Saturday, September 28, 2013

Discovering Jordan - Chapter 2 - First Impressions

Abdullah points out the ancient wall surrounding modern Amman

 
Traveling in a foreign culture is uncomfortable one moment and wonderful the next.  Your senses sharpen and adrenaline flows.  You are a liminal character, a newcomer, displaced and unrestricted.  You notice details the local inhabitants take for granted, though your understanding is limited.  You take a snapshot of an iceberg, missing many of its angles, barely aware of the bulk under the water.  Your photograph is beautiful nevertheless.
 
Our first welcome to Jordan came from my daughter’s Arabic teacher, who greeted us warmly in the Dubai airport. His family was traveling home to Amman on our flight.  My daughters later explained that several of their classmates and teachers are Palestinian, but their families live in Jordan.  In fact, about a third of Jordan’s 6.5 million people are Palestinian refugees or their descendants.  Jordan has been a haven for refugees during much of its history, and currently shelters thousands of Syrians fleeing their civil war.  We tourists would be welcome too.
It was night when we arrived in the capital city.  Amman’s airport was crowded and a bit smoky, but organized.  We made our way to the exit, and found Abdullah, our driver and guide for the tour.  He was handsome and looked younger than I expected, with dark hair, tan skin, friendly eyes, and a stylish overcoat.  He shook our hands in a professional manner and led us to our car, a Hyundai sedan.  The girls and I squeezed into the back seat and we began the hour-long drive to Madaba.
Abdullah spoke English well and filled the driving time with information about Jordan.  One of the oldest cities in the world, Amman is built on seven hills and has eight ring roads or circles linking different parts of the city.  Along the way, we could see modern lights and buildings give way to dark countryside, interrupted every few kilometers by a lighted outline of an Arabic coffee-pot, suspended over a shack by the side of the road.  Abdullah explained that these hospitality stands sell hot drinks, candy-bars and cigarettes.
As we drove into Madaba, I noticed piles of rubble and trash filling vacant lots between homes and businesses.  There were pieces of black plastic caught in fences and trees.  Abdullah stopped at a convenience store to ask directions to our hotel while I eyed the knot of young men in worn jackets smoking outside.  I felt uneasy, not understanding that we were on the industrial side of town.
We found the Black Iris Hotel on a quiet street, a few blocks uphill from the business district.  The entrance was dark, but Abdullah knocked and our sleepy innkeeper unlocked the door and turned on the lights.  Obed’s bedding was rumpled on the couch of a living area.  A traditional hotel counter was on the other side of the room along with a lending library, drink cooler, and bulletin boards with maps and tour information.  Obed quickly checked us in, passed out large water bottles and walked us to our rooms at the far end of the inn.
Dismayed, I noted the faded wallpaper, unshaded light bulbs, threadbare carpet and worn furniture.  We had reserved the ‘family suite’ for four nights, and it was freezing.  Obed turned on room heaters for us, handed Bob the key on its ancient wooden fob and left us to unpack.  What had I done?  I apologized to the family for trying to save money and stay in charming Madaba instead of Amman; this hotel received positive reviews on Trip Advisor, mostly because Obed is such a nice guy. 
My sweet husband patted my shoulder and said it was fine.  He confirmed that the sheets were clean, cheerfully pointed out that the rooms were warming up and helped the girls get organized.  None of them complained.  Well, Jordan is not Dubai, I thought to myself, and we wanted to experience the way people live in this part of the world.  After finding modern plumbing and hot water in the bathroom, I resolved to mirror my family’s positive attitudes.
I snuggled into the crisp sheets a few minutes later and relaxed, grateful for Bob’s warmth.  
Who says you need four stars to be content? 

 
 

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Discovering Jordan - Chapter 1 - Planning

 
Peaceful Umm Qais, near the borders of Israel and Syria
 
Many Westerners visit Israel, and skip holy sites on the Arab side of the River Jordan.  They might spend one day admiring Petra, the hidden jewel of the ancient Nabataean Empire, on a highlight tour of the region.  We like to take the roads less traveled, and as we are just getting to know many Arab people in Dubai, we want to continue learning about their perspective.  We also discovered that Jordan offers ancient historical sites, adventure opportunities, beautiful vistas, and friendly people who welcome American visitors.

