In Jordan: Journey to the Dead Sea and Back

After a few days chilling out with Peace Corps volunteers in Jordan's shamal (north), I headed south to Amman for what would be an extended stay filled with a number of memorable day trips and some surprisingly fun nights. When I was scoping out couchsurfing opportunities, most of the couchsurfers recommended using Amman as a base for checking out some of Jordan's most famous tourist attractions. They said transportation to several destinations was readily available and pretty cheap, and if you wanted to go in comfort, you could always hire a private taxi.

It was kind of strange that almost every other taxi driver no matter where you hopped on in the city was ready and willing to go all the way to the southernmost or northernmost point in the country at a moment's notice. That was in stark contrast to Morocco where most taxi drivers had to get permission from gendarmes (rural police) if they were to transport anyone outside of their assigned route. Moroccan taxi drivers still pitched driving tourists to far-away destinations, but those hagglers were limited to the grand taxi (old-school Mercedes Benz) that generally hung around the airport and train stations. Morocco's city taxi drivers on their miniature Fiats rarely left the city limits.  In contrast, in Jordan, nearly all taxis were new model Toyota Corollas equipped with digital meters, leather seats, power locks and windows, and AC making them totally ideal for those long hauls.

Determined to travel on the cheap, I relied on locals, travel blogs, and a Lonely Planet guidebook appropriately titled Middle East on a Shoestring Budget for information on public transportation, directions to and from stations, and pricing estimates to avoid getting ripped off. Not surprisingly, I got conflicting information wherever you looked or whoever you spoke to.

Asking locals for information was quite entertaining. When I asked one person, another individual perhaps a relative or friend would inch closer as the conversation progressed and then later would add his two cents about the information discussed. When one of the individuals thought some of the information was incorrect or could be improved, the other individual began raising his voice until he drowned out the other and then touched my shoulder to direct my gaze towards him. If the other thought that the new information was worse than the original suggestions, he would raise his voice even higher and would begin flailing his arms to explain his point. Sometimes there'd be a bit of name calling, but it was all done with smiles and laughter. Naturally, all this commotion attracted other people, nearby shop owners, customers from their shop, and even passersby. Before I knew it, my one-on-one exchange turned into a group counseling session.

Sugar cane juice cures everything

Some individuals did want to help while others who expressed a desire to help were also in the business of helping themselves by offering you transportation, hotel stays, and packaged tourist trips for a handsome price. Each one would say that the other didn't know anything, so most often than not you left more confused than when you first started. After the dust settled though, my brain would start to process the info, I'd jot a few notes down, and then proceed to matching some of the advise to the info in the guidebooks and on the blogs.  Eventually, I would develop a rather loose outline of what my next few days would look like.

Another memorable taxi ride

As you can imagine, doing all the research and asking the locals gets a little tiring, and I was tempted to just hop on a taxi to the next destination.  I wanted to go to the Dead Sea, but was undecided about taking the cheap route detailed in the Lonely Planet guidebook or take the prearranged tour option from the hostel, Farah Hotel, which was charging about 15JD for a small minibus transit for groups of 5 or more.

Prearranged tours can be a lot of fun sometimes, but they can also be a bit dull.  In arranged tours, you usually don't get lost in the way so you never experience those moments of panic and confusion when all you're thinking is how the heck did I get here and how the heck do I get out.  I know this sounds weird, but to me that challenge can be exhilarating and more often than not total strangers have been incredibly hospitable and helpful.  Also, in prearranged tours someone else has done the price negotiations, which means that your trip is devoid of all the haggling, posturing, or name calling.  This can also be a lot of fun because after the name calling I've sat down with those same people for a cup of coffee afterwards.  Lastly, in prearranged tours there's usually a guarantee that you'll arrive at the publicized destination, whereas on your own a lot of things can go wrong from getting on the wrong bus, transit breaking down, or on the upside seeing areas that would have been passed over.

