Jerash

Yesterday, Fawaz and I went to see the ruins in Jerash!

The night before, Stephanie and I went to Fawaz and Lena's apartment for a taco iftar. It was delicious! At the end of the evening, Stephanie took a cab home since she had class the next day, but I stayed at Fawaz and Lena's. I even watched an episode of True Blood with her. It is a slightly bizarre show, but I enjoyed it...maybe I'll start watching that once I finish Law and Order: SVU on Netflix (which is going to be soon!)

Anyway, Jerash. So Fawaz and I got up at 9, ate some breakfast, and headed off to Jerash. We got there around 10 and went exploring! It was so hot there. We spent about two hours visiting the ruins and then we went back home and just chilled out for the rest of the day.

Yep, that's about it on Jerash hahaha

Wadi Rum

Ok, so we left Petra to go to Wadi Rum, where we took a "jeep" tour (aka we were in the back of a pick-up truck), had dinner, and spent the night in a Bedouin camp.

We got there a little bit later than we originally planned, so we briefly went on our jeep tour and then went to go watch the sun set. It was beautiful!

The unfortunate thing is that these pictures don't even come close to capturing the beauty of Wadi Rum! But I'd say they do a pretty good job :)

After we watched the sunset, we went back to the Bedouin camp for some dinner. It was so delicious! We had chicken, rice, tahini sauce, vegetables, bread, and various other things. We then got back into the "jeep" and headed out to a sand dune to look a the stars. 

Stargazing in Wadi Rum= perfect. I saw stars I've never seen before, and I could even spot the Milky Way. I saw so many shooting stars that I ran out of wishes to make. And it was so quiet! The sand was really soft and it was just such a serene moment. The Bedouins brought us tea and we had a campfire, played some games in the sand, and then I "read the stars" and told everyone their futures in Arabic, which got everyone laughing.

It was slightly windy, so sand was blowing in our faces, hence the "snow" in the picture.

After about 2 hours, we drove back to the camp and got ready for bed. I took a shower and it was GLORIOUS- I was so dusty/dirty/sandy.

We stayed in a 4-person Bedouin tent, but it was way too hot on the inside, so Stephanie, Saria, and I decided to drag our pillows and comforters to the sand outside our tent and sleep under the stars.

Our tent

Our makeshift beds. From left to right, me, Stephanie, Saria.

The main area of the camp.

We got up at 8:00ish, had some breakfast, and then left to go back to Amman. On the way back, we checked out this place where you could rent ATVs for an hour. Saria and Stephanie decided to do it, but Nesma and I stayed back (it was a bit pricey). So she and I climbed a rock. Afterwards we headed to Amman.

Downside to the trip: Our driver turned out to be a real jerk, trying to rip us off left and right.

Upside to the downside: We're not dumb. And we got a 15JD discount from the travel agency because of him :-)

Petra

This past weekend, Saria, Stephanie, Nesma (our friend from class), and I went to Petra and Wadi Rum. The adventure was so epic that I will be dividing it into two posts.

We met up with our driver at 7am on Friday outside of the McDonald's right next to our hostel. We then drove 4 hours to Petra, getting there around 11 am. I got 4 hours of sleep the night before, so I napped a little in the car and got some coffee at a rest stop. Once we got there, I lathered up with sunscreen and bought my entry ticket. Entry for non-Jordanian citizens is 50JD!!!! (About $70ish). It was ridiculous, but well worth it- it was a nice place and I really wanted to go.

The walk from the entry gate to the actual entrance to Petra took about 20-30 minutes. I was amazed that it wasn't too terribly hot outside. We wandered through rocks and sand. Our first stop was the Treasury.

Here, we decided to take camels to the next stop. Stephanie and Nesma decided they wanted to explore that place a little more, so they got off their camels, but Saria and I wanted to stay on them a little longer and head to the Monastery. So we parted ways for a little while. 

Ok, NOW I can actually say I've ridden a camel, since I was on it for longer than 2 minutes. It is a very wobbly ride, but it's lots of fun. The nerve-wracking part is that all you have to hold is some stick in front of you.

Saria and I then rode donkeys up the 900+ stairs to the Monastery. I was told riding a donkey up the stairs is kinda scary. I thought it was fun! Only my donkey was really dumb and walked too close to the rock wall, scraping my leg. He also enjoyed walking really close to the edge. And by the end, he was swerving like he was drunk. Silly donkey.

When we got to the top, we still had some more stairs to climb. At this point, it was really hot outside. We got to the Monastery, took a few pictures, and then went to the café across from it for some juice and to cool off. While we were there, we saw two men at the top of the Monastery jumping from rock to rock. (We later found out they were Bedouins who lived there.)

