Best Weekend Trip Ever!
Hooray...I can access the internet again! Two days ago I started a chronicle of our journeys and the computer blinked out 5 paragraphs in and has not come to life again since. At this internet cafe I will try to recreate some of what I wrote.
Last Thursday we left Amman on our journey to the sights of southern Jordan. The first night happened to be the Islamic New Year and Artemis' friend Walid had something special planned for us. Alex, Artemis, Lauren, and I piled into our little rent-a-Renault and headed south toward Petra. Although Petra is known as "The Lost City (of Rose Red Stone)", it was really only "lost" to westerners. The local Bedou have been inhabiting the area for millenia and there have been settled people in Petra continuously since at least 650 BC.
The first night Walid brought us to "Little Petra", a small sandstone cave known mainly just to locals, where he and his friend Suleiman had prepared grilled chicken for supper. There we relaxed, ate delicious food, drank Amstel beer, and later on were joined by some of Walid's musical friends. Their friend Issa plays the lute and another friend the flute (though in this case the flute was just a piece of plumbing pipe with five holes drilled in it). Long into the night they played traditional Arab and Bedou songs and everybody sang along. With the exception of us foreigners, that is. One of the greatest parts of Arabic culture, IMO, is that much of the poetry has been preserved in popular music and everyone grows up singing the same songs. Everybody shares the common experience of Arabic music and it truly seems to bring people together in a spirit of fun and enjoyment of life.
Later on Issa played an English song of his own creation, though, called "After Tomorrow", which we were able to join in on. It is quite hilarious. You basically make up your own lyrics about what may happen "after tomorrow", mainly on the theme of tourism. Yes, tourism. See, the main industry in the area (and possibly the only one outside of sheep rearing) is ceasless tourism to the sights of the Jordanian desert. Walid and Suleiman spoke some of the best English we've heard while here because they interact with tourists so much. Anyhow, Issa's song was about introducing yourself to someone or making some kind of connection but it is lost when they go home and tell you they will call or e-mail you "After Tomorrow". Its tunelessness makes it remarkably easy to sing along to and if you ask me I will sing it for you in person.
That night, in which the weather first began clearing to make way to a patchily starry sky, we stayed in a hotel in Petra and the next day spent at the site of Petra itself. Petra is a fascinating locale (remember? It's the place featured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade") that was inhabited by a trading culture known as the Nabiteans, as well as the nomadic Bedou. It comprises numerous intricate stone buildings carved from the living sandstone high up in the mountains. It is truly breathtaking in at least two ways: the grandeur of the structures and the countless steps you must scale to reach them. Fortunately we are all young and all needed to move our legs after our long car ride so we headed up to one of the facades known as the Monastery. We could have hired one of the many donkeys available to carry us part of the way but we all wanted the exercise and didn't want to torture a poor donkey just to haul our lazy selves up the foothills. It was a stunning (though uneventful) hike and to make a long afternoon short we made it to many of the beautiful sights of Petra and had a great time. The best part was the cafe at the top where the tea just tasted so damn good after the hike. On the way back one of Walid's friends gave me a ride for part of the way on his horse, which Alex has some pictures of and which I will try to upload to his site when I get home. ( http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=amagidow&p=48CC )
That Friday night we headed to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is sort of the Jordanian Grand Canyon and you can see it in "Lawrence of Arabia". It is characterized by sheer faces of colorful striated sandstone and true dune-y desert. We arrived after dark (despite our attempts at not doing so) and at furst I thought we were going to a luau. Our accomodations for the evening were to be in a Bedouin-run camp but I was shocked when we came to a site with colorful lights in the contours of the cliff, tiki torches, and a palm-covered entrance arbor. It was just an odd first impression--once we passed the entryway we were ushered into a traditional Bedouin tent. The descriptions of this tent can be found in the comments of the LJ post before my last one. Although our day in Petra had been sunny and warm--much warmer than the weather in Amman--it was cool in the shade and we had been freezing our bottoms off in the city for the past two weeks off. The Bedou tent confirmed my suspicion that the tents are warmer than the concrete buildings of the city. We were finally cozy in front of the fire with hot chai in our hands. Later that evening we had dinner and a similar party to the one of the night before but with even more people. And Jim Beam. See--although most Bedou identify themselves as being Muslim, and indeed they are, they follow a more permissive version of Islam than many of the city-dwelling Jordanians do. In general the life in the countryside seems to be a bit more relaxed and pragmatically-minded, as one might expect. Anyhow, it was a great evening with even more music (this time with a drum) and we felt relaxed and at ease in the capable hands of Walid & co. We slept in camping-style tents (though we could have stayed in the larger traditional tent but chose not to for sake of privacy and getting to bed before 3am).
