Jordan... Again/ Longest Post to Date

For the Eid holiday I couldn't bring myself to stick around Ramallah for 9 days so I decided to head back to Jordan... I am sorry... I couldn't help myself. My friend Hamza, who I mentioned in my previous post, told me that he would arrange everything so I could enjoy myself... and that I did.

A couple of the amazing views in Jordan! South of Wadi Mousa

North of Wadi Mousa

Last Sunday I headed out early in the morning to the Ramallah central bus depot where I caught a bus to East Jerusalem. I then had to get a taxi to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station where I caught my bus to Eilat -- which was a 4 hour ride via the Dead Sea. Once in Eilat I took another taxi to the border crossing, and then once through the border crossing, Hamza's cousin, Ahmed picked me up, took me to the market in Aqaba to pick up some groceries and then dropped me off at the apartment that Hamza had arranged for me to stay at for the first 2 nights. The apartment was big (far too big for one person) and dirty, but it was the same price as a hotel and had a full kitchen so I couldn't complain too much ... except about the cockroaches. Aqaba is a beautiful, well-kept city that sits along the Red Sea and is nestled below the rocky, picturesque mountains of Jordan. It was my first ever glimpse of the Red Sea and after looking at a map I don't think I realized at the time just how close I was to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. No wonder every time I asked a taxi driver to take me to the border crossing they always asked "which one?"

Overlooking the Bedouin village near Petra

On Tuesday Hamza met up with me in Aqaba and took me somewhere so I could rent a car. The system there was a little misconstrued and not what I was used to. They required cash for the deposit and required all the money up front. In addition the car was a piece of crap and definitely not worth the money I paid for it. Having said this, it didn't break down on me or run out of gas... so again I can't complain too much. After securing the car we then headed north towards Petra. Hamza showed me around his village of Wadi Mousa and let me see what a typical night in the life of a young Wadi Mousan is like... which ended up not being that different than a night might be in small town America. We (myself, Hamza, and his friend Muhammed) cruised around the streets of the town with our Arabic music blaring and stopping to talk when we saw friends. The guys played jokes on their friends, we stopped at the "record store" to buy cassette tapes for the rental car, and made sure to stop by the corner store for snacks and drinks. We ended the evening at Muhammed's cousin's restaurant drinking tea and eating gullayh with lamb -- delicious!

Wadi Mousa at Night

On Wednesday I went to Little Petra which is about a 15-20 minute drive north of Petra. Little Petra is as its name suggest a smaller version of the various tombs and homes carved into the rock walls of the nearby, more famous Petra. I was accompanied by 3 local boys who although I told that I didn't need guides, decided to follow me regardless. They took me up to one cave that contained an ancient painting that was being renovated by 2 hardworking people from France. We then made our way up a narrow passage of stairs that would take me to a fabulous view of the valley and surrounding area. I then shared bedouin tea with my new friends and after a couple of hours of exploration headed back to Wadi Mousa where I met up with Hamza and his friends who had prepared for us to spend the night in the desert.

So me, 4 guys, and a whole load of camping gear piled into my little rental car and headed on our way to Wadi Araba -- northwest of Wadi Mousa. The drive there was amazing with its back, windy roads and spectacular views of the Jordan Valley. When we got down to the desert we ran into a number of camel caravans before we turned off into the sand. We found a good spot to settle for the night and the guys set up camp quickly in the dusky light of the last remnents of the sun. We sat around the campfire while I listened to stories of Islam and the Prophet Muhammed being told by men who truly believe in their faith. It was beautiful and a moment that I will never forget. They then cooked a fabulous meal of goat shish kebabs and chops, and bedouin gallayh. Holy deliciousness! The night was very cold and unfortunately I was feeling a bit under the weather with my sore throat and runny nose, but I was so happy to be in the middle of the desert in Jordan with great company that it didn't matter much!

My Bedouin friends
View on the way to Wadi Araba
Sunset in the desert
The boys cooking up the delicious meal

On Thursday we woke up early and hoisted ourselves back into my car and continued heading north on the road that runs along side the Dead Sea. I have to say that the Dead Sea is much more beautiful on the Jordanian side than the Israeli side. It is much greener and picturesque. We winded our way up into the mountains and through Madaba and then back down just south of Amman. We then stopped at a horse ranch because Ahmed was looking to secure a purchase on one of the horses. For the citizens of Wadi Mousa horses make up a huge part of their life and the therefore the choice of horse is of high importance. After the business deal we headed back down to Wadi Mousa where I crashed for the night after an interesting night in the desert and day on the road.

The next day I adventured in the area around Wadi Mousa. Near to Petra is an old 12th century fortress that sits high above the valley. I had to do some climbing to get there, but it was well worth it as there was not a person in sight and the structure of this place was amazing. It was only me, the broken down fortress, and the village of Wadi Mousa in the distance. After a decent morning of hiking and climbing I relaxed the rest of the day by reading and spending time in the local restaurants and coffee shops. My all-time favorite drink of this area of the world is "asir limon wa nana" -- fresh lemon juice with mint. Holy lord... it is delicious and ridiculously refreshing. That and "chay wa maramiya" -- tea with sage. I never thought that I would like the combination of plain tea with sugar and fresh sage... but it is now my favorite hot drink.

On Saturday, my last day in Jordan, I got up early and headed back to Aqaba. The roads in Jordan are very well patrolled by speeding cops who sit on the sides of the road with their white SUVs and radar guns. At some point I was flagged down by one even though I knew I was not speeding. I thought, oh great I got a speeding ticket in Jordan... nice! However when the policeman came over to my window I realized that he actually wanted a ride. So him and another cop got into my car and off we went. They were very friendly although they knew very little English we were able to communicate and have a bit of a laugh. They kept calling their friends who knew English well and had them talk to me and then translate what I said to them. I dropped them off near the turn off to Wadi Rum.

Hamza

I found the car rental place quite easily and decided to walk around Aqaba until I had to head to the Israeli border. I found a nice, quite park with a fountain to sit and read in and then I walked down to the Red Sea to watch the locals play in their boats. I had lunch (tabbouleh and hommous wa lamha) at Ali Baba restaurant, where the meal was great, the staff ridiculously friendly and attentive and the atmosphere perfect. I then took a taxi to the border. I was a little nervous about the questions that they may ask, but I took my usual approach of being really friendly and laid back. When I got to the customs area, the border guard asked me what my family name was, what my parent's parent's names were and what my grandparents names were. I got to the point where I told him "I don't know; they were dead before I was born." He let me through with a smile and when I got to the passport counter --which is typically where the majority of the crazy questions are asked -- the girl behind the glass didn't say a single word to me.

After the 4 hour bus ride to Jerusalem I had to take a taxi to the East Jerusalem bus station to catch the last bus home to Ramallah. When my taxi driver found out that I was going to Ramallah he told me how bad it was and how "no good" the people were. I just told him "maybe to you, but to me Ramallah and the people there are nothing but good." When I got on the #18 the bus driver bought me some tea to keep me warm while we sat and waited for the bus to fill up with people. I found out that he lived in Ramallah and I kept thinking to myself, "yeah this person who bought a total stranger tea must be no good."