Blogs from North, Jordan, Middle East

We left Madaba to Amman where we would spend our last two nights in Jordan. The journey is coming to a close. We made one stop just out of Madaba at Mt. Nebo. The place where Moses apparently first laid eyes on the promised land before dying. There isn't much to "see" there. Some mosaics and a viewpoint looking over Israel, but it was neat to be in such a significant biblical place. (I suppose the entire area is significant in a biblical sense, but for some reason Mt. Nebo was the most inspiring). The sky was a bit hazy so we couldn't see very far, but we could see the Dead Sea a little ways beyond. We didn't stay here long, and spent a good portion of the day driving to Amman. Amman has the ... read more

A long day today, but saw some incredible sights. It started with an amazing breakfast in the hostel. Out came olives, hummus, jam, bread, orange cake and tea, followed by 'real' breakfast which this morning was an omelette. I had to leave half of it on the plates I was so full! At 8am I joined some other travellers from the hostel and headed out in a minivan towards Jerash. Basically, it is a town with the centrepiece being a ruined ancient city (Roman style). One of the guys in the group and I hired an English-speaking guide there, Samir, and took almost two hours to get around the whole site. Really, we could have done with longer! What amazed me was how green the place was. I knew I was visiting at the end of ... read more

I am still adjusting to another time difference, but at the moment all I know is...when I've finished this, I'm off to sleep! This morning said goodbye to Clare and family, and left for Dubai airport. The queues for check-in were the biggest I've ever seen and I was waiting for about an hour before finally getting to the front. I was a bit worried when the woman at the desk asked about my non-existent Jordan visa, but after I got through security I did a quick Google to double-check you could get visa on arrival - which I did. Phew! Before I left this morning, I called the hostel here to arrange an airport transfer. The driver was waiting with a sign (my name on it) at arrivals, and he was lovely though our conversation ... read more

Desde mi primer dia en esta casa, la Familia Zeidan, comandada nada mas y nada menos que por el gran Jeque Saed-Zeidan Amo Abu-Mousa, me comenzo a introducir a lo mas profundo de la cultura Jordana. Por los primeros dos dias, el caos y la prisa de los varios miembros de la familia me paso incompredido. Al inicio, no supe distinguir si era mera rutina, o si algo especial acontecia. Tras uno o dos dias de duda, y con una urgencia por saber cual debia ser mi rol y actitud en la situacion, me decidi preguntarle a mi hermano Omar. "Ahki, por que la gente se nota tan estresada?" La llegada de Muhammed occurrira en dos dias. Al escuchar esto me quedo frio. Muhammed es el nombre del profeta del Islam, tal como Jesus lo es ... read more

Estoy en Amman. La aventura en este pais y en esta region del mundo ha comenzado. Durante el vuelo, un par de veces me pregunte, que p*tas hago aqui? En que me meti? Quien carajos me manda a mi, un ciudado de Siquirres, ha andar metido en el Medio Oriente? Por lapsos fugaces de tiempo me senti dudoso. Sin embargo, pronto recupere la actitud. Yo escogi venir a este lugar. Desde hace tiempo descubri que queria experimentar esta cultura, estas creencias, esta situacion que se vive en esta tan famosa, pero tan incomprendida region. Pronto, el deseo de aventura que siempre he llevado, otra vez se apodero de mi. De repente estaba listo, de repente me sentia lleno de seguridad, de repente pude ver Israel desde el aire. Una vez en el hotel en Amman, ya ... read more

Here we go again! Wake up call at 6.00am, breakfast at 6.30am and on our way to the airport by 7.15am. I hate cleaning my teeth before breakfast, but it's either before breakfast or not at all with the these early starts and having to leave our bags outside our room before we go to breakfast. We only found out that we were being dropped at a different terminal from Meredith and Alex as we neared the airport. There was no opportunity for a long, emotional farewell as Amal bundled us and our luggage out of the minivan while Meredith and Alex stayed on board. Meredith and Alex have been wonderful travel companions and the four of us have really enjoyed each others company during the last 20 days. Amal escorted us into the airport, but ... read more

Monday - Jerash, Ajloun, Dead Sea We start off with Khaled waiting in the parking lot and us in the lobby, however after almost half an hour we connect and are on our way. We decided to head to Jerash before the heat of the day….This was incredible. The site is in such awesome condition and it is huge. They are still excavating. It was great to do this in the cool morning air. Was a real contrast seeing the new in the background of the old. We spent almost 2 hours here going through with our guide who had been doing this job for 30 years....Jerash is massive and the ruins are so incredible. The oval plaza, the fountain and cathedral area and massive walkways and columns were very impressive. We turned down the chariot ... read more