Lucia, Raffaele, Simona, Norma, Pietro Paolo, Maria Paola, Gloria, Françoise, Gabriele, Vanna, Angelina, Giancarlo, Rosa, Isabella, Alessandra, Lucia Emanuela, Claudia: backpacker, passport and a great desire to travel and discover the world. Together, we just went to Jordan for the trip organized by iO Woman in this beautiful country.
Our group in Jerash.
We still have the spectacular images of the places visited in our eyes. And also a bit of nostalgia for the emotions felt in this luminous land, stretched along the sacred Jordan Riverwhere the Nabataean history is intertwined with the Roman one and modernity rests its feet on millenary events.
The Umayyad Palace on Amman Citadel Hill.
We tasted modernity as soon as we arrived in Amman, guests of theRotana hotel, a 188-meter tower that stands in the glittering Al Abdali business district. From there we left for Al Salt, the ancient capital of the Ottoman Empire to discover the house of a major, just included in the Unesco heritage.
The Rotana hotel in Amman.
Ancient Jordan
And then a crescendo of wonder, from the Amman Citadel to the unexpected Jerash, the Greco-Roman city with the spectacular (and mysterious) oval square. With us the guide Tareq Alazeh Giordano doc, an inexhaustible and patient well of information that satisfied all our curiosities for the entire trip. Thanks to him and to the very kind and well-organized escort Laura Suzzieverything went smoothly and more.
The ancient city of Jerash.
There is always a thread to discover by traveling with iO Woman. The long one of history and atmosphere that binds us Italians to Jordan, for example. We are both Mediterranean countries and we come from ancient civilizations that have touched each other.
Between yesterday and today
Maria Grazia Ligato, central editor at “iO Donna” with Professor Safran Mansour
We talked about it with Professor Safran Mansour, professor of architecture in Jerash who took us for a while into the daily life of the country and Ammanof the problems of a city where water is rare and precious, of a country where an open monarchy reigns but traditions, such as that of arranged marriage, are still deeply rooted and where politics, poorly organized, find it difficult to give adequate answers to citizens.
From the Mount Nebo, on which God showed Moses the Promised Landwe saw the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea, and admired the mosaics of the Byzantine Church, fascinated by the mix of spirituality and archeology that this country offers.
Discover Petra on foot
From the darkness of the Siq the Treasury of Petra appears.
The star of the trip is Petra, the sacred city founded by the Nabataeans: walking the siq, the tunnel dug by the prehistoric movements of the earth and finally discovering the facade of the Treasury, the most famous monument in Petra is a unique experience. That does not end here, the site is extensive, including a theater, tombs, nymphaeums, colonnades, obelisks… And for those who want and make it under the scorching sun, a climb of 900 steps and climbs to reach the monastery. Someone has faced the feat: Indiana Jones dodge!
In the footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia
Wadi Rum, the desert witness of Lawrence of Arabia’s epic, archaeologist, writer and… officer of the secret services of His British Majesty, champion of Arab nationalism. A dark hero who between war, espionage and legend has left behind a trail of romance, also celebrated by the famous film with Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif.
A dip in the Dead Sea
Stop at the point where the deepest depression on Earth is located, the spectacular Dead Sea. Float in relaxation in its healing waters. And with a free and light mind to rethink how much history has passed us by.
Our guide Tareq Alazeh.
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