Wildlife Tours JORDAN Trip Report 2011
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Jordan A Greentours Tour Report March 23rd – April 5th 2011 Led By Oron Peri Written by Oron Peri Day 1 March 23rd Group arrived to Amman airport in the late evening and transferred to the Mariam Hotel in Madaba where we had a late dinner. Day 2 March 24th Madaba to A-Salt We have started this day with a visit to the church at the centre of Madaba in order to see the well-known Mosaic floor at the Orthodox St. George church, followed by another cultural visit to Mt. Nebo situated a ten minute drive from the centre of the city, with a fantastic view of the Great Rift Valley, Dead Sea and Judean Mountains. After these visits we have started our journey down to the Jordan Valley. It wasn’t long till we noticed some fine clumps of Iris atrofusca in flower with its large, dark showy flowers. This site is home to many other beauties such as Tulipa agenensis, Leopoldia longipes, Asphodeline lutea the dark purple Roemeria hybrida and the yellow flowering Adonis dentata. Next stop was as we entered Wadi Shuweb, home to some representatives belonging to the 'dry tropical plants'. Originating in Sudan in Africa, these plants have climbed up along the Great Rift to thrive in the hottest parts of the deserts. Probably the most impressive plant belonging to this group is Calotropis procera, a tree with big rounded leaves and puffed, apple-like fruits. Other trees growing around are Accacia raddiana, Ziziphus spina-cristi, Tamarix jordanis and Moringa peregrina. Here we have also seen the wild Watermelon, Citrullus colocynthis and Commicarpus africanus with its nice white flowers. All along the water canals are lots of Arundo donax and the lovely Mentha longifolia in full bloom. A couple of White-breasted Kingfishers where seen flying in the Wadi. Next stop was at a higher point as we were climbing the road to A-Salt where we couldn’t miss other Oncocyclus Iris clumps, this time a dark purple form of Iris haynei growing together with the lovely Glaucium arabicum and Papaver politrichum. From there passing through A-Salt and outskirts of Amman we headed to the Olive Branch Hotel situated on the Ajloun hills but again we had to make a stop as a new species of Oncocyclus was growing on a hill above the road this time Iris nigricans with its almost black flowers. This site was in full bloom with many new species such as Muscari neglectum, the red form of Ranunculus asiaticus and many more. Certainly seeing three Oncocyclus species on the first day was a lovely surprise for all of us. 1 © Greentours Limited. Visit www.greentours.co.uk for further details. Telephone 01298 83563 Day 3 March 25th Wadi Rajib & Dibbin After a good rest at the hotel we headed west to visit Wadi Mujib. This large seasonal river [wadi] begins under Jarash to end in the Jordan Valley. This semidesert area has a rich flora, including a population of Iris haynei. On the serpentine a large population of Trichodesma boissieri can be seen with its silvery leaves and beautiful pale-blue flowers while in the fields under carpets of dark purple Salvia viridis is growing in company of Echium rauwolfii and the vivid blue Alkanna strigosa. Many birds inhabit this valley including Southern Grey Shrike, Chukar, European Bee-eaters and many others. On the way up we had a stop in an olive grove above a village where a few stunning Iris bismarckiana are growing at the edge of a field. The caterpillars of Archon apollinus where seen on a nearby plant of Aristolochia bottae. In the afternoon we arrived to the Natural Reserve of Dibbin where among large trees of the red trunked Arbutus andrachne we have found still some flowers of Cyclamen persicum and a selection of Orchids including the rare Orchis galilea. Day 4 March 26th Jarash to Irbid and the Syrian border First stop of this day was as we started to go North, above the village of Anjara where the impressive Castle of Ajluon can be seen just in front of us. We searched two hills nearby where we have found big flowered Gagea commutata, the strange looking Hypecoum imberbe, Ranunculus millefolius and others. We have turned East just before entering the city of Irbid where habitat turned rapidly to semi desert conditions. We have made a stop near a few bare hills where many, small, silvery-striped Ornithogalum trichophyllum where growing together with the tall Ornithogalum narbonense, orange Adonis aestivus and red Papaver hybridum. On a western facing slope many tall spikes of Eremostachys laciniata were in full bloom. After a picnic lunch we have continued north