During one of my most-travelled years to date (2019), one of my trips consisted of 10 days in Egypt and Jordan. Both of these destinations had been claimed as favourite countries by different friends and given that each contained a Wonder of the World, I was very keen to give them a go.
We decided to go with a travel agent in order to have local tour guides at each location and especially because we were two women in unfamiliar territory.
Egypt
The first city we visited in Egypt was Luxor. This city is located on the banks of the Nile and features Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings (which is where the tombs of various pharaohs is located, including Tutankhamun), both of which are worth visiting. We also went on a boat trip along the longest river in the World, the Nile, and learnt about the local customs.
We spent the next few days in Cairo, where on arrival we saw a car catch on fire on the motorway and I was shocked by how many other cars stopped in order to help the driver as I can't imagine that happening in London. My first impressions of Cairo were that it was a very busy city, full of traffic, and with an abundance of mosques, not dissimilar to Istanbul, with the addition of the footballer Salah being plastered all over the city. We visited the Egyptian Museum, where we could see real-life mummies (which was slightly unsettling) amongst various other artefacts, and where some children on a school trip asked to take pictures with me as apparently they had never seen a white person before (which had also happened in India so wasn't shocking). I had two novel experiences in Cairo too: it was my first time gambling (only foreigners were allowed in the casino and despite having doubled my money, my mum then went and lost it all) and it was where I ate pigeon (it was stuffed with rice but was very average and not worth the effort frankly).
The final place that we visited in Egypt was, of course, Giza, which is in Cairo. This is the location of the last-standing Ancient Wonder of the World: the pyramids of Giza. I wasn't aware however that there were in fact several pyramids in Giza, not just the famed three. The pyramids were truly astounding, and our tour guide was lovely and very engaging. Here we saw the Sphinx, alongside various camels, and it was the picture-perfect scene of Egypt.
Jordan
From Cairo, we headed to Jordan's capital, Amman. We were picked up by two locals and en route to our hotel I remember noticing various expensive cars, white mansions, and a lot of speeding (predominantly by our driver, who was extremely boastful). On arrival to the hotel, one of the locals let me peek into a muslim wedding which was very majestic and featured hundreds of guests.
The following day, we had the same driver but a new guide, who was an older gentleman of Italian heritage and made sure that the driver quietened down. In Amman's city centre we visited the Blue Mosque, the Amphitheatre, and the Citadel. It was here that we learnt about the refugee crisis in Jordan - due to the huge influx of refugees from the neighbouring Syria, resources were becoming scarce. We then headed to Jerash, an excavated Roman city which reminded me greatly of Sicily, Italy and features a variety of columns and old buildings. Although I'm not too interested by this era, I did enjoy hearing local musicians throughout the city (as shown in the picture above).
For me, the highlight of the whole trip was definitely Petra. This archeological site is one of the seven Modern Wonders of the World and consists of tombs and temples carved into cliffs and canyons. To this day, it is one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen. It is quite a trek, but there are options to ride camels or donkeys if preferable. We then did a short stint in the coastal city of Aqaba, from which Israel and Saudi Arabia could be seen and Wadi Rum can be visited; unfortunately, we didn't manage to fit it into our itinerary but it looks absolutely breathtaking and I definitely would visit if the opportunity arises in the future.
Our final destination on this trip was the hyper saline Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth at -398 metres. En route, we passed the baptismal site of Jesus Christ in Bethany, where we were only a couple of metres from the Israeli border (of which, had we made an attempt to cross, we would have been quickly apprehended). The Dead Sea was intriguing as I floated more easily then in any other body of water I'd been in, and the spa treatments definitely softened my skin. The last cool thing we saw on our trip was a 'magnetic hill', meaning that despite not accelerating, cars supposedly go uphill due to the gravity.
This trip was very enjoyable and varied, with each city offering a new perspective and experience. I would recommend both countries, but especially Jordan as it is less touristic and Petra is beautiful.
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