With tourism down dramatically, is this the right time to go?  

by Jennifer Bain

As Jordanians often say, they are a peaceful country surrounded by noisy neighbours. My first trip to Jordan on October 7, 2023 coincided with the start of the Gaza war over the western border. Everyone insisted it was business as usual and although I stayed on high alert, it really was. When I finally got to return in September to revisit Jordan’s quiet beauty and welcoming people, it was disconcertingly deserted.

Tourism is down 90 per cent, worried guides and shop clerks confided. And while that’s not an official number, it sure felt about right. Much of this drop is because biblical tourism has screeched to a halt because people can’t combine Jordan and Israel, but some of it is out of fear. What a shame.

I was one of 680 people travelling with Canadian-based G Adventures for its 35th annual birthday celebration called GX. We had three days to visit Jordan’s four top sites before all meeting up in Amman for World Tourism Day and the World Community Tourism Summit.

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11 photos that captured my favourite moments in Jordan

1. Visiting Beit Khairat Souf

G Adventures has a non-profit arm called Planeterra that uses community tourism to change lives. That’s what led me to lunch at Beit Khairat Souf, a women-owned café and social enterprise success story north of Amman.

As they like to say, “the story of a home that became everyone’s home” began with stones carried on camel backs in 1881 to Souf Jerash. Two local women took over the abandoned property in 2016 and used their own kitchen utensils at first to serve their homemade dishes.

Now 25 other women and 15 young men are part of the team. You can take a cooking class, learn to make soap or jam, and sometimes go olive picking. A shop sells pickles, preserves, spice blends and jewelry. The café has welcomed more than 20,000 guests and my family-style lunch came with welcome hugs and live music.

“Your presence today is not merely a tourist visit, but a meeting of affection, a bridge of peace that stretches from here to your homelands,” said a handwritten note on display for all to read. “Thank you for believing in us and encouraging us to carry on. Today you are not guests, you are family and fellow travelers.”

2. My “CEO” Amira Majid

On a visit to Jerash, one of the world’s best-preserved ancient Roman villages and Jordan’s second most popular site, I stopped to photograph my “CEO” Amira Majid against the ruins of what she called “an open-air museum.” In G-speak, tour guides are called “chief experience officers.”

I later learned how there are more women in Jordan’s 39 universities and that some people are surprised to learn how liberal this Sunni Muslim country (with a smattering of Christians) can be.

3. Floating in the Dead Sea

Years after floating in Canada’s Dead Sea (Little Manitou Lake in Saskatchewan), I finally got to float in the real Dead Sea.

Said to be the lowest place on Earth, this natural wonder is 427 metres below sea level and boasts warm water that’s 10 times saltier than regular seawater. There was some confusion over whether to cake yourself in the sea’s nutrient-rich mud first and briefly bake in the sun before floating effortlessly in the sea — and I got so swept up in the experience I forgot to pick up salt crystals from the rocky shore and scrub myself with them — but the whole thing was much more fun than expected.

It also reminded me of going tidal bore rafting on Nova Scotia’s chocolate brown Shubenacadie River this summer, an experience that involves chasing the world’s highest tides on the Bay of Fundy and then doing a messy mudslide on the river banks.

4. A quiet morning in Petra

Last time, I took the back door hike to Petra, walking across the blazing desert and through the mountains before arriving at the ancient rock-cut city. From the Monastery to the Treasury to the visitor center and free Petra Museum, it was a gong show with wall-to-wall crowds.

This time we wisely arrived just after 6 a.m. for a quiet sunrise stroll through the Siq — a narrow, winding gorge — and got the “big reveal” of the Treasury (something you miss when coming from the other direction).

There were a few other visitors around, but nothing like the 2023 crowds.

5. Shopping with the Bedouin vendors

Vendor Abduallah Albedoul gently convinced us to be his lucky first customers of the day, so I selected a traditional Bedouin wind chime and a Christmas ornament for my “travel tree.”

Albedoul shared how his people were forced out of Petra, where they had long lived in caves, and into their own community where he’s related to all 5,000 people. In exchange, they get to be vendors in Petra. But since they don’t pay rent or taxes and don’t give commissions to guides, there is friction, he acknowledged. It’s a complex issue and one I don’t pretend to understand.

6. The best bathroom in the Middle East

As a longtime lover of bathrooms (and supermarkets) around the world, I can thank Albedoul for directing me to what he called “the best bathroom in the Middle East.” It’s right across from his stall and built into the Rose City’s hills.

Purists might balk at the modern wood exterior, but this squeaky clean bathroom secretly boasts a multi-hued, open-air rock ceiling and at least one stall on the women’s side where the toilet is right beside the rocks.

7. The Jordanian flag

By noon, there were more vendors and men hawking donkey and horse rides in Petra than tourists.

I spent a quiet moment photographing a dog lounging by a Jordanian flag. I had to wait until the flag — with its black, white and green stripes, red chevron and white seven-pointed star — fluttered just right. It was a good reminder that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan only gained its independence in 1946.