where just a few km south of the Syrian border we visited a site for rare Iris bostrensis. This site is the only known place for this species in Jordan, growing on a very dry, bare hill, while on the northern side we have found Gagea fibrosa and narrow leaved Gagea reticulata growing side by side with 3 species of Bellevalia. On the way back to the bus I have turned few rocks to look for some reptiles and insects. First we have found the notorious Black Widow Spider, protecting its sacs of eggs. But soon a Desert Agama, a Bridled Mabuya and finally a friendly Sinai Dwarf Racer snake. In the afternoon as we where going back we had a last stop in another Oncocyclus Iris site where an intermediate form of Iris bostrensis/nigricans are growing with a wide range of colors and forms. We reached our friendly hotel by the end of the day. For dinner we had a specially made delicious local dish called Mansaf. Day 5 March 27th Ajloun and Jarash We have started the day with a visit to Ajloun castle. This well preserved Castle is situated on top of the hill above Ajloun with a fantastic view of the surroundings. Our first stop for flowers was further down in the Oak and Pistacia forests that surround Ajloun Natural Reserve. This location is carpeted with Anemone coronaria of different colors and the tiny exceptionally showy Veronica syriaca with its bicoloured flowers. Bongardia chrysogonum with its particular leaves grew abundantly in this site. 2 © Greentours Limited. Visit www.greentours.co.uk for further details. Telephone 01298 83563 After lunch at a local Restaurant we spent the rest of the afternoon in the Archeological site of Jarash, the most well preserved Roman city. Many birds such as Laughing Doves and Graceful Prinia as well as Roughtail Agamas can be seen on site. Just before dark we have made a last stop above the hotel to see a forest of old Arbutus andrachne trees. Day 6 March 28th Jarash to Dead Sea We left the green Mediterranean area and headed to the Dead Sea going through A-Salt going from 1020m down to 423m under sea level. We have made a couple of stops for flowers along the way, first for the vivid blue-violet Lupinus pilosus growing in an olive grove. While in the field a few Tristram's Starlings with their typical call flew above us. Another stop was for Iris haynei that is growing in a nearby field in company with Campanula strigosa and Campanula hierosolymitana. We arrived in Dead Sea before noon where people took a bath in Amman Beach where all facilities are available including our lunch at the site's restaurant. After lunch we headed to Dana natural reserve with a stop for Epipactis veratrifolia growing on wet walls just by the road and another stop under Karak Castle to take photos of a field full of dark Fritillaria persica. We reached Danna at dark to spend there the night. Day 7 March 29th Dana and Shoubak After breakfast we went down to the reserve for a walk, Tristram's Starlings were everywhere, weaseling loudly. The whole area is covered by Juniperus phoenicea trees, some centuries in age. As we turned for the north side of a mountain we have found a few plants of Arabis alpina in bloom in the crevices and nearby a lovely plant of the rare Salvia multicaulis in its green form. The round forms and colors of the mountains around are unique, and are home to many birds such as Desert Wheatear, Rock Martin, and Sand Partriges. We have continued to Shoubak castle, situated on the hills before reaching the area of Petra. The area was quite dry this year as it received very little rain still some plants of Bellevalia mosheovii and Asphodeline lutea were in bloom in the rocky steppes. We went up to the highest point above Shubak where one can see the Jordan Valley and Judea desert, hundreds of Common Buzzards crossed just in front of us as they were flying north. We reached Petra by late afternoon. Day 8 March 30th Petra The whole day was programmed to this most interesting and well known site. We left the Hotel after breakfast and walked a short distance to the gate where we met our Local guide. One should just see Petra as words fail of describe its immensity. Fig trees, Juniperus phoenicia, Pistacia atlantica are growing on the high walls while a nice variety of shrubs, some in flower are allover the area, just to mention once more Daphne linearifolia, Retama raetam, Capparis aegyptia, Solanum siniacum the curious Gomphocarpus sinaicus with its green colored flowers and others. Particularly nice is the contrast made by some silvery or glaucus leaves such as Drimia maritima and Marubium vulgare against the red colored walls.