Syria was simply amazing. Everything about it was exactly the opposite of what I expected. The state department would have you believe that Syria is a country hostile to Americans. As I already mentioned I also expected it to be a much more arid climate.
Both these things proved to be the exact opposite. The people went out of their way to help us and were nothing but nice. And like I said the landscape was composed of lush farmlands.
I really wish I had more time to spend in Damascus. The culture and history here are extremely rich. It was truly enjoyable to spend time in the cities and just interact. In addition to this, he exchange rate was excellent, The food was great, and the city was beautiful. In all honesty I loved everything about Damascus.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Day 37: September 30
Woke up today to the crackling of the loud speakers. However, the call to prayer never came on…. Seems they malfunctioned today. Blessed Silence, how I missed you. We did however, get out of bed at 8 to make it to the Crac De Chevaliers. We went downstairs and wolfed some food before catching a taxi to the bus station.
At the bus station we were swarmed by people trying to get us on their busses. We eventually found the correct bus and boarded. It took us out to a small city in the countryside of Syria. From there we had to catch a minibus to the Crac De Chevaliers. It was amazing driving through the countryside of Syria. My preconceived notion of Syria and the rest of the Middle East was a desert. However, the countryside could have easily been mistaken for California. It was covered with farmland, forests, and meadows. Not at all what I expected.
After three hours of driving (2 in the big bus and 1 in the minibus) we arrived at the Crac De Chevaliers. The Crac de Chevaliers is a Castle that was built by the Crusaders during their attempt to retake the Holy Land. It was held by the Crusader’s until they were driven from the land. It was then held by the Muslims until the 19th Century when gunpowder made Castles obsolete. Now it is considered the best preserved Crusader castle in the Middle East.
Most of our group was very excited to see the castle. Except for Jasmine… who just wanted to shop back in Damascus (honestly she is a nice girl but her attitude is occasionally annoying). Anyways, we payed the entry and went in.
It was amazing to walk through the castle and see where the Crusaders lived and fought for so long. Very impressive and well preserved. I spend most of the time walking around with Jake and Henry. We spent our time walking around the exterior of the castle and then worked our way into the citadel. The citadel was an impressive structure and larger than many I saw when in Ireland. It’s always crazy to think about people making these huge rock structures without modern power tools.
We spent the next three hours walking around enjoying the history. The best part for me was climbing the three towers and looking out over the surrounding countryside. From there you can almost imagine what a lookout would have seen hundreds of years ago. The land just seemed to spread out all around us.
Unfortunately we eventually had to leave to make it back to Damascus. We caught the minibus back to the bus station and again found a public bus back to Damascus. Once back in Damascus we made our way back to the hostel.
Mike and I decided that it was time for us to push onto Lebanon. We made a quick run out to the souqs so Mike could do some last minute shopping. After grabbing a few things we made our way back to the hostel to pack and leave. We grabbed our last Syrian Schwarma on the way and gobbled it down. Half an hour later we were all packed and ready to leave.
We made our way downstairs and caught a taxi to the bus station. We made our way to a small section of the station dedicated to travelers going on to Lebanon. It was kinda sketchy. It was pretty much a poorly lit parking lot with cars and taxi’s willing to drive people across the border. We put our feelers out and found what we thought to be the best cabbie and got in.
We were sharing the cab with three Arabs, ourselves, and the driver. Most of us were quiet on the way to the border, kinda an awkward tension between people that don’t know each other and have a language gap. We got to the border without any issue and paid our exit fee. However, we were running seriously low on Syrian currency and were hoping the entry fee wouldn’t be too high.
We walked into the entry station and went to the foreigner line. We were greeted by a Lebanese army officer who inquired about our stay, etc. He found out we were only going to be in the country for a few days and put us down for a free transit visa… I love this country already. With that taken care of we went back to our awaiting taxi.
The Arabs at first were complaining about how long it took (assuming that we didn’t understand what was being said.) However, they were shocked when I responded and apologized in Arabic. Their jaws literally dropped. Pretty funny. They were really excited to meet a white person that spoke Arabic and were quick to jump on the opportunity to ask me anything and everything that I understood. It made the cab ride allot more interesting, and in my opinion really fun. It was the first time in awhile I had not been surrounded by Americans and it allowed me to practice my Arabic a bit more.
