Not impressed by social media but rather driven by my curiosity in a country that has not only not depended on tourism but actively prevented it, I took up an opportunity to visit. KSA is a country that doesn’t necessarily enjoy a good reputation abroad. Most of the public perception (at least in Europe) is driven by topics such as human rights issues, the dependency on oil, gender inequality and military intervention in the region. While Saudis are free to travel abroad, interaction in Europe is seldom and generally construed by skepticism.

Applying for a visa was very straightforward. Fill out an online application, pay the fee and you’re good to go. The only challenge was that the required photo had to be 200 by 200 pixels. Not 198 by 202 pixels. I was approved within an hour. The check-in agent didn’t seem to have seen many tourist visas before but after a bit of typing, I was allowed to board.

I arrived at the shiny new Terminal 1 in Jeddah. The airport opens in phases and is breathtakingly beautiful. I thought it was interesting that without exception, all immigration officials were female. No questions asked and I was stamped into the country, accompanied by a friendly “Welcome to Saudi”.

Jeddah is KSA’s commercial center and second-largest city with a population of around four million. It’s location at the Red Sea and vicinity to the Holy City of Mecca means it has a history of centuries with traders and pilgrims. It is considered to be one of the more open-minded cities in the Kingdom.

What I quickly learned when researching accommodation was how vast the city is. At least by my standards, I could not make out a “city center” (apart from the historic city center). And orientating myself by the public transportation grid was not an option because… there is no public transportation. The city of four million seems to have a grand total of nine bus lines. So yea, you’ll need a car or rely on ride-hailing apps (which is what I did).

Due to Jeddah’s location by the Red Sea, the city boasts a sprawling beach road. Both in the mornings and evenings, locals enjoy cycling, walking or hanging out at the countless coffee shops or restaurants. I also had the impression this was the area to see or be seen and show off your car or motorcycle. Overall I’d say around every fifth car was driven by a woman. The city did a nice job developing this part of town.

The highlight of Jeddah from a tourist’s perspective is most likely “Al-Balad” (“the town”), the city’s historic center. Granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 2014, Al-Balad was somewhat abandoned and neglected once the oil boom kicked in. Saudis moved to other parts of town with wider roads for bigger cars. Slowly, the decaying houses are being renovated and prepared as a tourist attraction.

Wandering aimlessly through the alleys is fascinating and reminiscent of a totally different era compared to today’s oil-fueled Saudi economy.

In fact, Al-Balad is so picturesque, it has already attracted its fair share of Instagram-people. By fair share I mean I came across three European ladies posing extensively for the ‘Gram.

I continued towards Sharafiyah, Jeddah’s Little India. While I did get superb Chicken Biryani at a Pakistani restaurant, the area was otherwise not too exciting. Maybe I was just there at the wrong time.

While it was a very short stay in the Kingdom, it was interesting to get a first hand impression. I encountered Saudi people to be very friendly. Contrary to my experience in other Gulf states, all ride-sharing drivers were locals. All inquired where I was from and welcomed me to their country.

But the country is still far from becoming a tourist hotspot, at least for Western travelers. While there are numerous spots worth visiting in terms of nature and historic sights, while concerning news keep emerging KSA, I could imagine tourist arrivals won’t skyrocket in the short term.

Jerash, best known for its Greco-Roman ruins, is only about an hour’s drive from Amman and easily doable as a day-trip from the capital. Since the mid-1920s excavations have been ongoing, revealing settlements from the Bronze Age through the Roman and Byzantine periods all the way to the Ottoman period.

Arch of Hadrian

One enters the archaeological area through the Arch of Hadrian which was built to honor the visit of Emperor Hadrian to Jerash in 129/130 AD (nice welcome gift).

Roman history in Jerash

Oval Forum and Cardo Maximus

We had arrived around the same time as a few tour groups but the area is so large that it quickly spread out.

Jerash Temple of Artemis (finished CE 150)

Northern Theatre

Cardo Maximum

After grabbing some lunch we continued our drive about an hour west towards Ajloun and its famous castle.

Ajloun Castle

Built in the 12th century, it was actively used until the 17th or 18th century and eventually partially destroyed by an earthquake (like many buildings in the area).

Ajloun Castle

Ajloun Castle

Ajloun Castle

We continued south towards the destination for the night, the small city of As-Salt. I wanted to avoid returning to Amman and thought the Dead Sea would be too far (it turned out it was not). As-(or Al-) Salt used to be the most important city in the region before it lost that status to Amman and nowadays is a sleepy town with an intact historic center. As we were there on Friday, almost all shops and restaurants were closed. While the town has the potential to become a tourist destination with its charming historic buildings, the inhabitants have a long way to go cleaning up trash. We experienced it as one of the dirties towns throughout our visit.

Al-Salt view from the hotel

Al-Salt view from the hotel

The Treasury in Petra – probably the most famous impression of Jordan

We knew few people who had been to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Even though Jordan doesn’t get a lot of news coverage (positive nor negative) in Europe, it doesn’t seem to be on many people’s radar. And once we mentioned our intention of traveling there, usually we were met with surprise. It seems it has taken some collateral reputation damage due to the war going on in neighboring Syria and the uncertainties in Iraq. What unfortunately gets lost is that Jordan has been politically very stable and seen little what would be considered reason not to travel there.

The breathtakingly beautiful Wadi Rum

Planning our itinerary wasn’t too difficult. There’s a more or less standard tourist trail that covers most major attractions and isn’t too crowded yet (which I expect to change in the near future). We could have rushed through our itinerary in probably 7 days but really enjoyed the somewhat slower pace but additional nights here and there. We did not drive for more than 2-3 hours a day in Jordan’s excellent roads. We contemplated for a while whether we should hire a driver and in the end opted for the independence of self-driving and we’re glad we did. Google Maps was the perfect navigation aid, roads were in very good conditions and not once we did have any issue with police stops.

What would I do different next time? While I’ll explain a bit more in the individual installments, As-Salt is something where I’d skip the overnight stay (not the town!). The Ma’in Hot Springs did not fully convince us but otherwise, it was a really good itinerary.

Roman history in Jerash

Stay tuned for some impressions of Jordan!