Two weeks to plan a major trip is not our usual modus operandi, but after moving to Dubai over the summer of 2012, the holidays arrived quickly.  And not knowing how long we’ll live in the Middle East, we didn’t want to miss an opportunity to see nearby countries.  So the day after Thanksgiving, we started scheduling our Christmas vacation.

First, we held a family meeting to list qualities of a great vacation.  I wanted a safe and interesting country, where it would be cold in December, and we might join Christmas celebrations, as I was a little homesick.  Our energetic teenagers wanted to hike, climb rocks, learn about history, see beautiful natural areas, and maybe go to a beach.  Hubby’s coworkers recommended Jordan, where we could do all these things and also ride camels!

Map courtesy of Lonely Planet

Our last-minute plan was actually well-timed, because Syria’s civil war and Egypt’s civil unrest have chased many tourists out of the region.  The hotels and guide should not have been available during a major holiday with only a few days’ notice.  But Jordan was safe and had plenty of room for us, and we hope we helped their struggling economy just a little.
After reading suggestions and reviews on the VisitJordan, Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet websites, we mapped out a personal tour starting in the north and concluding at the Dead Sea.  We chose a Jordan-based tour operator that sounded small and interesting, yet professional.  Raami Tours was started by the son of a Dutch New Zealander, Marguerite van Geldermalsen, who fell in love and married a Bedouin Jordanian, raised their children in a cave in Petra, and later wrote a highly-recommended book Married to a Bedouin.  I was charmed by the literary connection as well as the promise that all Raami guides are Bedouins with inside information on local culture and the best hiking trails.  

Then, following suggestions from friends and reviews from Booking.com, we booked our own flights and hotels for 9 nights in Jordan.  If we had more time to plan, it would have been better to let the tour company guide us and book the hotels.  Not realizing the area is mountainous, I scheduled four nights in Madaba, which looks close to Amman on the map.  We would have saved hours of drive-time by staying in Amman for the first two nights and northern tours.  The drives were interesting, though, and we had fun exploring Madaba in the evenings, so no regrets.

To prepare for the trip, we watched Lawrence of Arabia, which was filmed mostly in Wadi Rum.  The kids thought it was too long, even when we pointed out that Prince Faisal is played by a young Alec Guinness, aka Obi wan Kenobi. 
 
 
I anticipated having a Bedouin Omar Sharif guide us through Wadi Rum.
 
 
 The girls prefered the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which concludes in Petra.
 
We bought sturdy hiking shoes, and packed flashlights and towels as we would be camping in the desert at least one night.  I also picked out my Christmas present, a Panasonic Lumix camera with a zoom lens. 
Our adventure descriptions will consume future blogs, but for readers who are planning trips to Jordan, the highlights of our tour are listed below.  We listed too many activities, but weren't disappointed when plans changed a little – unexpected hitches make an adventure, and one of the many benefits of scheduling a private tour is the flexibility to go at our own pace.  This was a memorable trip!

Day 1 – Amman City Tour, Roman Theatres, Citadel Panorama, Archeological Museum, lunch in local cafĂ©, Cave of the Seven Sleepers
Day 2 – Drive through Rift Valley and Irbid, Umm Qais Tour, Abdulla’s Shortcut - skip Ajlun Castle, Jerash

Day 3 – Madaba Mosaic - Church of St. George, Mt. Nebo, Elijah’s Hill, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Kerak Castle, drive through Wadi Musa, Christmas Eve in Madaba

Day 4 – Drive along King’s Highway, Shobak Castle, hike Dana Wilderness Reserve (south of Tafila), night at Feynan Ecolodge

Day 5 – Hike out of Dana Wilderness Reserve and drive along Jordan’s Worst Road to Petra.  Exhausted and near melt-down, skip a Little Petra hike and check in early at the Petra Moon Hotel.  After naps, showers, ice cream and dinner, enjoy Petra by Night with candlelight.
Day 6 – Full day in Petra

Day 7 – Wadi Rum Camel Tour, Jeep Tour, Camp in Bedouin tents
Day 8 – Wadi Rum Sunrise, Dead Sea Resort

Day 9 – Dead Sea to Amman Airport, bid a sad farewell to our driver and guide, Abdullah
 
The Dead Sea is not your typical beach, but a fun place to relax and clean up after touring Jordan.