Since I had no specific date to be anywhere at any point in time, I decided to take the cheap route.  I took a taxi from the hostel to the Sweimeh transit bus station.  As soon as I got on, the taxi driver asked where I was headed and told him the Dead Sea.  He immediately insisted that he take me there directly. I conversed with him in a mix of Modern Standard Arabic and Moroccan Arabic. His English was pretty rough so he appreciated my effort to converse in Arabic and said that because of that he would lower his starting price from 30JD to 25JD. He then asked where I had picked up my Arabic. I told him Morocco and he gave me a hearty ahalan wa sahalan fik, a pat in the back, and then said, “Welcome to Jordan”. He said that because I lived in Morocco that he would give me the Arab price of 22JD.  I tried to tell the taxi driver that I was not a typical tourist and showed him my knockoff, second-hand clothes and tattered plastic bag where I was carrying my swim trunks and towel. I told him that I couldn't afford 22JD. He followed up by asking me where I was from because I looked Arab. I told him Venezuela and he became ecstatic. He told me how much he loved Chávez and because I was from Venezuela he would lower his price from 22JD to 17JD. 

He shared that his assl (origins/roots) were Bedouin and that he was not like other Arabs from the city who only care about money. He reiterated as he had done in previous offers that he couldn't go any lower. I told him that 17JD was a good price, but still too expensive for me. As we drove into the Sweimeh transit station, he presented his final offer, “Okay, 15JD, excellent price!” I said, “Thank you, but no thanks.” The meter said .600 pistares or just a little over half a JD.  He said that I owed him 2JD. I told him that he was crazy and gave him 1JD and asked for the change. He repeated that I owed him 2JD. I repeated that I wanted my change.  He told me to xrrj (get out)! I repeated rather sarcastically and mimicking his accent, “Welcome to Jordan.”

Onto the Dead Sea (Bahar Meillet)

I asked a few gentlemen leaning on one of the small passenger vans going about their customary chain-smoking if their van went to Sweimeh. They grunted, which just like in Morocco means yes. The money collector sitting inside asked if I was going to the Dead Sea and I grunted back. He then asked for about .600 pistares, and once the transit was semi-full, we took off. We winded through Amman picking up passengers on the road. We got out of the city limits and went into smaller towns on the outskirts. About 30-45 minutes later, I was dropped off in an intersection on Highway 40 near the Dead Sea Highway and not in Sweimeh where supposedly, according to the Lonely Planet book, there would be transportation in the form of private transits or taxis to the Dead Sea. The driver told me to talk to some gentlemen leaning on some other smaller transits and taxis. I told some guys that I wanted to go to the bhar meillet (Dead Sea). They asked me where I was from. I said that that wasn't important. I was trying to use my Moroccan Arabic and several of the gentlemen murmured that I was Arab. Another guy approached me speaking fluent English and said that he could take me in his private car for 5JD. I said I'd go for 2JD. He laughed and said 4JD. I told him 3JD and he finally obliged at 3.5JD.  

Amman Beach Resort pool

We were on the Dead Sea Highway for about 10 minutes or so before we swooped into the Amman Beach entrance. I wanted to go to the people's beach that Lonely Planet said would cost 4JD, but the driver said that this was the only option for tourists--another lie. The Amman Beach Resort was super clean, with a sparkling pool, nice tables and lounge chairs, equipment rentals, shops, and food and beverage stalls, but there were very few if any Jordanians. I wanted to go elsewhere, but I had a taxi driver who was probably getting a kickback for taking me to this particular resort telling me that there were no other options and front desk personnel confirming what the driver was saying. 

By the time I arrived at the resort, the sun was at its peak. Not willing to endure a sun-scorching walk on the Dead Sea Highway, I budged and paid the extravagant 15JD sticker price intended for foreigners; Jordanian citizens paid only 4JD for access to the same facilities. Later on, back in Amman, hotel staff told me that the Jordanian government had just begun to raise prices on all their main tourist attractions and I had arrived on the second wave of increases.
 

Dead Sea

Dropping 15JD hurt, but I was consoled by the fine state of the facilities and the cleanliness of the place.  There were no hotties at the pool.  In fact, the place felt more like a South Florida retirement community center.  Lots of pensioners were basking in the sun soaking up the rays and enjoying the therapeutic benefits of this one of a kind natural wonder.  Various waves of tour groups seemed to come and go.  There were a few young couples here and there, but in terms of solo travelers I think I was the only one.

