Jordan

Shortly after landing, the airspace over Israel, Lebanon and Jordan was closed due to the Iranian attack, which was a queasy feeling when dozens of fighter planes could be heard over Amman late into the night.

Well, thank God we were already on the ground and so our tour could begin the next day.

The first impression was good and the food was very tasty. Falafel, hummus, bread, tea and a shisha, we didn't need much more than that.

The citadel, the Roman theater and the "downtown" in Amman are really worth seeing!

We continued down towards Petra for about 3.5 hours. Our car is a complete wreck, but if you take the cheapest fare, you shouldn't be surprised.

I quickly found out that the whole thing starts to vibrate wildly at 100km and at 110km everything is "normal" again, but much faster is not possible due to the road conditions and is not allowed anyway. When we arrived in Petra we went straight to the famous treasury and were amazed that we were almost alone walking the impressive path through the valley. There weren't really many people to be seen in front of the main attraction either.

Since there was not much going on in the whole city, we decided against a visit at sunrise and instead slept well and drove towards "Little Petra" to be taken to the monastery in a jeep. A relaxed 1 ½ hour hike with a beautiful view lay ahead of us before we reached the impressive monastery.

After a freshly squeezed grenadine juice, we walked about 9km back to the car, past various tombs, houses, treasure chambers and temples, absolutely impressive!

Then we took our "car" to the garage, we had a flat tire. For 10 dinars our tire was patched within 20 minutes, well, if it's that easy...

Afterwards we headed north again to the Dead Sea and the lowest point on earth (outside the water) about -420 meters below sea level.

The temperature difference was enormous and all the heat accumulated in the valley of the Dead Sea (36 degrees). I had imagined the landscape to be more beautiful and there aren't really any beaches for swimming, and in the really scorching heat you have to walk about a kilometer down from the road to the water, as the water level drops by about a meter every year. Our accommodation was in Karak, as there was no affordable accommodation at the Dead Sea and the air was simply unbearable (Karak is about 1400 meters higher).

Karak is a bit run down and apart from a really impressive castle there is not much to see. The next day we went back down to the Dead Sea into the "Wadi Mujib" canyon, which we were allowed to explore on our own after paying the appropriate amount. Equipped with a life jacket, we went into the cool, impressive canyon in 36 degree heat.

We drove our car back along the mountain road to Karak. At least you don't have to brake when going uphill, so the whole car only vibrated when going downhill. Well, as long as it brakes at all, everything is OK. The vibration has now caused the rear bumper to come loose and more cracks are appearing in the paint and filler, but at least we've got almost half of them!

From Karak we continued on to Dana National Park with a stop at the “Afra hot springs”. After Google once again wanted to send us on adventurous routes that we no longer thought our car could manage, we finally reached our destination via a detour. Unfortunately, the pools that were visible in the photos were a bit old and only men were allowed to swim there. There was a separate room for women where the water ran after it had run through the men's pools. The room had two sparse windows, so you really couldn't see in from the outside. It was correspondingly dark inside and didn't smell very pleasant, or so I was told. It didn't spoil the fun for the Jordanian women and children. Since it was Friday and the Jordanians were on their weekend trips, we were provided with tea, cake, nuts, chips and drinks. Some North African countries could learn a thing or two from their hospitality, and most Germans could too...

Generally, the first question is always where you come from.

"Germany", "Very good, welcome to Jordan" is usually the answer and we can drive on without any problems at the numerous traffic checks. It doesn't matter that our car's registration has already expired, but the police assured us that we can continue driving. Our landlord has to pay the fine, "for you no problem, welcome to Jordan".

When we arrived at Dana National Park, we decided against going hiking. We had imagined it to be a little greener and a little less strenuous, as the hiking trails all led down into the canyon. So we enjoyed the sunset and had dinner in a Bedouin tent. The next morning we watched the first hikers from our hut and then set off punctually for the Wadi Rum desert.

After another 100km, which our vehicle survived without any further damage, we continued in a pick-up truck to Wadi Rum, which has already been the backdrop for numerous films (Lawrence of Arabia, Star Wars, Dune etc.) and, as it quickly turned out, absolutely deservedly so. Lots of towering rocks and mountains, followed by green gorges and wide sandy areas that are reminiscent of another planet. After various small climbs, hikes and teas in Bedouin tents, we reached our camp at sunset. Amazingly, there was a real shower and a real toilet, which I really didn't expect in the desert and actually knew it was different (https://vakantio.de/su-di-du-lich/egypt-kairo-wuste).

We spent the evening around the campfire drinking tea and playing cards. The next morning, right after sunrise at 9 a.m., we continued on to the border with Saudi Arabia, with some really amazing views. Camels kept crossing our route, and we were able to feed them from time to time, but the smell of these animals takes some getting used to. Just for fun, I told our driver that I absolutely had to try camel milk again in the next few days. I hadn't even finished saying the words when he started to fiddle with the camel's teats and I had a warm cup of camel milk to try. Yummy!

We spent the second night under the open sky, or rather under a small rocky outcrop, and I was able to prove myself as a desert driver for the first time. I had imagined it would be harder and we didn't have to dig out the pickup truck once. I liked the night under the open sky much better, but to be honest, the whole thing was a bit too close to civilization and a bit too comfortable for a tour through the desert, and I would prefer the Egyptian desert for an adventure.

We have now arrived in Aqaba. We have booked a resort with a pool and private beach about 15 km south of the city center. We then drive into the city for dinner. 40 degrees is forecast for the next three days, but the fresh wind makes it bearable. I will go diving two or three more times, then we will drive back to the Dead Sea and look for a beach where we can go swimming properly. We will spend the last night in Madaba, near the airport.

Let's hope that our car holds up, that the airspace over Jordan remains open and that we can find our destination without GPS. The Israel, Gaza and Iran conflict has disrupted the GPS signal and my location is constantly shown as Cairo. This means that the satnav doesn't work and you have to drive by map like before, but it's worked quite well so far!