A year later, in Arizona, post our trip to Oregon, prior to our journey to Israel...
Ready to return older, wiser, and toilet trained... (Well, Dante's working on the last one.)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
before, after and in between
Right before we left Albuquerque at the beginning of our travels...
A year later, in Arizona, post our trip to Oregon, prior to our journey to Israel...
Ready to return older, wiser, and toilet trained... (Well, Dante's working on the last one.)
A year later, in Arizona, post our trip to Oregon, prior to our journey to Israel... Ready to return older, wiser, and toilet trained... (Well, Dante's working on the last one.) 
Monday, March 2, 2009
jordan
I'd read that Jordan was the safest country in the Middle East for Westerns and very hospitable but I thought that was just relative to the countries that wanted us dead. I was unprepared for how kind and welcoming the Jordanians are. At the border crossing, Alfonso was joking with one of the guards that his reddish brown liquid in a small glass with no handles was Scotch. He got a puzzled look at first as Muslims don't drink alcohol and didn't catch the reference but the guard graciously insisted Alfonso have his tea (which was so saturated with sugar that it began to recrystallize on my teeth when I took a sip.) All day long, people were playing with the kids. The vendors would chat and joke even though we weren't looking to buy. Their English was much better than Israelis'. 
In the Arab parts of Israel, generally there is an air of suspicion or distrust (on both sides.) I always feel out of place and uneasy. In Jordan, people were smiling and seemed very happy. It was a really positive experience and I'm glad we went. That said -- when I say "people in Jordan" I'm referring to the males we encountered. The only females (excluding other tourists) we saw were ones we passed on the drive who were hanging laundry or chasing after goats. (I'm assuming they were women buried under clothes, scarves and veils with slits for their eyes.) Although no one treated me any differently (as the sole female member of our entourage.)
Petra, an ancient city carved into rock by the Nabateans, is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Despite weather reports that it would be 60 deg, there was snow on the ground from the previous day. We piled on all the clothes we had brought for the kids but they were still cold.
Our guide stood where the priest would have stood to perform marriages to be blessed by their god (which was represented by a block carved in the wall across from us.) The bride and groom usually didn't have kids yet strapped to their backs.
The gorge, called the Siq, was created by an earthquake and leads into the city.
The Treasury is one of the more intricate carvings. The little pock holes on either side were carved for foot holes so that people could climb up and chip away the faces of the statues during the icon destruction during the eight century.
Some Bedouins welcomed us into their cave to warm ourselves by the fire. Although they had goods to sell, there wasn't pressure to buy like in Jerusalem. The man's family had been living in the caves there for the last 250 years. He said kings, presidents and celebrities all come to see Petra and would visit his cave. He didn't buy Alfonso's claim to be from the States and insisted he was Israeli or at least a Jewish American. He seemed satisfied with the Mexican heritage story. There may have been a contributing factor that our Israeli friend was with us who looks distinctly Jewish (who sat very quietly during this exchange.)
Dante was more interested in the donkeys, horses and camels than in some holes carved into rocks. Go figure!
Alejandro went on a photo strike half way through the trip. Not just refusing to smile, refusing to show his face.
Heading out of Jordan, one of the guards scooped up Alejandro and just as quickly, Alejandro swiped the guy's hat and put it on his own head amidst the laughter of all the other guards.
We stopped at the aquarium in Eilat. Alejandro climbed into the shark and pretended to be eaten alive. But then he couldn't climb out and really started to panic. Poor guy! This pic is from when it was still fun and games.
The park had a really cool under water observatory 100 meters from the shore. There's a bridge that leads out to sea, then a staircase descends down into the midst of coral reef with a huge assortment of colorful fish. The kids just wanted to go to the playground.
What happens when you throw a white towel into the Red Sea?
It gets wet!
In the Arab parts of Israel, generally there is an air of suspicion or distrust (on both sides.) I always feel out of place and uneasy. In Jordan, people were smiling and seemed very happy. It was a really positive experience and I'm glad we went. That said -- when I say "people in Jordan" I'm referring to the males we encountered. The only females (excluding other tourists) we saw were ones we passed on the drive who were hanging laundry or chasing after goats. (I'm assuming they were women buried under clothes, scarves and veils with slits for their eyes.) Although no one treated me any differently (as the sole female member of our entourage.)
Petra, an ancient city carved into rock by the Nabateans, is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Despite weather reports that it would be 60 deg, there was snow on the ground from the previous day. We piled on all the clothes we had brought for the kids but they were still cold.
Our guide stood where the priest would have stood to perform marriages to be blessed by their god (which was represented by a block carved in the wall across from us.) The bride and groom usually didn't have kids yet strapped to their backs.
The gorge, called the Siq, was created by an earthquake and leads into the city.
The Treasury is one of the more intricate carvings. The little pock holes on either side were carved for foot holes so that people could climb up and chip away the faces of the statues during the icon destruction during the eight century.
Some Bedouins welcomed us into their cave to warm ourselves by the fire. Although they had goods to sell, there wasn't pressure to buy like in Jerusalem. The man's family had been living in the caves there for the last 250 years. He said kings, presidents and celebrities all come to see Petra and would visit his cave. He didn't buy Alfonso's claim to be from the States and insisted he was Israeli or at least a Jewish American. He seemed satisfied with the Mexican heritage story. There may have been a contributing factor that our Israeli friend was with us who looks distinctly Jewish (who sat very quietly during this exchange.)
Dante was more interested in the donkeys, horses and camels than in some holes carved into rocks. Go figure!
Alejandro went on a photo strike half way through the trip. Not just refusing to smile, refusing to show his face.
Heading out of Jordan, one of the guards scooped up Alejandro and just as quickly, Alejandro swiped the guy's hat and put it on his own head amidst the laughter of all the other guards.
We stopped at the aquarium in Eilat. Alejandro climbed into the shark and pretended to be eaten alive. But then he couldn't climb out and really started to panic. Poor guy! This pic is from when it was still fun and games.
The park had a really cool under water observatory 100 meters from the shore. There's a bridge that leads out to sea, then a staircase descends down into the midst of coral reef with a huge assortment of colorful fish. The kids just wanted to go to the playground.
What happens when you throw a white towel into the Red Sea?
It gets wet! Love always,
Debi
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