A little while later, Stephanie and Nesma met up with us. They befriended a Bedouin named Mohamed, who took us into the Monastery. Afterward, he invited us to climb up the Monastery with him. We accepted, thinking it would be fun (which it was), and knowing that he knew what he was doing. (Okay, you're probably reading this thinking that we're really stupid. No worries, though. Bedouins are the most hospitable, trustworthy people in the world.)

So, we climbed up to the Monastery. When we were about halfway up, another Bedouin from down below was yelling in Arabic to Mohamed, then for us to get down. We thought he thought that Mohamed conned us/pressured us into going up, which CERTAINLY was not the case. About 5 minutes later, we reached a platform and hung out there for a few minutes. Then, all of a sudden, the man yelling from below was up there with us, yelling at Mohamed. The two got into a huge fight, and the man almost pushed Mohamed off the monument. So the 4 of us are screaming for them to stop. Eventually they did and we were so relieved. After the Bedouin Brawl, we took some pictures and headed back down.

We were a little bit late meeting up with our driver, so Mohamed talked to him on the phone to have him meet us in the Bedouin village (a shortcut out of Petra). So we walked down the 900 stairs and got on donkeys. (About halfway down, though, we stopped for tea with other Bedouins.) The man who got in a fight with Mohamed decided to descend the mountain with us to talk to the tourist police. The police asked the 4 of us if there was a problem, and we told them that everything was okay, as we did not want to get involved in any personal beef between Mohamed and the other guy. So, the police walked away and the other guy decided he wanted to fight again. This time, a lot of people were involved. Saria, Nesma, and Stephanies' donkeys started to walk away from the fight, but my mule's rope was being held by a guy trying to break up the fight. So, I was stuck in the middle, praying that the mule wouldn't get spooked and throw me off. Luckily, that wasn't a problem. After a few minutes, we just walked away up to the village.

Mohamed and his friends were very apologetic about the man causing the fight. We weren't angry, we just felt badly that he was being such a jerk to such nice people. 

The ride up to the village was fun. We traveled in a herd- us on donkeys, some other Bedouins on donkeys and camels, etc. It was really cool.

We got to the Bedouin village, thanked them for their hospitality, and headed off to Wadi Rum.

The Citadel

Today was my last day of class! I can't believe it went by so quickly! I'm kinda sad because I thoroughly enjoyed my teacher and the lessons...

But anywho, today's post is about my field trip to the Citadel!

Saria, Stephanie, and I left our hostel around 4:30 pm and took a cab up to the Citadel in the center of the city. I thought it was just the pillars (which I later discovered to be the Temple of Hercules), but I wanted to go anyway. Boy, was I wrong! I had to dedicate an entire Facebook album to pictures just from the Citadel!

Ok, first of all, it was hot as hell. It is now that point in the year. But it's dry heat, so it isn't too bad.

Anyway, we explored around and took TONS of pictures. We even had a photo shoot. Much laughter was had by all.

View of the Roman Theatre

The Temple of Hercules

Byzantine Church

An ancient residential unit

A street running through "town"

At night, Stephanie and I went out to Trader Vic's with Lena. We were out past curfew but figured that Saria could get the door for us. We were wrong. Apparently they shut off the power to the main door after curfew. Oops...

Tomorrow we are FINALLY going to Petra and Wadi Rum. It is going to be so hot, yet a lot of fun! More to come!

Israel

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to go to Israel! To briefly sum it up: it was AWESOME. But you can see that from my Facebook pictures. Here's the story:

As previously mentioned, Lena invited Stephanie and I to go with her, Fawaz, and her friend Munir to Jerusalem with her. We decided to take her up on the offer.

The story begins on Thursday night. Stephanie and I packed our weekend bags and took a cab to Lena and Fawaz's apartment. There, we met Lena and went out for dinner and drinks (it was apparently a loooooooooooooooooong day at the American Embassy). We then went to the party at the Marine House. I was very excited to go to the Marine House party since I had a great time there on the 4th of July even though there weren't many people there. The Marines are known to throw a real kickin' party, and this one was going to be huge since it was the last weekend before Ramadan. Unfortunately, some of the guests were a little on the immature side. Lesson #1 in my life as a real adult that some people just never grow up. But it's okay- I had a great time socializing with Stephanie, Lena, Munir, and some other people.

We went back to Lena's apartment once the party was over (12am- Embassy standards) and played pool with Fawaz. We then showered and went to bed. (The shower was awesome because there was water pressure! Aka- it didn't take me 15 minutes to rinse shampoo out of my hair! Yayyy!!!)

