggrandizing. Everything was "I" "I" "I" with really no "We" for the people who did all this stuff with him. But it looks like they run a really great tour! One of the best things about ABD's itinerary is the up close access to the Sphinx; it's good to know this other company does that, too! Although those early mornings sound brutal!

And the camel photos are great! That wide shot Kyle took of all of the camels and the pyramids in the background is quite impressive!

Oh, and I thought I'd mention, based on the experiences of a couple of friends, there is no such thing as a "free" cat from another country. It's quite the hassle and rather expensive to get a cat out of the country and into the US!

Looking forward to more of your post-trip report.

Sayhello

Too true! Hawass does have quite the ego... it does sound awfully hard to get things done, and find financing, so I'm not sure how deserved it is or not. Especially the earlier digs... even now it is constantly a race with time and funding. Or at least the documentaries make it sound like you either find a lot of things or.... that's it. Luckily, as Hussein pointed out, after several millennia almost everywhere is on top of something important.

An excellent point on there being no free cats... my coworker rescued one from the streets of Mumbai and took him to New Zealand for many years before she relocated back home to the US a couple years ago. "Squeaks" is quite the pampered boy!

One of the few restrictions I've carried with me while fighting insomnia for over a year now (geez, how has it been a year?), is my stubborn insistence of waking up every day at 6am. So it was once again that we were up before dawn, even in this beautiful, relaxing resort. We had some time, so we wandered the grounds enjoying the many birds and cats, as well as the different themed areas before hitting up the breakfast buffet.









This is just one area with the pastries and breads - they had several other stations with anything I can imagine you'd want. Made to order eggs and omelettes, Jordanian cuisine, cereals, soups and many Asian inspired dishes as well. It was all very fresh and tasty.

We then hit the road around 8am to make our way towards Petra.



There were a lot of little convenience stores selling floats in addition to snacks. This one was the clearest shot I got, but the others had all kinds of shapes and items stacked outside.

As we drove there were a lot of warnings to NOT approach dangerous areas. I couldn't read it, but they certainly got the point across!



The drive was absolutely gorgeous! We were tempted to come back up this way from Wadi Rum, but it would have been a bit of a back track and we did want to see more of the country.



Our first stop was at a "pink lake" we had seen by poking around on Google Maps. I am glad to have Kyle as my travel buddy - I think getting to it might have been outside of my comfort zone without his insistence it was totally safe. We had to park our car on the highway and hike down a kilometer or two. There was no one around, and I was a bit worried about leaving the car, but he said it would be worth it. As we walked we saw a shepherd tending his huge flock as they went who knows where... I highly doubt they were making their way to this. Sadly no pics - I apparently only took a video of them.



I certainly was pink! And oh my... it smelled!!



Kyle spent quite awhile here playing with the light and angles so I enjoyed looking at the ground and walking around. I can't say I've ever been anywhere like this before. It was about to get even neater...!

 

[AquaDame]

I admit I became mesmerized by all the different textures of old salt! Who knew?? I wandered very far away from Kyle, but by this point we had seen a couple other tourists rooting around and I was convinced that this was a safe, normal place to be. We found a set of keys as well, but they were no ones it seemed, so we left them up where we parked the car later on in case they came back.

There was smooth salt,



pebble/hail salt,



brain coral-ish salt,



and even pillars of salt!



The dead sea here really felt like a sea today, with waves crashing foamy salt onto the salt shore!



Yeah, I had to touch it... ^^;



It was starting to get a little warmer when we made our way back up to the car and continued our drive to the next stop.

We soon made our way past the dead sea, and into farm land.



From here we went up hills, back into farmland, and through some small towns. As we drove we passed some more herds of goats protected by their dogs.



As we came into Al-Karak things got even livelier.



We found a place to park on the street close to Kerak Castle, but the proprietor of the shop we parked in front of was on us immediately telling us parking for tourists was up ahead. Knowing when not to argue, we moved to it a couple short blocks from the entrance. They do make it very obvious how to get there.



