Blogs from Jordan, Middle East - page 104

Well I got up early and hitched a perfectly timed ride to the Dahab bus stop for the daily bus to Nuwebia for the connecting two o'clock ferry, heading across the gulf of Aqaba to Jordan. Everything was running smoothly at my end. But somehow that two o'clock ferry didn’t manage to leave until 9 o'clock which meant I landed in Jordan at midnight and was through their shambolic customs routine by 2 am, but I did stop and have a cup of hibiscus tea with the customs officers. Anyway after a long day I found a cheap, by Jordanian standards ( AU only gets 0.66 of a JD) bed in the port town of Aqaba for a few hour sleep. The Next morning I was heading to Wadi Musa or the town of Moses ... read more

After leaving the Wadi Rum, we drove another couple hours to the Red Sea in Aqaba. The best options to visit Aqaba for foriegners is to buy entry into a hotel beach. The public beaches are not too welcoming I've been told. We decided to opt for a longer drive but better snorkling and cheaper prices at a resort area about 30 minutes south of Aqaba called The Royal Society for Diving... or something like that. It was perfect. We entered for 7 JD each and rented snorkling gear for 5 JD. The beach was very clean with shade and chairs and the resturant very good. The water was crystal clear and blue as the Carribean. The snorkling was just off the beach with a very nice coral reef and many colorful fish. I was ... read more

So today, after handing out food packages, we made a quick stop by Jerash. The ancient ruins are very well preserved by the desert climate and are quite impressive. With two large amphitheatres, the place serves as the accomadation for the famous Jerash festivals. Unfortunatly these lively festivals happen just as we leave. We saw evidence of preparation for the crowds to come though as small tents were set up and stages built in the amphitheaters. If you're ever in Jordan at the end of July don't miss the festivals... they're supposed to be incredible. The actual ruins themselves are really quite Roman... they say if you've seen one great Roman ruin, you've seen them all. But for me, I really enjoyed our quick walk around the area seeing as they were my first Roman ruin ... read more

We finished the house and guiltyly left a happy, waving family behind in the desert heat. The next day was one of "rest and recreation" but, of course, being the good travelers we are, we couldn't stand the thought of a day of nothing. Due to some program complications we were sent out of the way while the arabs fixed our complicated schedule. We stuffed ourselves into taxis and set out for a real cultural experience... Mecca Mall. Yep, a mall, fully equipped with every American and European big name you can think of. Riding up the escalator behind two completely, though very styleishly, covered women in hijabs and extremely high heels I was again touched by the extremes in this place. Wealth and a lack of and all of it under the headlines of ... read more

Back at NYIT again, we finished our final presentation yesterday to a very enthusiastic group of students. I spent two hours talking to two guys from Iraq who go to school here in Jordan. It was incredibly interesting. They were really open about it all and really confirmed my belief that we're really just all the same. They were really adament about the fact that not all Iraqis hate Americans just like I tried to get across how many Americans knew what they were going through and felt terrible. We were just trying to tell each other the same thing. Today we're not doing our actual presentaions but a form of them for a TV talkshow. Should be interesting. THe TV channel is an Arabic/Spanish channel that explores different cultures. They're bringing in different students ... read more