Jordan Part 2

We left Petra on December 22^nd and headed about 90 minutes south to a small village called Wadi Rum in the middle of the desert 15km from the Saudi border.  Now to most moms, camping less than 10 miles from the border of Saudi Arabia with our children might sound crazy and negligent.  However, Innes’ mom (Rosie) was actually with us on this adventure and my mom (June) seems to trust that we know what we are doing. 

At various times throughout our trip we were just a few kilometers from so many hotspots constantly featured the evening news: the Palestinian Territories/Israel, Syria, Egypt, Saudi, Iraq surrounded us on all sides for over a week (oh, and a layover in Bahrain coming and going), but not once did we feel like we were in danger.  Most people were happy to see any tourists at all as the tumult in this part of the world has killed the tourism industry in Jordan for the time being.  And I have to admit, if I wasn’t already living in the Middle East with my family and seeing first-hand the peace and kindness in this part of the world, I probably wouldn’t have packed my bags and headed into the maelstrom that is the Arab Spring – and definitely not with my children.  We were in the eye of the hurricane and came out feeling like we learned more of the Arabic language and more about the Arab people in one week than we have in five months in Qatar.

At Wadi Rum we were met by our Bedouin guide Saleh Mosa at the visitor’s center and taken to his home to meet his wife and children.  This was a great opportunity to pick up Keffiya (head scarves normally worn by males - but our guides didn’t seem to hesitate helping Wilder, Rosie and me put them on properly) for our camel ride and have our first of many, many cups of sweet Bedouin tea.  We left Saleh’s home and went next door to his uncle’s house where we were met by four of the cutest darn camels we’d ever seen.  Rosie was put on the lead camel (which was a “very good camel” according to our guide) and Innes was put on the skittish one (he learned quickly not to try to take off his backpack or jacket while in the saddle.  I will never forget the sound that camel made when he decided he didn’t want Innes on his back anymore.) while the kids gamely shared a camel at the back.  Thanks to the way the camels were tied together, I rode a respectful five feet behind Innes for the entire excursion – which he has happily pointed out several times since our trip.  

And we're off...

Notice how much taller Lisa's camel is than Innes'.

Probably sums up our entire trip.

Our guide was positive that Rosie was Innes' sister, not his mom.  I think he was hitting on her.

We rode our camels out to a desert oasis where there just happened to be jewelry and trinkets for sale and left the camels behind for an afternoon jeep tour of the desert.  Our guide Atik took us out to T.E. Lawrence’s stone house and made us lunch over a hot fire at the base of a sand dune where we all had the chance to sandboard or sled down the dunes.  

Just like a powder day at home in Colorado.

Yes, Daniel Craig was on the trip with us as well and he rides a mean sand board.

The kids at Mushroom Rock.

We ended our tour at Saleh’s family’s Bedouin tent where more sweet Bedouin tea was served and where chicken was cooked over an open fire inside the tent.  Amazing rice dishes and hummus were prepared in a nearby stone kitchen by Saleh’s wife and mother.  Luca and Wilder played with Saleh’s children in the tent (the language barrier was no problem) and played soccer in the sand outside the camp.  Saleh also invited a friend down to play the lute for his guests so we all sat around the open fire and listened to traditional Arab tunes.  The other guests worked for the UN in Amman and had come down with friends for the night.  It felt a lot like the atmosphere in a 10^th Mountain Hut, where you never know who will turn up and you all share the same space for a night. 

The next morning, after a warm and comfortable night in a huge but cozy “family” tent, we headed back to Wadi Rum for a short 45-minute trip further south to Amman. 

I’m so long-winded that the Red Sea portion will have to wait until Jordan Part 3.

Jordan part 1- The dead sea to Petra

 "Welcome."
It is a pretty nice place where the most common word you hear is welcome. "where are you from?" was always followed with a welcome to Jordan- even the police at armed checkpoints would say this.
We decided to have christmas in Jordan with my mom- it is after all quite close to bethlehem. We also decided to rent a car which turned out to be a great decision- nothing makes you more tuned in to a country than the possibility of getting lost- we only got turned around a few times surprisingly.
Our first stop was a town called Madaba south of the capital of Amman. Cool town just on its own but we stayed due to how close it is the the dead sea. Our first full day found us loaded up and heading west to the "beach" we stopped at Mt. Nebo and as you can see from the first picture got blasted by the wind- I was a bit nervous as to what the temp would be because  there was no way I would skip a chance to float in the water- even if it meant hypothermia. Luckily it warmed up as we dropped, and dropped, and dropped down to the dead sea- it is 400 meters below sea level and is 29% salt water. Honestly it was one of the weirdest feelings I have encountered- you just bob along right at the surface-crazy! Equally entertaining was the group of Iraqi men who stripped down to their tshirts and long johns and started giggling like kids they were having so much fun- they must not see many white kids because they all wanted a picture with Luca. He's like a mini Justin Beiber over here!