Parking at this lot is free, but the proprietor of the restaurant on the side of it was also on us immediately, and tried to get us to buy something. He appeared to be hanging out to pounce on anyone parking. It almost seemed like we had to and that is why parking is free, but no, free is free and you do not HAVE to buy anything. If you're like me this can be a little uncomfortable, but Kyle had no qualms saying no thanks and we kept going.

 

[AquaDame]

We took our time here, and still spent only 45 minutes. There are not many signs, and we declined a tour guide at the admission office. There are a few gentlemen when you first enter who offer to guide you for a tip.

We of course immediately made a different kind of friend... she stayed with us most of the way but peeled off when we went inside the ruins.



The views from here are pretty as well!



The internet tells me construction began in 1140.



Work is ongoing, and in some ways I couldn't myself tell the difference between the safe and unsafe areas... some was blocked off but you'll see what I mean later...







This archway may be a reconstruction - they do that a fair bit it seems, but there we no signs to know for sure. It does look a little too put together to be original, so I think we can assume!





The inside section is massive!



Near the old kitchen area I found our kitty friend anew... she had grown weary of demanding treats from us and had taken matters into her own paws. A poor pigeon had a very bad day... her munching kept her occupied for the remainder of our visit.

 

[AquaDame]

We were really free to wander wherever inside... some walls felt like they could come down at any moment...



Eh, safe enough.... >_>

We walked back to the car park, and the gentleman was nowhere to be found, so we hopped in and were on our way. Kyle was not hungry yet, so as we drove I checked again on Google Maps looking for somewhere promising for lunch. As you can imagine this is a little hard, as I'm sure there aren't many locals who use Google Maps and leave reviews... but we managed! When I am done with this report I do intend on going back and leaving reviews on every single thing, but admit I have not yet.

We ended up stopping here, at a pretty bare bones and very cheap place! I was a little nervous when we entered as it very much felt like a truck stop in the middle of the desert and not a single woman in sight... in fact there were no patrons at all! It was a bare tiled dining room with little card tables and a TV playing in the corner. The bathrooms were large and clean. The time we were there only a couple men on their own came and went. Not for the first and certainly not the last I wondered where the women were... I think I "knew" they would mostly be in the home and not around, but on the road like this I assumed they would be with their families and I'd see SOME. My lizard brain noticed and stayed on medium alert when I found myself in these situations. Just a small undercurrent that something was off and I was not entirely comfortable with it would hit first, then I would look around and go OHHHH... I felt safe since Kyle was there, and that is the truth of it. Alone, I would have taken it to go.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/مطعم+و+استراحة+عباد+الرحمن‭/@30.8172273,35.9700576,11z/data=!4m15!1m8!3m7!1s0x15038a19af7f083f:0x4ae6c19548a3c364!2sHasa+District,+Jordan!3b1!8m2!3d30.8260575!4d35.97658!16s/g/1pwgtd_b0!3m5!1s0x150477d59d66de99:0x2a1f86e910bc3bf1!8m2!3d30.8172273!4d35.9700576!16s/g/11q94w_y6p?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDEyOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==

Hopefully the link works... if not I'll remove it.



It was, I kid you not, Thanksgiving, so when I saw Turkish Chicken I immediately decided it was divine providence and ordered that. Kyle went for the kebab "sandwich" which came rolled up like a shawarma. I think the pic isn't as clear as it is before uploading but my huge plate with half a chicken was 2.5 Jordanian dinars (~$3.50) and Kyle's was 1 ($1.50).



Folks... this was SO GOOD. I would eat it again today if it were available it was so good, or else I wouldn't spend so long singing it's praises. The tomato and onions were a bit TOO charred for my comfort but it was great, I just picked off the black bits and tucked into the rest. By the time we finished my plate we were both full so Kyle took his to go. I never did see a woman come in, but I had zero troubles and not even a second glance from the men about, and so my worry about it started to relax a bit by the time we left.



