Blogs from Jordan, Middle East - page 5

Giordania, da sempre agli ultimi posti nella mia personale classifica dei luoghi da visitare un giorno. Neppure un visto gratuito offerto a chi prometteva di soggiornarvi per almeno due notti mi aveva convinto ad andarci quando davvero mi trovavo letteralmente a due passi dai suoi confini; neppure l'assurzione di Petra nella lista delle nuove sette meraviglie del mondo moderno è stata sufficiente a farmi cambiare idea. Solamente una pandemia è riuscita nell'impresa: la lista delle nazioni che il governo italiano permette di visitare per "futili" motivi quali il turismo è ancora davvero limitata ed eccomi dunque ad Aqaba, sulle rive del Mar Rosso! Cielo azzurro sgombro da nuvole, aride montagne che si stagliano imponenti all'orizzonte, un mare blu cobalto calmo e cristallino, semplice ma nutriente cucina mediorientale, una fila di tavolini lungo la spiaggia dove bere ... read more

Hi, So last time we had just arrived in Wadi Mass, the town that services Petra. We stayed at the Petra Guest House and I was expecting something small but it had been the Crowne Plaza. It was a nice place with lovely friendly genuine staff. We were up for breakfast at 6.15am and what a difference from the chaos of the Dead Sea. Our guide Ahmed arrived at 7 and we set off for Petra, full of excitement it is 50 Jordanian Dinar entrance fee which is about 50€ or £53 so we wanted to make the most of it. We knew it was going to be a long day and as you set off walking towards the valley you have no sense of what is ahead, the track is flat and uninteresting. You then ... read more

Today is about nothing, much like "Seinfeld" which was a show about nothing, according to George Costanza and Jerry. How did google get its name? The world's top search engine takes its name from the mathematical expression of 100 zeros trailing after the number 1. This name is especially apt since binary code, which is used for all computer processors, uses ones and zeros. Google’s goal was to rank pages on the World Wide Web according to importance using Google metrics, with the ultimate mission being “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Who knows if Google would have caught on if its founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had stuck with its original name: Backrub. How many bones in the human ear? There are three small bones in the human ... read more

31 mars (Toujours au Marriott Petra, Chambre 811) 10h00Am. Debout devant ma fenêtre, je tire une gorgée de mon éternel Earl Grey en observant des chèvres brouter de la brindille dans les collines inertes et recourbées de Petra. Dès que mon regard s'attarde sur quelques mouvements à l'extérieur de ma capsule, je souris, prenant soudainement conscience que le paysage à l'extérieur de la chambre 811 n'est pas qu'un simple décor photographique fixé dans le temps. Le téléphone de ma chambre sonne soudainement, me sortant d'un coup de mon ennuyante routine de prisonnier. Il n'est pourtant pas l'heure du lunch. Au bout de la ligne, l'ambassade canadienne m'annonce de bonnes nouvelles: une entente entre le Qatar et la Jordanie permet le décollage d'un avion le 2 avril à 1h15AM, à partir de l'aéroport international d'Amman (Queen Allia), ... read more

20 mars Yeux bouffis, je reprend vie en angle-mort sur mon lit à crinque de l'hôpital de Wadi Musa. On nous a transféré de chambre au petit matin, libérant ainsi la chambre d'isolement commune pour possiblement d'autres cas douteux d'incubation. Couché sur le dos, le vieux John ronflotte, bras croisés sur sa chemise bleue pâle de bureaucrate tandis qu'Eugène le russe fait les cents pas dans la pièce. Il est 8 ou 9 heures, peut-être 10 heures AM lorsqu'on cogna à la porte. Je ne sais plus trop exactement: toutes ces heures sont maintenant identiques. Dans le corridor, un charriot laissé seul supporte des plats en styromousse et des oranges enfermées dans des sacs à poisson-rouges. On le tire à l'intérieur pour se refermer rapidement à notre contagion. Je me sens comme un gros singe dans ... read more