Petra/Wadi Rum/Aqaba, Jordan

View from the hotel outside of Petra.

     We began our 6 hour journey to Petra with thirteen students, three university employees and two bus drivers. If that doesn't sound like a long chaotic bus ride, wait until the ride back. We arrived in Petra to a resort with the most amazing view. There were a lot of foreign visitors and everything was ridiculously overpriced. Those minor annoyances did nothing to dispel our excitement with the amazing resort and seeing Petra in the am. After a long incident involving the youngest member of our group and alcohol, we settled into our queen sized beds with custom pillows. After waking up at the freakishly early hour of 5:45, we were excited to head to Petra. 

     Walking through the Indiana Jones canyon was ridiculously cool, and the heat was not unbearable at all. As we headed into the main area of Petra, we were greeted with an amazing sight-the treasury. 

At the end of the Siq, viewing the Treasury.

     I thought this was what we came to see. Alas, there were millions of undiscovered carvings and viewpoints within Petra. As we started early in the day, there was minimal heat and we were ready to explore. After climbing 850 steps, Petra became a hot, sticky adventure rivaling that of climbing Table Mountain. At least there was shade in South Africa. I don't know how the Jordanians manage that heat. There was minimal shade, and the sand becomes impossible to walk in. In the end, the pictures were worth it. At the time however, I wanted nothing more than to climb aboard the donkey and be carried around. As one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, Petra lived up to its reputation. However, I would suggest a nighttime tour where the sun is not beating down upon you and the sand is not forcing a treacherous walk. 

     Our next stop was Wadi Rum. Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here. There was a sandstorm the night that we were there, and this impaired our ability to see the magical sky that we were promised. The Bedouin men were interesting, they forced us to dance with them, and the tents were miserable. I would suggest skipping Wadi Rum entirely. Sand is only so exciting. 

On a yacht in the Red Sea.

     Next, we reached my favorite part of the trip, Aqaba. Besides the abysmal dormitory that made me so grateful for the hotel we are living in, Aqaba was amazing. After spending 30 JD for a lackluster night in Wadi Rum, we were reluctant to spend another 30 on a yacht excursion in Aqaba. It turned out to be the best decision that we've made yet. Our private yacht sailed the Red Sea, and offered the beautiful landscape of Jordan, Egypt, and Israel. Along with these breathtaking views, we snorkeled in the cobalt blue sea. One of the divers caught a Pufferfish, and we all held him. His prickly spikes were sharper than I expected. The coral was gorgeous, and we were reluctant for this day to end. Two other UW-Madison students, Cassidy and Mike, are along on this trip, and we've spent a lot of time with them. I only wish we would have known each other before we went! Tan and exhausted from the day, we headed back to change and go out in Aqaba.

Inside a club in Aqaba.

     We began our night at the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. bar which is the exact name of the tv show in the United States. As it is difficult to integrate a big group of people, the Wisconsinites, Cassidy, Mike, Rebecca and I headed out to explore Aqaba discos. Stopping at about 6 other clubs/bars, we quickly realized the party scene is very small in Jordan. At this lovely top floor bar, we were the only ones inside. But we made the evening fantastic and had a blast. As our cab took us home, our driver professed his love for Cassidy. We giggled and ran inside our temporary home, and jumped into bed. Successful day. I would love to go back to Aqaba.

Amman, Jordan

Temple of Hercules within the Amman Citadel.

For Jordan's Independence Day, we took a day trip to Amman, Jordan. Fearing more stares and commentary than Irbid, we were pleasantly surprised by the lack of them. After a rather prolonged journey to Amman (it's difficult to force a group to move quickly) we took a taxi up to Amman's Citadel. Called Jabal al-Qal'a, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places.Different civilizations, beginning in the Neolithic period, built on top of each other, creating a really interesting archeological site. Pictured here is the Temple of Hercules. We browsed around the Citadel for a bit, and managed to lose a group member. She finally wandered back and we left for the Roman Ampitheatre.

The Roman Amphitheater. 

