White Boy Drives in Jordan...and Jerash.

So this will be my last night in Jordan! Tomorrow I head north to Damascus.

Yesterday Joe, Steph and I made the 3-hour trek up from Wadi Musa into the heart of the beast - Amman. I have to say, we did pretty freakin' spectacular navigating all the way through town into the very centre. We even found a parking spot straight away. I'm pretty proud.

I was sad to say goodbye to Joe and Steph and the awesome conversations we had. Getting out of Amman was hardly straightforward, which begs a brief description of what Jordanian "driving" really consists of:

First, if you're used to street names and signs...no such thing here. In fact, you'll be driving along, and suddenly the road will "split"...it's up to you to pick left or right...or up the hill. Good luck with that. Sure, you might've been on the right road, but are you *still* on the right road? Good luck with figuring that out, too.

Okay, so directions might be a problem. Which wouldn't be so bad in the West, but here your attention is best focused not on where you are or where you're trying to go, but what is trying to cross the road in front of you. These are usually people, but could also easily be a donkey, goat, or camel.

Steve's travel hint for the day: If your little car hits a camel, or the camel hits you, you lose.

And then there's the other drivers...I'm not even sure where to begin. Lanes, stop signs (where there are any), stoplights...completely optional. The right-of-way belongs to whoever's fastest. Or whoever's death wish is biggest.

Wow, okay, enough with the rants already! I guess today the stress and constant frayed nerves of driving in the Middle East finally is catching up to me.

Today I drove again to Mt Nebo, which, along with Jesus' baptism site, are by far my favourite sites in Jordan. No touts, completely up-front, and neither site feels remotely touristy. Both retain a large amount of sanctity. In fact, I was completely alone on Mt Nebo this morning, for what must have been a solid hour. Probably my favourite part of my time here.

After Nebo I was intending to head north along the Jordan River to Umm Qais, which supposedly was where the herd of pigs in the Gospel accounts was sent hurtling over the edge of the mountain. However, the maps weren't exactly dead-on with the road turn-offs, and I ended up having to abandon that plan and head straight for Jerash instead. Jerash was known formerly as Gerasa, one of the cities of the Decapolis (btw, Amman was known in NT times as Philadelphia, which you may recognize).

The drive to Jerash, as you may have gathered by now, was fairly stressful - driving is truly a free-for-all here. The approach to the site is diabolically designed to extract the maximum amount of cash from the tourist - the only entrance is through a purposefully confusing path arrayed with shops and shops and more shops, before finally reaching the Roman era ruins. Once in the ruins, however, the site was extremely well-managed and tourist police roamed freely to discourage harassment of tourists. The ruins are amazingly preserved, so I felt a little better by the end about the JD 8 I had to part with to get in.

It was exceedingly hot by the end, so I was anxious to get back to the car and head home, still disappointed not to be able to see more of the north. But my frayed nerves just couldn't take any more driving. On my way out I stopped by the WC...which should be, in my mind, straightforward and w/o hassle. So imagine my (feigned) surprise when I exit to find a guy trying to "assist" me by pointing out where the sinks are (?) and handing me a kleenex to wipe my hands. "Yeah, I've got it" I say to him w/o taking the kleenex, at which point he points to his tip jar expecting a JD or two. I think my look of contempt probably overstepped the bounds a bit, but needless to say he picked the wrong tourist to try and scam.

So after looking @ message boards from other tourists, I've seriously had to re-think my plans for Syria. Driving there is supposedly far worse than Jordan, and I just don't think I'm willing to put myself through that. So far, I'm becoming more convinced that the Middle East just doesn't know what to do with the independent traveler - you can do it, but it's a logistical nightmare sometimes. Never thought I'd say this, but there is a time and place for a proper arranged tour. Hardly the same sense of satisfaction and independence, but hardly the frustrations and constant adjustments in plans, either.

Off to Damascus! -steve g

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Part of trip: Around the World....

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