Aqaba, Red Sea, Madaba (Jordan)

We feel revived after leaving Wadi Rum. At the camp, we met a Korean tourist and, to save him the taxi fare, we give him a ride to the Israeli border at Aqaba.

Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Journal

Aqaba

If the Wadi-Aqaba drive is smooth, things get complicated upon arriving in Aqaba. JB asks me to test my phone because his GPS (on his phone) stops working while we’re on the highway. He says he read news that Israel is jamming GPS near its border. The Korean and I have the same issue, proof that it’s indeed jamming. So it’s the old-fashioned way, following the non-geolocated Google Maps, that I guide JB. I’m used to putting my Google Maps in satellite mode, so by looking at the surroundings and comparing with the Google Maps layout, I manage to find my bearings. It’s not an easy task, as we have to drive at full speed and there are no signs, no indications. The avenue names are written in tiny print.

In the back, our Korean tourist is also active, and since he took a taxi from the border to Wadi Rum, he still remembers a bit of the route to take. I’m very surprised by his memory and sense of direction. He is also very surprised by my sense of direction. He’s a great traveler, but believe me, not all great travelers are so good at navigation (right, JB?). I don’t know if it’s a common trait among Asians. It’s very rare that I meet someone with such a good sense of direction and such a good memory for details.

It’s still quite stressful, because the road to Aqaba airport is also jammed and the GPS doesn’t activate. If you ever drive yourself to the airport, good luck! We approach the Jordan-Israel border, and on the other side, we see much taller and more modern buildings, nothing like the simplicity of Jordan. Halfway there, there’s a checkpoint. The soldiers are very nice, but impossible to go further. There’s about 500m left to the border, but the police make our Korean companion get out, and ask us to turn around. They’ll call a taxi for him to cover the remaining 500m. Well, at least he saved a bit of money by traveling with us.

Now, how to get to our hotel? Luckily, JB booked a hotel near the Red Sea, so we don’t need to enter the old town and look at the name of every street. We just need to follow the coast. 5 minutes from our hotel, the GPS works again, and here we are in our paradise.

We’ll stay here three nights because we’re too tired after so many days in the desert. On the other side, it’s still Israel, but with big cliffs, forming a kind of natural border. We’re in a gulf of the Red Sea, so we don’t see container ships, and we obviously don’t see the Suez Canal. We would have had to cross Israel and then Egypt for that. It’s always been my dream to cross the Suez Canal by boat. I love canals; I’ve already crossed part of the Panama Canal. I think you have to keep some little dreams from time to time, and not fulfill them right away, otherwise we’ll have no dreams left to fulfill.

I don’t have much to tell you about the Red Sea because at this time of year the water is cold, and despite JB’s courage to swim on the beach in front of the hotel, he saw few fish, but beautiful corals. I think to see beautiful things, we would have had to go diving with a wetsuit. Something JB no longer wants to do (he’s very sensitive to pressure and has ear pain), and I’m afraid of depth. Recently, there have been quite a few shark attacks in the Red Sea in Egypt, as sharks have migrated from the Indian Ocean (due to global warming) and some unscrupulous agencies don’t take enough precautions during snorkeling sessions. Honestly, after all these incredible experiences, I come to the sad conclusion that I feel better in the city, there.

In Aqaba, we mostly rested, between the breakfast buffet and the dinner buffet, JB feels like he’s gained a few kg. I opt for a massage, as I have aches everywhere, it feels good! JB opts for the Turkish hammam, but it has nothing to do with the real marble Turkish hammam in Istanbul, of course. I still recommend Aqaba as a place to relax after Wadi Rum. We decide not to go to the old town, as we might get lost with this GPS business. Besides, Uber drivers in Aqaba are desperate. It’s been a year of this and they can no longer work. The concept of Uber is to geolocate customers and drivers. Without GPS, it doesn’t work!

Given the proximity of countries in this area, I find life is unfair. Within a few meters, one can be born Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian, or Syrian… and life, depending on nationality, changes completely. When Albanians, suffering under dictatorship, looked at joyful Greeks across, on the island of Corfu, they must have surely had the bitter taste of being born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some beliefs, to minimize this injustice, will say ‘oh yes, one chooses one’s parents, one’s family, and the sidewalks of such and such city to learn to walk’, the principle of karma applies, etc. I think even if one doesn’t believe it, it’s easier to believe it to minimize the feeling of injustice of being ‘badly born’.

The Castles

On the way to Madaba, we visit two ruins, whose access is included with our Jordan Pass: Montreal Castle and Kerak Castle.

JB tells me that if everything else is like this, it’s not worth the trip. They are very photogenic, but all that’s left are ruins.

Madaba

We then visit Madaba, which is very famous for its mosaics dating back to the Byzantine Empire. We arrive in town as a cold snap hits. Need I say that New Year’s Eve was very quiet (and very cold) for us?

The tourist sights are within a 1km radius of the tourist office. That’s where we park for free and explore the rest on foot. Very tired from the cold, we only visit two things: St. John the Baptist Church (near the spot where John the Baptist was beheaded) and the archaeological museum. St. John’s Church isn’t extraordinary in itself, but it’s built on ruins (which you can visit by going downstairs). There are copies of famous Byzantine mosaics. The archaeological museum is a cluster of houses where mosaics were discovered, and the small area was later turned into a museum. Nothing mind-blowing.

Due to the cold and fatigue, we skip visiting St. George’s Church, which hides its map of Madaba, a unique glimpse of Jerusalem and the Middle East from the 6th century, but we should have gone.

I find the mosaics very pretty, and we got to watch an artisan making mosaic panels in a workshop right next to the tourist office. There are recent mosaics in our hotel too. In size, they’re a quarter of the mosaics you’re used to seeing in your bathroom, with a more matte finish and pastel colors. The colors fade over time, but the “time” in question is 1,000 years, 1,500 years… Nothing is more durable than natural pigments. On Instagram, I’ve seen artisans offering more modern versions; in Vietnam, there are walls decorated with mosaics too, and it’s very pretty, but I have a soft spot for the Jordanian version, it’s more precise and above all, all the spaces are covered with mosaics.

I wish I could have visited more, but the truth is we still haven’t left the desert. The whole country is one giant desert, so I don’t feel great, it tires me out a lot. I think if you know the Bible by heart, you’ll be thrilled because there are about a hundred places mentioned in the Bible that are still in Jordan.

On top of that, the car has an orange light on, which probably signals an engine-related problem. I remember a story told by my friend M. She was on the highway with her husband when suddenly the accelerator stopped working. Here in Jordan, a similar problem would be much, much more dangerous, because Jordanians don’t respect safe following distances at all and are very aggressive on the road. Our car rental company tells us they won’t swap the car for us because “orange” isn’t dangerous; you only need to worry when it blinks or turns red. You know, I really believe in signs, so after 8.5 years without any issues, we’re having a string of bad luck in Jordan, and I’d rather we stay safe during our last weeks of the world tour. That’s how we decide to spend a long time at the Dead Sea.

Part 2: Practical Tips

• Access with Jordan Pass: Montreal Castle, Kerak Castle
• Church of the Apostles: 1 JOD/person
• Hotel in Aqaba: Luxotel Aqaba Beach Resort & Spa (Booking link)
• Hotel in Kerak: Alqalah Restotel (Booking link)
• Hotel in Madaba: Aitch Boutique Hotel (Booking link)