Travels with my Sister
27 June - 7 July 2010
I met up with my sister Märit in Aqaba, Jordan, on 26 June. Everything went to plan and I was able to pick her up in an almost brand-new Nissan Sunny just before noon and swiftly take her to a McDonald's to cool down.
I had spent the previous evening organising the rental car. The rental process was no problem, but the appearance of the car was. Herz apologised profusely that they had not been able to clean the car before I got it, but what help is that (or the fact that I got a very good discount on the GPS) if the car is covered with bird pooh? Something had to be done! My first thought was to ask the hotel for a bucket and a cloth. However, when housekeeping was called, I was informed they did not possess a bucket. Hmm, interesting. How do they clean the floors of the hotel, one wonders. Or maybe the very thought of a hotel guest doing such a menial task on his own struck them with such horror that they found themselves unable to provide me with a bucket? A (cultural?) mystery.
Anyway, in spite of cultural expectations of appropriateness, something had to be done about the bird pooh so I simply went out in search for a bucket and some tea towels. I quickly found what I was looking for. Next, I asked whether I could fill up the bucket somewhere, but was told there was no water tap available. OK, no problem. I went into my own hotel room and filled up the bucket. I wonder to myself what the housekeeping staff at this four-star hotel was thinking when I was carrying a full bucket of water through the foyer and then cleaned bird pooh off my car right in front of the hotel. Aghast at the inappropriateness of it all? Or disappointed that they didn't get a tip since this cleaning job was a DIY job from start to finish?
Once my sister had cooled down and we were on the road, we headed for our first destination: the Captain's Camp in Wadi Rum.
Wadi Rum is Lawrence of Arabia territory and one of the desert areas people go to when visiting Jordan. The GPS had no problems finding the exit road for Wadi Rum. However, as soon as we were on the Wadi Rum road, the female American GPS voice told me to "follow the directions of the road". Apparently, Wadi Rum was not included in the Jordanian version of the GPS database and the lady GPS – who my sister quickly started referring to as "Gertrude" – apparently thought I was driving off road.
Wadi Rum was spectacular. However, it took us quite a while to find the Captain's Camp. I guess I was a bit naïve thinking that there would be a road sign somewhere, but that was my approach and we just kept driving and driving – until we came across a road sign saying that Saudi Arabia was ahead.
We quickly decided this was not the way to go and turned around. Through a friendly local we eventually found the Captain's Camp, and there was indeed a sign – right at the entrance of the camp, far away from the main road.
I loved the camp. The camelhair tents were large and the beds were very comfortable. Also, the showers and toilets were clean, and the buffet-style dinner and breakfast were great. And as we had managed to book the desert camp on the same night as the full moon, the whole stay was very atmospheric.
The following morning, we drove to the Visitor's Centre in Wadi Rum and I went for a walkabout in the desert – to explore the Seven Pillars of Wisdom a bit more closely – while my sister decided that the air-conditioned restaurant with huge windows facing the desert and the mountains was the better option.
For more pictures and comments about Wadi Rum, click here.
When we started the car and the GPS, Gertrude immediately told me in her American accent to "drive to the nearest road." We quickly turned off the GPS and followed the road signs for the Amman motorway.
I hadn't really done any research before we arrived at our next destination, Petra. I guess it was because I still had all these vivid memories of the flat desert landscape surrounding Palmyra that I was so unprepared for the mountainous terrain we found as we got nearer to Petra. I kept thinking, "Where's the sand?" As we were driving higher and higher up, we suddenly came across a camel crossing of sorts with lots of camels being pretty undecided whether they were going to cross the road. Märit just loved this unexpected stop. In fact, she never stopped talking about it for the whole journey. My sister really gets a kick out of seeing camels.
When we arrived in Petra, I became quite grumpy as it turned out the Moevenpick hotel I had booked, which was supposed to be a the very doorstep of the Petra historical site, was the second of two Moevenpick hotels in Petra, and 10 kilometres from the site (but, admittedly, with stunning views of the Petra mountains). We were offered to move to the other hotel, but we stayed in the end. Also, when we found out that the one-day pass for the Petra site was $46 and nobody could say whether you could exit and enter the site again on the same day. After all that, the location of our hotel wasn't that important any more.