Anyways we arrived in Beirut with no problems. The taxi driver even took us to an exchange to trade my remaining Jordanian Dinar to Lebanese pounds. This is good because I’m not sure I would have been able to pay the driver otherwise.
One of the guys I met in the taxi was a banker from Damascus doing training in Lebanon. He spoke German, English, and Arabic. Really nice to talk to and very helpful. He volunteered to stay with us in the taxi until we were dropped off. This turned out to be really useful because apparently our drivers original thought had been to drop the two Americans at the bus stop and let them fend for themselves. However, with a little coxing from our new friend, the driver took us straight to our hostel (The New Talaal Hostel).
We got there and made our way into the hostel. At this point we were flying by the seat of our pants because we didn’t have a reservation or a backup plan. And wouldn’t you know… there was no room at the inn. However, they decided they could fit us on the balcony. At this point it was near 1 am and we were more than willing to take anything. They showed us out to the balcony. The balcony was actually the size of a big bedroom and more than accommodated the two of us. We also got a nice breeze….
We were both exhausted and decided it was time to head for bed. While getting ready we ran into some other AUC kids outside the bathroom. Some guys we knew decently, John, Jordan, and Paul. An unexpected surprise, but nice to see some familiar faces.
Anyways, finished getting ready and passed out.
At the bus station we were swarmed by people trying to get us on their busses. We eventually found the correct bus and boarded. It took us out to a small city in the countryside of Syria. From there we had to catch a minibus to the Crac De Chevaliers. It was amazing driving through the countryside of Syria. My preconceived notion of Syria and the rest of the Middle East was a desert. However, the countryside could have easily been mistaken for California. It was covered with farmland, forests, and meadows. Not at all what I expected.
After three hours of driving (2 in the big bus and 1 in the minibus) we arrived at the Crac De Chevaliers. The Crac de Chevaliers is a Castle that was built by the Crusaders during their attempt to retake the Holy Land. It was held by the Crusader’s until they were driven from the land. It was then held by the Muslims until the 19th Century when gunpowder made Castles obsolete. Now it is considered the best preserved Crusader castle in the Middle East.
Most of our group was very excited to see the castle. Except for Jasmine… who just wanted to shop back in Damascus (honestly she is a nice girl but her attitude is occasionally annoying). Anyways, we payed the entry and went in.
It was amazing to walk through the castle and see where the Crusaders lived and fought for so long. Very impressive and well preserved. I spend most of the time walking around with Jake and Henry. We spent our time walking around the exterior of the castle and then worked our way into the citadel. The citadel was an impressive structure and larger than many I saw when in Ireland. It’s always crazy to think about people making these huge rock structures without modern power tools.
We spent the next three hours walking around enjoying the history. The best part for me was climbing the three towers and looking out over the surrounding countryside. From there you can almost imagine what a lookout would have seen hundreds of years ago. The land just seemed to spread out all around us.
Unfortunately we eventually had to leave to make it back to Damascus. We caught the minibus back to the bus station and again found a public bus back to Damascus. Once back in Damascus we made our way back to the hostel.
Mike and I decided that it was time for us to push onto Lebanon. We made a quick run out to the souqs so Mike could do some last minute shopping. After grabbing a few things we made our way back to the hostel to pack and leave. We grabbed our last Syrian Schwarma on the way and gobbled it down. Half an hour later we were all packed and ready to leave.
We made our way downstairs and caught a taxi to the bus station. We made our way to a small section of the station dedicated to travelers going on to Lebanon. It was kinda sketchy. It was pretty much a poorly lit parking lot with cars and taxi’s willing to drive people across the border. We put our feelers out and found what we thought to be the best cabbie and got in.
We were sharing the cab with three Arabs, ourselves, and the driver. Most of us were quiet on the way to the border, kinda an awkward tension between people that don’t know each other and have a language gap. We got to the border without any issue and paid our exit fee. However, we were running seriously low on Syrian currency and were hoping the entry fee wouldn’t be too high.
