http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Middle East , Jordan , North , Amman en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:03:47 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:03:47 +0000 HallootjesNog maar net in Syri aangekomen en ik ben alweer weg.Ik wou eerst Jordani bezoeken zodat ik achteraf de rest van mijn tijd in Syri kan doorbrengen zo hoef ik me zeker geen zorgen te maken over mijn vlucht terug naar Belgi en zo van die dingen.Mijn vrienden hier wouden me absoluut met de taxi zien vertrekken naar Amman terwijl ik van het idee was om de bus te nemen zoals aangeduid i http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-459939.html Well I think I've broken my personal record for length of time between blog posts.It's been a bit rough lately in terms of my tolerance for the annoying little things that happen every day although it is getting better with the idea of a short break for Eid alAdha the feast that celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God. We actually watched a video of the Quranic story toda http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-455470.html I landed in Amman on Monday evening. During the flight I sat next to a lady from Palestine who told me a lot about Amman and the rest of the country. Together with her friend we shared a taxi to the city where I checked in my hotel. The hotel looked like it was built in the sixties and not maintained since then. Well what the heck I was tired and I couldn't care to find another hotel for the t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-455419.html Whew it's been a really long time since I've written last I apologize for that. I don't really know what else I've been busy with other than everyday life. I guess life here is beginning to seem ordinary. Maybe that's a good thingAnyways last Friday was a very lazy day. I hung around the house and did basically nothing. It was so nice Saturday however was a little more eventful. It was a bi http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-451584.html Hm it's been a while.I have to start out by saying that I feel a lot better now than I have over the past week. I think if I were given the option to get on a plane home I would have seriously considered it. There are times when Amman just gets to me. Things I would take for granted like getting home just seem so much more difficult here. And I'm getting quite fed up with taxis.On Mondays I ha http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-445545.html Well im glad i didn't hop in the taxi to Beirut Welcome to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Says King Abdullah II and his Palestinian Queen Rania as you cross the border Of course not in real life but on big massive propaganda posters The king really is amazing He can do anything Everyone loves him here There are so many photos of him and his family plastered around Amman Its really fasci http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-444721.html Ostensibly I joined this expedition with a mad German to find a mysterious artefact and a lost body the lost body of some ancient personage that he has been looking for for many years with the help of some other mad German academic. Between them they felt this body would lead them to the great holy grail of all German expeditions but they did not want to identify to me what this holy grail was. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-444489.html No pictures to show as usual but I definitely wish that I didYesterday I went to the Diplomatic Bazaar put together by Princess Basma who is the aunt of the current king Abdullah II. She had quite a show of security with her. It was a bit irritating to dodge around the crowds that tried to take pictures of her and the security guards who held them back. But people in suits didn't stop me from http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-444103.html Now that I am back in the U.S. and having Hashem with drawl syndrome I spent a little time reflecting on my month in Jordan. After I finished my Arabic course my wife and I set out on a three day whirlwind tour of the rest of the country.We had a great driverguide who I had met earlier and Ahmed AKA Steve drove us from Amman down to Petra. One of the real highlights of the trip wasn't Petra b http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-443129.html Things are starting to pick up both in and outside of class something I'm very grateful for All the former free time was getting me a bit homesick...But no worries I have lots of things to keep me from sitting at home. Monday night I went along with a pack of CIEE students to test out a choir at one of the YWCA's here. I still don't really know what exactly the choir is affiliated with but I http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-443054.html Jordan Day 2 More of Amman4th October 2009First thing on my todo list this morning was to sort out car hire for tomorrow for my drive down to the Dead Sea but a car hire company I emailed late last night had already replied with a good price so I confirmed. My only job of the day done already so more time to enjoy the cityStill needed to get a memory card reader for my camera after not hav http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-442092.html 1st day in Jordan Amman3rd October 2009After a good sleep I finally managed to leave the hotel at 11am I decided to play it safe and wear jeans and a shirt but later saw people wearing shorts and tshirts although most people do cover up. Decided to try and get my bearings and go for a walk into the city of Amman. I left the hotel with no map just my good sense of direction and headed for th http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-441849.html The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan2nd October 2009Having just spent two weeks on a family holiday in Cyprus it wasn't ideal having just 40 hours to prepare for a round the world trip as well as saying my goodbyes to friends and family shopping and getting hair cut etc As usual though I managed to get everything done with a bit of help from my mum too with minutes to spare and off I went to the http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-441826.html No pictures this time I know better now to bring my camera whenever I go out. But this weekend has actually been really funThis first week after Ramadan has been pretty draining not really because of class or homework but just getting around and getting used to how long our schedules are every day. Most days I have anywhere from an hour and a half to over two hours between my classes. It's not http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-441810.html I'm going to blog about three days all at once. Here goesIt was very nice to relax and lounge around the apartment for the remainder of the eid. I definitely had to recharge my batteries after CairoWe thought that we should probably see a little bit of New Amman after it had woken up from Ramadan before school started back up. We met up with a friend of Soraya's who had studied with her at Tufts http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-440531.html Just in case there are no further postings you will know why. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-438259.html As uninspiring as the Desert Castles were yesterday the trip to Jerash made up for it. I decided to take public transportation all of the way and if things worked was going to try to make it Ajloun. The bus station that serves the areas to the north of Amman is very easy to negotiate. The buses are clearly marked and the drivers bark out the destination to get the bus full of passengers since th http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-437893.html Since it was a Friday during Ramadan I opted to hire a driver today rather then try to explore on my own. I wanted to get out of Amman for part of the day so decided on heading out East to the Desert Castle's and to call them castle's is a bit of stretch.You head out of Amman through the more industrial side of town and then along a well maintained but pretty busy with a good bit of traffic and http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-437601.html The first week of classes are now finished and I am exhausted. I am studying at the Ali Baba Center which is a small school that runs group and individual programs. It is near the University of Jordan campus but not affiliated it with it in any way. My program was set up to be three hours of MSA Abrabic and one hour of Ammiah Arabic every day. I don't know if I was lucky or not but definitely dr http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-437502.html I guess this is my first justbecause entry.I just feel like I awkwardly have so much free time on my hands. I hardly have any homework especially when I compare it to my workload at Georgetown. Clubs and activities haven't started and so many shops and places in Amman are closed because of Ramadan. Hence Van's at home with her laptop.Although I can't wait for the trip to Cairo Three of my room http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Jordan/North/Amman/blog-437396.html