Reminiscence from the Levant: Part Twenty – Jerusalem calling.
It was my ninth day in wandering… My return ticket to Cairo was due after 3 days… 1 day for further exploring Petra… still I was left with 2 more extra days….earlier in the night, I was having a chat with an American who was studying in Jerusalem.
When I started for the Levant, I wanted to do Syria, Jordan… I was told by many travelers that 10-11 days are not enough for Syria and Jordan… but I was still able to absorb quite a bit of Syria and Jordan within these few days. I was wondering if I had, actually, committed more than the required amount of days. The thought of staying in Jordan for two more days was killing me. I was mulling over the options I had.
I could have gone to Wadi Rum… but Wadi Rum would have definitely required more than a day. I could have also gone down to Aqaba to do some snorkeling over there… but frankly, I had done enough of snorkeling and desert hiking during my stay in Egypt. It didn’t entice me. I thought of Jerusalem… there was, however, a problem… it was a Friday- the next day a Saturday, a Sabbath. Things come to a standstill in Israel from Friday sundown.
Meeting with this American guy from Jerusalem was a catalyst in my programme for Jerusalem.
Jerusalem consists of two parts… West and East Jerusalem. The East is predominantly Arab, under Israeli occupation. The West is predominantly Jewish. On Sabbath, only the Western part comes to a stand still and not the Eastern part. David, the American guy suggested me that I may plan for Israel on Saturday and Sunday… and then start back for Amman on Monday morning to catch my flight back to Cairo. The idea sounded fine, but there was a hitch.
I could have crossed over to Israel through the Aqaba-Eliat crossing (which was closest and easiest) or from the King Hussein-Allenby Bridge crossing (which is further in the north and is often unpredictable because it goes through the West Bank). But if I cross through the Eliat-Aqaba crossing after Friday sundown, I would be stuck in Eliat because no public transport plies towards Jerusalem.
I decided that I will try to cross over from the King Hussein Bridge crossing… for that I needed to go back to Amman- stay there on Friday night- start early on Saturday and try my best to reach Jerusalem. It was unpredictable, and yet it was my only chance to reach and see Jerusalem.
Second day in Petra was uneventful… I and Zoltein roamed in the ruins of Petra. This time after seeing the Treasury, we took the Street of Facades… the street consists of a lot smaller tombs, but most of them are very beautifully done… they were mostly royal tombs.
Further ahead on the Street of Facades, one can see the Urn tomb and Palace tomb, both are large enough to attract your attention… but the most interesting of them all is the tomb of a Roman governor of the place…Sextius Florenitus. The story of Sextius is interesting.
Sextius was one of the most successful Roman Governors of the place… Nabatean civilization was followed by Roman dwelling at the same site… because of water, Romans made Petra as their administrative nerve centre for the entire region…. They did a lot of renovation in Petra, and ruled for more than 500 years. Sextius who was bewitched by the beauty of this place, desired to be buried in Petra after his death. And so did it happen. His is the only Roman tomb in the entire city of Petra.
Further ahead, we reached the Colonnade column and the Great Temple. It was time to bid farewell. I shook hands with Zoltein, and retraced my steps… I was not going to meet this guy ever again. Being a traveler is no less painful.
The public transport system in Jordan is inadequate… people have to depend a lot on private taxis (which are damn costly) or wait for a private bus to fill up and embark upon the journey. I reached the Bus Station of Wadi Moussa at 12 noon, but my Bus started only after 3 hours… It was however a Friday, there was a very beautiful mosque in the vicinity… and a lot of festivities due to Friday prayers. The three hours were not boring… I just watched the festivities.
On the return journey to Amman, we took the Desert Highway… the route, as I was told, is bland and hardly has anything to see.
Upon reaching Petra, I wanted to go back to Farah hotel, the same place where I stayed for a night in Amman. The Driver of the bus introduced me to two Bedouin guys who were accompanying me in the bus. The two guys were going towards the place where Hotel Farah was located. These guys not only dropped me near my hotel… but also didn’t allow me to pay for the Taxi. Earlier I had thought that the Bedouins of Wadi Moussa have been spoiled by the flood of tourism and easy money. But meeting these two guys… re-taught me something. Never generalize.
After checking into the Farah hotel… I went for a walk in the market… saw a beautiful Hussein mosque. I wanted to purchase some souvenirs… I checked out a few stores and found them to be exorbitantly priced… and then I met a young lad Ameen… he took me to his workshop and offered me third of the prices being quoted in the market… I spent more than a 100 USD in buying things. Ceramic plates, Replica of Petra, Sand arts, Knives, Candle Lamp… it was more than a bargain. Ameen told me that he is meeting an Indian after many years… he was in Saudi five years ago, and his best friend was an Indian. I hugged him and said good bye.
At the dinner table in Farah, I met an American follower of Anand Marg sect…. they are trying to establish themselves in Jordan and Egypt… as a meditation centre. This man had visited India many a times. Anand Marg was established in 1950s by one Swami Anandamurti… and has gone on to become a huge sect, however in recent times it has become very controversial.
