JORDAN & ISRAEL 2019
A journey through the middle east
I had the tremendous privilege of traveling through the middle east, especially Jordan and Israel, in the fall of 2019. Traveling through countries with cultures vastly different than the ones I’m used to back in Europe was one of the most mind opening experience of my life.
My personal highlight – and also my motivation to go on this journey – were the fantastic and sometimes otherworldly landscapes of this region.
So now, almost two months after my trip, I finally found the time to edit all the visual impressions to share to you all.
All pictures were shot with a Fuji x100 using a fix focal length of 35mm and are copyright by Reto Flühmann, 2019. If you are interest in using these pictures for any publication, please contact me.
Southbound from amman to wadi musa
Wadi Mujib
After arriving in Jordans capitol of Amman and staying there for two nights, I hitted the road westbound to the dead sea.
After a relaxing stay in a hotel, right at the super-salty-water of the dead sea, i continued southbound. Approximately 20 minutes south of Sowayma, the beautiful Wadi Mujib canyon transports it’s water into the dead sea.
Starting with a canyoning tour – unguided – early in the morning was the right decision to avoid the big run of other tourist.
This tour is a clear Must-Do when visiting Jodan!
On the Kings Highway
Here’s a tipp: Instead of driving down the desert-highway, take the King’s highway. The scenic landscapes are worth the extra 2 hours of driving time.
hiking through petra
A journey to the past
And again: It is totally worth it to get up early and enter into Petra at 6 o’clock in the morning.
After a hike through an about 2 km long canyon (the siq), suddenly, between stonewalls the Khazne al-Firaun shines with it’s orange-red stone and leaves you completely stunned.
The morning hours
Early in the morning, the sun comes crawling slowly up the hills around the Petra area. The lights create soft shadows and beautiful contrast on the sandstones.
Passing the Khazne, straight down to the «central place» of Petra and up the hills! There is a long hike with approximately 800 steps up to the top of a hill.
In the middle of the stairs the beduins – which are living in this area – sometimes offer you delicious thymne-tea. A welcome break between the exhausting stairs.
Arriving all sweaty on top of the hill, the view and especially the old monestary are totally worth it.
There are a lot of different trails in Petra. It is not possible to hike them all in one single day. After climbing back down the monestary hill, I tackled a trail up another hill, walking besides the old tombs.
After yet another big count of stairs, I reached this vista point with the incredible view of the Khazne from the top. A fantastic end to an exhausting but magic day in Petra.
Structures of jordan
A photographic series of stone structures
There are so many beautiful things to see in Jordan. Sometimes it is worth it to look a little bit closer. I was amazed by the marvelous stone structures all over the country.
In these images you might catch a glimpse of the water-, wind- and time-washed sandstone structures.
All pictures were taken from max. 2 meteres away.
The desert of wadi rum
A moment of silence
Take a deep breath! Enjoy the silence. The sun is burning down on you, the little breeze helps a lot to cool down a tiny bit.
Sunset in Wadi Rum
The colors change nearly every 2 minutes. Cyan, Blue, Purple, Red, Orange and Yellow in perfect gradients. It truly is a magical experience.
After the sunset I enjoyed the bright stars while lying on a carpet around the campfire, smoking the hookah and drinking sweet thymne-tea. Who needs Netflix when the Universe unfolds above you?
ISRAEL
How a few hundred meters and a border change cultures
It is almost bizarre crossing the Wadi Arab border from Aqaba to Eilat. It’s like being way closer to europe again, whilst you only walked 100 meters across the neutral zone.
Arrived in Israel, I travelled upwards through the Wadi Arab direction Dead Sea, where I arrived in a small and calm Kibbutz.
Timna Park
On the Road northbound from Eilat direction Jerusalem, I took a small detour through the Timna Park. Even though this is an amazing landscape with lots of different sand- and rock-colors, it seemed not that impressive anymore after Wadi Rum and Petra. But it still was worth the detour.
Jerusalem
During my stay in Jerusalem it happened to be the day of Yom Kippur, the holiest of all holidays in Israel. One of the strangest experiences were the car free roads.
When else do you have the opportunity to walk on main streets in a capitol city with nearly 900 000 citizens?
Even thought I am not a supporter of religions, it was very interesting to get to know the spiritual meaning of this town to several different religions.
There are a lot of very old stories around this town, and the walls and buildings whisper those stories.
Last stop Tel Aviv
Before going back home, I stayed for the last few days in Tel Aviv. A true city of contrast.
A travel absolutely worth it
Thank you for visiting! And thanks to all the amazing people I met on my trip.
Salem, Frank, Aurore & Luc «Emil», Svenja, Julia «Helmut Ezekiel», Naughty-Norbert, Nadine, Javier & Aimee, Beate & Pjotr, the Guide from the Post Hostel in Jerusalem, the english couple I drank a beer with in Petra, the french couple I drove to Wadi Mujib, the nice bartender in Sowayma, the Team of Ashtar tours and everyone else I met (and don’t remember there names, sorry!).
And thank you Natural Reisen for the support!