We were getting closer to our goal, but had one more stop before we got there at another castle.



This one was high on a hill as well, as one does with castles, just less urban than Kerak. The admissions office was set aways away from the castle itself and it took us a few minutes to figure out where exactly we had to go.





Eventually we figured out we had to walk down the street around the castle that looks like it is for cars. They have little golf carts that can take you to it for a few dinar, and we were told it was round trip, just have the person at the entrance call him and he'd come back. It's a good thing we splurged or we might have had another loud guide for the visit...

 

[Minnie1222]

Do you find it easier to travel through Jordan than Egypt? If England is a 1 for being hassle-free, and Egypt is a 10 due to the high level of harassment (gratuities, price-gouging, unwanted attention, etc...), where would you rank Jordan?

I would love to visit Petra someday!

 

[AquaDame]

At the gate another couple were wrapping up and leaving... they seemed to have a guide with them and without missing a beat he began talking to us instead.





He also would not stop... he kind of kept his distance, and would interject a sentence or two here and there as we walked. Despite Kyle nodding and not engaging it soon became apparent that we were On His Turf, and as there were literally no other guests on the entire castle grounds, we were his "guests". So we ended up going with the flow, and had a guide here.

As we walked his rattling off of the spaces we could clearly see on the much better signage in places ceased. He then actually started pointing out things we never would have noticed otherwise like the indentations here in the rock, and broken bits of pottery around. He insisted he always found old coins, but we were not so lucky today. He blamed the lack of rain.







We also saw snails in the rockwork, showing how far materials had traveled to get there.



At some point during the tour we came to "his" room in the castle, where he had various belongings. He said he comes every day to give tours, and said he had toured all kinds of famous people here. I am still unsure who exactly he was... maybe he is indeed a person of some note as he said? Or perhaps a Bedouin who made the area his home. In the end it was fun listening to him, and even though he tried to gift me a piece of a woman's necklace we found I couldn't bear to take it home (it belongs in a museum!) and left it behind. I did accept his gift of sage tea, much to Kyle's horror, as it had been boiled and I assumed was safe enough. He drank a tiny bit as well after he saw me go for it... in for a penny, in for a pound? Luckily we were both fine afterwards and dutifully gave him a nice tip for his efforts. We spent over an hour touring around this one.



We made it back to the gate just as more sucke... I mean tourists arrived (was that perfectly timed by him? Had he seen them coming?) and he effortlessly switched from us to them just as he had when we arrived. Happy with our tour, we asked the guard to call the cart and he started at us as if we had two heads. He insisted he did not know the number and that was not a thing he had ever done for anyone. Angrily we both marched the long way back to our car, feeling like suckers anew for having paid for both ways.

When we passed by the trailer where the golf carts are, not intending to get into it at all, the man who had driven us ran out and yelled at us asking why we had not called? With more frustration than either of us thought possible we yelled back the guy didn't have his number and refused to call as we stomp stomped by. It was just so bewildering what was going on... he kept yelling it was impossible, he has his number and that's not right, to which Kyle said go ask him yourself! Onwards to Petra!



I hemmed and hawed at the hotels on this trip a LOT as I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke, and that is extremely popular here. I couldn't find definitive answers that every room was nonsmoking or not, but had reached out and been told every room at both the Movenpick and Petra Guest House were nonsmoking by them. Between the two I decided to go with the Guest House as it was the closest one to Petra, and has a really neat Cave Bar built into the rocks. On arrival we went through security again as we had for every hotel in Egypt and here, and were told good news! You've been upgraded to a nicer room!

...I admit I had by this point completely forgotten any concern I'd had. With the exception of a few brief moments smoke just hadn't been an issue at all. There was smoke inside at the Marriot Mena house as they have cigarette trays in the elevator lobbys on each floor, but that was it... until here.





