Nights Out in Amman

After leaving Petra behind, we headed towards Amman, the capital of Jordan. In terms of sights, there really is nothing to do in Amman – but it is one of the few cities in the Middle East where half-decent nightlife can be found. Having not had a proper night out for my birthday, and it being Duncan’s (truck owner) last night, we decided to go out to (of all places) an Irish bar – quite a good night of drinking and dancing, and my first Guinness in quite a while (I really do miss a cold pint).

A reasonable night, but not to be compared to the bizarre experience we had the night before our drive day to the Syrian border. Some of the group had met up with some local (but not Jordanian) girls while they were drunkenly running a 10k marathon in womens clothes and climbing gear the day before (that is another story entirely) – and for our last night in Amman we figured we’d meet up with them at a bar not too far from our hostel. Lots of games of pool, beers and shots later we met a Middle Eastern guy about our age (not Jordanian either) who invited us back to his house after the bar closed. Never ones to refuse an invitation, we all hopped in a couple cars and drove to residential Amman where we quickly realized that this guy was, to put it lightly, very well-to-do. After refusing any money, he bought loads of take-away kebabs and booze and we hung out in his posh basement until about 7am when we had to go back and get on the truck to leave Amman.

Crossing into Syria was less exciting than you might imagine – being a group, the others had no issues securing visas and after we jumped through all the right bureaucratic hoops we were let into Syria without any trouble.

Barrah Canyon (Wadi Rum) Climbing Photos

Just a quick update with a few climbing photos from Wadi Rum, the full gallery is available here

This was quite easily the biggest single pitch climb I’ve done - this first picture is me in green and Duncan in red belaying me up (after the belay point it gets overhung and Dunc had run out of gear – the crack was massively sustained climbing).

There was some good layback bits …

And some good jamming bits as well …

Petra

One of the most interesting historical sites I will visit on this trip – Petra is an ancient Nabatean city near Wadi Mousa, Jordan that is exceedingly well preserved and has made it into popular culture via Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

After a fun, whiskey-filled birtyday drive from Wadi Rum to Wadi Mousa, we settled down for the night into our “hotel” – and today got up early to go visit Petra.  the ruins are hard to describe in words, but emerging from the narrow canyon to see the Treasury is truly amazing.

he rest of the city sprawls out over a great distance, making Petra a full day (or multi-day) experience, depending on your pace.  From the treasury, you can walk along the Street of Facades – dotted with tombs and temples – as well as an amphitheater that would have held nearly 7000 people.

After this, you walk down until you reach the Street of ollonades, a column-lined street that would have been lined with freestanding buildings, although today only two temples remain.

Finally you can make your way up the lengthy staircase to the Monastery – perched atop a hill, over time it would have served as a tomb, temple and even church.

Overall, Petra was an amazing site to take in – although my advice is to visit it in the morning before the crowds.  tomorrow I’m having an easy day before we move on to Amman and then the Dead Sea.  I’ve had a chance to finally get a lot of my pictures uploaded – here are the links for the various albums:

Petra – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2382688&l=68891&id=1928719

Wadi Rum / Aqaba – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2382683&l=faa5b&id=1928719

Cairo – http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2382078&l=98461&id=1928719

I should hopefully eventually get some more Wadi Rum pictures, several of the other climbers have taken some good action shots – so I will post those when I can retrieve them.

Wadi Rum Climbing Diary

During my stay in Wadi Rum I kept a little log of the climbs I did and my comments about them – they were easily the best outdoor climbs I’ve done in my very short climbing career, and Wadi Rum is a place so chock-full of routes that I think you could spend years there and never run out of places to go.

Goldfinger (3/4/5+/5) – A fantastic first outing to get used to the sandstone of Rum.  First pitch is an easy scramble that could be done without ropes if desired.  Second pitch is a quick traverse (10m?) to the start of the real climbing.  Pitch 3 is a wonderful sustained crack climb, and the route ends with varied climbing on the final pitch.

Walk Like An Egyptian & The Mummy (3 pitches of 5 and final pitch is 6b) – Three interesting chimney pitches, the last of which is a narrowing chimney crack that has a few challenging moves.  The fourth pitch is a beautiful, completely vertical crack line with great jamming and laybacking opportunities.  From the last pitch, the abseil bolts are reachable only by a dodgy traverse – best to bring some tat and ab off a boulder.

The Nose (6a+) – Brilliant sport climb on a massive granite slab.  Bolts are dodgy at best, but the top is easy accessible and has large boulders to set up a top rope.  Balancey climb with lots of high stepping moves and crimpy hand holds.

The Joker (6b) – Another sport climb on the same granite slab as The Nose.  Mainly easy climbing up to the crux, where the slab goes blank and some smear & pray moves are required.

Merlin’s Wand (5+/6a/6a+/5+/5) – Often labelled “The Super Crack of Rum”, this is a route not to be missed.  Following a massive crack line up the cliff face for 5 lengthy pitches, it offers varied crack climbing.  The first 3 pitches present a series of interesting and challenging overhang situations, while the final 2 pitches offer easier climbing (mostly bridging around the crack) but the height and exposed nature provide an exciting airy feeling.

