Jordan April 11

Life is interesting.

When I planned this trip I was going to spend 3 days in Jarash, and using one of those days as a day trip to Ajloun castle. I was then going to Irbid stay there for three days, and do a day trip to Umm Qais. 

After I met my German pilgrim, I canceled my third day in Jarash, and went straight to Umm Qais (Don't you just love that name?). We visited the castle on the way. This meant I had an extra day in Irbid.

Even my guide book indicates that Irbid has no ruins, no tourist attractions. 

Reem and Nour also said there is little to do or see.

Well, Irbid has turned out to be a real experience. Spending yesterday with the young ladies was a highlight day.

Today I decided to visit the Dar as-Saraya museum, which is located at the highest hill in the city.

The museum was enjoyable. It is a lovely old building, and doesn't have a large number of exhibits, but what it has is an excellent series of posters that explain the history of the area, from prehistoric to modern times. And it is all in good English. It's starts with prehistory, the Stone Age, Iron Age, Bronze Age and through the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman periods until today. There are items, on display from the various periods.

One of the many things I learned was that Saladin built the castle at Ajloun, not only for defence, but also because of the iron ore deposits. This then was used as a trade commodity.

There was also a display of lovely mosaics. This was not a simple process. First there was a thick layer of red soil, then pebbles, then a layer of ash, and a layer of chalk. Only then where the tiles laid. When you realize that entire floors were created in this manner, you really appreciate the artistry and labour involved.

The place was empty, there wasn't even anybody at the ticket booth. It was very quiet, and I took my time absorbing a lot of education. Restful and peaceful.

After my visit to the museum I walked down into the Souk (market place). This is like a series of street markets, selling everything, but primarily fruit and vegetables. Everything is local. A real farmers market, only a lot more chaotic than what we are used to. Very noisy, in a good way, great aromas of the fresh fruits and herbs. The bunches of basil and mint were huge. They even had fresh corn already. My favourite stall though was one that sold freshly picked strawberries. I gave the guy 1JD, and he gave me a big bag of strawberries, there must be at least 2 quarts. I am going to Amman tomorrow, so I will be eating strawberries all day.

After a lunch of pita bread, hummus, and strawberries, I decided to walk around the Yarmouk University, which is only a 20 minute walk from my hotel. The university has a Museum of Jordanian Heritage. Not an easy thing to find. I asked 4 different guards, and they all gave me directions, all wrong. Even my guidebook had the location wrong. I finally asked a student, who spoke German, and he walked me to the building.

That's the second time today that my German came in handy. I used it to get a taxi, when the driver didn't know any English.

The campus of the university is large, the student population is 30000, or 45000, depending on who you ask.

The museum is quite small, but they had good explanations, and covered different topics than the first one. They had a special room dedicated to funeral practices. Interesting. Again I was the only visitor.

The weather is gorgeous, low 20's, sunny, and a nice breeze.

All in all I have really enjoyed my stay in Irbid.

Jordan April 12

Everything went smoothly this morning. I was at my hotel in Amman before noon. I am right downtown, and I see the Roman Theatre, or what's left of it, right from my window. I have a balcony looking over the site.

The trip to Amman was pleasant. The countryside is very hilly, but there are trees and lots of green.

This is the nicest hotel I have been to on this trip. Beautifully decorated, very clean. Another first, there is a complementary package of cigarettes on my balcony.

I must admit I am amazed that I haven't had one room that has smelled of smoke. That is surprising considering the number of smokers in Jordan.

Another first; I saw my first garbage truck.

Amman has a long history. It has been inhabitated since 7000 BC. After Alexander the Great conquered this area, the name was changed from the Biblical Ammon to Philadelphia, so this is the original "City of Brotherly Love". When the Muslims took over in the 7th century AD, they renamed the city Amman.

After the huge earthquake, in 749, Amman, like other cities was basically abandoned for a thousand years. It reverted to a grazing spot for the local Bedouins. In the 1840's it was resettled by the Circassians, better known as Chechens. Over a million of these Muslims were forced out by Russian orthodox believers from their homeland.