We walked into the entry station and went to the foreigner line. We were greeted by a Lebanese army officer who inquired about our stay, etc. He found out we were only going to be in the country for a few days and put us down for a free transit visa… I love this country already. With that taken care of we went back to our awaiting taxi.
The Arabs at first were complaining about how long it took (assuming that we didn’t understand what was being said.) However, they were shocked when I responded and apologized in Arabic. Their jaws literally dropped. Pretty funny. They were really excited to meet a white person that spoke Arabic and were quick to jump on the opportunity to ask me anything and everything that I understood. It made the cab ride allot more interesting, and in my opinion really fun. It was the first time in awhile I had not been surrounded by Americans and it allowed me to practice my Arabic a bit more.
Anyways we arrived in Beirut with no problems. The taxi driver even took us to an exchange to trade my remaining Jordanian Dinar to Lebanese pounds. This is good because I’m not sure I would have been able to pay the driver otherwise.
One of the guys I met in the taxi was a banker from Damascus doing training in Lebanon. He spoke German, English, and Arabic. Really nice to talk to and very helpful. He volunteered to stay with us in the taxi until we were dropped off. This turned out to be really useful because apparently our drivers original thought had been to drop the two Americans at the bus stop and let them fend for themselves. However, with a little coxing from our new friend, the driver took us straight to our hostel (The New Talaal Hostel).
We got there and made our way into the hostel. At this point we were flying by the seat of our pants because we didn’t have a reservation or a backup plan. And wouldn’t you know… there was no room at the inn. However, they decided they could fit us on the balcony. At this point it was near 1 am and we were more than willing to take anything. They showed us out to the balcony. The balcony was actually the size of a big bedroom and more than accommodated the two of us. We also got a nice breeze….
We were both exhausted and decided it was time to head for bed. While getting ready we ran into some other AUC kids outside the bathroom. Some guys we knew decently, John, Jordan, and Paul. An unexpected surprise, but nice to see some familiar faces.
Anyways, finished getting ready and passed out.
Day 36: September 29
Keeping with the tradition of the trip we got the 4:45 wake up call. The nearest mosque was not as close as yesterday but was definitely close enough to wake us up.
We decided that today was going to be our ‘sleep in day’ so we ended up rolling out of bed at 10. We went downstairs and grabbed breakfast and made the game plan for the day. We all decided that we wanted to see the part of the city called Old Damascus. Old Damascus is located near the middle of the city and has many historical mosques as well as the old city walls.
We briefly split ways and decided to meet near the Umayyad Mosque at noon. A good portion of our group decided to go to the internet café and find plane flight from Damascus to Cairo. I decided to get a shower because I was feeling pretty dirty.. Anyways, Mike, Corley, and I were the only ones still at the hostel at 11:30 so we decided to walk over to the Umayyad Mosque together. We arrived shortly before noon and waited for the rest of the group. Jasmine, Jeanna, and Henry rolled up shortly after 12, but the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen. After waiting for 15 minutes we decided we
couldn’t wait any longer and went to buy our entry into the mosque.
After purchasing our tickets the girls got outfitted with cloaks to cover their arms, hair, and legs so that they were considered suitable to enter the mosque. They looked a little ridiculous, but it’s part of the experience. We went to the main entrance, removed our shoes, and went in.
It was absolutely breath-taking. The Mosque is covered in marble, granite, and gold. The inner courtyard was about the size of a football field with the mosque circling around it. At different points along the mosque were three humungous minarets (towers). The architecture was absolutely amazing, and it’s just one of those things you can’t explain with words (check out my pictures).
We spent the next hour and a half walking around the Mosque in awe of its splendor. We spent time checking out the courtyard and minarets (One of which is colloquially known as the ‘Jesus Minaret’ because the local Christians think he will reappear there during the second coming..). After that we went into the Main hall.