It was a good that that I, in spite of feeling grumpy, accepted the receptionist's suggestion to join the Petra at Night visit that evening. A very good thing, in fact. The Petra at Night visit, with candles lighting up the path all the way from the entrance of the site to the Treasury, was an unforgettable experience. We walked through the gorge called the Siq, in a single file and in silence. Incredibly beautiful. And when we finally arrived in front of the Treasury (I can't remember why they call this building the Treasury, but it isn't a treasury), everybody just sat on the ground in silence for quite a long time. Very contemplative and very fitting to the location. Eventually, some Bedouins started playing and singing traditional songs, which made the sight of the Treasury at night, lit up by hundreds of candles, an experience I will never forget.
The following morning, it was time for the main visit to the Petra site. My sister had opted for horse and carriage (quite sensible, really).
I did the 800 metre horse ride (included in the ticket) followed by seven hours of walking. Our guide Soli was very funny. He kept singing different hit songs when we least expected it and burst out swearing in Spanish, English and several other languages every time he felt we ought to be impressed by what we saw. In spite of this intensive showmanship and comical interludes, Soli was very knowledgeable and I found the guided tour very useful and enjoyable.
At the end of the guided walk through the Petra site (next to Qasr Al Bint), we said goodbye to Soli and I had a scrumptious buffet lunch at a five-star Crowne Plaza restaurant conveniently located at that very spot. Next, I started the steep walk up the mountains to have a look at the Monastery. There were people selling stuff everywhere along the path, selling necklaces, earrings and all sorts of handicraft. I was thinking that these sales people hadn't really understood what the "felt need" of their target audience was. I had no interest in stopping to have a look at a necklace when it was 35 C + in the shade and I was doing this steep uphill 50 minute walk. Finally, finally, I came across this guy with a freezer powered by a generator and full of ice cold Coke's and Pepsi's and I instantly became a keen customer. And let me tell you, $3 for a Coke was not a problem for me at that point. Now, that is offering the customer what they really want.
Everything at Petra was stunning.
I still think that $46 for a one-day ticket is a lot, but then people will pay whatever the ticket price as Petra is way beyond your ordinary historical site. At the end of the climb, I did not regret climbing up to see the Monastery as well. It was also stunning.
For more pictures and comments about Petra, click here.
We started our drive towards Madaba at around 6.00 PM, and this is the leg of the journey where I really came to appreciate my friendly GPS companion Gertrude. As we drove into Madaba, a city near Amman, with narrow one-way streets and people running around excited about the latest World Cup match, I so appreciated Gertrude's calm directions: "Your destination is 800 metres ahead. In 200 metres, bear right". I felt I was from Mars or something and that I'd landed in this alien place while my navigation system allowed me to drive with confidence like a local earthling.
Madaba is the city of mosaics. The floor mosaic of the map of Palestine in St George's Church was very beautiful. But as we saw more and more mosaics, it became difficult to tell which ones were the most fascinating as they were all beautiful. The oldest of the mosaics we saw dated around 100 BC.
While Märit was sitting at a local café in Madaba sipping something or toher, I decided this was my opportunity to do a bit more exploring of the area. First, I followed the signs for Mt Nebo, which is less than 10 kilometres from Madaba. Somehow I missed the peak of Mt Nebo the first time over. I was expecting some kind of mountain – or at least a hill – but the only thing I saw was a Swiss-style steep winding zigzag road going down a hill. Not until I had driven along this road for a while did it occur to me the Mt Nebo was the point where this downhill road actually began! In other words, Madaba is on the same altitude as Mt Nebo and the road from Madaba to Mt Nebo is flat, so it's hard to know you're actually at the top of a mountain when you drive by the gate leading to the actual Mt Nebo site – where Moses looked into the promised land.
Next, I drove to the Dead Sea for a quick swim. It was fun, though you're not really swimming when you get into the water. It's more like floating on the surface of the water, and I tell you it's not easy to get out of the water in any kind of elegant manner.