This guy was fantastic "you are my first tour today so I'm going to still be good!" he showed us Mt Nebo- where Moses retired of course.

So salty you can read the Vail Daily

Wilder and Lisa with the dead sea behind them.

This kid gets more attention than the rest of the Isom's put together! He's a mini Elvis.

Next we drove south to Petra- quick, name the civilization that carved Petra..... Yeah I didn't know either but the Nabbateans were a hard working bunch- this place is like Moab with rock art! By the end of the day we had walked over 12k and been asked if we wanted to ride a donkey 4000 times "sir, for your children." But the Isom kiddos were as tough as Indiana Jones on this day- a horse ride to the front gate then all on foot. If you ever get a chance- this is one one of those places you really should see- plus you get to wear such great headgear.

After walking about a mile through a slot canyon you go round a bend and see this... and a snack bar of course.

I know parents are always a bit biased but dang these kids are groovy.

Why yes we have been asked to pose for the cover of travelling couples international magazine.

This would be the monastary- or the walk in fridge I can't remember

everywhere we go- cats find Wilder- she is like the cat whisperer

Okay this guy was pretty cool, Luca said "dad he had bullets on!"

for just 1 Jordanian dinar you can get your picture taken by a midget.

To the nabbateans this was a way of bringing water into their civilization- to our kids it was the escape route for Indiana Jones and Short round.

and what day at Petra would be complete without visiting the Indiana Jones Gifts Shop? (yes they sold whips)

Next stop: Wadi Rum and the Red Sea.

Horse races

This one is for Steve and Leslie.

Well isn't it rough when your employer sends out an email saying- "anyone who wants tickets to this weeks horse races please pick them up at..."

Don't mind if we do- having never been to an actual horse race- just rodeos for us- this was yet another fun new activity- and it didn't hurt that they had pony rides and free cotton candy as well. Gambling is not allowed over here but they did have a sort of lottery- you filled out the number of the horse and put it into a corresponding box- all the correct guesses got put in a tumbler and a winner was pulled. I was just picking numbers I liked (and not winning) so to pass along the tip to all of you for the next time you are in Qatar- (pick the horse that is owned by someone named Al Thani- he is the Sheik of the country and consequently has the fastest horses- I wish I'd known that sooner)

Camels and Christmas- getting closer

So they painted our house last weekend (technically supposed to be done before we moved in but as we are learning- not too bad in the big picture- we could have been waiting till March)

What to do when your house smells? That's right- the Camel Racetrack. We have a few simple goals as a family living abroad: we want to experience the rich diversity of people on our little planet, we want to see and explore amazing places, and we want to ride camels.

So far we found a plastic camel you can ride if you put a couple riyals in and we saw some camels in the back of a truck. We were ready- I had tried to do some research into race schedules but couldn't really find anything- guess you just kind of know when they are if you are a camelracing afficionado. We weren't in the know but had a map and off we went. It's an impressive facility but not with too many bleachers- the reason for this is that the crowd goes with the camels. The race course is long- (5-10k?). The owners are on the inside of the track with little remote controls- the jockeys are now robots- they used to use small boys wearing velcro pant (seriously) but I guess enough of them perished that they had to come up with another option- which is a pity because I think Luca would really be a good camel jockey. The crowd is on the outside of the track and they drive with the race- if the roundabouts of this country are any indication- I bet it's CRAZY- that would be where I would be placing my bets... except that you cannot bet in this country.

Alas, there were no races that day so we watched the camels trotting about and dreamed of the day that we are the riders- getting closer. As is christmas- I don't know how I shall fit a camel saddle under the tree this year.

Thinking of you all

Empty parking lot and grandstands? Sweet we can sit wherever we want!

I never thought I would say this out loud- Camels are cute, and baby camels- super cute.

In Colorado we call this beetle kill- in Doha this is the only christmas decoration I have seen- not much in the way of marketing over here- it's kind of nice