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• Mars on Earth!

  gopalakrishnanm10,,Jun 11, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We stood awed by a sandstone landscape sculpted by billions of years of air and water and then, quite recently (only two thousand years back!), by the water technology of the Nabataeans. From Amman to the last but final stop, we completed a special time and planet-transcending journey when we returned to the airport to look at the Martian rover that Matt Damon used in the film Martian. Let me list the cash-saving tips for you first: 1) Take the Jordan pass before you pay for the visa so that it is cost-effective. Jordan Pass handles visa fees and passes at most places except Petra and Mount Nebo.  2) Do not exchange currency at Amman airport: they have terrible exchange rates and fees. Currency exchanges at Amman are okay. Indians won't be able to transfer money from India to Jordan through Western Money transfer for some reason. So, exchange dollars or euros at Amman.  3) If you want to visit Petra for two days, you could do that on two consecutive days by paying an extra 5 JD on top of the 50 JD first-day charge. You can make that payment the second day after informing them on the first day.  Hotels we stayed: Thousand nights (first day) at Amman and the Regency (last day). One of the rooms at the first hotel was a smoking room, and a few calls were required to get it changed.  Petra Castle at Wadi Musa, built early on, is one of the oldest hotels in the region. But it does not have room service at night. The Moses's Spring is just opposite this hotel, which I found out when I ventured out thirsty at 2 am in search of water bottles in the store next to the hotel. One will quickly realise that water is still the most precious resource in Jordan, especially when you have climbed to the top of the Monastery at Petra after an unscheduled, rapid disembarkment from the donkey's back (My donkey was cranky. I almost fell off, so I decided to use my own legs instead.).  The Movenpick, right in front of the Petra entry point, would have been a far better option, said our resourceful English-speaking tour guide, Mr Shadi, who took us in his fabulous, safe (all six seat-belts) Wifi-enabled SUV, to all the key places. The ice box in the back kept the water bottles chilled. We returned to Petra on the second day to climb to the High Place of Sacrifice. That was quite an effort for the usually sedentary four of us, but the kids were sprightly on their feet. Mr. Shadi also took us to the Dead Sea and the Wadi Musa. He told us innumerable anecdotes, snippets of history, and tales of how Jordanians welcomed the Syrians as brothers (during the refugee crisis) on the way to these places. Did you know that before 2013 (or so), Jordanians could put a roof over four walls and then claim any government land? You find many such unoccupied houses in the vast plains.  Thanks to his recommendations, we could squeeze into the Ajloun castle to observe the stunning views of the Jordanian valley and a tiny bit of Jerasch (the best preserved Roman city outside of Rome) on the last day. Thank you, Shadi, if you are reading this. Dead Sea tip: Take your goggles! That 33% neutrally buoyant brine will take you to a new level of pain when it gets into the eyes. You will want to spend hours under the sun covered with black clay. The temperature climbs rapidly while the humidity drops as we descend to the Dead Sea - so stay hydrated! Petra is unimaginably huge, and the way the Treasury ('Al-Khazneh', carved into the stone by the Nabaraeans in the 1st century CE)  suddenly reveals itself between the cracks of the sandstone mountains is spectacular.  People take tons of photographs there! Have a wide-brimmed hat to beat the sun. The winds are cold; one would hardly sweat even when climbing the hills as the humidity is so low. A good pair of shoes helps, too, as the rocks and pebbles are slippery.  The Citadel at Amman is special because it is one of the few places with continuous human occupation from the Bronze Age (1800 BCE). The ruins of the temple of Hercules tower over the area. Jordan Archeological Museum - the trepaned skull, the bottles to collect the tears, and the infant skeleton will catch your eye. Burials and rituals associated with it and sculptures for those were ingrained into most societies. Foods to try:  Mansaaf, Falafel, Shwarma, Foul. Do not order anything at the restaurants without a menu that you may find on the way to Petra: they will charge you heavily at the time of billing!  P.S.: I'll add a few photographs later.