After the Dead Sea stop, I decided I wanted to visit Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, where Jesus was baptised. I was lucky, as I ended up joining the very last tour for the day. We were taken on the back of a truck to the River Jordan (through check points and near barbed wire), and it was very interesting to hear that this site has only been available to visitors for about ten years.
For more pictures and comments about Madaba, Mt Nebo, the Dead Sea and Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, click here.
We left Madaba before sunrise to catch the ferry from Aqaba to Egypt. The drive from Madaba to Aqaba (320 km) was the least eventful part of this day, and I know Märit would agree with me that the ferry journey between Aqaba and Nuweiba in Egypt was the most adventurous (i.e. most trying) part of this day. Perhaps of the whole ten-day trip we did together, in fact.
The ferry crossing itself takes less than two hours (on the "fast" ferry), but boarding the ferry is not a very straightforward affair – especially since the custom's guy stamped the wrong date in my sister's passport and I had to take a bus back from the ferry to the customs office to have it cancelled and re-stamped. Also, when we arrived in Nuweiba, we had to wait two hours before we could disembark – no-one explained why – and then we had to squeeze against the wall of the car deck to let large trolleys filled with suitcases pass by. Zero safety procedures in place. However, the waiting time came in handy as gave me time to arrange delivery of a rental car in Nuweiba (Sharm Al Sheikh is the nearest place of car hire offices).
We drove from Nuweiba to St Catherine, and it was kind of funny to do this in the dark. We had no idea what the landscape looked like. I mean, driving through a series of fairly sharp turns, were we surrounded by vertical ravines on one side? Or were we in the middle of a flat valley? However, the roads were excellent and the soldiers were very polite at the frequent road checks. We arrived in St Catherine just before midnight and we had to wake up the receptionist to check in.
Märit and I stayed in St Catherine for two nights, and that was a good move. Normally, people visit St Catherine for only a few hours, as the monastery is only open between 9 and 12 in the morning.
However, St Catherine is also a small town in the middle of the Sinai desert and nestled between beautiful mountains, so staying a bit longer we were able to enjoy the serenity and beauty of this place a bit more. In fact, with nothing to do but enjoying the surroundings once the monastery is closed, you kind of slow down and enter this state of peaceful serenity. Well, at least I did.
Many of the houses in St Catherine are built with stones and small rocks from the area. The effect of this is that some houses are almost invisible against the background.
Also, the style of some structures has a distinct Fred Flintstone feel to them, which creates a kind of unique style. I like it.
The Mt Catherine monastery looks like a small medieval European fortified city, at the foot of Mt Sinai. It has this amazing museum with the most exquisite icons and some extremely old documents, among them parts of Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest complete copy of the New Testament in the world (from around 350AD). I've been to this monastery twice before so this time I gave climbing up Mt Sinai (a four hour clim) a miss.
For more pictures and comments from St Catherine, click here.
After St Catherine, Märit and I drove down to Dahab and checked in at Le Meridien Hotel. Fabulous hotel.
It had six pools - three with sea water and three with normal pool water.
The hotel provided numerous inventive and inviting ways of relaxing – including these clever balls you can lie in – this hotel is probably better than the Dahab Hilton, where I've stayed several times before.
The beach itself was a disappointment, though. It's a rocky beach with quite a lot of corals so it's very easy to injure yourself walking into the water. The beach is good for snorkelling and diving, but you can't just walk on a sandy beach (listening to your iPod), which is high on my agenda.
For more pictures and comments from Dahab, click here.
On the final leg of our journey together, Märit and I took the coach to Cairo. We stayed at the Windsor Hotel, which used to be a British Officers' Club. Old and rough around the edges but top score for atmosphere. The following morning, Märit flew back home to Sweden and I flew to Istanbul for the train part of my summer travels.
I tried to model a slow-paced start buy no-one followed my example so within a few seconds, I was last.
However, I made it my aim to improve on my old personal record for 5 kilometres. I also capitalised on the thrill I felt each time I passed a student who had started off too quickly. This is a thrill I experienced ten times. 
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