We left Dubai with much anticipation to meet my grandmother and aunt in Jordan for sightseeing. Our plane r
ide and customs was seamless and we got breakfast on the plane having already ate that morning (I am so sick of eggs, miss my oatmeal). We arrived in Jordan and got stuck in the lengthy custom line to purchase a visa and get our eyes scanned. Customs people are soooo slow. Luckily we didn’t have any problems, like the African guy ahead of us who got detained. An hour and a
half later we were so excited as we headed towards Amman and the Citadel to meet Omi and Ariana. The bus took us to the centre of town and a quick taxi ride up the hill and we arrived at the citadel hoping to see their smiling faces. No such luck and after three hours of waiting and some quality time with a needy cat who would not leave my lap (I was in heaven) we began to worry that maybe they had trouble crossing the border from Israel. We had become very close with the taxi drivers waiting outside the Citadel and after much discussion we went in to
enjoy the sites while Waleed, a tourist driver would keep a lookout for their profiles. The Hill of the Citadel (Jabal al-Qal'a), Amman’s major tourist attraction was really pretty and interesting as the site is high above the city and the views were spectacular. The citadel was occupied from as early a
s the Neolithic period and renewed during the Bronze Age. The ruins on the hill comprise a variety of cultures from Roman through early Islamic. The ruins reminded me of Greek ruins that I had seen in the past and some were in decent condition, others had deteriorated significantly and had been repaired to mirror their original appearance. The museum inside was the best part. It housed quite a variety of ancient and interestin
g items that had been well preserved over hundreds of years. The dishes, coins and household tools made me realize that there wasn’t much difference between us and them. After we exited and Ariana and Omi were still not there, we enlisted the services of Waleed to find an internet cafe and look for a message from them as previously discussed if we didn’t meet up in time. Thankfully 
Ariana had emailed me an SOS, letting us know that they were lost, no one understood where they wanted to go and they had no idea where they were! We gave them Waleed’s phone number and within 30 minutes they called and we were on our way. Our reunion was fabulous, after hours of waiting! By this time, dinner was approaching and our three hour trip to Petra looming. 
We decided to grab a shwarma and head south. We arrived at Saba’a hotel in Jordan and were pleasantly surprised by the accommodation and owners. A married couple, Gail is originally from England and Ibrahim, a Jordanian Bedouin who worked in Petra, met while she was a tour organizer. They fell in love and married a year la
ter and when the chance came up to take over the hotel in Jordan, they jumped at the opportunity (how romantic)! Gail recommended a local restaurant for dinner where we enjoyed delicious salads and chicken platters. We were so exhausted from the long day of travel that we hit the hay in preparation for our day of hiking to come.
ide and customs was seamless and we got breakfast on the plane having already ate that morning (I am so sick of eggs, miss my oatmeal). We arrived in Jordan and got stuck in the lengthy custom line to purchase a visa and get our eyes scanned. Customs people are soooo slow. Luckily we didn’t have any problems, like the African guy ahead of us who got detained. An hour and a
half later we were so excited as we headed towards Amman and the Citadel to meet Omi and Ariana. The bus took us to the centre of town and a quick taxi ride up the hill and we arrived at the citadel hoping to see their smiling faces. No such luck and after three hours of waiting and some quality time with a needy cat who would not leave my lap (I was in heaven) we began to worry that maybe they had trouble crossing the border from Israel. We had become very close with the taxi drivers waiting outside the Citadel and after much discussion we went in to
enjoy the sites while Waleed, a tourist driver would keep a lookout for their profiles. The Hill of the Citadel (Jabal al-Qal'a), Amman’s major tourist attraction was really pretty and interesting as the site is high above the city and the views were spectacular. The citadel was occupied from as early a
s the Neolithic period and renewed during the Bronze Age. The ruins on the hill comprise a variety of cultures from Roman through early Islamic. The ruins reminded me of Greek ruins that I had seen in the past and some were in decent condition, others had deteriorated significantly and had been repaired to mirror their original appearance. The museum inside was the best part. It housed quite a variety of ancient and interestin
g items that had been well preserved over hundreds of years. The dishes, coins and household tools made me realize that there wasn’t much difference between us and them. After we exited and Ariana and Omi were still not there, we enlisted the services of Waleed to find an internet cafe and look for a message from them as previously discussed if we didn’t meet up in time. Thankfully 
Ariana had emailed me an SOS, letting us know that they were lost, no one understood where they wanted to go and they had no idea where they were! We gave them Waleed’s phone number and within 30 minutes they called and we were on our way. Our reunion was fabulous, after hours of waiting! By this time, dinner was approaching and our three hour trip to Petra looming. 
We decided to grab a shwarma and head south. We arrived at Saba’a hotel in Jordan and were pleasantly surprised by the accommodation and owners. A married couple, Gail is originally from England and Ibrahim, a Jordanian Bedouin who worked in Petra, met while she was a tour organizer. They fell in love and married a year la
ter and when the chance came up to take over the hotel in Jordan, they jumped at the opportunity (how romantic)! Gail recommended a local restaurant for dinner where we enjoyed delicious salads and chicken platters. We were so exhausted from the long day of travel that we hit the hay in preparation for our day of hiking to come. 
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