At the start of August, I had the opportunity to travel to Doha, Qatar and Amman, Jordan. I had been to Qatar last year and the blog post can be seen here. This was my first time in Amman, Jordan and to my surprise, I had a really good time!

The weather in Jordan was hot during our stay, but knowing that we were only visiting for a week, we were content and in an exploration mind set. We stayed near the Jordanian University and enjoyed walks to the nearby grocery stores and coffee shops. The traffic in Amman is extremely busy to say the least. Sitting outside on the balcony to enjoy some quiet time was nearly impossible with all of the hussle and bussle of the vehicles passing by. Loud honking is what one would hear often.

In downtown Amman, I went to the famous restaurant called Hashim. Hashim is known to have the best falafel and hummus in town. To my excitement, the food was amazing and really held up to their reputation. That was the best falafel and hummus I’ve ever had! Walking around, one can smell wonderful khnafeh dessert from the corner of the Habiba restaurant, also known to have the best khnafeh in town. Continuing my stroll in downtown Amman, I went shopping in the many stores and interacted with the local Jordanians.

On the last few days of my trip, I joined the Mawakeb tour group to head south to Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba. Driving down to Petra, I really enjoyed the scenery of the deserted areas of Jordan. One could see Bedouins in their tents on the sides of the roads, enjoying their life and taking care of their flocks of sheep while riding around in their donkeys or camels. It was a joy to see and made me curious about their way of life.

As we arrived to Petra, I was amazed by the rock formations and the history. As one walked down to the end of the passage, one could see the famous treasury formation, where Indiana Jones was filmed. There were many Bedouins riding camels, donkeys, and horses that offered us a ride to go through the rest of Petra. As we walked throughout the area, the Bedouin boys riding donkeys would haggle us and try to convince us to ride. I was not interested in riding a donkey, but by the end of the day, I was so exhausted from the heat, I rode a camel. Once I reached the end of one area, I then got on a horse and rode to the end. It was extremely hot and I almost fainted before I got back on the tour bus. Luckily, I made it back and we rode on the bus to our next stop in Wadi Rum.

Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon, is a beautiful location with red sand and large rock formations. We went on a sand dune ride on some locals trucks. They drove us around and we stopped at a hill that was filled with red sand. Every step that I would take to go up the sand dune was like taking two steps back from the slippery sand. Eventually, I made it up the hill and observed the view and played with the sand. The group and I then headed out to another area to watch the sunset. It was a spectacular view and reminded me of how little we are in this world. After a eating a traditional dinner, my favorite part about Wadi Rum was looking up at the stars after the sun had set. It was amazing! I saw a million stars and the galaxies.

Later at night, we headed out to Aqaba, a location near the Red Sea, surrounded by Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. We stayed at a beautiful hotel that had a relaxing pool and access to the Red Sea. Again, to my surprise, the Red Sea was clean and clear. The water was warm and relaxing. We went on a yacht tour on the water and observed the surrounding countries. My favorite part about Aqaba was observing the people and their different language dialects.

Overall, Jordan was a good experience! I hope you love these images and feel free to leave some comments or questions! 🙂