Photos
Jordan - Of Stone Cities And Cave Dwellers
By Cristobal Campos
Feb 14, 2005, 23:56

Travelling through Jordan is a photographer's dream: Great sun, friendly people and the interesting color and culture somewhat unusual to those from the west. It’s kind of Middle East without the fear of getting blown up.
I spent a week there last July and managed to squeeze in a good overall view of the country. - Cristobal Campos.



The most viewed attraction in Jordan is
Petra, the ancient, ancient city (7000 BC) carved out
of rock and used for several movies, including the 3rd
Indiana Jones. This first shot is a view of the
Treasury and one of the first structures you come to
upon entering Petra. The craftsmanship throughout
Petra is absolutely incredible. The buildings were
not built, simply carved out of the existing rock.






















These two shots are of a Bedu, a dweller that still lives in a small cave up on the hillside in Petra. I spent a few minutes “speaking” with him. His English was non-existent, my Arabic little more than that. He was a good example of the hospitality I found throughout Jordan. He invited me into his cave that was covered with beautiful rugs.
Amazing how cool the cave is in the inside. I had become dehydrated from the heat and exertion. Of course, the Bedu was fine with the heat and was even sipping boiling hot tea.





















































No collection of tourist photos would be complete without a camel, I guess. This one is from inside Petra.


















Jerash is a unique collection of Roman ruins, the first I had visited. Located north of Amman, it was a city that flourished during the time of Alexander the Great, around 333 BC. What is great about these ruins is the level of access the visitor has. There are no ropes, no “Off-Limits” signs, no lines and there were no employees when I was there. It is simply a large collection of ruins just as they lay. This openness allows you to feel as if you have just discovered them, as you can walk among them and see what has, and has not, been excavated yet. Something like this in the United States would be behind rope lines, glass, security guards and alarmed doors. This is not the case at Jerash.
I had a guidebook claiming there are tourist police, guides and workers stationed throughout Jerash. This would only be correct if the 2 guys I saw asleep in the shade were all three of those.




This first shot is of the gate that was an entrance to one side of the city and directly behind this were the baths, some of which are in surprisingly good shape. It was very interesting to see evidence of their water management back then with aqueducts and cisterns.

The second shot is down from the amphitheatre and was sort of a central plaza at the time with small roads leading out from it. As you can see, there are only two other “tourists” in the ruins.









This picture is of the Israeli-Jordanian border, another not-too-occupied area of the country. An American driving around in a rental car, taking pictures of the border quickly attracted the attention of the border guards and they had some questions for
me. It was much more pleasant than the questioning I've undergone in other countries and they allowed me to go fairly quickly. I was quite surprised not to see more guards on both sides but Jordan has been able to maintain a fairly good relationship with all of its neighbors, including Israel.
One can still pass from Jordan into Israel and back over the King
Hussein Bridge. Officially, Jordan only allows this so that its residents can visit the Palestinian areas but it is a gateway to Israel, nonetheless.





Further north in Jordan are the ruins of Umm
Qais. Again, an ancient city dating back to Biblical
Times, it is somewhat more touristy than Jerash, in that there is a restaurant there along with a couple of tour operators. What I found interesting is that the various agencies and workers there, had set up their offices in the ancient ruins, something that would never be allowed in the US, for preservation reasons. This photo is of the top of an older ruin that had been “renovated” and was not occupied by the local tourist police. Atop is the Jordanian flag.








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