I was chatting to a German volunteer in Haifa a few days ago who had recently come from Jordan, and was speaking with such passion and enthusiasm about her time there. Jordan isn’t on the places I was particularly looking forward to so I was surprised by her enthusiasm. I’m surprised no more!

Before I could let my mind wander to thoughts of Jordan, I had to cross the border from Israel into Jordan. Every traveller I met had told me that the security checks and delays were counter-intuitively much more rigorous leaving Israel than entering it.

I had heard tales of people being strip searched, missing their flights due to hours of interrogations, having every item of clothing in their bags forensically checked and every detail of their trip being discussed in excruciating detail.

Given this, and frankly for someone who looks as I do, I expected the worst and even though I have nothing to hide, the thought of spending hours being interrogated still filled me with dread. I didn’t know a single person who left Israel without significant questioning.

I tentatively approached the security desk, reciting in my head every detail from my trip when the only thing I hadn’t anticipated happen.

The security officer asked me if I spoke Arabic and then joked with me why not. She made a throwaway remark about my colourful hair in my passport photo and then returned my passport to me and let me through. The entire process lasted no more than 2 minutes. This country never ceases to amaze me!

I then took the bus into Amman to spend 2 days in the capital. On my first day, I walked around the city which was largely shut down outside of the city centre due to Ramadan. I walked away from the centre into a small residential neighbourhood and had to smile as I saw a shop closed with the Beatles song ‘all you need is love’ scrawled on the shutters. It never ceases to amaze me no matter what corner of the earth you are, the influence of those 4 Liverpool lads!

Later I was walking past a hairdressers and got chatting to the lady that runs it who asked me if I had ever had my hair coloured. I showed her the rainbow of colours my hair has been over the last few years and I decided to get my hair dyed bright blonde again – it has been natural for far too long!

I then walked the 3km up to the glorious King Abdullah mosque. Some of these grand religious buildings can appear somewhat vulgar and in contract with the supposed piety of the faith but this was different. It was a genuine working mosque packed with worshipers praying.

I’ve not followed any practices of Islam for years and consider myself an ardent atheist and yet visiting these Middle Eastern mosques does engender a feeling inside me that is hard to explain or rationalise.

There are many great sights to see in Amman. There are the byzantine era architecture, the ancient roman ruins and a fascinating museum detailing the colonial history of the country. And yet the highlight of the trip for me has to be a trip to Hashems, the finest hummus restaurant the world has ever, or will ever, know.

My aforementioned German friend recommended the place to me and it was the greatest meal I have ever had. It opened for Iftar when locals were breaking their fast. I’ve never seen a place so busy with inside and outside completely full and people spilling into adjacent streets eating the food whilst sitting on a blanket.

There was no set menu and instead you were just to grab plates from the waiters who were running around. I’ve had hummus and falafel in so many places in the last few weeks but nothing like this place. It was the finest meal  of my life and surely the greatest £3 I have ever spent!

Having consumed my own bodyweight in falafel I then proceeded onwards to Petra to experience the ancient Nabatean city carved into rocks.

As you go into the visitor centre you are immediately accosted by vendors selling everything from magnets to donkey rides. The constant stream of people coming over to you does spoil the historic ambience of the place somewhat.

And yet it is still a remarkable experience looking at these majestic structures. There are so many remarkable sights but the two that stay with you are the Monastery and the Treasury.

On getting to the Treasury building I hiked up a local mountain to get the iconic image looking down at the building that every traveller gets when they visit Petra. It’s a bit of a tricky climb and very clichéd but I challenge any tourist to resist the temptation!

The monastery is a lengthy walk from most other attractions. Many people take camels or donkeys up but as well as being quite pricey the animals are treated appallingly so both my wallet and conscience directed me to walk up to the monastery and deal with the scorching heat.

The walk was exhausting but was undoubtedly worth it. It is one of the most remarkable structures and the pictures really don’t do it justice.

Finally I walked further along to see some lovely views of the desert before heading back. It was 8 hours of walking in the heat but it was worth all the effort to view this remarkable place.