These two are either related or in the same tour group

I quickly changed into my swim trunks, went down the steps leading to the Dead Sea, and parked my belongings next to a plastic lawn chair provided by the resort.  It was funny to look out and see people completely covered from head to toe with the dark blue Dead Sea mud.  It was as if the Blue Man Group had come to chill out on the beach.  A couple of gentlemen were manning a stand next to the on-duty lifeguard that sold the full-body mud treatment for 3JD.  Family members and friends helped each other lather  up.  I went up to get my treatment and paid the 3JD, but I was told to take a dip first and then apply it.

I didn't run into the water because Dead Sea water is not the type that you want running down your face.  With roughly 30% salinity, a little drop in your eye could turn things ugly.  I had also shaved that morning, something my guidebook advised against.  So I walked out treading ever so slowly to a depth of no more than 4 or 5 feet deep.  Once I reached a location away from the commotion of the various tour groups, I reclined back slowly and lifted my feet off the ground.  As I fell back, it was as if the water pushed back and propped my feet and legs up, a water Lazy-Boy that engulfed me, but held me in suspension.  I had read about the amazing buoyancy of the water, but to feel it was like something completely out of this world.  The water was warm and the sun's rays were dispersed in the haze that hovered over the water.  I took a deep breath, took in the surroundings, relaxed my muscles, and just floated.

After a good 20 minutes in the water, I went to get my mud treatment.  Coming out of the water was really interesting.  The water was so thick and slimy that exiting was like emerging from a vat of egg whites.  No matter how much you shook, a clear, thin film stuck to your skin, but the slime was exactly what was needed for a smooth application of the Dead Sea mud.

Dead Sea mud-treated

I grabbed a couple of handfuls and began applying it making sure every inch of my skin was covered.  With no partner in crime on this leg of my journey, one of the attendants applied the rest to my back.  I was told to let it dry so I went back to my plastic lawn chair and finished a couple of articles from an Economist magazine a fellow Peace Corps volunteer had lent me.

Supposedly, Dead Sea mud is highly sought after for its healing mineral properties.  The high concentration of calcium, bromine, and potassium are considered to be therapeutic for the skin and other ailments.  Consequently, there is no shortage of companies extolling the mud's benefits.  What I can say in full confidence about the mud is that after 10-15 minutes when the mud begins to dry various parts of your body will get itchy fast.  Perhaps the itchiness is part of the healing process, but as soon as I felt it, I went back to the water.  The last thing I wanted was to get some sort of allergic reaction.  What's great is that if there is any hidden bacteria in the mud, a trip back to the water will undoubtedly kill it.  I took off the mud and then proceeded to recline back to my gravity-defying Dead Sea rocking chair.

On my Dead Sea lounge chair

I got out of the water when my fingers and toes had turned to raisins.  I stepped out for a while, did some respiration meditation, and then went back to my beach chair.  Within 15 minutes, the transparent, slimy film that coated my body turned pasty white.  I went straight to the outdoor sprinklers to try to take off some of the salt and sand and then afterwards took a long dip in the resort's pool.  It was around 4PM when I decided it was time to leave.  The facility had nice showers where I was able to soap it up and take off more salt.

The taxi driver that dropped me off told me to call him when I got out, but as I soon as I walked out, there was a gentlemen chilling by his car that offered to take me to Amman for 10JD.  He said he had finished work and was heading back home.  I told him I just needed to go to the bus stop to Amman.  He said he could take me there for 5JD.  I told him 3JD and he agreed.

Now, Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide claim that hitchhiking back to Amman is pretty easy from the Dead Sea.  I think that's probably true if you're a white Westerner and more so if you're a female, and I'm guessing most of the travel writers are one or the other or both.  Other couchsurfers I spoke to experimented a little by having either a guy or girl flag down cars.  Another American traveling through Jordan with ethnic roots from Iran said that people would just honk at him to tell him to scoot off the road.  While his travel partner, a tall, blonde female, could have a car stop at will--this may not be just in Jordan, but probably worldwide other than maybe Nordic countries where every other girl is a tall blonde.

If you are Latino and look Arab, like I do, and wear the same second-hand clothes that some of the locals wear and carry around a tattered plastic bag like others do, some people just think that you're just another local trying to get a free ride.  I got many free rides in Morocco and I figured Jordanians would probably be just as generous.

