JORDAN the FACTS :


ACCOMMODATION: Just 10 minutes from King Hussein International airport, the Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla Resort has rooms from £160 a night, based on two people sharing. The Old Village Hotel & Resort at Petra offers rooms from £150 a night. Bubble tents at Palmera Camp cost between £350 and £450 a night, depending on the season.


`


I’m invited to a traditional Bedouin ‘zarb’ – a meal cooked slowly underground over hot coals and served after a photo-friendly reveal


and a gentle wind breaks the silence of the desert. After dark, I’m invited to a traditional Bedouin ‘zarb’ – a meal cooked slowly underground for hours over hot coals and served after a photo-friendly reveal, alongside a feast of fresh salads and meze. The following morning at dawn, I’m taking off in a hot-air balloon for a chance to view the spectacular ‘valley of the moon’ from 2,000 metres with Balloons Over Rum.


ACTIVITIES: A full-day snorkelling trip starts at £47 per person with Sea Guard, including lunch and refreshments. A day’s diving costs from £90 per person, which includes equipment rental, one guided dive, unlimited snorkelling, lunch and refreshments. An optional Jordan Pass includes the tourist entry visa to Jordan, plus entry to 40 attractions including Petra and Wadi Rum. $CNNQQPU 1XGT 4WO QHHGTU DCNNQQP ƃKIJVU CV Wadi Rum from £157 per person.


Biggest attraction Þ wn>l ÃÌo« ià oÀ`>n½Ã Li}}iÃÌ `À>Ü] >n` oni ov Ìhi New Seven Wonders of the World – the Unesco World Heritage Site of Petra. Two thousand years ago, the vast site was the capital of the Nabataean empire and a yoÕÀiÃhin} ÌÀ>`i VinÌÀi° À>`Õ>llÞ >L>n`oni`] Ìhi ¼loÃÌ city’ of red and rose-coloured sandstone lay hidden before its rediscovery in 1812. Walking The Siq road, the main route into Petra, ochre walls soar at either side, concealing the most spectacular gift that reveals itself at the end of the route: the facade of The Treasury. The site’s main hub is abuzz with souvenir sellers, V>miliiÀà >n` Ãilwi-Ãn>««in} ÌoÕÀiÃÌð Ý«loÀi vÕÀÌhiÀ] and you’ll recover some peace and discover incredible carved temples, and caves where Bedouins still live today, bringing in their camels when the sun sets. After dark, I return to see Petra by night: The Siq


GETTING THERE: 'CU[,GV QHHGTU QPG YC[ ƃKIJVU from Gatwick to Aqaba from £110 in February 2024. Flights from Heathrow to Amman lead in at £266 with Royal Jordanian.


road softly lit by candles and The Treasury illuminated LÞ «ÀojiVÌionÃ] ÌÀ>nÃvoÀmin} Ìhi i`iwVi vÀom Ài` Ìo purple and blue. Sitting cross-legged on a woven rug, I sip on a mint tea, as Bedouins perform mesmerising stories through dance and music, restoring sanctity to the space after the frenzy of the day. A crescent moon shines down as I walk the path taken by traders for millennia and leave the city behind, ethereal and eternal, to slumber under a billion stars.


96 ASPIRE JUNE 2023


aspiretravelclub.co.uk


, /\ - 1// ,-/"


É7ƂƂ/ ,Æ 1 -* Ƃ- É, - 1 1


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132