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“Where is everyone?” is a question we rarely ask at the world’s most famous tourist destinations. In fact, elbows in your side, cameras in your face, and chatter in 15 different languages is what we put up with to spend a few unforgettable hours strolling around Angkor Wat, the Taj Mahal, or the Colosseum. But in Petra, undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary sites on the planet, it’s an entirely justifiable query.
Jordan had a once-thriving travel industry with visitors from around the world thronging to the small Middle Eastern country for a whistle-stop tour of the Dead Sea, the Red Sea, the eerie deserts of Wadi Rum, and, of course, Petra, that rose gold jewel in their crown.
But the ever-increasing turmoil in neighboring Syria has had a powerful impact on international travel to a country that—also sandwiched between Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—has long had to fight to retain its reputation as a stable destination.
And while Jordan is far safer to visit than any other country in the region, this small heart-shaped country on the Arabian Peninsula has been slowly losing its allure in the eyes of the travel community since the dawn of the Arab Spring.
And the numbers are telling: Petra would regularly receive 3,000 visitors a day in 2011, but at certain periods last year, as few as 300 people tackled the 12-mile hike from the opening of the Siq to mountaintop monastery. And while it is certainly worrying for the local communities who rely on tourist dollars to survive, there is something extraordinarily privileged about visiting a 2,400-year-old city in virtual isolation.
Because nothing quite prepares you for Petra. The experience begins with the Siq, a natural mile-long gorge of red sandstone that narrows to a few feet at certain points and then opens, dramatically, at the Treasury—the iconic facade that graces the front cover of nearly every guidebook to Jordan.
From there, there’s a long, winding walk past Nabataean palaces, Roman amphitheaters, hills covered in burial sites, and caves adorned with ancient statues. The last half of the hike requires an 800-step climb through the cliff face to the vast, templelike monastery, which sits atop a jagged mountain with sweeping, deceptively serene views across to Israel and Palestine.
A few tips: Prepare to curse the fact that every photograph you take will fail to capture the golden-pink glow of the rocks. Accept that no video will re-create the sensation of standing with a cliff edge to your back and a sun-bathed temple in front of you. Realize that it is probably best to keep quiet at the most awe-inspiring moments as it is difficult to put into words what you have seen without sounding like a walking cliché.
But while Petra is unmissable, Jordan is no one-trick pony. Amman, the capital, deserves at least a day. A curious mix of old and new, it has Ammonite ruins dating back to 1200 B.C. as well as classical architecture from ancient Greece. It remained an important hub during the Islamic era but fell into disrepair around 700 A.D. and was only brought back to life in 1921 when the state of Jordan was created.
Which means that while you won’t find any of the atmospheric souks or 400-year-old mosques of Cairo or Istanbul, Amman is still interesting. As well as the ancient citadel, go to the restaurants and cafés along Al-Rainbow Street, the Jordan River Foundation for quirky homeware, Shams Al Balad for the best breakfast in the city, and Fakhreldin for a Lebanese feast.
From Amman, it’s a 40-minute drive to the Dead Sea, during which you will descend from 3,000 feet above sea level to 1,400 feet below—the lowest point on earth. Your ears might pop on the way down and you’ll notice a stark temperature difference for such a short journey. But remember that while bobbing around in water so buoyant even Michael Phelps couldn’t manage front crawl is extraordinary, the beaches aren’t particularly tempting, so either go for the day or find a hotel with a good pool.
And then there’s Wadi Rum. Happily, Jordan is no bigger than Portugal, so to get to this seemingly remote, almost otherworldly desertscape, you only need to hop in a taxi for a couple of hours. With an endless expanse of red sand broken up by vast, towering rocks that look as if they’ve plunged down to earth from an unexpected meteor shower, it’s formed the backdrop for a number of extraterrestrial films including The Martian.
But while Lawrence of Arabia, rather than Matt Damon, remains the most famous inhabitant of Wadi Rum, it’s the Bedouins who are the real face of the area. They continue to live and work in the desert and run the tented camps where nights are spent under thousands of stars and days are passed reading or walking.
Hiking in general is forming an important part of the initiative to reboot the tourist industry, and not just in Wadi Rum. The Jordan Trail, which launched in February this year, is a 400-mile trek down the entire country, running from Umm Qais in the north all the way to the Red Sea in the south. Luckily, it’s been designed with amateurs in mind as well as serious adventurers, and can be broken into manageable sections.
But for a country so small you can walk the length of it on vacation, Jordan has a hugely complex national identity. More than half of its citizens are naturalized Palestinian or Iraqi refugees and for millennia, it’s been at the crossroads of the Middle East, with every empire that has risen in the region attempting to conquer its awe-inspiring landscape. Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and Ottoman Turkey have all left a powerful mark. But today, this impressive setting feels like a circle of fire—although, one that, for the moment, remains remarkably untouched by.
Where to stay:
Wadi Rum Night CampThe main attraction of this luxury desert camp is its brilliantly designed pod bedrooms. Made entirely out of transparent material, they allow you to fall asleep under the stars and wake up as the dawn turns the rocks from orange to red. With comfortable king-size beds, showers, and air-conditioning, this is definitely glamping with a capital G. Dinner comes in the form of succulent stews cooked in steel pots buried in the sand—hugely tempting after a day of dawn hikes and camel rides.
The Movenpick Resort PetraThe entrance of the hotel is a one-minute walk from the gates of Petra. This fact seems pleasant beforehand but desperately necessary after a 12-mile hike to the monastery and back in the glare of the Jordanian sun. It also has big, comfortable beds to sleep off the climb in and a delightful rooftop restaurant with views across the ancient city.
The Four Seasons AmmanWith surprisingly affordable rooms, the Four Seasons is a popular choice, thanks to its rooftop pool, generous breakfasts, and central location. And as of this year, it’s also home to the most popular new restaurant in the city, La Capitale, run by the almost absurdly handsome French chef Arthur Vonderheyden.