Discovering Greece - The Acropolis of Athens

I've long dreamt of visiting Greece, home of the Olympians and their myths.

 

The Parthenon in the Acropolis is one of the best known buildings in the world.  It was completed in 438 BC to celebrate Athenian victory over Persian invaders.  Its Doric columns are delicately tapered and curve slightly inwards, making the building stable and beautiful.  Most of the frieze and other sculptures have been removed to the recently built Acropolis Museum.

 

 

An Acropolis is a high area of a city, especially in Greece 

Ancient Athens built this huge Acropolis theatre for her citizens



 

 

As you approach the Parthenon through the olive trees

the temple dedicated to Athena Nike (winged goddess of victory) shines in the sun. 

 

 

And when you get to the top, the view of Athens is terrific!

 

 

We could even see our hotel, the Athens Gate. 

It is two buildings to the right of the column in the park;

you can see the green rooftop restaurant.

That's Hadrian's Gate to the left of the picture.

 

 

This temple was built in the spot where Athena and Poseidon competed for

the affections of the people of this region, known as Attica. 

Poseidon offered them the gift of the horse, but Athena gave them the world's first olive tree. 

It's descendent grows in a sheltered spot to the left of the temple below.

 



 

These beautiful ladies guard the temple for eternity.

 



 

We found several tortoises around the Acropolis.

 

 

The girls' history teacher requested a picture of the Agora. 

We aren't sure why, but the big temple is very pretty from a distance.

 



At night, they light the Parthenon and other ancient buildings on the Acropolis.  Beautiful!

 

  

 

The Acropolis Museum is one of the best in the world.

It contains sculptures found around the Acropolis,

as well as the frieze from the Parthenon.

Unfortunately, they don't allow photos, so you'll have to visit Greece to see!

 

 

Under the glass floors, you can see the remains of an ancient Athens neighborhood

that are still being excavated beneath the museum. 

 

 

After a busy day sightseeing, we found this outdoor café in an alley. 

Live music, olives, plate throwing - who could ask for more?

 



 



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? 

 

 

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 café, 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.

Discovering Jordan - Introduction - Icebergs in the Desert

Culture is like an Iceberg was the discussion topic for Mr. Shadeed’s Cultural Studies class.  I learned more than the students.

Teaching gives one insights into local culture, and a regular substitute gets to know a school quickly.  So by the time I had spent a few weeks covering math, history, and French classes in our Dubai international school, I felt fairly competent.  But when given an Arabic teacher’s schedule, I laughed because I knew only two words of Arabic – shukran and la (thank you and no).  Fortunately, another Arabic teacher lent her assistant, and these students are fairly respectful.  But I was relieved when 4^th period Cultural Studies required analysis of a simile, and was conducted in English.  I enthusiastically listed iceberg qualities and made Titanic comparisons to culture, until the 7^th graders’ eyes started to glaze.  Then they were permitted to create artistic interpretations of the subject, while my mental wheels kept spinning.  That was 9 months ago...

How is culture like an iceberg?  Both are majestic, constantly-evolving creations, their beauty supported by massive hidden structures.

Because of occasional disasters, people fear and avoid icebergs and foreign cultures, even centuries after a scary event.  And it’s true that if we barrel radar-blind through unfamiliar waters, bad things can happen.  But we can learn lessons from the Titanic, such as to slow down around icebergs and other cultures, and understand that much waits to be encountered beneath the surface.  Each of us is like an iceberg, traveling with our cultural families, often bumping into icebergs from other places.  When we are friendly and respectful, our interactions are usually safe and enriching.

Icebergs and cultures might make a big noise when they collide, but mostly they float peacefully, sharing fragments of information when they interact.  An Australian kid once observed, “You’re American, aren’t you?  You sound like the blokes on the telly.”  “That’s funny,” I replied, “so do you.”  (I’ve always thought of ‘British’ accents as intelligent, because of the BBC shows on our educational channel.  Wonder what impression American reality shows give the world?)

Globalization has caused much melting in recent years, so it’s important to record and appreciate our world’s icebergs and cultures as they exist today.  In Dubai’s heat, people from many countries melt together and raise a generation of ‘third-culture kids.’  At school, our young icebergs bump into each other and share information.  Will this create a uniform watered-down culture, or more diverse icebergs? 