The next day was our visit to Wadi Rum and we did it in style! Walid arranged for us to go on camel-back and after a great deal of cajoling to get Artemis to participate she finally agreed. She's quite comfortable on horseback but as you can imagine, camels are a bit more intense to deal with. At this point I just need to say: riding a camel may seem like just some kind of cheesy tourist thing to do but if you ever get the opportunity to do so, DO IT. It made our tour so much more interesting and far more relaxing (and quiet) than the usual back-of-a-Jeep tour that most people get. We saw some ancient petroglyphs in Aramaic and the awe-inspiring vistas of the Wadi. There's more to see and do there but we only had so much time before we had to hit the road. What we did see was truly beautiful.
Ooh...I almost forgot to mention it--speaking of beautiful, that night in Wadi Rum I beheld what was perhaps the most beautiful night sky I have ever seen. We were completely beyond the lights and haze of a city and it was just a hair past the new moon. Never have I seen such a breathtaking starry night! I will remember it forever.
After our camelback tour of Wadi Rum, quite saddle-sore, we headed to Aqaba. It seems that Aqaba has been a divey port town of little note for much of the past, but recently they have been working at turning it into a major tourist destination on the Red Sea. On the other side of the northern tip of the Red Sea the Israeli town of Taba has had a flourishing tourist trade for decades and Aqaba is quickly catching up as a cheap alternative and has status as a low-tax Special Economic Zone. Although most of the bouganvillea and palm trees are just babies at this point it is still quite beautiful and the weather was around 68-70 degr. F. We had a lovely evening there soaking up the warm weather and relaxing. The next day we saw a little more of the town but had to leave early in the day to get back to Amman by that evening (Sunday). We were all sad to leave the lovely weather but had to go.
The drive back (along a different highway) was actually quite interesting--we saw more dune-y desert and many Bedouin camps where people were living in the traditional shepherding way (rather than as part of the tourism industry). We stopped at the Dead Sea for lunch at the posh hotel, Movenpick. This too was hard to leave since it was like a Mediterranean Disneyland but with hardly any people. It was so peaceful and full of beautifully landscaped gardens and faux adobe dwellings. Apparently Artemis got to stay there when she was working for the UN and even with the discount for ambassadorial staff it was something like $300/night. Ah well...I can at least dream of staying somewhere like that one day.
We made it back to the city without incident (though we did have to stop to take a picture of a baby camel) and concluded our fabulous weekend. Truly, it went off without a hitch and Walid hooked us up with great places to stay and things to do. The experience was an overwhelmingly positive one and a great way to end my time here in Jordan. It was a bit unfortunate we could not have gone on the trip earlier but we were just stymied by the weather. In fact, the first night on the way to Petra we found ourselves driving through a snowstorm, but fortunately our timing turned out to be perfect weather-wise because it cleared up that night in all the places we subsequently visited. It was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to get my pictures developed. I will post the address to them on the LJ. Take care, all! I'll be home soon...
Last Thursday we left Amman on our journey to the sights of southern Jordan. The first night happened to be the Islamic New Year and Artemis' friend Walid had something special planned for us. Alex, Artemis, Lauren, and I piled into our little rent-a-Renault and headed south toward Petra. Although Petra is known as "The Lost City (of Rose Red Stone)", it was really only "lost" to westerners. The local Bedou have been inhabiting the area for millenia and there have been settled people in Petra continuously since at least 650 BC.
The first night Walid brought us to "Little Petra", a small sandstone cave known mainly just to locals, where he and his friend Suleiman had prepared grilled chicken for supper. There we relaxed, ate delicious food, drank Amstel beer, and later on were joined by some of Walid's musical friends. Their friend Issa plays the lute and another friend the flute (though in this case the flute was just a piece of plumbing pipe with five holes drilled in it). Long into the night they played traditional Arab and Bedou songs and everybody sang along. With the exception of us foreigners, that is. One of the greatest parts of Arabic culture, IMO, is that much of the poetry has been preserved in popular music and everyone grows up singing the same songs. Everybody shares the common experience of Arabic music and it truly seems to bring people together in a spirit of fun and enjoyment of life.
Later on Issa played an English song of his own creation, though, called "After Tomorrow", which we were able to join in on. It is quite hilarious. You basically make up your own lyrics about what may happen "after tomorrow", mainly on the theme of tourism. Yes, tourism. See, the main industry in the area (and possibly the only one outside of sheep rearing) is ceasless tourism to the sights of the Jordanian desert. Walid and Suleiman spoke some of the best English we've heard while here because they interact with tourists so much. Anyhow, Issa's song was about introducing yourself to someone or making some kind of connection but it is lost when they go home and tell you they will call or e-mail you "After Tomorrow". Its tunelessness makes it remarkably easy to sing along to and if you ask me I will sing it for you in person.