We climbed the perilous Roman Ampitheatre, keeping in mind the scary downhill battle we had to embark upon. We relaxed at the top and pictured Romans getting rowdy and succumbing to the gravity of these extremely steep stairs. While Gabriel scrambled down the stairs like a nimble little monkey, Rebecca, Jamie and I scooted down like children. Finally making it to the bottom, we walked out of the Citadel amidst the winks of the Jordanian men. Winking is the way men here flirt, not smiling or saying hello.

After the Ampitheatre, we walked to a area where until fairly recently, water flowed and the people prayed to the water nymphs. Now it just looks like a dried up, old building. We continued to a Byzantine church, which was closed for the holiday. Fortunately for us, a employee doing maintenance work gave us a private tour around. (Please reference previous post) This man, Mohammed, not only gave us a tour, but gave us lemonade. And not just any old lemonade. This man squeezed the lemons and made a delicious concoction that rivaled the most delicious beverage in the United States. Grateful for our refreshing treat, we shopped downtown Amman. Tired from the day, we hopped back on the bus to Irbid where we made two new friends, Mohammed and Alla. Every third person is named Mohammed. They taught us a bit of slang Arabic and we taught them a bit of English. Excited by the history we saw in Amman, we were so excited for our wekend excursion to Perta, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba.

American Girls

A delicious ice cream treat in a local coffee shop, 7-11.

Travel lesson number two: Travel in small, attractive groups. It has only been three days, and we have reaped the benefits. As Rebecca and I made our way from a sterile, cold internet cafe to a comfortable, free internet cafe, we contemplated the impact of only knowing the Arabic alphabet. Dismissing the idea, we quickly became comfortable in an environment that we were used to. An hour after the shay fiasco, our server came out with two heaping bowls of ice cream. He smiled broadly as we profusely thanked him for being so sweet. The owner asked if we had a good time and hoped that we would come back in again. Free things? Yes, we'd love to.

The next incident occured today in Amman. Gabriel, another student here, wanted to show us a Byzantine church with an art exhibit inside that he found intriguing. As it was Jordan's Independence Day, it was closed to the public. Fortunately for us, the exuberant maintenance man was more than happy to open up the gate and walk us around the church. Not only did he offer us refreshments from the cafe, but he squeezed lemons to make us lemonade. Jordanian people are so friendly.

Rebecca and I cannot walk down the street without cars stopping to 'welcome us to Jordan.' Everyone is ridiculously excited to hear that we're from the United States, and one man showed us the American flag on his passport. It may help that Rebecca and I never stop talking. We met the University president's daughter in the grocery store, and we have incidents that should place us on the list for our own sitcom. A wonderful example occurred today in a place resembling Target.

Rebecca cannot live without a hair dryer and is lacking the converter to allow hers to work. The lack of converters in this country led her to buy a new Jordanian hairdryer from a store in the mall. Not surprisingly, Rebecca picks the hairdryer with only the floor model left. As she asks one employee if she can take it, two older women come by and try to help the poor salesman that speaks no English. This causes four more employees, who have been watching us stealthily from the moment we walked into the door, to sprint over. Their limited English skills lead to the conclusion that we want a stereo. The continuous laughter of the American girls brings a manager over, who promoptly gives Rebecca the hairdryer. As three more employees circle us, the first employee takes the hairdryer and beckons us to follow him. We turn to see him with the hairdryer plugged it, blowing air around the store. With all customers and employees of this superstore watching, Rebecca takes the hairdryer and we stumble to the registers, trying to contain our laughter. What do we see when we walk up to the register? A huge crate of the very hairdryer we were buying the floor model of. After profuse apologies from the manager and our continued laughter, we left the Jordanian superstore waving goodbye to our newfound friends.

Everywhere we go, Jordanians want to chat with us. They love to teach us Arabic and learn English. Rebecca and I stood in the student center waiting for our ids-3 new friends, one Syrrian, one Palestinian, and one Algerian. We sit on the bus from Amman to Irbid-two new friends, both from Jordan and wanting to help us with Arabic. The only awkward thing is the staring. There aren;t many blondes here, so they're probably just curious. I don't think many Americans come to Jordan, but I don't know why they don't. Everyone here is so friendly and welcoming!