Hot Dates to Hoopoes

Flora and Fauna (as promised)

Friendly Fauna of Dubai

 

 

 

What I Believe

God is Great, God is Good….

Friends, family and my dear writing group have all said to stay away from religion and politics in my essays.  But here I am, a moderately progressive Christian woman in a moderately progressive Muslim nation, ruled by sheiks.  I could tell you about the flora and fauna, and certainly will.  But I’m really interested in the mix of people in Dubai, and it’s hard to separate lifestyle from religion in a place where the call to prayer sounds 5 times a day. 

I have a diverse list of friends and likely readers of this blog.  You cover the spectrum, from liberal to conservative, urban and rural, Muslim, Jew, Christian, Atheist, and Agnostic.  And that’s okay – we can care for each other and learn from each other when we respect the right to be different.  I’ve been planning this entry for several months, feeling it important to state my beliefs from the beginning.  Otherwise half of my readers will think I’m being intolerant with my observations, while the other half worries that I’m becoming a Muslim.  ;-)

First, I believe that the Creator of this beautiful world must love diversity.  If God didn’t find joy in our many ways of being, we wouldn’t have such a variety of looks, languages, mind-sets, foods, clothing, and dance styles.  Appreciating God’s miraculous craftsmanship and dexterity makes me happy.

From talking with people, I have noticed that each seems to have a unique combination of religious beliefs, regardless of background or group identity.  I believe that’s okay, because God is multi-dimensional and ‘great,’ able to encompass most of the religious beliefs in the world.  Each of us sees only small facets of the Deity, but we can learn more by peering through the lenses of other believers. 

(My friend Kim Williams illustrates this idea in sermon three of his fun book, Wishful Preaching:  Things I Wish I had said in the Pulpit available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ADSNP8I )

My way of following God has long been through the example and influence of Jesus.  My faith has been tested and questioned, and I keep coming back to the New Testament Gospels.  I feel that Jesus is active in my life and heart, and gives me joy, strength and comfort when life is difficult.  I believe this makes me a Christian.

But while I believe the Bible was divinely inspired, I know that human understanding is limited, and hundreds of people have influenced the words we interpret, as well as our religious practices and beliefs.  Some of those people were surely inspired by God, while others were swayed by politics.  This is why each human can read the words and listen to opinions of others, but must look into their own heart and find the way of worship that suits them best.  For some, this means loving the people around them and appreciating nature.  Others find God in a church, temple, or mosque. 

These differences are not a problem, if folks are searching for the way to Good, and not oppressing people who understand God differently.  I think that using religious belief as an excuse for violence or oppression is morally wrong.  And I don’t think any human alive can judge whether another is truly sanctified by God or not – that is an intimate knowledge between the individual and their Creator.  We can pray for each other, share information about our beliefs, and make constructive suggestions on how to live good lives and follow God’s will, but it’s hard enough to conjecture that Will for ourselves, much less another person.  I see nothing wrong with following a group’s beliefs and religious practices, as long as one feels led by the Good, and not forced.  These are my humble opinions.

Religion and politics have been entwined throughout human history.  Though our founding fathers may have tried to separate them in the US Constitution, religious beliefs have always been an important thread in the American fabric.  In many Muslim countries, they seem to be the fabric.

One reason I was a little nervous coming to Dubai, is because the Arab Muslim has replaced the Russian Communist as the boogeyman of the American psyche.  And while I do not blame the nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world for events like 9/11 any more than I blame a particular group for Oklahoma City, Tucson, etc, I am aware that there were particular tensions and conditions leading to each of these events.  There are tensions in every country, and people who dislike outsiders.  But there are also the majorities of people who accept differences, and prefer to be left alone to make a living, raise their children, and worship in peace.  Knowing this, and having heard stories about living in Saudi Arabia from my husband and his family, I looked forward to learning more about Arab Muslim culture and religion.
 
I believe Muslims, like Russians, love their children as much as we love ours (to borrow from Sting). There is a Center for Cultural Understanding that was set up by the Ruler of Dubai to share information about Muslim heritage and religion with curious visitors and newcomers. I will try to share information like theirs, along with personal observations about the people here. Perhaps greater understanding and familiarity can replace some of the fears and misunderstandings of Muslims that seem to have many roots in American and international politics.

 

 

A beautiful new mosque near our home reminds me of Cinderella's castle.