The program for our last day of personalised tour will be quite dense because it is necessary to start from Wadi Rum desert to get on Amman through large sites like the Dead Sea et Bethany.
After yesterday's covered day, we get up today and enjoy a beautiful natural spectacle: the sunrise over the Wadi Rum desert! It is therefore with immense regret that we leave the desert for the long road that will bring us back to the airport in Amman.
South to North Jordan Tour
Our tour starts from the desert and goes through Aqaba (seaside resort on the Red Sea) to be able to take the road along the border of Israel. Continuation to the Dead Sea by taking the beautiful Wadi Araba Road where we will stop to swim and float ... Then direction the site of Bethany for a guided tour and finally return to Amman to finish the evening before going to the Airport .
South to North Jordan Tour - Map
Today we are going to travel 450 km from the South to the North of Jordan:
Dead Sea in Jordan - The tourist jackpot
Before arriving at Amman Beach Resort to experience "floating" on the surface of the sea, we are amazed by the beauty of the Dead Sea and its deserted beaches.
We were told that in order to be able to enjoy mud baths and a good shower after bathing in the Dead Sea, you had to go to the Amman Beach Resort. That's what we did. The complex is large, well equipped (swimming pool, deckchairs, showers, changing rooms, shops, restaurant…).
But be careful not to forget your wallet. Because we pay the entrance to the site 20 JOD + for the towel: a deposit of 5 JOD of which we return you only 3,5 JOD + 4 JOD to spread yourself with mud ... And given the number of bathers on the site, we Understand that the Jordanians have turned it into a tourist factory!
Bethany - Visit at a run
The Jordan Valley and the site of Bethany in particular are of great importance to believers. Indeed, this site was designated as the location of the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. Archaeological discoveries between the Jordan and Tell Al-Kharrar in 1996 confirmed that this area corresponds well to the biblical region “Bethany beyond the Jordan” where John lived when he baptized Jesus. More than 2000 years later, it has become a high place of pilgrimage. John Paul II was also praying on this site in 2000 as part of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
The visit must be done in a group by bus with a guide and lasts about 1 hour. We move forward, just enough time to take a few pictures, and we leave quickly quickly ...
If believers can feel emotion or spirituality, I must say that we were disappointed because there are actually very few remains of it, a few churches, Roman and Byzantine baptismal pools and a beach overlooking the Jordan River. .
What is surprising is that the Jordan is divided into 2: 1 bank belongs to Israel and the other to Jordan. And each country claims that it is on its side that the baptism of Jesus took place. Just before leaving for the bus, we were able to attend a baptism on the Israeli side.
Amman - Rainbow street
Before heading to Ammam airport for our 2:40 am flight, we had time to have a drink at a cafe on Rainbow Street in central Amman. What a pleasure to see that, as much veiled women, unveiled women, young people, the not so young, men ... all have their place in the cafes of this street (which is not the case in all neighborhoods of 'Amman). Here they all share good times together laughing, smoking hookah, and drinking tea or coffee. I enjoyed the atmosphere of this last evening and I will leave Jordan with the image of an extremely nice population, welcoming and open to tourism.