We slept in until about 11 the next morning. The plan was to get to the border right before it closed at 2:30. The reason? The Israeli police have a hobby of holding people at the border for hours for no apparent reason. Nobody wants to stay much later past their shift, so if we got there right before, we wouldn't experience many troubles.

Fawaz decided that it would be better if he didn't go to Israel with us simply because of his Syrian nationality- he didn't want us to have ANY problems. So, it was just Stephanie, Lena, Munir, and me who went. We left the apartment later than expected, so we had to race to the border (about 45 minutes from Amman). Lena drove like a real Jordanian! I'm so proud of her.

We were late, but we made it across. Going through customs was slightly annoying, but bearable. The Israeli security is really intense! (Understandable, though.) For example, Munir had to fill out separate papers about his family, but the three of us did not. Also, we had to get our bags scanned as if we were going through airport security. Ok, no biggie, but it was shocking afterward to see them scanning TRASH! It was crazy.

I think the whole process only took about 2 hours. We were also the last people to cross over the border that day. I think we got lucky because 2 of us were diplomats. If it was just Stephanie and me, I imagine we'd've probably been denied entry that day.

Our first stop was Jerusalem. We went to the Mt. of Olives first to have a view of the city.

The Dome of the Rock

The Dome of the Rock is controversial because it is a mosque built on the Temple mount. The Muslims believe that this is where the Prophet Muhammed ascended into heaven accompanied by Gabriel. At one point in time, Muslims had to pray facing the Dome of the Rock. Nowadays, they face Mecca. However, the Jews still believe that this is the holiest place on earth. Needless to say, this site will probably always remain controversial.

We left the Mt. of Olives to get into the Old City. Our first stop was the Western Wall. This is the original wall that surrounded the Temple mount. It is a very holy place in Judaism, and many come here to pray. I decided to go say a prayer against the wall, too. After all, Judaism is the foundation of Christianity. 

I didn't feel like just saying a prayer was enough. So, like many before me, I decided to write another prayer on a piece of paper and stick it inside the wall. It was a very simple one, but meaningful.

I wouldn't necessarily say that touching and leaving a prayer in the Western Wall was on my bucket list, simply because I never really sat and thought about it, but I'm glad I did it, especially because it is a dream of so many people. Had I have put a lot of thought into it before, I'm sure it would've been on my bucket list. (I really need to write one out.) So many Jewish women were there crying and reading religious scripture. It was another very spiritual experience.

We then ventured to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is a church that was built on Calvary Hill. It contains the Stone of Anointing, where Jesus's body was prepared for burial by Joseph of Arimathea, as well as Jesus's tomb.

Christ's tomb

I figured that the Stone of Anointing would be blocked off, like a museum piece, but it was out in the open for people to touch and kiss. So, I decided to touch and kiss it, too!

It was not a requirement for women to cover their heads inside the church, but I decided to. I mean, land doesn't get much holier than this.

Again, this was not on my bucket list, but truth be told, I didn't know the Stone of Anointing existed. The Blarney Stone is next on my list of things to kiss, and that HAS been on my list for a very long time. And maybe one day I'll lick the Liberty Bell like Barney and Ted did in "How I Met Your Mother" hahaha.

We left Jerusalem for Tel Aviv around the beginning of Shabbat. We arrived in Tel Aviv about an hour later and checked into a hotel called the "Lusky Suites Hotel". What a sketchy name. 

We all got ready and then got seafood. I had the BEST calamari in my whole life. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It was a really late dinner and afterward, we went to a bar just up the beach for a few beverages. At the bar, we had very deep, meaningful conversations. And then I went swimming at 2:00 am....

We took a cab back to the hotel around 3ish, went to bed at 4, and then got up at 8 to get breakfast and go to the beach.

Tel Aviv is right along the Mediterranean. That being said, it was really hot outside.

Since it was Shabbat, we figured that everything would be closed and that we'd have to rely on McDonald's. Actually, the McDonald's was closed, but the rest of the cafés were open. Bizarre. We ate a really delicious meal and then headed to the beach. 

We didn't have a lot of time to spend at the beach since we needed to get back to Jordan before the border closed again. So we went swimming. The water was really warm and clear! It was beautiful! Unfortunately, jellyfish in the Mediterranean thoroughly enjoy reproducing around this time of year, so we got stung a lot. Ouch! Once we could no longer tolerate the stinging, Stephanie and I headed back to the hotel to pack up and check out.

Getting back into Jordan was a breeze. I went to bed at 8pm that night.

In conclusion, Israel is an awesome place! I would definitely go back, and I recommend it to others! It isn't nearly as violent/dangerous as the media makes it out to. I felt safe the entire time! (And it was nice to go a full 24 hours without getting harassed!)

