Jordan

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It's been awhile since we were in Jordan but we'll do our best to fill in the details. We crossed the border from Israel into Jordan without difficulty...we had heard that it could take several hours when in fact it only took us less than 30 minutes! Our first impression of Jordan was great: the people at the border were all very friendly and seemed genuinely interested in us, and the weather was warm...ok, it was HOT!

Soon, our pre-arranged taxi arrived at the border and took us up to Petra to our hotel, a 2-3 hour ride. The taxi driver was nice, although he wanted to stop a few times and try to take us to more "unknown sights" or his friend's souvenir shop that would give us a "good deal" or his other friend's restaurant that had "great Jordanian food". By this time (after traveling from the Dead Sea to the border and then up to Petra) we were quite tired. It was interesting entering the city of Petra...one of the first things I (Heather) noticed was the many Muslim minaret’s every few blocks, so we anticipated more 5AM wake-up calls. I also noticed almost all the women had full head coverings on as well, which made me a bit uncomfortable. The head coverings were also common in Israel but there was enough of a mix of Muslim and non-Muslim that a person didn't feel conspicuous. After eating dinner in town that evening, we met a nice young man (probably 20 years old) on our walk home who just wanted to talk to practice his English. He worked as a pastry chef for one of the hotels and was great to talk with...a nice way to end our day. He commented that he liked talking to foreigners because we talked softly and that English men talk like boys while Jordanian boys talked like men. By this he meant that males in Jordan, even boys, always speak loudly and as if they were very angry. We had noticed this and it, too made us uncomfortable as you never knew if locals were angry with one another and arguing intensely or just conversing.

The following day was spent exploring Petra, whose entrance was just outside our hotel. As you can see from the pictures, there was a lot to see. From the entrance there was a very tall, narrow canyon called the siq that extended for about 1/2 mile before actually arriving in the ancient city of Petra. This was really neat and the pictures really don't capture it (not surprising!). We tried imagining what traveling spice camel caravans must have felt when approaching Petra from the Siq, a grand, paved alley to an amazing kingdom after traveling for days through a barren desert.

Almost as soon as we entered though, we were bombarded with Bedouin (group of desert dwellers) tribesmen and women with small table market stands. They wanted us to get on a camels or donkey or horse drawn carts to ride into the ancient city. It was neat to see the camels but soon realized that they didn't treat their animals very well. It seemed that every donkey had one or more boys beating it with sticks, rubber hoses, or something tied to a string. I can't imagine enjoying a 1/2 mile donkey ride while a young boy beat it continuously, sometimes lifting the tail to kick it in more tender spots. I'm not talking about firm prodding but continuous punishment. We were quite surprised to be viewing the many caves along the route through Petra and see a dead donkey laying on it's side with it's legs sticking straight out in the air! Almost like he literally fell over dead but maintained it's standing pose! We were not too surprised, however, to see several young boys beating the dead donkey with sticks like a giant piñata lying on the ground. We figured that in that sweltering heat the festering piñata was bound to burst eventually and just hoped we weren't around when it happened. We thought we'd escape some of the "roughness" and haggling by taking the two side hikes away from the main area only to find the markets continuously along the trails, requesting emphatically at each turn to buy something! I know this might sound harsh, but it really is the truth. It really didn't make us want to explore all that much.

At the same time, it (along with many other experiences on this trip) helps us to appreciate our representative democracy and social structure. Not to say that our life as middle-class Americans is innately "better" than the life of a Bedouin tribesman, but that we have choices and opportunities and possibilities while these people seem to have only their current situation and status with no hope of something better or even of choosing something different.

So...we decided to get up early the next morning and be some of the first visitors when the gates opened. And guess what? The hagglers weren't out and in business yet! This provided us a cooler, more relaxed environment in which to explore and get a bit of exercise before another long car ride and airplane ride. Needless to say, we really enjoyed the quietness of that morning.