Amman was a small city until the creation of Israel,  in 1948, when a million Palestines fled to Jordan. This was repeated after the war in 1967. In recent years there have been other refugee influxes. In the last 10 years the population of Amman has doubled to 4 million. 

Can you imagine 2 million refugees settling in Toronto in a period of 10 years?

It is amazing Amman is functioning  as well as it is.

I spent the rest of the day walking around downtown Amman. This is the old part, still traditional, nothing but very small stores, selling just about anything.

I saw my first tourist tee shirt. I did not see any tee shirts anywhere, not even one "I love Petra". I can't think of any place in the world where tee shirts aren't a big seller. Anyway, I saw ONE today.

This is the most westernized city so far, a great variety of fashions. The only thing I have noticed is that even the girls who don't wear a hijab, wear long sleeved tops. On the male side it's like North America.

Jordan April 13

Woke up to a steady rain. Fine with me, I don't have any big plans.

Amman has a long history, but everything is built on top of the previous culture, so all you see is the latest edition. It was a village until the king decided to make it the capital of the new country, Jordan, in 1921.

Most of the people living here came from somewhere else, primarily Palestine. 

The only ancient historical sites are the Roman Theatre, across the street from me, and the citadel on top of a big hill right behind my hotel.

The rain seemed to stop at about 10, so I decided to go to the Jordan Museum. This has just opened, and is the principal museum in the country.

I had fun walking along the Main Street to the museum. There are a lot of interesting little shops. There are no large shops, everything is small, about the size of an average living room at home. My favourite coffee shop is about 5 feet, by 15 feet, just enough room to turn around. He does a thriving business taking take-out orders from the surrounding businesses. Pricing is also interesting. In Petra an Arabic coffee was 2JD, in Aqaba 1JD. I couldn't find any place in Jarash or Irbid, but here he charges 0.35 JD

I came across two stores that sold, and made saddles. Many clothing stores. Just about anything you can think of.

The museum was worth the visit. The previous museums dealt, primarily with the history of the last 6000 years in their area.

The Jordan Museum goes back to the Stone Age and it has great displays. One of the more interesting has human statues from before 7000 BC. They claim they are the oldest representations of humans in the world. 

The other area I found fascinating was a special exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls. These were first discovered in 1947 by a Palestinian shepherd. The scrolls were in clay containers, which explains they are as well preserved as they are. They caves where they were found are on the West Bank, which at that time was part of Palestine. 

I have read about their significance, because they date back to before 100 AD, thus predate the New Testament, and are the documents closest to the time of Jesus.

It was a thrill to have the discoveries explained, and to see the real thing, or at least part of the real thing.

I walked home in a drizzle; the high today is 12.

Jordan April 14

Today was a lovely morning, beautiful sunshine, high of 16. Perfect day for walking.

Amman is built on 14 hills, so there a lot of steep hills, and stairs, and stairs, and stairs.

I wanted to walk on Rainbow Street, which is a more upscale and has nice shops and restaurants.

My hotel lady, Hazel, suggested I take a cab to the top of the street and then walk back down to downtown. Good advice, too bad I didn't take it. I didn't have anything planned, so I did decide to walk. It's only about a kilometre, but it's about 80% uphill. About half way up my stomach started to grumble and I knew I better find a washroom very soon. 

I found one, had a nice cup of mint tea, and life is good again. I think an app on the iPhone indicating public washrooms would be great. 

Rainbow Street is very different from downtown. It is much more Western. The shops are what we are used to, and they are more upscale. No saddle makers here.

At 10 in the morning I was the only customer in the cafe. At least no washroom lineup.

There are many things I like in Jordan. I love the flat bread, the hummus is heavenly, and the mint tea is very refreshing. It gets its flavour from fresh mint leaves that are put in each cup. No comparison to the crushed dried stuff we get at home.

At the top of the food list is the Syrian ice cream I was treated to by Rheem and Nour.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Jordan. It has been a memorable tripApril 14

Today was a lovely morning, beautiful sunshine, high of 16. Perfect day for walking.