An Unexpected Weekend Trip...

Ok, so a few posts ago, I probably mentioned that Saria, Stephanie, and I are going to Petra and Wadi Rum this weekend. False.

No worries! It's happening! Just next weekend...Yeah, yeah I know I said that last time, but next weekend is our last weekend, so we don't have a choice hahaha.

Anyway, why am I pushing back Petra and Wadi Rum yet again? Because I have an awesome godbrother.

Fawaz is Lena's husband. He is my Uncle James' very best friend and my godbrother. He owned Mirage, the hookah bar in downtown Frederick. He still kinda does, but he's traipsing about the world, so he's doing other things as well.

Anyway, Lena's stationed in Jordan, so it would only make sense for Fawaz to be here to. Last night, he invited us over for dinner! Much fun was had by all, of course!

In the midst of our dinner, Fawaz mentioned that he, Lena, and Munir were going to Jerusalem for the weekend and invited us. How could we say no?! Jerusalem is a safe place and American citizens can get in and out easily. We will also be able to get back into Jordan easily. A lot of people are wary about going to Israel due to all the conflict. Also, if you've been to certain countries, the Israeli border patrol will not let you into the country. The same goes for going to other countries if you have an Israeli stamp on your passport. For extra measures, Stephanie and I are taking extra pieces of paper to get our Israeli stamps on so that it isn't permanently in our passports.

Yeah, maybe we're crazy, but we're going with a native Arab and TWO Foreign Service Officers. I feel like there isn't a safer way to go.

So I'll just add a sixth country to my list. :-)

An Afternoon in Downtown Amman

Yesterday, Silvia, Stephanie, Saria, and I went to downtown Amman to go shopping. The neighborhood is not as, let's say....fortunate as other parts of Amman, but we were fine there. The men were on the flirtatious side, but we just ignored them.

Side note- after experiencing a lot of harassment in Morocco, I decided to buy myself a fake wedding band for Jordan to ward off unwanted suitors. I went to Claire's and bought myself a "wedding band/engagement ring set" for only $9. I haven't had to wear them much while being here since the men in my section of town are respectful. (Yes, even the guys my age are!) But I wore them yesterday for added safety measures.

Pretty convincing, huh? One day they'll be real :-P

Anyway, I was able to partake in my favorite Middle Eastern pastime- bargaining. The prices of the things I really liked were very fair to begin with, so I didn't do much bargaining for myself. However, I bargained for the other 3. I mean, they would've been fine on their own, but I'm super stubborn when it comes to bargaining, so they got even LOWER prices. I'm not a big bragger, but my bargaining skills are astounding. Click here for my bargaining tips! Of course, they're set up in currency terms of Morocco, but the rules are generally the same.

We went to a little shop that sold keffiyehs (the long scarves that men wear on their heads to block the sun from their necks) and although they were about 4JD, I got them down to 2. I told them that I lived in Morocco and that I know what a good price is. The other girls weren't as stubborn as me, but I wouldn't let them buy a keffiyeh for more than 2JD. When all was said and done, the men sold them to us for 2JD a piece. Win!

After a long, hot afternoon of shopping, we went to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that is known for its falafel and hummus. In fact, it's the most famous falafel and hummus place in all of Jordan. And let me tell you, it's for sure the best I've ever had. I'm afraid I'll be disappointed with the hummus back in the United States. I don't want to turn into a hummus snob, but I probably will since it's so damn delicious here.

And then we ate sheep head.

I'm totally kidding.

We're definitely going back to bargain more before we leave! (And maybe eat more hummus at that restaurant.)

The Coolest Day Ever!

On Saturday, I crossed 2 things off my bucket list!

The plan for the weekend was to go to Wadi Rum and Aqaba. The plan then changed to Wadi Rum and Petra. The plan changed again to Madaba. Essentially, we didn't really make plans until the very last minute, so we were in a bit of a pickle- we only have 3 weekends here and there is so much to do in so little time! Me being me, I felt a bit under the gun and did everything I could to make sure we went SOMEWHERE.

We didn't want to rush the whole Petra/Wadi Rum thing because they're a big deal. A huge deal, in fact. We decided not to do Aqaba at the time because there isn't much to do there other than sit and relax. We figured that going to Madaba would be our best bet since it's about 30 minutes to an hour away from Amman and we wouldn't need to worry about staying in a hotel. The only problem is that we had no idea how to get to Madaba on the cheap. So Stephanie, Nick, and I decided to get up early on Saturday and wing it.