The upgraded room honestly looked the same as what I had booked, with the "bonus" that it was once again very very far from the lobby. As high up as you could get in fact, at least four sets of stairs and I felt terrible for the attendant who carried every single piece of luggage we had at once up them. We desperately wanted to help but he insisted... >_< After he was tipped and departed I walked towards the bathroom and realized I was smelling smoke. If this was a nonsmoking room guests absolutely smoke and then put their clothes in the closet next to the bathrom because it REEKED. I considered marching back to the front desk but it was not very noticeable at all from the bed, and I was worried they would all be like that so I ended up putting up with it. We just avoided the closet like the plague... since we were here two nights I did unfortunately end up with a migraine and so I did not partake of any drinks in the Cave Bar.

 

[AquaDame]

Do you find it easier to travel through Jordan than Egypt? If England is a 1 for being hassle-free, and Egypt is a 10 due to the high level of harassment (gratuities, price-gouging, unwanted attention, etc...), where would you rank Jordan?

I would love to visit Petra someday!

I cannot answer the first question as we had a guided tour in Egypt... Egypt was of course easier because we weren't doing anything except show up! Jordan was still extremely easy though, and we both are adamant we made the best choice in going on our own. That's super easy for me to say now though on this side of it..! I KNOW nothing went wrong!

We experienced a similar style of hassling in Jordan, but folks were nicer about it if that makes sense? The sites we visited in Egypt were always busy, packed with tourists for them to hassle and so it felt constant and extremely pushy. They were aggressive and they would even touch you sometimes - lightly on a shoulder, but still. I have to reiterate though that while I saw the vendors in Egypt do these things, a no shokran kept them off me at all times. I did see a verbal fight break out between police and one vendor who followed a man on our tour. It was short, and unfortunate as the guy DID actually want to buy a shirt from him and had agreed to on the way in, which is why he came out and approached him, but the police were strict about them coming out from their shops to harass people. The only exception to my good fortune in being left alone was, annoyingly, in Petra.

In Jordan, as I mentioned a couple of times, there were extremely few tourists during our trip. I wondered where they were and we finally did ask! In fact I think it was the person who led us around Shobak in my last post who said they have very few tourists in November, its mostly spring and autumn that folk come. So we probably saw a fraction of what would be there during normal times, and even those few vendors and shop keepers who were still there were barely trying. The only time I experienced a similar amount of hassling in Jordan was at Petra which WAS still very busy. You'll see how that ended up when I write about our Petra day next, but that will have to wait. I've already been typing up this one day for almost two hours... we just have so many hundreds of pics I try to whittle down I take forever..!

As far as a number..? At most a 3 for the majority of our trip in Jordan, maybe 10 in Petra compared to Egypt. The hassling outside of Petra has already happened for my trip - there was nothing more from here on out except there.

 

[AquaDame]

We had some time, so we wandered around a bit for a place to have dinner. You can really see the tourist prices compared to earlier in the day!



Noooo thank you! FWIW my brother apparently had a camel burger in Australia and said it was good enough he had a second one later on in their trip. I try not to eat animals that I have ridden as I value their labor... I'll pass... usually Kyle is more adventurous and there are a lot of restaurants along the main drag that have good reviews, but none seemed right. We'd walk a little further just to come to a shop with no one inside and a man standing outside looking for customers. It hapened again and again until I finally asked if we should just go back and eat at the hotel and he said that sounded best, so we did. We thought perhaps it was too early so we went into the visitor center first and read all the info we could on what we'd see the next day, and planned which hikes we thought we could manage. There are a lot of different trails to sites, with the most well trodden being the Treasury and then the Monastery. We easily could have done more, but spoiler alert, we too just did those two.



Inside eleven plaques go over the history of the area beginning in prehistory through the 19th century.



Yet more go over architectural notes, geography, flora and fauna, all sorts of things. They also have an overview of each of the most noteworthy spots (I'll spare you all but one).



We breezed through here and enjoyed the scale models as well.