The main hall (South Wing) is a hall that runs the length of complex and has a gorgeous vaulted domed ceiling adorned with stained glass. This hall is where the Muslims come to pray and listen to teachings from the Koran. Also inside the main hall is the Shrine of John the Baptist. It is an amazingly elaborate emerald green, stained glass structure, supposedly housing the head of John the Baptist. It was amazing to see the Muslim men and women congregate around this structure to pray and weep over someone I typically associate with Christianity.
We spent the better part of an hour sitting inside the main hall taking in the beauty and majesty of the place. We did however, have one hitch… halfway through we (I) realized the reason no other women were on our side of the mosque… It was because there was a men’s and women’s side of the mosque. Oops. I pointed this out to the girls who for the most part went over without any fuss. Except of course for Jasmine (the fight for your rights African American Woman of the group) who had to point out the sexism in the system… sigh (yes Dorothy we aren’t in Kansas anymore).
After getting our fill of the South Wing, Mike and I went over to check out the North Wing. The North wing was mostly closed due to maintenance on one of the minarets. However, there shrine located on the south side to Ali Ibn Husayn, showing where he used to pray (also contains his prayer rug) was open. It was crazy. The glass case enclosing the area was being swarmed by women and men trying to touch the glass. They were crying and weeping. Truly impressive.
After exiting the South Wing we all met up in the courtyard and exited together. We actually ran into the rest of the group just outside the Mosque. Apparently getting tickets had taken them allot of time and effort. We huddled together and decided that we wanted to check out the surrounding area and meet up again near the hostel at 5:30 to see the sunset.
Henry, Carter, Mike, Same, Jake, Jeanna, and I decided we wanted to walk the perimeter of the wall and see the Christian/Jewish quarters in Old Damascus. We walked around for some time just taking in the sights and feel of the city. All the people we met were helpful and friendly. We eventually stopped to get some schwarma from a local stand. Just as good as the night before!
While looking around we found another large mosque in back streets of Old Damascus. We went in and found ourselves in a crowd of pilgrims going to pay tribute to one of Mohamed relatives. Apparently housed in the Mosque was a mausoleum devoted to this relative. I thought the crowds trying to see Ali Ibn Husayn’s shrine were frantic…. This was ten times as crazy. We stayed long enough to check out the mosque and shrine, but not much longer.
Eventually we found our way into the Jewish quarter. It was interesting to walk around there for a little while. Kinda sad too... the area was covered in graffiti and swastikas. From there we continued to walk through the city. At one point we were swarmed by a group of school children yelling that we were spies… because we wouldn’t play soccer with them. We walked around the city for awhile longer, following the walls to the old entrance gates. It was really cool to see the old gates to the city.
After walking around for awhile longer, we found ourselves near the mosque again. Those that hadn’t seen the mosque went to go check it out while Henry, Mike, and I decided to look around the small shops. We eventually ended up back in the hand crafted section looking at all the cool stuff. We walked around for awhile and somehow Mike got separated from me and Henry. Henry and I decided to stop in a café and get some tea.
It was nice to sit and chat after walking around all day. It was also the first time I really got to talk to Henry one on one. He is from LA and attends UCLA, so we had a fair amount of common ground. Turns out he knows Jake Walker from Valley. He also is involved heavily in Campus Crusade at UCLA. It was nice to be able to talk about religion and similar issues with someone that had similar viewpoints as me. So far this trip I had felt like a large minority with my more conservative views. Henry and I decided that we would hold a Bible study together on campus to keep ourselves grounded while abroad. I’ll be honest I am truly looking forward to this.
After we were done with our tea we went back out into the street. From there we browsed a bit longer. I did some Christmas shopping for mom, dad, and Sara. I also decided on what I’m getting Andrew. After I was done with that I went to one of the art shops and bought myself some black and white paintings. It was really fun to talk and haggle with the store owners.
We were running late for our rendezvous back at the hostel so Henry and I booked it back. We arrived just in time to jump in the taxi with our group and head up the mountain side. We ended up on the side of the mountain looking down over the city. From there we watched the sun set over Damascus. It was gorgeous. The city was sprawled out before us interlaced with the forests on the east. The city was beautiful during sunset, but in my opinion it was more impressive after dark. Every mosque in Damascus is adorned with green lights (the color of Islam). You could see green lights everywhere, dotting the city.