Mumkin (5+/5/5+/5) – The beginning pitches of the longer I.B.M. route.  Interesting climbing and awkward situations as you ascend a curving crack line.

Although Wadi Rum is traditionally known as a trad haven, there was also a lot of bouldering to be had.  I spent some time in Barrah Canyon wandering around with the bouldering mats and we put up a lot of fun problems.

Week in Wadi Rum

WADI RUM PHOTOS – (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2382683&l=faa5b&id=1928719)

I’ve now spent a week in the desert of Wadi Rum. What an amazingly beautiful place – the rocks rise out of the sand in an impressive style, offering climbing unrivalled anywhere in the world.

We’ve been staying at the Bedouin Rest House just below Jebel Rum for the past 9 days, and it has been a fantastic experience. The Bedouin hospitality is truly unrivalled, and is a welcome break from the vicious negotiating required in Egypt. We spent 4 days at the Rest House in Jebel Rum, 3 days in Barrah Canyon, a desert locale 90 minutes drive (in 4×4’s) from the Rest House, and another 2 days in at the Rest House.

Upon our return from Barrah Canyon, the Bedoins who drove us invited all of us for a dinner at their home, which was an interesting experience. The Bedouin spared to expense as the offered us a delicious feast of chicken, rice and tea – and completed the affair with some games. For them, it was an opportunity to socialize with outsiders and practice their English, and for us a much sought after chance to interact with the locals. Overall the Bedouin are much kinder than the Egyptians, going out of their way to accomodate us.

Beyond the amazing hospitality provided by the Bedouins, the climbing has been amazing. I will post a full climbing diary as soon as I am able, but I’ve gotten in quite a few multi-pitch routes on Jebel Rum and in Barrah Canyon. Most routes seem to follow obvious crack lines, which provide very interesting situations – especially Merlin’s Wand, the classic of Wadi Rum – which I had the opportunity to second in Barrah Canyon.

Pictures are tough to retrieve from the other climbers – and the internet here is very slow … I hope to post the pictures I have when I have the time.

Should be spending the next few days in Petra and Amman, so should get pictures up within the next week … hope everybody at home is doing well!

Nightmare in Nuweiba

After finishing in Cairo, I had to make my way to Aqaba by ferry via Nuweiba.  I had read on other people’s blogs that this could be a trying experience as neither the bus nor ferry were particularly reliable – but I wasn’t quite prepared for the difficulty and length of my stay in Nuweiba.

I took a bus from Cairo on Tuesday night, which was a crowded, uncomfortable affair.  The only good thing I can say about the bus is that it left and arrived when it was meant to – which put me in Nuweiba at 7am on Wednesday morning, but with barely any sleep.  Arriving to the port in Nuweiba was unnerving because there was an absolutely massive crowd of Egyptians just sitting on beat-up old luggage waiting for the ticket office to open.  Luckily, Hot Rock was coming through Nuweiba on the same day and I was able to offload my luggage onto the truck – but was told I would still have to arrange for the ticket and visa on my own.  I headed over with the trip leaders to the ticket office, where we waited in line for the ticket window to open for well over an hour.  At one point we asked when the window would open for sales, and the man in front of us replied in broken English with a shrug – “maybe it open, maybe not”.  Finally, one of the trip leaders Lianna got in touch with a contact in town who went inside on our behalf and for a decent bribe was able to procure everybody on the truck (and me) a ticket – but only after 2 more hours of waiting. 

Finally it seemed as if we would be on our way – but we sat in the truck for several hours being moved from one area to another until we were finally told that the 12pm ferry would not take trucks – we would have to wait for the 6pm ferry.  And so we sat in the car park doing a whole lot of nothing for 6 more hours before we were finally given the go-ahead to move.  Another 2 hours of waiting in line to get on the ferry, we finally get to the doors of the ferry only to be told that the truck would have to go on a separate ferry from the passengers – and the truck would not arrive until at least 2 hours after we would in Aqaba.  We boarded the ferry, which was a very modern affair – showing on TV a lengthy slapstick comedy starring a very hairy Arab man – which none of us could understand, but the Egyptians seemed to find hilarious.   After sitting on the ferry for about another hour – we finally departed for an hour’s journey into Aqaba.  Arriving in Aqaba we got a taxi to our campsite, were we sat around a fire on comfy blankets for several hours before deciding that the truck (and hence our clothes, tents, etc) wasn’t coming any time soon – and went to bed.

After all that, we are finally in Jordan – and it is absolutely beautiful.  The campsite is right on the Red Sea, which is a deep blue set against the sandy backdrop of the mountains of the Sinai and Saudi Arabia in the distance.  It’s warm, sunny and there is a cool breeze blowing – and so far today we’ve wandered around Aqaba gathering things we’ll need for tomorrow, when we pile in the truck and set off for the short drive to Wadi Rum – which as I’m told has some of the best climbing in the world.  We’ll be there for 9 days, so I’ll try and give an update when I return.  As for the pictures – I have to blag a SD card reader off someone on the truck for my next entry so I can put up photos from Cairo, Aqaba, Wadi Rum and of course of BiRT, my home away from home for the next month.

