Breakfast
Jordan 2021
Day 12: November 16
Qasr al-Abd - caves in the rocks - As-Salt
Jordan 2021
Itinerary
In the morning we swim in the sea again. Early in the morning, while there aren’t many people around, it’s nice here, and the water is clear. After the sea, we swim a little in the pools and then have to check out…
A warm bath. We’re heading farther north. The landscape has changed, and trees have appeared.
Landscape in northern Jordan
Along a narrow scenic road, we arrive at the first attraction - Qasr al-Abd, a palace built in the second century BC. It is one of the few palaces in Jordan built in the Hellenistic style. We are the only visitors. We walk around the palace and continue on our way.
Qasr al-Abd Palace
Columns and the remains of a lion in the upper left corner
Just a few kilometers away is the second attraction - caves in the rocks. The old faded information board says that the caves were created by nature, but were used by people as dwellings.
Caves along the cliff
Some caves are very large, and for some reason the inside has a black ceiling
Next, we head to the city of As-Salt, which was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list this year. There isn’t much information about this city on the internet. I happened to come across a photo of it by chance, and I wanted to visit it — and for good reason… It turns out to be the best city in Jordan among those we visited.
The City of As-Salt
Built on hills, the city is very picturesque. There are many old ochre-colored houses with beautiful rounded windows here. It seems that the whole city radiates a golden glow. We keep climbing the narrow stair-like streets, then running back down. We reach the striped mosque at the top of the hill. We walk along the bazaar street, where spices and fruit are sold. There are practically no tourists.
Ochre houses with semicircular windows
Striped Mosque
A stair street and a charming restaurant in an old house
Bazaar
In Jordan, it’s customary to place old sofas and armchairs outside shops or cafés on the street. Locals like to sit on them.
The main street of As-Salt with a mosque
We walk almost until sunset. It’s time to head on to the city of Jerash, where we will stay for two nights. We arrive at the hotel when it is completely dark. Hungry, we go straight to a restaurant after checking in. The first restaurant we chose at home on Google Maps turns out to be heartbreakingly shabby. We go to the next one — a Lebanese restaurant.
Everything here is very respectable. The waiters wear jackets and ties, and there are white tablecloths. The menu includes a list of guests who have visited the restaurant, among them Nelson Mandela, Richard Gere, the presidents of Poland and Slovenia, and Viktor Yushchenko. The prices are higher than usual, but we decide to stay.
The tastiest things we had were the free warm flatbreads and the free dessert, somewhat like panna cotta. When I asked for the bill, the waiter misunderstood me and brought us even more flatbreads :) We asked to have them wrapped up to go and happily ate them in the morning.
Potatoes, beef in lavash, and warm flatbreads