First of all, it's a long, dark, narrow canyon - sometimes three metres wide, sometimes fifteen - a sort of initiation path that gently slopes between two red sandstone cliffs. It twists and turns for more than 1,500 metres, giving rise here to the song of a desert bird, there to the clatter of a cart horse, and there again to the green tuft of a rebellious fig tree miraculously growing in a crack in the rock.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, light. Falling from the sky, violent, it drowns at the end of this long half-light a theatrical set, a fantastic opera stage sculpted in the desert rock. It is the Khazneh, \"the treasure\" so aptly named, the most famous monument of what was once one of the most fabulous cities in the Middle East. Welcome to ancient Petra, capital of the Nabataeans, built from the 6th century BC onwards.C. Nearly 800 monuments remain today, mostly temple tombs, a kind of cellar, but also churches carved out of the mountain, along with a few buildings still standing that have survived all the great eras of the beginning of the world: Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine... The whole thing is hemmed in by the mountain, creating an immense circus, a powerful atmosphere that you never quite get to grips with.<\/p>\n
It was here, at the beginning of the last century, that the English hero Lawrence of Arabia settled, before embarking on his decisive action in the process of building the great Arab nation. It was also here, on the real sets, that the most beautiful scenes in David Lean's film were shot. This desert, sublime with its lunar mountains, red sands, eroded peaks, tortured cliffs and endless valleys dotted with Bedouin tents... Wadi Rum, one of Jordan's natural wonders, is now a 720km2 protected area. You can explore it in the back of an out-of-date pick-up truck, driven at full throttle by young Bedouins who have turned to tourism. The experience is worth the shocks: it's beautiful, quite simply. In the evening, we dine and sleep in a Bedouin camp with a Western twist: a large circle of brown woollen tents, two or three fires in the centre, candles and kilims galore. Outside, the camels chatter and the stars twinkle. It's a balmy night.<\/p>\n
Nothing. The lowest point on earth, at -412 metres, stands out for its absolute nothingness. No life in the sea, no waves on it, no boats, no vegetation around it. Everything is brown with rock, blue with sky and white with salt on the shore. After all, the Dead Sea is the saltiest in the world (with a level of 35 %, six times higher than the ocean). When you sit in it - and that's the right word - you get a strange feeling of weightlessness. You float mid-body, belly out, arms and legs crossed, feet and hands out of the water. And that's how you wait for nothing to happen... if only for the mud you've slathered on your face to take effect and make your skin soft, before heading off to the spa to enjoy some divine massages and a swim in the cool pools.<\/p>\n
Those who are averse to the salt and the treatments provided by the delicate hands who officiate at the Dead Sea spas - but are there any? - will take advantage of the day to travel by minibus, just a few minutes away, to Bethany, the place where Christ was baptised, to Mount Nebo where Moses is said to have died, and to Madaba, famous for its mosaic.<\/p>\n
First the Jordan. A ridiculous stream just a few metres wide where, according to archaeologists, Christ was baptised by Saint John the Baptist. It's a bit disappointing, but it's one of the high points of Christianity. And if you're lucky enough to come across a baptism ceremony, complete with priest, children in white robes and pastries, the place takes on a whole new meaning. A little further on is Mount Nebo, where Moses is said to have died after contemplating the Promised Land. The view is sublime: the Dead Sea, the Jordan, Jericho, the desert, Israel and the mountains of Judea. Just 10 km away is the pretty little town of Madaba, with its mosaic covering much of the choir of the Greek Orthodox church that houses it. The mosaic depicts the map of Palestine in 560 AD in great detail. The transcription of the city of Jerusalem is striking.<\/p>\n
Even if Jordan's capital is not the ultimate stopover, it would be a shame to pass through this part of the world without stopping off for a day. What is certain is that after the recent arrivals of rich Iraqi refugees, things are booming in Amman. And it shows. Offices, houses and hotels are being built everywhere in the white city... And yet, after having been one of the richest, most beautiful and most brilliant cities in the Middle East in ancient times, ancient Philadelphia had become so sleepy under its blazing sun that it was no more than a sort of big town until the 1920s. With the ruins of Jabal Al-Qala'a, the ancient citadel that is now a priority for visitors, towering above one of its seven hills. With the ancient Roman theatre, one of Amman's most beautiful monuments. Right next door is the old town. This is where the Orient has a field day, with its cassettes of oriental music, its perfume shops, its spice streets, its tonnes of jewellery, its heaps of cheap clothes and its tea rooms with balconies where you can lose yourself in the late afternoon in the waft of the narghile. At the top of the minaret of the Al-Husseini mosque, the muezzin gives his voice.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"