We eventually headed back into the city and from there we went to the souqs. We decided to walk around the souqs and old Damascus at night. It is amazing to see all the old structures lit up with lights. We decided to change it up and get falafel tonight. Good, but the schwarma was better. After awhile we all walked back and found ourselves reading and hanging out at the hostel.
Jeanna, Henry, and I decided we would rather be out in Damascus than sitting inside. We went to an old café near the Umayad Mosque. It is renowned as the only one that still has a storyteller. We got there and ordered some tea. We sat and talked for an hour and a half until they closed. I really enjoyed talking with the two of them because I got to know them better.
Unfortunately no storyteller showed up. Either they don’t do it anymore or the times were posted incorrectly. Kinda bummed out but I enjoyed just talking. We eventually headed back (after stopping for ice cream) to our hostel. From there we went to sleep.
Jordan In Review:
I really enjoyed Jordan. It was amazing how modern and different things were there. I think that so far this trip I have enjoyed Jordan the most. Dahab was fun to relax at, but hiking through the desert and up waterfalls was so enjoyable. It was also amazing to see the many natural wonders and gorgeous majesty within this small country. The people were all wonderfully friendly as well as fiercely proud of their country. Honestly, if the exchange rate was not so crazy I definitely would have liked to stay longer.
Friday, 9 October 2009
Day 35: September 28
Woke up to the familiar sound of blaring speakers. I’m starting to hate the morning call to prayer.We had to be up at 6:30 anyways…
At 6:30 we all begrudgingly rolled out of bed. We grabbed a quick bite and headed out. The bus driver from the hotel took us to the bus company that goes to Damascus every morning. We got there and went to buy our tickets. However, the bus company did not want to take 10 US tourists across the border. They thought it would be too much of a hassle to wait with us at the border… probably true.
Anyways we walked back outside and attempted to find a taxi. We eventually found a set of brothers who were willing to take us in their two taxis. Most of this was due to our drivers persuasive bartering. Thank Hubly Bubbly (yes that really was his name..).
They agreed to take us all the way to Damascus for 50 dinar per cab. They also agreed to wait at the border free of charge. An hour later we were nearing the border. We purchased our exit visa from Jordan and arrived at the Syrian border.
The border checkpoint was expansive. It had a hotel, restraint, duty free store, money exchange, and of course the Syrian administration building for the border. We went in and found the foreigner line. We made our way to the front and quickly discovered we needed copies of our passports. We left and found a copier. After getting copies we went back to the Immigration Center. We turned in our passport copies and prepared to play the waiting game.
The way the Syrian border works is they collect all the necessary paperwork and fax it to Damascus. From there you either get rejected or denied. The average length of time Americans wait is seven or 8 hours.
We spent some time at the duty free store looking through all the cool stuff. Jake bought a watch, Henry bought some sunglasses. I decided to save my money. After the duty free we headed over to the restaurant to get some eats. I got a pizza because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. It was good but nothing to write home about.
Anyways we went back to the immigration office and waited. After an hour more of waiting our taxi drivers started to get wrestles. They started to ask us how much longer it would take and eventually started to tell us it was going to cost more. We of course refused because our original deal stipulated that they would wait with us. After an hour of arguing back and forth we told them we were only going to pay them half and would like them to leave. They threw a stink but eventually left.
We waited another couple hours but finally got the go ahead from the Syrian government. We were finally in the clear. We were lucky it only took 5 hours. A few more minutes of paperwork and our entry fee got us the necessary passport stamp. From there we left to find new drivers.
We found two drivers waiting like sharks outside the immigration center. We negotiated for a little before finally accepting. We got in and were on our way to Damascus. A few more hours of driving brought us to the Capital of Syria. The driver dropped us at the major bus stop and from there we had to catch a minibus to our hotel. We got swarmed by drivers wanting to take us. We eventually settled on one and were again on the road. After driving around in circles and asking everyone on the side of the road for help our driver found directions and headed off in the right direction.
We finally arrived at our hotel. We went in and were assigned to the roof. We moved our bags up to the roof which was covered in beds. We all picked a bed and decided to go see the city.
