Mariam Jarrar

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"Jordan - All sorts of activities from sightseeing, to adventure, dunes driving, buggies, air-balloons, snorkeling, etc."

How did you get involved in travel?

"Went on a guided tour in my own home-town once, escorting a friend visiting for the first time, and absolutely enjoyed the experience. I loved it so much that I decided to share my passion and knowledge with other tourists."

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"As explained above, I went with a friend visiting Jordan on a guided tour. I did not at all expect the experience to become the best I have had so far, thinking that I have already been all over Jordan and I will not see or learn anything new. But on the contrary, I left thinking this was the first time I myself see Jordan!

The tour started early morning, the driver and guide picked us and took us to Madaba, ( city near by amman) which I myself visit at least once a week. The guide took us through the market, stopping by the little, local shops offering coffee and beverages. People were very friendly and talkative and offered all kind of dessert and food completely free of charge, we walked through the city to arrive to the Church visiting the largest and one of the oldest mosaic sites in the city (the tour clearly explained all the history involved and what the drawings actually meant, etc..) We then drove to Mount Nebo, where Moses visited and died overseeing Jerusalem. Not only did the guide explain the history but also pointed us to the perfect spots to take pictures with amazing backgrounds. We then continued driving to a nice local restaurant on the way offering local dishes like Mansaf where we had lunch, then we carried out our journey to arrive to Petra or rather little Petra first and oh my God, this was certainly the first time I visit little Petra and the views, the hikes, the hospitality of Bedouins was just beyond amazing, we were then dropped off at hotels for dinner and rest for the night.

Next day, we spent at Petra, walking through the Siq with the guide explaining every little detail of every spot and every stone that was once carved. The visit to Petra was a whole day visiting the treasury, theatres, tombs, and hiking the highest point to reach to the monetary and be privileged to witness the views from the top of the mountains there. Certainly indescribable. It also involved riding horses :) The guide then made sure to tell us to come back at night to witness Petra at night when its all lit up with candles and again a breathtaking view of the city.

Next day we moved to Wadi Rum and just when I thought that I had seen it all, we arrive in this amazing colored sands and mountain desert! The guide stopped throughout the tour at certain points to ensure that we learn and get to see everything there is to experience in Wadi Rum, from visiting sites where Hollywood movies where shot, to the place where Laurance of Arabia visited having tea with Bedouins etc, before we arrive at our camp and rest for lunch. Food again was amazing local food cooked fresh on-site. After lunch they picked us up again for dunes-drive experience with local Bedouins who were driving the trucks. The bedouins went the extra mile to show us how they use the rocks to wash their hands, start fire and made us the most delicious tea I have ever had. We then sat with them spending the day watching the sun-set on the amazing sand and mountains before we went back to our camp to spend the night and had the delicious local food prepared for us.

Finally the next day we head to Aqaba to spend some time on the beach and in fact we did snorkeling at the red sea, then we again visited a local restaurant to have some of the best fish every grilled.

The next day, we started our journey heading to dead-sea, the lowest point on earth, enjoying a float in the sea for a couple of days before we had to go back to Amman."