Christmas Eve in a rainy Tel Aviv didn't promise a fairy tale as the wind demolished the only tiny umbrella that my friend and I brought with. Nevertheless, we were at sea and we weren’t freezing. Instead of traditional Christmas cake and a dinner we spent the evening in a charming atmosphere of a hostel Momo, heading to the South next morning. As soon as we arrived to Israel, we searched for a central bus station in Tel Aviv and booked tickets for Eilat, a popular resort at the coast of the Red Sea, bordering to Egypt on one side and to Jordan on the other. We went there on Christmas, which is just an ordinary working day for the Israelis.
Instead of gorgeous beaches in Eilat, we encountered massive hotel chains and endless shops of a higher price range. We instantly decided to head towards Jordan on the following morning. After finishing formalities on Israeli-Jordanian border, we fetched a cab together with another traveling companion and headed to the Jordanian tourist hotspot, ancient city in the rocks, Petra.
Petra is not crowded with tourists during the New Year's holidays. The city was carved into the stone more than 2000 years ago and represents a living symbol of ancient civilizations. On a day tour through large canyon we encountered as many modern Bedouins as tourists, selling souvenirs and camels or mules riding to the monastery on the top of the hill. The Monastery is supposedly the largest monument in Petra. We climbed the 850 steps to discover the place.
As we had enough time, we visited Little Petra the following day. It is a minimisation of the large city in the rocks, and we didn’t have to pay any entrance fee. The entrance is situated about 5 kilometres outside the Petra village, passing the Bedouin camp and the Bedouin village. We followed through a stand of a trendy Bedouin, who advertises his products through his Facebook profile. He was eager to show us his cave, which is under construction in the platform on the top of the massive rock. He was happy to show us his ground cave too, as he hosted a Bedouin picnic in the evening.
After a charming mix of a Bedouin tradition and modernity in Petra, a new travel companion joined us, and we shared a cab, headed to Amman, the capital of Jordan. On our way to the North, we took a glimpse of ruins of crusader castle Kerak. We dipped a finger into Dead Sea, and climbed to Mount Nebo, a biblical site, where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land.
Perhaps Amman won’t thrill you at first sight, but eventually traditional Eastern part of the city with numerous tiny shops, bazars and narrow streets might get under your skin. When you pass by West Amman the administrative centre of the city, you might feel like being strayed to the Beverly Hills of Jordan. You can catch a sight of buildings of a modern architecture with all trendy brands that you can imagine, including lavishing district for the wealthy Jordanians. A short scan was enough to runaway to the Eastern part of the city to grab some falafels and a delicious Arabic coffee.
Without knowing whether the capital of Jordan celebrates New Year, my friend and I joined a bunch of backpackers from all over the world. We hardly managed to find a taxi in our way to the trendy Rainbow Street, eventually seven people managed to stuff themselves into a car. Just before midnight, Amman was as alive as any other European capital on the New Year’s Eve.
Before our departure for Jerusalem, we went to the site of the ancient town Jerash, which takes around 45 minutes to drive from Amman. It is also known as the “Pompeii of the East”, which is completely justifiable, as impressive monuments of Greek-Roman history are stretched on the outskirts of the modern town.
On the New Year, we left Amman, headed to Israel via King Hussein Bridge border crossing. It took us around 45 minutes to get to the border, we dealt with formalities on Jordanian Israeli border and it took us another 45 minutes to come to Jerusalem by mini bus. I only knew some basic facts of the Jerusalem’s history. Being a crossroads of religions and cultures: Islamic, Jewish and Christian, being ruled by crusaders back in the Middle Ages.
Having in mind romanticism of a movie spectacle about old crusader’s Jerusalem, there was not much to see in a cold and rainy day. The ancient town is a part of the occupied territory, jammed with tourists and pilgrims and predator merchants in desire to profit from the situation.
The following day we moved to considerably warmer Tel Aviv, a starting point of our journey. We took a walk along the city beach through numerous modern skyscrapers, which brought us to Jaffo, an old town with the oldest port in the world. Jaffo is a popular spot for all lovers of a retro style, with its lively flea market or you can take a stroll to the artist district Florentin.
In the evening we took a city bus to the central bus station and with the last evening bus (really cheap) at half past eleven, left for to the Ben Gurion Airport. We had a flight back home the following day early in the morning.
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