Cairo Chaos

CAIRO PICTURES – (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2382078&l=98461&id=1928719)

Although I had been to an Islamic city before (Istanbul), nothing could quite prepare me for the chaos of Cairo. Stepping off the plane, I made my way through immigration and got my baggage without incident – but then discovered that my hostel transfer wasn’t waiting for me as promised. After many offers and some haggling I found a taxi to take me to my hostel, where I arrived dead tired at 3:30am. It would be nice to say that this was the first and only stumbling block for traveling Cairo alone – but unfortunately it would be about par for the course.

Sunday I awoke to the call to prayer from the mosque next door to the hostel, and after a quick breakfast headed toward the Egyptian Museum. Absolutely packed with antiquities from all over Egypt, the museum isn’t a site to be missed. I spent at least 5 hours browsing the various rooms – including seeing the King Tut mask and the mummies of some of the more famous Pharaohs. Monday I had booked a trip to see the pyramids at Giza and Sakkara as well as a small museum at Memphis. Both sets of pyramids are truly amazing sites, but it is difficult to relax and appreciate them when you are constantly accosted by locals looking to “guide” you or offer you a picture – all for a price of course. This day really showed me that nothing in Egypt is free – any help, advice or kind gesture is offered with the expectation that some money discreetly changes hands. That said, the pyramids at Giza were absolutely amazing.

Nightlife in Cairo is an interesting affair. I met up with an American who was staying my the same room as me, and who had a Cairene friend with whom we could go out and see the city a bit at night. After a lot of searching, we eventually happened upon a belly dancing venue along the Nile which was mostly packed with Egyptian men (and some women). I had seen belly dancing previously in Istanbul, but this was a whole different affair. As the women were dancing, men would walk onto the stage with stacks of bills and throw them at the women – with the “bouncer” quickly picking up the money and secreting it away. We stayed there till the early hours, taking in the strange culture and then headed back to the hostel.

The final day I spent in an attempt to see Islamic Cairo, and old portion of the city with many mosques, palaces and bazaars that date back hundreds of years. After visiting the most famous of these – the Citadel, once the seat of the Egyptian government and the site of a beautiful mosque – I promptly got lost in the winding streets of backalley Cairo. I wandered down this street and that, dodging cars, donkey carts, and throngs of small children coming home from school. Interestingly, being in this area where I was the only westerner for some distance was the one time in Egypt where I wasn’t once approached or heckled – people just went about their business without much concern for my presence. I finally ended up a maze of market streets where I saw piles of raw fish being sold, as well as Cairene women buying live chickens – at this point I emerged onto a busy street and decided it was time to hail a taxi and return home.

Overall, Cairo was a fascinating experience – but visiting this city alone requires a somewhat take-no-prisoners attitude to dealing with locals, and a lot of patience trying to address logisitical concerns with people who speak very little English.

Beginning of an Adventure – 38 Days from Cairo to Ankara

It’s hard to believe that after months of planning I’m actually going to leave for this trip. Adventure really is the best word to describe what I’m embarking on – this isn’t going to be the typical backpacking around Europe that a lot of college students do while studying abroad. I’m setting off for five weeks of travel through Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Turkey – straight overland between Cairo, Egypt and Ankara, Turkey – mostly traveling with the Hot Rock climbing expedition.

Packing was a bit difficult, but I’ve been slowly gathering everything I need over the past couple months so that I’m fully prepared. Here’s everything thats coming, laid out while I was checking things off my list:

And then everything packed and ready to go:

By the time I get back I’m hoping to have solidified some new climbing skills (learn to lead trad, get better at sport leads, second some long multi-pitch routes(!!), do some real outdoor bouldering), as well as have gained an appreciation for a new part of the world after having seen some amazing sites (Great Pyramids, Wadi Rum, Petra, Jerash, Dead Sea, Damascus, Palymra, Crac des Chevaliers, to name a few).

Down to details, I’ll be leaving for Cairo on Saturday and arriving early Sunday morning. I’ll then spend 3 days visiting the sites in Cairo – the Pyramids, the Egyptian Museum, the Khan Al-Khalili Bazaar among others. On Wednesday, I’ll (hopefully) find the bus going overland through the Sinai to Nuweiba, a city on the coast. From Nuweiba I can cross by ferry into Aqaba and meet up with Hot Rock, to continue my trip on the Big Red Truck until I reach Adana, Turkey on April 27th. At this point I’ll leave the truck behind and make my way alone by bus to Ankara, where I’ll catch a flight back to London.

I plan to keep this blog as a diary of my trip, including details about climbing routes, my take on the sites and of course many, many pictures. Check back regularly (or even better, add me to your blog feeds), and comments are of course appreciated!