We walked around until we came to a juice stand that sold schwarma. I got 2 shwarma’s and a fruit cocktail. The Juice was really good. A little bit thinner than the stuff in Cairo but just as tasty. The Schwarmas were also delicious. The differences between Egyptian shwarma and everywhere else is that in Egypt it is served on a role without sauce. In Damascus it is served with a tasty sauce on a thick tortilla. I’m pretty sure I can never eat Shwarma in Cairo after this.
From there we went to the Souqs. A souq is the Arabic word for market. We went to Al-Buzuriyah Souq which is one of the biggest in Damascus. It is located in the old city, near the Umayad Mosque. We spent our night walking around looking in different shops. Henry, Jeanna, Mike, and I found an Ice cream place and got some Ice Cream… yum!
The Souq was set up as one long walkway which starts at the street and ends at the Umayyad Mosque. We were shocked when we came to the Mosque which was brightly lit and absolutely gorgeous. Around the mosque were many little shops which we looked through and eventually we found ourselves in the hand craft section of Damascus. After browsing for awhile Henry and I found ourselves entranced by the paintings that were on display in one of the stores. We went in and chatted with the owner. Neither of us had much cash on us so we decided to leave. Jeanna, Henry, Mike, and I decided to walk back.
We made it back to our hotel and went to bed.
Pictures are up!
hey everyone I have been working hard to try to catch up on my blog and pictures. Unfortunately School comes first and they have been dumping assignments on us.... Anyway I've finally uploaded all my pictures to my smugmug. http//dyehard47.smugmug.com
with any luck I will catch up on the blog this week. Keep your fingers crossed
with any luck I will catch up on the blog this week. Keep your fingers crossed
Day 34: September 27
Day 34: September 27
Surprisingly the nearest mosque was closer today than yesterday. Due to this fact we got our typical 4:45 wake up call and sermon. Slept for a few more hours before we got up.
The hotel had a breakfast which we all gulped down. After that we all got into the bus and the hotel driver took us out to Wadi Moujib. It was a two hour drive to Wadi Moujib through the countryside of Jordan. A good section of it was done with the Dead Sea right next to us.
Wadi Moujib is a national preserve in Jordan. It is a river running through a valley in the mountains. It cost us 12 Dinar to enter, which we thought was expensive, however it turned out to be way worth it. The only unfortunate part was that we could not bring cameras in due to the nature of our hike.
The first thing you do in Wadi Moujib is descend a ladder into the shallow river. From there you hike/swim up the shallow (occasionally deep) river. You go over rocks/waterfalls as you hike upstream. Occasionally with the help of a ladder but oftentimes by pulling yourself up. It was absolutely amazing. I enjoyed every second of it. It was by far my favorite experience in Jordan.
The hike eventually leads you to a large waterfall. At this point you have to turn back. On the way back we floated and let the current take us. At many of the waterfalls we were able to slide down the slippery rocks like waterfalls. It was really fun. We jumped off large rocks and used makeshift waterslides for the next hour.
Eventually we made our way back to the museum at the start of the trail. From there our driver took us to the Dead Sea. Apparently in Jordan the only beaches on the Dead Sea are part of resort. We had to pay to get in but the resort was gorgeous. We had a packed lunch and brought it with us into the resort. We ate another typical Jordanian lunch on the tables of the resort. There were, however, allot of flies. We were absolutely swarmed. Kinda made eating unpleasant. I’m not sure which is more annoying, the flies in Jordan or the Taxis in Cairo.
After eating we made our way down to the Dead Sea.
In Wadi Moujib I had managed to gash my leg on one of the rocks. I had not expected the salt concentration in the Dead Sea. It burned… it was like rubbing salt in my wounds. I figured the best way to solve the problem was to jump in and get it over with. Ya… I forgot about salt and eyes not mixing. There was allot of pain for the next few minutes.
Anyways I stayed in for about twenty minutes and floated around. It was cool but not something I could do for hours. Plus every pore was burning. Got out and made my way to the fresh water pool. Jumped in and found immediate relief. Swam around a bit and then went back into the Sea. Similar situation as last time… spent a few minutes there then got out.