Once it was absolutely dinner time we went back to the Cave and realized there was no way I could go in as it was pure wall to wall smoke. We instead chose a table further away from it, and Kyle ordered a beer while I stuck with an N/A drink. They had a lot of drinks here, despite being a mostly dry Muslim country.



I enjoyed the Treasure Trove so much I got it again the following night. For dinner he got the Jordanian specialty mansaf and I got a chicken shawarma. I didn't try his as I don't eat lamb (or veal), but enjoyed mine while he said his was just OK.

Our guests at the table for the night:



After dinner we digested a bit in the room and went to bed, as it would be an early morning the next day!

 

[sayhello]

Oi! Sorry about the cigarette stuff. I have huge issues with cigarette smoke, too, so I can really empathize.

While you never know in foreign countries, hole-in-the-wall places *do* tend to be the best! Glad you found a good one!

I really, really hate the harassment from vendors. Sigh. I guess I understand it, but I hate it.

Looking forward to Petra!

Sayhello

 

[AquaDame]

Once again we were up before dawn, as we wanted to beat the crowds as best we could. Since it was winter, the earliest we could get in was 6:30am, so we ate with haste and were some of the first people there. You first walk down a gravel area to enter the siq. About halfway down there are men with horses - later they would be coaxing folk to take a ride rather than walk, but this early we were left alone.



It felt longer on the way back once it got hotter, but for now it was nice and cool.



We stopped to take a fair number of pictures but still moved at a fast clip... we, like everyone, wanted a fairly unencumbered photo of the Treasury if possible. There were lots of carvings, large and small, and caves here and there.



To the side was a small channel where water used to flow; vital for the residents back in the day. Over time the tops to a vast majority of it have disappeared to time. You can only see a small cap here.



Our haste was rewarded! There were a fair number of people already there, but it was not yet so crowded that folks were getting in each other's way too badly. A kindly bedouin had his camels posed... later on they'd be working for tips but things were still calm. This was about 7:20am; we'd meandered (with purpose!) for an hour already.



I was not expecting a gift shop but I probably should have. HOW is there a gift shop opposite the Treasury? Where tourists go...



We continued on, having decided we'd head straight to the Monastery as well. The ravages of time were apparent in many areas, with some of it being built back up for our benefit.



Lots of "tour guides" were around here as well, walking with us in the hopes of a treat or two.



As we walked there were many stalls along the side of the road. I needed to use a restroom, and wasn't sure if I'd need to tip or not, but this early there were no attendants, so I did not.



In the caves you could see signs that some still had families living in them. You can see a proper wall and door on the left here, but they were not all so fancy. Due to this we did not try to investigate any, we just stuck to the road though we did see some tourists here and there walking up on the facades.

 

[AquaDame]

I soon picked up a guard as well - this pup wouldn't move on. I thought maybe it was distracted by my water bottle so I shared some in a little divot I found, but if anything it followed me even closer after that... it didn't give up until we came upon another dog who also started following me. Oh dear...





A kindly elderly woman pointed out the camel rocks... I would have walked right by. I had taken a pic and not even noticed...



Eventually the obvious road became less obvious, and we started going in the wrong direction when we reached the Basin restaurant, heading to AlHabis rather than finding the right trail. Realizing our error we stopped to reassess and the dogs decided a sunspot was a great place for a nap and a nap far more interesting than following us any further, thankfully. We backtracked and began the climb. There are a lot of stairs, some small, some tall, some broken, all a bit of a tripping hazard. The way is sometimes steep, sometimes narrow, and sometimes you're walking right through a shop. There is also a fair amount of donkey droppings from the sturdy group of them that work carrying tourists who don't or can't make the hike. That seemed a little treacherous as well, truth be told... some sections are so steep the riders were holding on for dear life rather than slide right off.



There were a few other tourists but mostly the path was filled with commuters heading up for a day of hospitality. Some also were riding donkeys, especially if they had jugs of water and other stuff to cart.