Whenever I do hitchhike, there's a big difference between hitchhiking with a white Westerner, male or female, and hitchhiking solo.  When I'm with a white Westerner I get to ride shotgun with my white Westerner travel partner.  When I'm not, I'm told to hop on to the back of the truck with everyone else, sheep, chickens, and all.  In some cases it's nice to get that star treatment, but in others, it's nice to blend in.  Normally, I wouldn't object to riding with sheep and chickens, but I had just showered.

I got to the bus stop on the opposite corner (northbound side on Highway 40) from where I was dropped off earlier.  I paid the bus driver 1JD, and he gave me .600 pistares back.  The bus ride back was no more than 20 or so minutes.  On our way to Amman, we rode a pretty scenic four-lane highway overlooking a number of parched valleys with isolated plots of vegetation.  By the time I got back, it was already dark.  The bus dropped everyone off at the North Station on the outskirts of Amman.  From there, the usual scammers were there offering to take people downtown for 7JD.  The taxi cab that had overcharged me 5JD to take me to my hotel the first time around recognized me and offered to take me again for 5JD, but I told him that this time I'd go by the meter.  He explained to me that the meter is nothing or not worth it for him.  Another taxi driver walking down from a little snack shop approached me and told me that he would be willing to take me downtown for 2JD.  I said, "Yallah (Let's Go)!"

By the time I got into the hotel, I had dried up and felt some white residue behind the ears, around the back of my neck, and my hair felt like it was moussed up.   I took one last shower, scrubbed well, washed my hair, and then promptly climbed into bed.  Lying in bed made me think of my time floating in the Dead Sea.  It was simply unbelievable.  I think my mind was still trying to comprehend how that was possible.  As I began to dose off a bit, I turned sideways on my pillow and felt as if the skin around the back of my neck had stretched. I felt around the ears and near my hairline and felt a bit of caked up salt.  Two showers later and I still had salt on me.  I thought, "Eh, what the hell, souvenir."

-----

Before you rush into buying the Dead Sea mud or salt, be mindful that although it is "all-natural", excessive exposure to high levels of certain minerals could be toxic.  The National Institutes of Health National Library of Medicine has several research studies on the Dead Sea mud.  Some highlight its antimicrobial agents and its effect on alleviating rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, but it also has another study that does not recommend a high percentage of the mud in everyday hand and body lotions.  Read them before you buy.

Anti-microbial properties of Dead Sea black mineral mud

Mud pack therapy in rheumatoid arthritis

Low levels of toxic elements in Dead Sea black mud and mud-derived cosmetic products

On a side note, I ran into some Spaniards at the Dead Sea resort who said that they had come from Madaba.   The Spaniards had a lot of good things to say about it and it is fairly close, so it might be better to do the day trip to the Dead Sea from there if you prefer a smaller town feel rather than the sprawling Amman metropolis.  Plus, if you're big into checking out Byzantine-era relics, chapels, and cathedrals, Madaba has a large number of fine mosaics.   

Referenced Reads: Bear in mind that the shoestring budget hotel recommendations from the Lonely Planet book can land you in some pretty dank places.  The regular Jordan guidebook offers accommodation options at varying prices, so it's worth moving up a notch if you can afford it.  As with any advise, compare and contrast it with other info or if you want to make it even more interesting, ask the locals :-).

In Jordan - Reaching Amman and Tasting Nirvana

I arrived in Amman, Jordan, on Saturday, November 14, after taking a red-eye flight from Casablanca on Egypt Air. Without even planning it, I and three other Peace Corps volunteers were on the same flight out of Casablanca. They were starting their Middle East trek from Cairo; I had a quick layover before heading to Amman. Before our flight, we scoured all the money exchange bureaus at the Mohammed V Casablanca Airport and none had Jordanian Dinars or Egyptian Pounds to exchange. Knowing that I was going to come back to Morocco after my Middle Eastern trek, I kept my funds and hoped that the 25 Euros that I had kept stashed from my last trip to Europe would be enough to get through customs and to get to the nearest ATM.

