Jordan, our favourite trip?

After looking at my pictures from Jordan on facebook, a friend asked me if it had been my favourite trip so far. I haven't answered yet because I simply don't know. It's really a difficult question. Each trip we've taken has been good in a different way.

Paris was magical. The weather in Doha was oppressively hot and humid in August and September. Being able to breath in the fresh, French, autumn air and walk around outdoors until our feet hurt each day was just the reprieve we needed. Also, we have so many wonderful memories from our two days with Dan and Marie in Paris; they are our perfect traveling companions!

Turkey was relaxing. This was our first time in another country with a large Arab population, and although there are similarities with Qatar, it was so very different. We loved seeing Istanbul at our own pace - which was slowly! We loved meeting/getting to know better Hannah-Lee and Eric. We loved the fact that we could enjoy a couple of days of snow in Ankara - somthing we thought we had given up for good. We loved walking around the ancient city of Ephesus, which happened to be my first experience with real ruins.

Dubai was business. Enough said.

Kuwait City was refreshing. A city I describe as "a bigger version of Doha," Kuwait was an unlikely place for us to visit. But spending a weekend with Darren's former youth pastor and family was just what we needed this spring. We've been finding it difficult to find like-minded people here, and I was starting to get frustrated about it. Our visit with Steve and -especially- Naomi was encouraging; I determined anew not to give up on finding people to truly connect with here.

Jordan was...well, it was...awe-some.

Like in Paris and Turkey, we enjoyed being outdoors and walking around. The temperature in Jordan varied from place to place (elevation to elevation), but the mornings and evenings were beautifully chilly. We got a good amount of physical exercise walking around Petra and climbing up Dunes in Wadi Rum – the kind of exercise it’s too hot to get outdoors in Doha these days.


Like Kuwait, Jordan is part of the Arab world, but the country is much greener than the Gulf countries - trees are a real treat for us these days! We did get a chance to use our dozen Arabic words/phrases, though, which was another treat. Besides our students, no one we interact with in Doha speaks Arabic. If we said shukran to our waitress, she might understand, but it would be like we were speaking a foreign language to her – which we would be!


Like in Turkey, we experienced antiquity. There are Roman (Byzantine) ruins throughout the country - often right beside or even under present-day buildings. Although I missed experiencing Jerash (heat-induced anxiety got the better of me), I really loved all the mosaics in and around Madaba. The first mosaics I’d ever seen in person were in Istanbul, but the quantity and diversity of the ones in Jordan really impressed me.


So if a visit to Jordan was so much like previous vacations, what inspired the awe?

Petra. The Nabateans created such incredible sculptures; I’m glad I got a chance to see them – especially the Monastery! It took years to complete some of the most ornate facades, and they include symbols from a variety of cultures and religious points of view, in order to welcome others and encourage trade. Interesting, no?



The Dead Sea. I have a really hard time floating. It has something to do with the fact that I hate getting water in my ears so I don’t relax my neck enough. But even tense-necked, I floated like nobody’s business in the Dead Sea! If it had been a few degrees warmer, I think Darren could have spent all day in there. I’m not sure what the effects on his body would have been, but he would have enjoyed himself!



Bible Stories. There's just something about being in the Holy Land that is amazing. Growing up hearing stories of Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Jesus..., and then seeing the sites where these stories might have taken place creates an emotional response. Of course, some of the stuff is cheesy – part of Moses’ spring has been covered with a building and a rock was put in there to symbolize the rock he hit to make the water flow. Just a random rock! But standing on Mount Nebo, overlooking the Promised land, or listening to Darren read fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, or just seeing rocky hillsides made the Bible stories come to life.

There are lots of places with incredible history, but this was one place whose history I’ve read and studied.

The night we stayed at the Dead Sea, Darren and I spent about half an hour sitting on a bench overlooking the sea. On the other side we saw the lights of Jerusalem. It was right there – Jerusalem! And Jericho, the city whose walls fell down when the trumpets blew was just to the right. Amazing.



Diversity. Not awe-some per se, but wonderful nonetheless. While in Jordan our activities varied from driving through the desert in an old 4x4 jeep to lounging by the pool at a resort. Our meals ranged from take away falafel sandwiches to formal dinner buffets. The temperature fluctuated from "can I borrow your jacket, honey?" in the morning to "where's the nearest shade?" in the afternoon and then back to "I just want to snuggle under the covers!" in the evening. Our sleeping accommodations ranged from a tent in the desert to a 5-star suite. The landscape varied from sand to rocky mountains with sparce greenery to manicured gardens. It's hard not to enjoy yourself when every day is different from the last!



Unlike all our previous trips, we didn't arrange the vacation with anyone else. I wasn't sure whether this would be a positive change or not, since the highlights of previous trips included time spent with friends. However, it was nice to be just the two of us. And we did end up having drinks with a group of colleagues in Amman, and lunch with another colleague and his girlfriend in Petra. Also, we met some interesting characters along the way, like our driver Amer, and Abu Fadi the gentleman who served us tea at one of the mosaic sites near Mount Nebo.



So, yes, I certainly enjoyed our visit to Jordan. Was it my favourite trip? That's really hard to say, but it might have been. While we were there Darren adn I were already talking about the places we'd like to see next time we're in Jordan. That will be a longer trip in which we combine parts of Syria, Israel, and maybe even Egypt. But for now we will be thankful to have had this experience and regularly refer to our pictures to remember our time in Jordan.