This small and young country — bordered by Israel, the West Bank, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — is home to just 11 million people. More than 2.39 million registered Palestinian refugees also live here at 10 camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Jordanians have told me they do favours for all their neighbours in order to stay neutral.

8. Perfecting my breakfast order

How I love Jordanian hotel breakfast buffets. I’ve mastered my order — scrambled eggs sprinkled with za’atar (a spice blend starring thyme, sumac and sesame seeds, sometimes more) and sided by green olives, local cheese and dollops of jam, hummus and moutabbal (a roasted eggplant dip that’s similar to baba ghanouj).

If you learn one Arabic word, it should be shukran. If you learn two, it should include maramīyah — the word for sage and my favourite local tea. Sometimes served with a black tea bag and dried sage leaves, sage tea reportedly settles upset stomachs, but I just love the earthy taste.

9. Sunrise in Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum shot to fame after standing in for the surface of Mars in the 2015 Matt Damon science fiction film The Martian. The protected desert is still home to nomadic Bedouin tribes who’ll take you joy-riding through the red sand on 4X4 Jeeps.

Due to the popularity of “bubble tents” and “martian domes,” glamping camps have quadrupled in the last decade and there are reportedly now more than 400. Local Bedouins often lease the land to wealthy Jordanian businessmen for camps.

10. A Bedouin and his camel

For some alone time in Wadi Rum after all the whooping and hollering of Jeep rides, I rose at dawn and trudged across the red sand to a perch in the sandstone and granite cliffs.

My reward was feeling the warmth of a Jordanian sunrise, but also watching a Bedouin man ride his camel, leading him in a few tight circles like you would on a horse, and making him lie down in the sand.

The sound of charismatic Tristram’s starlings, also known as Dead Sea starlings, ricocheted off the canyon walls.

11. Listening to Judy Kepher Gona

GX brings together G Adventures staff, travel advisors, loyal customers, media, content creators, VIPs and people who donate to Planeterra. Held previously in Peru and India — and slated for Morocco next year — the event showcases community tourism done right.

My short but sweet whirl around Jordan ended in Amman for a fascinating day of keynote speeches and panels. Kenya-based Judy Kepher Gona, founder and executive director of Sustainable Travel and Tourism Africa, stood out as she talked about putting local communities at the heart of travel conversations and decisions.

“Destinations without communities are just about sightseeing, and you can do that anywhere,” she said. “I want you to transform your mind from looking at communities as beneficiaries and start seeing them as stewards in their destinations. They’re not beneficiaries of what we do — they are the stewards of what we offer.”

If we took just one thing from her talk, she continued, “I want us to also acknowledge and remember that the privilege to travel does not confer on us the right to take over and abuse places, and to change them.”

Planning your trip through Jordan

Safety tips for solo women travellers

Both my visits to Jordan were solo but not alone since I travelled with small groups, a guide and driver as a built-in safety net. Many Jordanians speak English. I felt perfectly comfortable taking Ubers and taxis around Amman for solo explorations. I wore my regular travel clothes, didn’t need to cover my head with a scarf, and was always treated respectfully by men. Some older local women wear burqas, but hijabs are more common, and many don’t wear either. Jordan is generally considered safe for LGBTQ+ travellers, especially in Amman. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in 1951 but discrimination is possible.

As always, regularly check your government’s travel advisories as they can change and become an issue if you go somewhere during an “avoid all travel” advisory. Canada currently says to “exercise a high degree of caution” in Jordan due to ongoing tensions in the region and demonstrations, but so do Cuba and Spain, places I also visited this year. I put my flight details and itinerary in a Google document that I share with my family. I have an “In Case of Emergency” Google album with photos of my passport, insurance certificate and “emergency assistance for Canadians abroad” contacts.

How to get there

I flew Royal Jordanian from Toronto to Amman with a technical stop in Montreal to pick up passengers. The airline has routes from the United States, Europe and the U.K. as well, and aims to become a hub for the Levant region. Check for flights here.

Where to stay

I started and ended my trip at the InterContinental Amman, which opened in 1963, calls itself the “Grande Dame of Amman,” and was the first international five-star hotel in the capital. At the Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa, I appreciated direct access to the waterfront and the staff standing by with hoses to help people who got salt water in their eyes. Near Petra in Wadi Musa, it was lovely to revisit the Old Village Resort with fabulous mountain and city views at sunset. In Wadi Rum, Al Sultana luxury camp is tucked into the red dunes along what’s called the Desert Highway, so you don’t need a Jeep transfer.

How to join a guided trip

G Adventures, founded by Bruce Poon Tip and headquartered in Toronto, has a number of itineraries in Jordan, including some that also visit Egypt. These small group trips average 12 people, max out at 16, and while they do have single supplements, they are ideal for solo women travellers. Find a tour here.

Disclaimer: Jennifer Bain travelled as a guest of G Adventures, who did not review or approve this story before publication.

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