I blogged earlier about my arrival to the Holy Land and the great experience I had with Egypt Air. I was fortunate to get a window seat, which allowed me to take in the scenery during the descent and ascent into and from Cairo. I'm 30 years old and I still feel like the 10 year old boy who was completely awestruck by his first flight out of Venezuela and how different things looked at 40,000 feet.

Like the experience I wrote about earlier about the mountains and plateaus making me feel insignificant or being humbled by the sheer breadth and size of nature's wonders, I feel the same when staring out from my tiny window in the sky. Ironically for me, every flight is a grounding experience. It just makes me realize how inconsequential my problems are in the scope of such vast amounts of space and over the course of time. What I begin to understand is that many of these landscapes are indifferent. Men and women have come and gone and yet they are still here changing and adapting to the elements. On my way in to Jordan, I saw various shades of sand, the blue of the Nile and the Red Sea, the Sinai Peninsula's mountainous wilderness, many dunes, plateaus, rocky hills dotted with olive trees, and a few lush valleys and oases.

The flight from Cairo to Amman was about 40 minutes. Counting our ascent and descent, we probably had about 20 minutes of coasting, and in that brief lull the flight crew scrambled to give everyone their complementary drink. It was a nice surprise to be able to walk directly onto the terminal rather than taking a shuttle or walking to it like you often do when travelling outside of Europe or the U.S. The causeway takes you straight to customs where an Arab Bank money exchange branch is at the center of the hall ready to exchange almost any currency to Jordanian Dinars. I found it interesting that a money exchange branch would be situated in the middle of the customs hall, but I guess a lot of countries do not carry Jordanian Dinars, Morocco being one of them. I exchanged my 25 Euros and got 22 Jordanian Dinars(JD). I knew coming in that the Jordanian Dinar was an expensive currency, but all the blogs I read said that most things are nowhere near U.S. or European prices. So it's little startling at first to get less money for your dollar or euro, but once you get out, you realize that a JD can be stretched out pretty far.

It was 10JD to get the visa. Some of the blogs I had browsed through before coming said that the visitor's visa was for two weeks so I was surprised to hear that the visas were now good for an entire month, which makes a lot of sense. You could traverse the country in two weeks. It's not very big and transportation to the main touristy sites is readily available, but for those who wish to take their time to meet people, taste the cuisine, and ponder the meaning of life in nature as I do, two weeks goes by in a flash.

Once I passed through customs, I went down to pick up my luggage. At the luggage carousels, I found some stands with maps and guides in various languages to the main sites in Jordan. It was a great find since all I had to go by on this trip was a Lonely Planet guide titled Middle East on a Shoestring Budget published in 1997. I was planning to travel on a shoestring budget, but after sleeping in one of the hotels this guide recommended, I decided to upgrade myself from shoestring to respectably clean. I stayed at one hotel called Jerusalem Hotel in Aqaba, and it literally was the nastiest place I've ever stayed at with roaches crawling around and the grimiest bed sheets I had ever seen, but the guide was spot on with the price. It was the cheapest of all the "budget" options. After one night in that hole, I moved next door and paid 5JD more for a bigger room, hot water, and peace of mind.

The Amman Queen Alia International Airport is about the size of your regional airport in the U.S. Once you get past customs, you walk out into the arrivals waiting hall, which has a number of snack shops, car rental stands, banks and ATMs, and a couple of cell phone boutiques. If you plan to spend some time in Jordan, I strongly encourage purchasing a SIM card from one of the boutiques. They run anywhere from 4-6JD from Orange, Zain, Umniah, and others, and the purchase generally includes 1 to 2JD of credit, which is more than enough to make initial arrangements with friends and hotels. Also, right outside the airport there's a bus shuttle company called Airport Express that travels back and forth from the airport to Amman. They have a stand at the airport and an attendant is outside asking any confused-looking tourist if they're going to Amman. It cost me 3JD and it dropped me off at the North Station also known as either Abdali Station or in Levantine Arabic as Moujemma Shamal. As the bus begins to park, taxi drivers converge near the bus's drop as they prepare to pounce on the fresh-off the plane tourists. I told one gentleman my destination and he offered to take me for 12JD. I told the guy in all honesty that I did not have 12JD and immediately he lowered the price to 7JD. I told him to lower it some more so he lowered it to 5JD and said in English, "Final price."