Amman is built on 14 hills, so there a lot of steep hills, and stairs, and stairs, and stairs.

I wanted to walk on Rainbow Street, which is a more upscale and has nice shops and restaurants.

At the top of the food list is the Syrian ice cream I was treated to by Rheem and Nour.

In the afternoon I walked along the Main Street in the old city. The stores are fascinating.

In the evening, this being a Friday, there were lots of activities in the square.

Tomorrow is my last full day in Jordan. It has been a memorable trip.

Jordan April 15

My last full day in Jordan.

This morning I walked up to the Citadel. This is the first place that was inhabited, going back to 7000BC. It is the highest point. The Romans built their city on top of the ancient Ammon, and the Muslims built over the Roman settlement.

It's a good climb, 184 stairs, and then a 20 minute walk, all uphill.

There are still some remains of the Roman times, particularly the Temple of Hercules, which can be seen from all over the city.  Most of the hill top is taken up by the Umayyad Palace. This dynasty was huge. In about 700 AD the Umayyad empire had a population of 65 million people. That's the fifth largest empire ever, and it never made it into any history book I ever read in school.

The funny thing is, aside from the mosque, all that's left are the Roman ruins that they incorporated into their palace.

It is big though, because it included all the government offices for this part of the empire.

The view is great.

In the afternoon I decided to treat myself to a Turkish Steam Bath and Massage.

You get undressed and wrap yourself in a towel. The first part is a dry sauna, about 15 minutes of that. A cold shower, and it's off to a steam room. Fairly hot steam, with a mint aroma, is pumped into the room. Hot, humid, and foggy. Weird feeling, like being in another world, especially because I was the only one there. Another cold shower, and into a hot-tub. Quite warm. A neat feature is that there is a kind of a waterfall flowing into the tub. I was the only one in the tub, so I got to seat under the falling water the whole time.

From there you are placed on a hot stone table for 5 minutes. The stone was quite hot.

Then comes another stone table where you are scrubbed, very thoroughly, with a rough sponge. Both sides.

Next you are soaped, and again scrubbed, and rinsed. Finally there is a full body massage.

After a warm shower you are taken into the lounge where you can rest, and drink some juices. I certainly needed the rest. I was feeling a bit woozy, and lethargic.

You can stay there as long as you want. Twenty minutes were enough for me. 

The whole thing took over an hour, and April 15

My last full day in Jordan.

This morning I walked up to the Citadel. This is the first place that was inhabited, going back to 7000BC. It is the highest point. The Romans built their city on top of the ancient Ammon, and the Muslims built over the Roman settlement.

It's a good climb, 184 stairs, and then a 20 minute walk, all uphill.

There are still some remains of the Roman times, particularly the Temple of Hercules, which can be seen from all over the city.  Most of the hill top is taken up by the Umayyad Palace. This dynasty was huge. In about 700 AD the Umayyad empire had a population of 65 million people. That's the fifth largest empire ever.

The funny thing is, aside from the mosque, all that's left are the Roman ruins that they incorporated into their palace.

It is big though, because it included all the government offices for this part of the empire.

The view is great.

In the afternoon I decided to treat myself to a Turkish Steam Bath and Massage.

You get undressed and wrap yourself in a towel. The first part is a dry sauna, about 15 minutes of that. A cold shower, and it's off to a steam room. Fairly hot steam, with a mint aroma, is pumped into the room. Hot, humid, and foggy. Weird feeling. Another cold shower, and into a hot-tub. Quite warm. A neat feature is that there is a kind of a waterfall flowing into the tub. I was the only one in the tub, so I got to seat under the falling water the whole time.

From there you are placed on a hot stone table for 5 minutes. The stone was quite hot.

Then comes another stone table where you are scrubbed, very thoroughly, with a rough sponge. Both sides.

Next you are soaped, and again scrubbed, and rinsed. Finally there is a full body massage.

After a warm shower you are taken into the lounge where you can rest, and drink some juices. I certainly needed the rest. I was feeling a bit woozy, and lethargic.