Now that the sun was fully up and hitting the hills, it was getting pretty hot. I started losing some layers. Many of the shops along the way would have vendors in them ere long.



Some were already open for business, but the calls to check their wares were half hearted. Mostly folk were either in transit or making fires for tea and breakfast. Every time one of them called to me I said no shokran and kept walking, there was no further attempt for my attention. It was getting a little tiring anyway though... the trail is very long, and the shops endless. I was getting sick of saying no so often.





Finally we reached the Monastery! You can go even higher, and one elderly woman I passed on the walk up had chatted with us about seeing a waterfall as well. She soon ALSO told us her shop had THE BEST view and we simply MUST let her make us some tea. We made no comment to it, but thanked her for telling us about the waterfall.

 

[AquaDame]

Here there were a few locals who offered to show us a way to climb up onto the facade for $ but we declined. I'm not sure how much they were asking for. Others were offering to take pics for a tip, and there were some small children trying to sell postcards as well.



We climbed up some rocks across the way and found a young boy doing an entire photoshoot for some women. We were getting a little annoyed as they were taking so long, but we were also hot and so we just sat down and watched for awhile.

Eventually they went to the other side of some rocks and... I'm not sure exactly what happened but there was some kind of argument about payment. It seemed to be resolving itself, when suddenly the man who had been with the women, without dropping his kind demeanor and smile, suddenly grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and hit him. He, again with a sweet voice, told the boy he can't take advantage of the ladies and to leave them alone. For us it was extremely tense as we are not used to that AT ALL, but the women were laughing... I both felt sorry for the boy and not at all surprised when he simply moved on to the next group of tourists.

Our kitty guide we'd picked up below came with us up to "the best view of the monastery".



Up top there was a little cafe set up, but no one was working it. At 9:30 there still weren't enough folk around to make it worth it I guess.... they do say the best lighting here is in the afternoon, so clearly they know what they're doing. We were glad to be able to look around without the shopkeeper at our heels.





We had many options... as we came down the elderly woman had made it to the top and yelled at us where her shop was in this maze...



I was willing to head over there, as I felt we owed her... friendly banter?... some patronage but Kyle said no way, we don't owe her anything. I still feel a little bad about it, but I know he is right...



Sights seen, and then some, we made the trip back down. Now that I wasn't locked in on getting to the top, I looked around more at the wares. Always at a clip though, as I had no intention of buying.







I did see one scarf that I did like, at the top, but I thought nah I'll see something I like better anyway, and I didn't want to have to barter with them anyway. There were no clear prices... and I don't do well in that kind of scenario.



Now that it was later and there was a trickle of tourists coming up the vendors were getting a bit more insistent. My no shokran was met with protestations that women should help each other, support a woman's shop! They were mostly run by women all the way down, anyway! A simple no shokran was becoming two or three before they would stop, and now they were staring me in the eye to boot instead of being disinterested. They would call after me, "what can we do with a no shokran?? Nothing! It cannot buy anything! What do I do with that?"

I was still doing okay until we were most of the way down the trail when it happened... I snapped. At one spot I had a lady grow angry with me, and she said "you said you would stop! You said later..! Now it is later! You lied! Why did you say you would stop and then not?!"

I. Lost. It. And it was so stupid of me. I raised my voice and turned back to her, and said "NO I DID NOT. Do NOT say that! All the way up, all the way down, no shokran no shokran! I've said it every single time, do not lie to ME!" with some arm waving I was so frustrated. She just smirked and said nothing more and we continued on.

Those two incidents are small, but they REALLY got to me. The sheer number of vendors in the 3-5km (rt) trail are staggering, even with many of the shops unoccupied in winter. I don't think you'd get any kind of break if it were summer, I really don't. I don't like thinking kindness is fake, but you know it is. I know it is. They know it is. That a little old lady plays me, and I get called a liar still makes me mad and sad.

More from this day is coming, but it is growing late, and I need to start winding down.