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JORDAN We had planned very little on this trip and organised even less. All we had was a return airfare to Amman in Jordan, leaving on 12th December and returning to Perth on the 17th February. We left home (Western Australia) on 12th December 2003 and flew MAS/Royal Jordanian Airlines to Amman, the capital of Jordan. Royal Jordanian Airlines was founded (and owned) by the late King Hussein of Jordan, himself a pilot and commander in chief of the country's airforce. If you want to start at the beginning of our journey and travel with us through Jordan, click here. December is not the cheapest time to book a flight to the Middle East and flights are very busy. Our airfares cost us around A$1800 each return, with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur each time. However, the plan was to visit Jordan and then catch a ferry to Sinai to spend Christmas and New Year with our son Doug in Dahab. From Amman, we spent a day in Jerash, a fantastic Roman site a few hours drive away and visited the "Desert Castles" east of Amman. On leaving Amman, we caught a local bus south to Madaba, a town famed for its mosaics, and spent several days there. Whilst there we visited Mount Nebo, where Moses first saw the Promised Land. From Madaba, we drove along the mountainous roads of the Kings Highway, through Wadi Mujib to Karak, a Crusader Castle high in the hills and then on to the rose red city of Petra. After an unforgettable stay in Petra, we caught a local minivan to Wadi Rum, where we had booked a desert safari with Madafa, a local Bedouin. Sleeping under the desert stars is an experience not to be missed. From Wadi Rum, it was back on the local bus to Aqaba, the Jordanian port in the Red Sea, where we caught a ferry to Nuweiba in Sinai and said farewell to Jordan. We would be returning only to the airport after our time in Egypt. |