The guy took me through a touristy route, which allowed me to see the Roman fortress and auditorium. A ride through Amman is much like your typical roller coaster ride. The taxi drivers go just as fast as they wind up and down the many hills and valleys of the city. My first impression of Amman was not a memorable one. I thought the city lacked color, but then later I heard that it's by city mandate that the buildings use the local white and beige stone for the exterior. I don't know how legit that statement is, but it certainly seems like most people are adhering to it. The only contrast to the vanilla cream buildings are a few skyscrapers in the new city.

Upon arriving at the hotel, I asked the hotel receptionist about how much it costs to get from the North Station to the hotel to which he said, "Oh about 1.5JD to 2JD." I was hosed, but fortunately it was only for 3 or so dinares. Oh well, it was a lesson learned. From there on, I didn't hop on a taxi unless they had their meter running.

I checked into the Farah Hotel, which I had made a reservation on www.HostelWorld.com. I paid 5JD for a shared accommodation for one night. The rooms were clean, the bed was soft and sturdy, and the bathrooms were well-tended too. The lobby was also nice with plush couches, a TV and DVD player, a couple of large dining tables, and a couple of shelves full of board games, books, and bootleg movies.

When I checked in, I saw a guy chilling out on one of the couches. After I dropped my stuff in my room, I asked him about his travel plans. He told me smilingly that he lived in Jordan. Immediately I asked him if he was a Peace Corps Volunteer and he said yes. I told him that I had just finished service a couple of days ago.  He then asked me if I was Jonathan and I said yes, and then I followed asking him if he was Torin and he said yes. We had exchanged a few emails prior to arriving. He had said that he was likely going to be busy touring with some friends. It so happened that he was at Farah waiting for his friends to arrive from Palestine. I was exhausted from the red-eye flight, but I had a lot of questions about travel options and sites and then we spoke for a while about his Peace Corps experience and he gave me his lowdown on Jordan. I also shared a bit of my Peace Corps Morocco experience and gave him my lowdown on travel, food, and culture. I was fortunate to have found him and to have had this exchange on the first day of my trip.

We decided to meet up later on in the evening. I ran into him at a small fast food joint and joined him for a shawarma. The shawarma was not that great, but it was dirt cheap at 1.50JD for the plate. I was more impressed by the size of the meat spikes rotating in the fire. These spikes were probably about a meter and a half long and about half a meter wide. Some of the guys tending to it had to climb a small step ladder to shave off the meat at the top.  Some used a long knife to cut the meat and others used what looked like industrial size hair clippers. 

After the shawarma, we walked over to Habiba, a confectionery shop preparing Jordan's famous kenafa. This delicious sweet treat should rank pretty high in terms of the world's greatest inventions. The scrumptious treat has a mozzarella cheese base, a thin crunchy cake layer or stringy top that is doused in a honey or sugar-based syrup, and topped off with pistachios, cinnamon, and nutmeg on top. Every bite was like reaching taste-bud nirvana.

After Habiba's kenafa, we moved on to a cafe right on the main strip of King Hussein St. called Eco-Tourism Cafe. It was a scruffy looking place. About the only thing “eco” about it were the plants that the owner had throughout the cafe. There I got my first taste of Jordanian coffee. It was a contrast to Morocco's fancy coffee presses that squeeze out the coffee from the coffee grounds. In Jordan, you get the coffee and the grounds. Moroccan coffee also seems lighter in comparison to the almost syrupy makeup of Jordanian coffee, but as far as sugar is concerned, they're neck and neck. The coffee's bitterness is offset quite well by the generous amounts of sugar in each cup.

It was a nice first night in Amman. The following day I was to head out to Irbid with Torin to meet a couple of other volunteers. Upon arrival I had heard that L3id Kabir would most certainly fall on Tuesday, November 16. When I was drawing up my initial plans, I was hoping to avoid another sheep slaughtering, but it looked like I would be witness to yet another. I felt bad for the sheep, but at the same time I was thinking that I wouldn't object to some slow-cooked or grilled sheep meat. I was looking forward to meeting up with more volunteers and was even more excited about the opportunity to experience village life with one of them.