That night, in which the weather first began clearing to make way to a patchily starry sky, we stayed in a hotel in Petra and the next day spent at the site of Petra itself. Petra is a fascinating locale (remember? It's the place featured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade") that was inhabited by a trading culture known as the Nabiteans, as well as the nomadic Bedou. It comprises numerous intricate stone buildings carved from the living sandstone high up in the mountains. It is truly breathtaking in at least two ways: the grandeur of the structures and the countless steps you must scale to reach them. Fortunately we are all young and all needed to move our legs after our long car ride so we headed up to one of the facades known as the Monastery. We could have hired one of the many donkeys available to carry us part of the way but we all wanted the exercise and didn't want to torture a poor donkey just to haul our lazy selves up the foothills. It was a stunning (though uneventful) hike and to make a long afternoon short we made it to many of the beautiful sights of Petra and had a great time. The best part was the cafe at the top where the tea just tasted so damn good after the hike. On the way back one of Walid's friends gave me a ride for part of the way on his horse, which Alex has some pictures of and which I will try to upload to his site when I get home. ( http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=amagidow&p=48CC )
That Friday night we headed to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is sort of the Jordanian Grand Canyon and you can see it in "Lawrence of Arabia". It is characterized by sheer faces of colorful striated sandstone and true dune-y desert. We arrived after dark (despite our attempts at not doing so) and at furst I thought we were going to a luau. Our accomodations for the evening were to be in a Bedouin-run camp but I was shocked when we came to a site with colorful lights in the contours of the cliff, tiki torches, and a palm-covered entrance arbor. It was just an odd first impression--once we passed the entryway we were ushered into a traditional Bedouin tent. The descriptions of this tent can be found in the comments of the LJ post before my last one. Although our day in Petra had been sunny and warm--much warmer than the weather in Amman--it was cool in the shade and we had been freezing our bottoms off in the city for the past two weeks off. The Bedou tent confirmed my suspicion that the tents are warmer than the concrete buildings of the city. We were finally cozy in front of the fire with hot chai in our hands. Later that evening we had dinner and a similar party to the one of the night before but with even more people. And Jim Beam. See--although most Bedou identify themselves as being Muslim, and indeed they are, they follow a more permissive version of Islam than many of the city-dwelling Jordanians do. In general the life in the countryside seems to be a bit more relaxed and pragmatically-minded, as one might expect. Anyhow, it was a great evening with even more music (this time with a drum) and we felt relaxed and at ease in the capable hands of Walid & co. We slept in camping-style tents (though we could have stayed in the larger traditional tent but chose not to for sake of privacy and getting to bed before 3am).
The next day was our visit to Wadi Rum and we did it in style! Walid arranged for us to go on camel-back and after a great deal of cajoling to get Artemis to participate she finally agreed. She's quite comfortable on horseback but as you can imagine, camels are a bit more intense to deal with. At this point I just need to say: riding a camel may seem like just some kind of cheesy tourist thing to do but if you ever get the opportunity to do so, DO IT. It made our tour so much more interesting and far more relaxing (and quiet) than the usual back-of-a-Jeep tour that most people get. We saw some ancient petroglyphs in Aramaic and the awe-inspiring vistas of the Wadi. There's more to see and do there but we only had so much time before we had to hit the road. What we did see was truly beautiful.
Ooh...I almost forgot to mention it--speaking of beautiful, that night in Wadi Rum I beheld what was perhaps the most beautiful night sky I have ever seen. We were completely beyond the lights and haze of a city and it was just a hair past the new moon. Never have I seen such a breathtaking starry night! I will remember it forever.
After our camelback tour of Wadi Rum, quite saddle-sore, we headed to Aqaba. It seems that Aqaba has been a divey port town of little note for much of the past, but recently they have been working at turning it into a major tourist destination on the Red Sea. On the other side of the northern tip of the Red Sea the Israeli town of Taba has had a flourishing tourist trade for decades and Aqaba is quickly catching up as a cheap alternative and has status as a low-tax Special Economic Zone. Although most of the bouganvillea and palm trees are just babies at this point it is still quite beautiful and the weather was around 68-70 degr. F. We had a lovely evening there soaking up the warm weather and relaxing. The next day we saw a little more of the town but had to leave early in the day to get back to Amman by that evening (Sunday). We were all sad to leave the lovely weather but had to go.
The drive back (along a different highway) was actually quite interesting--we saw more dune-y desert and many Bedouin camps where people were living in the traditional shepherding way (rather than as part of the tourism industry). We stopped at the Dead Sea for lunch at the posh hotel, Movenpick. This too was hard to leave since it was like a Mediterranean Disneyland but with hardly any people. It was so peaceful and full of beautifully landscaped gardens and faux adobe dwellings. Apparently Artemis got to stay there when she was working for the UN and even with the discount for ambassadorial staff it was something like $300/night. Ah well...I can at least dream of staying somewhere like that one day.
We made it back to the city without incident (though we did have to stop to take a picture of a baby camel) and concluded our fabulous weekend. Truly, it went off without a hitch and Walid hooked us up with great places to stay and things to do. The experience was an overwhelmingly positive one and a great way to end my time here in Jordan. It was a bit unfortunate we could not have gone on the trip earlier but we were just stymied by the weather. In fact, the first night on the way to Petra we found ourselves driving through a snowstorm, but fortunately our timing turned out to be perfect weather-wise because it cleared up that night in all the places we subsequently visited. It was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to get my pictures developed. I will post the address to them on the LJ. Take care, all! I'll be home soon...