I was all set to leave for Israel early next morning…. There was one last hitch… I had a lot of luggage with me and didn’t want to carry it all to Israel. I called my friend in the Indian Embassy, Noor… and decided to keep my luggage in his house, early morning and the leave for Jerusalem.
When I started for the Levant, I wanted to do Syria, Jordan… I was told by many travelers that 10-11 days are not enough for Syria and Jordan… but I was still able to absorb quite a bit of Syria and Jordan within these few days. I was wondering if I had, actually, committed more than the required amount of days. The thought of staying in Jordan for two more days was killing me. I was mulling over the options I had.
I could have gone to Wadi Rum… but Wadi Rum would have definitely required more than a day. I could have also gone down to Aqaba to do some snorkeling over there… but frankly, I had done enough of snorkeling and desert hiking during my stay in Egypt. It didn’t entice me. I thought of Jerusalem… there was, however, a problem… it was a Friday- the next day a Saturday, a Sabbath. Things come to a standstill in Israel from Friday sundown.
Meeting with this American guy from Jerusalem was a catalyst in my programme for Jerusalem.
Jerusalem consists of two parts… West and East Jerusalem. The East is predominantly Arab, under Israeli occupation. The West is predominantly Jewish. On Sabbath, only the Western part comes to a stand still and not the Eastern part. David, the American guy suggested me that I may plan for Israel on Saturday and Sunday… and then start back for Amman on Monday morning to catch my flight back to Cairo. The idea sounded fine, but there was a hitch.
I could have crossed over to Israel through the Aqaba-Eliat crossing (which was closest and easiest) or from the King Hussein-Allenby Bridge crossing (which is further in the north and is often unpredictable because it goes through the West Bank). But if I cross through the Eliat-Aqaba crossing after Friday sundown, I would be stuck in Eliat because no public transport plies towards Jerusalem.
I decided that I will try to cross over from the King Hussein Bridge crossing… for that I needed to go back to Amman- stay there on Friday night- start early on Saturday and try my best to reach Jerusalem. It was unpredictable, and yet it was my only chance to reach and see Jerusalem.
Second day in Petra was uneventful… I and Zoltein roamed in the ruins of Petra. This time after seeing the Treasury, we took the Street of Facades… the street consists of a lot smaller tombs, but most of them are very beautifully done… they were mostly royal tombs.
Further ahead on the Street of Facades, one can see the Urn tomb and Palace tomb, both are large enough to attract your attention… but the most interesting of them all is the tomb of a Roman governor of the place…Sextius Florenitus. The story of Sextius is interesting.
Sextius was one of the most successful Roman Governors of the place… Nabatean civilization was followed by Roman dwelling at the same site… because of water, Romans made Petra as their administrative nerve centre for the entire region…. They did a lot of renovation in Petra, and ruled for more than 500 years. Sextius who was bewitched by the beauty of this place, desired to be buried in Petra after his death. And so did it happen. His is the only Roman tomb in the entire city of Petra.
Further ahead, we reached the Colonnade column and the Great Temple. It was time to bid farewell. I shook hands with Zoltein, and retraced my steps… I was not going to meet this guy ever again. Being a traveler is no less painful.
The public transport system in Jordan is inadequate… people have to depend a lot on private taxis (which are damn costly) or wait for a private bus to fill up and embark upon the journey. I reached the Bus Station of Wadi Moussa at 12 noon, but my Bus started only after 3 hours… It was however a Friday, there was a very beautiful mosque in the vicinity… and a lot of festivities due to Friday prayers. The three hours were not boring… I just watched the festivities.
On the return journey to Amman, we took the Desert Highway… the route, as I was told, is bland and hardly has anything to see.
Upon reaching Petra, I wanted to go back to Farah hotel, the same place where I stayed for a night in Amman. The Driver of the bus introduced me to two Bedouin guys who were accompanying me in the bus. The two guys were going towards the place where Hotel Farah was located. These guys not only dropped me near my hotel… but also didn’t allow me to pay for the Taxi. Earlier I had thought that the Bedouins of Wadi Moussa have been spoiled by the flood of tourism and easy money. But meeting these two guys… re-taught me something. Never generalize.
After checking into the Farah hotel… I went for a walk in the market… saw a beautiful Hussein mosque. I wanted to purchase some souvenirs… I checked out a few stores and found them to be exorbitantly priced… and then I met a young lad Ameen… he took me to his workshop and offered me third of the prices being quoted in the market… I spent more than a 100 USD in buying things. Ceramic plates, Replica of Petra, Sand arts, Knives, Candle Lamp… it was more than a bargain. Ameen told me that he is meeting an Indian after many years… he was in Saudi five years ago, and his best friend was an Indian. I hugged him and said good bye.
At the dinner table in Farah, I met an American follower of Anand Marg sect…. they are trying to establish themselves in Jordan and Egypt… as a meditation centre. This man had visited India many a times. Anand Marg was established in 1950s by one Swami Anandamurti… and has gone on to become a huge sect, however in recent times it has become very controversial.
I was all set to leave for Israel early next morning…. There was one last hitch… I had a lot of luggage with me and didn’t want to carry it all to Israel. I called my friend in the Indian Embassy, Noor… and decided to keep my luggage in his house, early morning and the leave for Jerusalem.
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