The night before, Stephanie asked if she should pack a swimsuit in case we went to the Dead Sea (which isn't very far from Madaba). I almost said no, but changed my mind thinking that it was very possible that we could be going there. I texted Nick to pack one, as well.

We were very fortunate- on Saturday morning we flagged down a taxi, asked if he'd bring us to Madaba, and he said yes! He offered to bring us to Mt. Nebo afterwards. We also expressed an interest in going to the Dead Sea, and he agreed to that too- for the sole price of 50JD! ($70...that's a good deal).

Our cab driver's name was Adeeb. He was very helpful and kind. We're totally hiring him again!

So our first stop was Madaba, which is famous for its mosaics. We spent an hour there. We first went to St. George's Greek Orthodox Map Church. It was absolutely beautiful! There were so many icons and mosaics! It's called the Map Church because there is a mosaic map of the Holy Land on the floor.

Here is a clearer picture of the map:

Some mosaic icons and painted icons:

We then attempted to get to the burnt down palace, but we couldn't find it. So I bought myself a Jordanian Barbie instead :-)

After spending an hour in Madaba, Adeeb drove us to Mt. Nebo, the mountain upon which Moses stood to have a view of the Promised Land given to the Israelites by God. As such, Mt. Nebo looks out onto holy land! 

Here is a map of what we were looking at:

And here is the view:

It was so beautiful that this picture doesn't even do it justice. It was absolutely incredible to actually see a place/places where so many religious and historical events happened.

And, of course, we got a picture of the 3 of us:

Cool fact about me: Moses is my favorite religious figure. He was such an awesome dude who did awesome things. I'm honored to have walked on the same ground upon which he walked! He is also said to have been buried by God Himself on this mountain.

After oo-ing and ah-ing at the wonders of the Promised Land, we got back in the cab and headed to the Dead Sea. I was very excited to go because I've wanted to swim in it since I was a kid. Bucket list item #1 of 2 of the day!

On the way to each of our 3 stops, we saw camels. I'm not the biggest animal lover, but I reallllllllllly like camels because they are cute and fuzzy! I was very excited to see them :-)

The camels in this photo are wild camels. Some we saw were owned by Bedouins.

Unfortunately, we had to pay 16JD each to get into the Dead Sea. It was a lot of money just to go swimming, but it was totally worth it. It was like a resort though- it had a massive pool and then the sea, so paying money made more sense. The majority of the people there just swam in the pool. Nick, Stephanie, and I changed into our swimsuits, lathered up in more sunscreen, and then booked it down to the sea.

Okay, so EVERYONE knows that the Dead Sea is VERY salty. Duh. So you know, but you don't really know until you are actually in it. When you go to the beach and you get salt water in your eyes or mouth, it's painful/gross. If Dead Sea water gets in your eyes or mouth, you beg for death. I didn't go underwater or anything, but I dipped my hair in the water (not really smart, but it was hot, so whatever). That plus sunscreen plus sweat (because it was really damn hot) equaled pain, so for a good 10 minutes, I kept my eyes sealed shut. I decided to grab a water bottle and I kept it in the water with me to dump on my eyes or mouth in case and salt water got into them. I imagined the Dead Sea to be a cool, refreshing temperature, but it was like bath water. I guess I should've known better since we were in the middle of the desert and whatnot. 

Some tips for the Dead Sea:

1. Don't shave the day you decide to go. (Thankfully our friend Silvia warned us beforehand.)

2. Don't go in if you have any open cuts.

3. Don't go underwater.

4. Bring a bottle of fresh water in with you in case you get salt water in your eyes or mouth.

If you don't follow these tips, you're in for a rough time.

Floating in the Dead Sea was SO COOL! Stephanie and I determined that it is impossible to drown in it. If you do, you deserve it. You just bob there like a buoy. It is also impossible to touch the bottom once you get in past your waist. You can even sit in the water.

Ta Da! That's me floating!

We were in the water for quite a while. When we got out, we immediately rinsed off in the outdoor shower. I, then jumped in the pool to further rinse off/attempt to cool off. The pool water was really warm, too. So warm that it wasn't refreshing at all. However, the lack of salt in it was quite nice.

We then changed back into regular clothes and headed back to Amman. Along the way, we saw a man with a camel, and Adeeb stopped the car for us and invited us to ride it! Bucket list item #2 of 2!

I was so excited!!!!!!!

The standing up and sitting down experience was rather crazy because you lurch forward and backward until the camel is either standing or sitting. The saddle comes equipped with a stick-like thing to hold onto so that you don't fall off.

All in all, Saturday was a really awesome day full of fun and excitement! :-) This upcoming weekend, we are going to Wadi Rum and Petra!