From there we made our way back to our hotel. I spent the two hours taking a nap. We got back to Amman and split into groups to forage for food. I went to the internet café to send out emails. After that Mike, Henry and I went to find some Jordanian Shwarma. I had heard from Ben they were better outside of Egypt and he had not been lying. They were sooooo good. Way better than Cairo.
After eating we walked around Amman checking out the city. We found ourselves at the Roman Ampitheater. We poked around there for the better part of an hour before making our way back to the hotel. At the hotel Henry and I watched a documentary on Jordan with the hotel owner. He was so excited to be showing Americans the highlights of his country. The Documentary was entitled ‘A Royal Tour of Jordan’ and the Jordanian King was the tour guide. The king seemed to be really articulate and nice, although I feel watching a documentary would give you that impression.
Eventually we made our way to our rooms and passed out.
Surprisingly the nearest mosque was closer today than yesterday. Due to this fact we got our typical 4:45 wake up call and sermon. Slept for a few more hours before we got up.
The hotel had a breakfast which we all gulped down. After that we all got into the bus and the hotel driver took us out to Wadi Moujib. It was a two hour drive to Wadi Moujib through the countryside of Jordan. A good section of it was done with the Dead Sea right next to us.
Wadi Moujib is a national preserve in Jordan. It is a river running through a valley in the mountains. It cost us 12 Dinar to enter, which we thought was expensive, however it turned out to be way worth it. The only unfortunate part was that we could not bring cameras in due to the nature of our hike.
The first thing you do in Wadi Moujib is descend a ladder into the shallow river. From there you hike/swim up the shallow (occasionally deep) river. You go over rocks/waterfalls as you hike upstream. Occasionally with the help of a ladder but oftentimes by pulling yourself up. It was absolutely amazing. I enjoyed every second of it. It was by far my favorite experience in Jordan.
The hike eventually leads you to a large waterfall. At this point you have to turn back. On the way back we floated and let the current take us. At many of the waterfalls we were able to slide down the slippery rocks like waterfalls. It was really fun. We jumped off large rocks and used makeshift waterslides for the next hour.
Eventually we made our way back to the museum at the start of the trail. From there our driver took us to the Dead Sea. Apparently in Jordan the only beaches on the Dead Sea are part of resort. We had to pay to get in but the resort was gorgeous. We had a packed lunch and brought it with us into the resort. We ate another typical Jordanian lunch on the tables of the resort. There were, however, allot of flies. We were absolutely swarmed. Kinda made eating unpleasant. I’m not sure which is more annoying, the flies in Jordan or the Taxis in Cairo.
After eating we made our way down to the Dead Sea.
In Wadi Moujib I had managed to gash my leg on one of the rocks. I had not expected the salt concentration in the Dead Sea. It burned… it was like rubbing salt in my wounds. I figured the best way to solve the problem was to jump in and get it over with. Ya… I forgot about salt and eyes not mixing. There was allot of pain for the next few minutes.
Anyways I stayed in for about twenty minutes and floated around. It was cool but not something I could do for hours. Plus every pore was burning. Got out and made my way to the fresh water pool. Jumped in and found immediate relief. Swam around a bit and then went back into the Sea. Similar situation as last time… spent a few minutes there then got out.
From there we made our way back to our hotel. I spent the two hours taking a nap. We got back to Amman and split into groups to forage for food. I went to the internet café to send out emails. After that Mike, Henry and I went to find some Jordanian Shwarma. I had heard from Ben they were better outside of Egypt and he had not been lying. They were sooooo good. Way better than Cairo.
After eating we walked around Amman checking out the city. We found ourselves at the Roman Ampitheater. We poked around there for the better part of an hour before making our way back to the hotel. At the hotel Henry and I watched a documentary on Jordan with the hotel owner. He was so excited to be showing Americans the highlights of his country. The Documentary was entitled ‘A Royal Tour of Jordan’ and the Jordanian King was the tour guide. The king seemed to be really articulate and nice, although I feel watching a documentary would give you that impression.
Eventually we made our way to our rooms and passed out.
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