Pella - banana plantation - Dead Sea
Jordan 2021
I woke up early, around 7, and the room had become very bright because of the large windows and sheer curtains. Volchy was still asleep, so I went out onto the balcony to write in my diary. A quiet rain began to fall, the first rain of our entire trip. The smell of wet road and dust filled the air. So pleasant, so fresh. From the balcony there is a wonderful view of the hills and the dam.
View from the balcony of the dam
We have breakfast on the terrace, and the host brings us a whole tray of food - hummus, olive oil, yogurt, apricot jam, flatbread, and zaatar.
Zaatar is a spice blend, very common in Jordan. We have seen it many times, but until now we did not know how it is used. Volchiy asks how it is eaten. The host explains: you tear off a piece of flatbread, dip it in oil, then in zaatar - it turned out to be very tasty!
Jordanian breakfast, za'atar on the left near the eggs
Our room. In the morning it doesn’t look as gloomy as it does in the evening.
We are heading to another ancient city in Jordan - Pella. We don’t find it right away; the point on Google Maps points to the wrong place. Volchy finds the correct spot. The ruins of the ancient city are located in a very picturesque place - in a hollow between the mountains.
I like it here. Quiet, peaceful, beautiful, no one around. And Volchy, apparently, is already tired of all these antiquities. So we walk a little among the columns and move on. Especially since there are dark, dark clouds in the sky - it’s about to rain. Now we are heading south.
Pella is located in a hollow between the mountains. The columns practically blend into the landscape.
Columns in Pella
We pass through many villages along the way. Every village has a mosque, and today there are lots of people in all the mosques; we see men of different ages streaming into the mosque. In each mosque, the preacher is speaking loudly about something, and we see men inside sitting on their haunches and listening carefully. I wonder what they are telling them about...
We stop in another village. Volchy has a work call. A downpour begins. How amazing — rain in Jordan. I am sitting in the car and reading the book “Wormy Apple” by Krisann Brennan. Volchy is outside under an awning talking on the phone. I see some guys come up to him, and he smiles and talks with them about something. Later I learn that they invited him to come into a café so he would be more comfortable.
Along the way we try to find the dolmen fields, but unsuccessfully. The rain has stopped for a while. We drive past a banana plantation. Volchy stops and we go into the banana grove. It is dark and damp under the palms, and green bananas hang in bunches. Volchy is much happier about the banana grove than about ancient cities :)
Inside a Banana Plantation
Wolf with Bananas
We return to the Dead Sea, driving along the road by the sea. We stop several times to take photos; it is so beautiful all around! We see how rainwater, running down from the mountains, takes on a red hue and flows into the sea. There are clouds in the sky, and the sun shines through them. Its rays illuminate the sea like a spotlight lighting a stage in a theater.
Dead Sea Coast
Red water from the mountains flows into the sea
I dreamed of finding salt deposits along the shore. And then, half an hour before sunset, we find the perfect beach. It was so beautiful there — impossible to describe. A thousand times better than the hotel beaches we had been to. Mountains all around. And the salt on the shore, just as I had dreamed of seeing it — in all sorts of forms — salt resembling stalactites in caves, salt in the form of crystals.
Wild beach on the Dead Sea
It had been cool all day, and I couldn’t even imagine that I would want to swim. But everything around is so amazingly beautiful, I tell Volchy, that I’m going to swim. We go down to the beach and swim, floating in the sea. The water is warm and wonderfully clear, crystal blue in color.
This was one of the best moments in Jordan — an amazing wild beach, a bright orange sunset, salt shores of incredible beauty… The setting sun paints everything in magical colors; it feels to me as if I’m in a fairy tale. Volchy photographs a tree covered in salt and salt in all its forms.
Descending to the shore
Salt shores, emerging sharply from the sea :)
Salt in a bizarre shape
The tree was covered with salt
The setting sun painted the mountains in incredible colors
And then the downpour begins! While we walk quickly to the car, the rain washes the salt off us. Water drips from our hair, and it’s not comfortable to change clothes in the pouring rain — it’s cold and wet. But how nice it was to turn on the heater in the car!
We arrive in Kerak in the evening, and it’s already completely dark. After checking in, we head to the center of Kerak; it’s a small town, and there are several cafés in the center. But we didn’t feel like eating there. The menus everywhere are only in Arabic. In one café, we bought a huge container of rice and a shawarma to take with us.
Hearty dinner. As usual, we barely manage to eat half....