Then we got into another taxi and headed north for Amman, from where we departed to Kathmandu by way of an overnight lay-over in Doha. To be honest, we felt a bit of relief to be leaving Jordan.

In hindsight (since this blog has gotten a bit out of order) we often reflected on the similarities and contrasts between our next stop (in Nepal) and our stop in Jordan. There was great poverty in both places, mostly in lack of modern conveniences and material wealth (i.e., plumbing and owning a car) and both were overrun with trash and pollution but the attitudes of the Nepalese was kind, humble and content, quick to smile and slow to disagree or argue. We encountered so many mule trains on the trek in Nepal and every driver had a limp stick and used it frequently, but usually only to firmly "pop" the slowest mule. It was not the same punishing blows with rubber hoses as in Jordan.

As for our overnight in the Doha airport...quite an experience. I laugh just thinking about going through immigration. Ben got to experience first-hand what India was like for me. The organization of the whole immigration was poor but there were two obvious ques to enter the immigration stamping. Then almost immediately a plane of Indians (about 75) appeared huddled at the end of the less organized line. This was just fine until they slowly began shifting toward the beginning of our line. Everyone in our line was throwing anxious glances toward the Indians and murmuring what might be happening. Then their entire group quickly merged into the front of our line which was just entering the little gates that force the line into a snaking approach to the booths. It was hilarious to watch, as I anticipated something like this was going to happen.

The guy in front of us, from New Jersey but a frequent traveller to India, just laughed along with us but the French man behind us was vainly chastising the Indians. Ben just stared in quasi disbelief. As they entered our line they began shoving in font of the remaining people that were before them. They have no concept of orderly progression which seems to be an ingrained cultural norm by the end of kindergarten for much of the developed world. I experienced this frequently in India, mostly in the train station, and quickly got used to shoving my way up in front to get any business. It's not necessary to shove in front of other but you must shove to maintain your position or at least make progress. If not, you would literally remain at the back of the group indefinitely.

Ben got a kick out of this whole experience too, as he learned that they also don't have any sense of personal space. I was in front of Ben and he graciously granted me at least 6 inches of personal space. Ben, however, was directly in front of an Indian man who was pressed firmly against Ben's buttocks for the remaining hour we stood in line. Ben's only defense was to lean slightly back so that the man was pressed more against his shoulders than his behind, which, although gave him a sore back later, was a welcome reprieve. We finally made our way through immigration and all the other formalities, ready to spend the next 12-14 hours overnight in the airport until our plane departed for Nepal. It was calm after that and I enjoyed meeting and talking with a very sweet woman from Southeast Asia who was working in the airport. She was very sweet and made me feel again that God has placed people in our path throughout this entire trip and it's been such a delight to experience.

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Photos

Arrival in Jordan
Here we sit waiting for our cab at the Jordan Border. Behind us is King Hussein....his pictures are everywhere in Jordan.

Petra
Look at how high and narrow these canyon walls are leading up to Petra...hard to capture in a picture.

Petra
Camels, camels, everywhere! We were glad to see them getting some much-needed food and rest!

Petra
Heather in front of the ancient city of Petra.

Petra
Ben loves to take pictures of his girl...and here she is in one of the dwellings built into the stone.

Petra
This rock is so beautiful...almost like marble. There were so many caves within caves too, which made it fun to explore.

Petra
More beautiful rock...

Petra
More of the ancient city of Petra

Petra
View through some arch doorways.

Petra
Ben loves to explore all these caves and buildings!

Petra
Heather's perched up high here...it's a good thing her mother wasn't there!

Petra
Look at how big this structure is... but it really wasn't that big inside!

Petra
We hiked to the High Place of Sacrifice one morning... here's Ben enjoying the desert views from up high.

Petra
This is the alter at the High Place of Sacrifice where animals and somesay humans were sacrificed. The blood was caught in the round area, then drained through the slot in the rock in the forefront.