It had only been two days since I had checked/stamped out of Peace Corps. You would think that I would be running towards the comforts of Western amenities, but here I was wanting to experience village life in Jordan, and here I was in the hands of volunteers that were making it possible for me to do so. I felt blessed and fortunate to be part of this select group of people who have invested so much time and energy to get to know the people around them and their surroundings and who are so willing to share the little bit they know with me.

------

Some Travel Details

Farah Hotel

Amman Al-Hussein Cinema St.

Behind Arab Bank

Downtown

+962-6-465-1443

Email: farahhotel@hotmail.com

www.farahhotel.com.jo 

One of the best state-run tourism websites that I've seen to date:

http://www.visitjordan.com/

Arriving in the Holy Land

pilI arrived in Jordan around 10AM local time on Sunday, November 14, exhausted from a red-eye flight from Casablanca-Cairo-Amman.  It's been a while since I flew into the future.  Last time I did that was exactly 27 months ago when I swallowed the red pill and began my Peace Corps journey through the land of the far west.  Having experienced the mix of cultures and traditions and seen first hand the practice of Islam of the Maghreb, I was curious to see another part of the Arab and Islamic World and to carry out a little pilgrimage of my own; so I embarked on a journey through the Holy Land.  As I wrote in an earlier blog [In Matters of Faith: Minding My Own], I feel that it is extremely important to contextualize the Holy Scriptures.  I don't consider myself to be a religious person and it may sound strange to my friends to hear that I am going on a pilgrimage, but truth is that despite not being a pious individual, I find it amazing how the tales and stories, oral traditions, and culture of this region of the world have resonated throughout the world and to some extent are still changing the beliefs and conduct of isolated pockets of the world that are just beginning to hear about the Abrahamic faiths.

I find it interesting walking through this rocky Mediterranean landscape that people in the tropics could still relate.  The environments are so different.  As I flew into Cairo, all I saw was a vast open expanse of sand and arid hills up until one reaches the Nile, but even the mighty Nile looks puny in the midst of the wilderness.  From Cairo to Amman, we flew over the Sinai Peninsula and there I saw the wilderness that the Children of Israel supposedly wandered around for 40 years for punishment for disobeying the God of Moses.  Well, after flying over it, I would say, "Dang, God, did you have to go that far? I mean, really?"  As we flew into Jordan, it was more of the same except perhaps a little more colorful with some red sand hills in the distance.  Upon arrival, I thought I would be greeted with a cool winter breeze, but instead I got a big waft of summer.  It was such a change from the low-50s temperatures I was already dealing with in Morocco. 

Supposedly according to the locals, the temperatures have been unusually high for the month.  We'll see if it cools down at all while I am here.  However, even it cools and rains come, it would revive the hills and turn them green, but just for a brief moment.  Irrigation is helping to create more arable plots, but there's only enough water for isolated oases.  It's tough to say why the stories stuck, but I believe one way of getting a better understanding is to do as the locals do or as we say "walk a mile in someone else's shoes".  That I will do and will soon share those insights.   

-------

Some Travel Details

I flew on Egypt Air.  The flight took off at 12AM from Airport Mohammed V near Casablanca.  The airline served us a meal at 2AM Morocco time and then an hour and half later gave us a muffin and a choice of beverage.  The meals were delicious, one of the airline hostesses was extremely HOT, and the seats were decent.  The flight took off a little late due to some baggage mishandling problems, but they were forthright about the issue.  Due to the delay, I arrived in Cairo with only 30 minutes prior to the departure of my connecting flight to Amman.  Thankfully, the airline did an amazing job of fast-tracking all individuals going to Jordan through their connecting flights lobby and they also got my luggage transferred in time.  I recommend the airline.

For my return trip to Casablanca, I am going to try out UAE-based discount airline Air Arabia.  Their rates are the lowest I've seen for travel through the Middle East.  For instance, flights from Casablanca to Alexandria will run about $140 one way.  Egypt Air flights are marketed through major online travel websites like Orbitz, Expedia, et al;  Air Arabia flights are not.  I have heard some stories of subpar service from Air Arabia from other volunteers.  We'll see if their stories are isolated instances or the general rule.  For the price though, it's tough to complain when most everyone else is charging 30-50% more for the same route.  Who knows? Perhaps the service will be so good or so bad that it may merit a blog entry.  Stay tuned.