You can stay there as long as you want, and they treat you to juices and water. Twenty minutes were enough for me. 

The whole thing took over an hour, and I feel very very clean.

I spent my last evening just walking. I am amazed at the number of dress stores. Some beautiful, very colourful dresses. Nothing I have seen on the streets. They must have a lot of fun dressing up at home. I will have to ask Rheem and Nour.

There is a large plaza in front of the Roman Theatre right across from my hotel it was full of families and teens. The little kids were rollerblading, playing tag, kicking a ball around. Very European, except for the dress. A scene you wouldn't see in North America.

Jordan April 17

Jet lag doesn't get easier with an aging body.

The trip home was a long one. For some unknown reason, probably linked to sadism, my return flight went from Amman to Bahrain. I had no idea where Bahrain is, but it's a 2.5 hours flight to the southeast. From there it's 7.5 hours northwest to London. So, 6 hours after I started we once again flew over Amman, in the right direction this time.

All in all 37 hours passed from when I got out of bed in Amman, and when I got home. I don't sleep on planes, so I was beat, and I had a sore bum. Otherwise everything went well.

The reason I didn't write this on Monday was that Sandy and I went to see a film, "Theeb", on Monday. This film was made in Jordan, specifically in Wadi Rum, and I wanted to experience it. It was a good film, especially the desert scenery. Spectacular.

Interestingly one of the films I watched on the way over was "The Martian", which was also filmed in Wadi Rum, only this time it represents Mars. Quite a coincidence.

All in all it was a very successful trip. 

I hiked to the Monastery at Petra, floated in the Dead Sea, snorkeled in the Red Sea, slept in the desert, in style, did a hot air balloon in Wadi Rum.

Saw some beautiful Roman ruins, stood where Moses stood, saw where Jesus was baptized. I  learned a lot about the history and cultures of this ancient region.

Jordanians are very friendly, polite, and honest. I never felt unsafe.

I met some great people, some of the drivers, and above all Reem and Nour. I just loved the day I spent with them, and the Syrian ice cream they introduced me to.

Meeting people is one of the joys of the way I travel, and I was very lucky on this trip.

Till next time

Ralf

Budapest Sept 9

The Aer Lingus plane to Dublin was the smallest trans Atlantic plane I have seen. Only six seats across. The flight was a bit bumpy, but it was on time. The flight to Budapest was even more basic. No entertainment system, at all, and a cup of instant coffee was 5 dollars. I passed.

I have also decided aisle seats aren't as good as they used to be. The aisle now is so narrow that you bet bumped by everybody and everything.

The flights were on time, and the weather in Budapest is great, low 20's, sunny, no humidity. Our landlady arranged a pickup at the airport, and the lady was very good. We received a guided tour on the way to our apartment. The apartment is lovely. We are only 3 short blocks from the Parliament building, and the Danube. Two bedrooms, fully equipped. The bathtub is huge, big enough for all three of us to fit in. Now there is a disturbing image!

The highlight of the apartment is the ceiling in the living room. It's hard to describe, so I have included a photo.

We caught up on some sleep in the afternoon, but we did go out in the evening. Budapest is very clean, and there are some beautiful buildings.

Dinner was a tasty goulash, at a sidewalk restaurant, Cafe Kino, crepes for dessert, all with a half liter of beer. It's funny, I don't drink beer at home, but I do enjoy the local brews in Europe.

After dinner we strolled along the Danube. Everything is lit up, gorgeous.

The Parliament is very impressive, and beautiful. 

An interesting scene was the sight of dozens of birds flying over the building, all lit up by the lights shining on the building. Dozens of theses white spots floating over us. Very charming.

We finished the day by hitting a grocery store. Typical me!

Photo 1 the ceiling in our apartment 

Photo 2 the Magrit Bridge at night

Photo 3 the castle district, across the Danube

Photo 4 the parliament building; the little white dots in the sky are birds

Note: If you double-click on any photo it will larger. The blog cuts off the edges at times