I must say I was a tiny bit apprehensive about going to Jordan, with hotspots like Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria surrounding this nation. “But what the hell?” I thought. If I have to die, I might as well die in an exotic location!
But it is one of the biggest myths in our minds that Jordan is as volatile as its neighbours. After reaching Jordan, our biggest concern was not of safety, but how to absorb the maximum in the limited time we had. There was so much to see, do and enjoy in this destination!
The land is full of contrasts and harmony at the same time. Forget violence, you will find a church and a mosque right in front of each other. There will be a rocky, dry spread on one side and the vast, sparkling expanse of water on the other side. Jordan didn’t cease to amaze us for even a second!
The country is open and spacious with well-constructed and maintained roads. We had to stop for just a minute while cruising through the streets of Amman, the capital, and our guide, named Basel (our best memory from Jordan), exclaimed, “Oh, we have a traffic jam!” Each one of us rolled our eyes and told him to visit India to understand the definition of ‘traffic’.
This small country, with a population of just 6.3 million, can be explored in seven days, with the best travel months being from October to May. “Yalla, yalla,” Basel would say, urging us to move our feet quickly and roam around. Our comfortable mini-van was enough to drive us throughout the country. But is it just a quick hop in and hop out destination? Not really. It’s a destination to live in, experience and savour… Read on as I try to relive Jordan through these mini-stories, each exploring a certain facet of this land…
