The last country on the list of places I wanted to see before I leave my Middle East adventure is Jordan, and I got to cross that country off my list a couple of weeks ago. I went with 5 other ladies for the first 4 days and then spent a couple more days - one with one of my colleagues and the other on my own.
We first went to the Dead Sea where we spent two nights at the Kempinski Hotel and Resort. It was lovely and I was fortunate enough to have my room upgraded to a junior suite! I don't know what I did to deserve that, but I wasn't arguing! We had so much fun 'bobbing' in the salty water - which tastes terrible, so you don't want to get it in your mouth if you can avoid it! We then slathered on the mineral-rich mud, let it dry and then went back in the sea to rub the mud off. Then we showered off in fresh water and our skin felt so smooth!
Here are Donna, me and Jackie all muddied up! That's Israel on the other side of the water.
It was a relaxing way to spend a couple of days following a very hectic winter semester at UCQ.
We then drove to Petra where we spent 2 nights and one day. Petra is the ancient capital city of the Nabataeans which dates back to the 4th century BC, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in a word, AMAZING! It is well hidden in the mountains and is quite a hike (albeit an easy one) back into the site. It was surprisingly cold in the morning when we started out, but the sun came out and warmed things up nicely - it was a perfect day to wander the site. Unfortunately, we didn't plan our time well and ended up without enough time to see everything we wanted to see (the Monastery for one thing). It would have been nice to have another day to come back and explore more - but we did see the main sights.
The Treasury at Petra. There were lots of camels and donkeys around to take you around the site. All the camel and donkey tenders looked like Johnny Depp in his Captain Jack Sparrow role from Pirates of the Caribbean - all very good looking!
The next day we drove back to Amman where 4 of the group headed back to Doha. Wieslawa and I were able to visit the Citadel and the Roman Theatre which were interesting. Amman is built on 7 mountains (well, big hills by Alberta standards) and, with the huge population of the city, I didn't really expect to find it as attractive as it is. Houses cover the hillsides, so it is a mass of buildings, but it has a certain appeal.
City of Amman from the Citadel (ruins in foreground, Roman Theatre in centre)
The next day Wieslawa and I visited the Roman ruins in Jerash - a city about an hour's drive north of Amman. It was a huge site which was so interesting; but our experience was marred by masses of adolescent boys who were on school field trips and who harassed us quite a bit. It was unnerving and at one point I actually felt swarmed and very uncomfortable. The ruins are extensive and it would have been nice to wander around it more, but we had to leave to get Wieslawa to the airport for her flight back to Doha.
The last day I went to Mt. Nebo and stood where Moses did as he saw The Promised Land.
What an amazing amount of history surrounds the area. Not far from here is the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
From here I went to Madaba which is known as Mosaic City because of the many mosaics that have been unearthed in excavations. Two churches in Madaba are renown for their mosaics, but my driver knew of a man who had a site that has been closed by the government. The driver said his friend would be happy to show me the mosaic for a couple of dinar. I am glad we stopped there as it was very large and beautiful and more well-preserved than the others I saw later. Of course, the others didn't have tons of tourists traipsing around them every day either!
The most famous mosaic is the map of the world as it was thought to be in about the 6th century. It is in St. George Greek Orthodox Church:
As you can see, not as well preserved as the one above, but very cool to look at all the work that went into this piece.
Then it was back to Amman where I caught my flight back to Doha. It was a great trip to a country that is rich with history.
I'm now in the last months of my time in Doha. I am going to Calgary for summer vacation on July 12th, and it is uncertain at this point whether I will be returning to Doha or not. My contract is officially over in mid-October, but if they find a replacement for my position who can start in August when the other new faculty and staff arrive, then I won't need to return. I expect I will know for sure by the beginning of June, but the uncertainty is hard to take right now.
I am very much looking forward to being home with my family and to reconnecting with friends and activities in Calgary that I have missed. I know how blessed I am to have had this opportunity, but now it is time to go. They say you know when it is time and I certainly concur as I definitely feel the call of home.
We first went to the Dead Sea where we spent two nights at the Kempinski Hotel and Resort. It was lovely and I was fortunate enough to have my room upgraded to a junior suite! I don't know what I did to deserve that, but I wasn't arguing! We had so much fun 'bobbing' in the salty water - which tastes terrible, so you don't want to get it in your mouth if you can avoid it! We then slathered on the mineral-rich mud, let it dry and then went back in the sea to rub the mud off. Then we showered off in fresh water and our skin felt so smooth!
Here are Donna, me and Jackie all muddied up! That's Israel on the other side of the water.
It was a relaxing way to spend a couple of days following a very hectic winter semester at UCQ.
We then drove to Petra where we spent 2 nights and one day. Petra is the ancient capital city of the Nabataeans which dates back to the 4th century BC, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in a word, AMAZING! It is well hidden in the mountains and is quite a hike (albeit an easy one) back into the site. It was surprisingly cold in the morning when we started out, but the sun came out and warmed things up nicely - it was a perfect day to wander the site. Unfortunately, we didn't plan our time well and ended up without enough time to see everything we wanted to see (the Monastery for one thing). It would have been nice to have another day to come back and explore more - but we did see the main sights.
The Treasury at Petra. There were lots of camels and donkeys around to take you around the site. All the camel and donkey tenders looked like Johnny Depp in his Captain Jack Sparrow role from Pirates of the Caribbean - all very good looking!
The next day we drove back to Amman where 4 of the group headed back to Doha. Wieslawa and I were able to visit the Citadel and the Roman Theatre which were interesting. Amman is built on 7 mountains (well, big hills by Alberta standards) and, with the huge population of the city, I didn't really expect to find it as attractive as it is. Houses cover the hillsides, so it is a mass of buildings, but it has a certain appeal.
City of Amman from the Citadel (ruins in foreground, Roman Theatre in centre)
The next day Wieslawa and I visited the Roman ruins in Jerash - a city about an hour's drive north of Amman. It was a huge site which was so interesting; but our experience was marred by masses of adolescent boys who were on school field trips and who harassed us quite a bit. It was unnerving and at one point I actually felt swarmed and very uncomfortable. The ruins are extensive and it would have been nice to wander around it more, but we had to leave to get Wieslawa to the airport for her flight back to Doha.
The last day I went to Mt. Nebo and stood where Moses did as he saw The Promised Land.
What an amazing amount of history surrounds the area. Not far from here is the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
From here I went to Madaba which is known as Mosaic City because of the many mosaics that have been unearthed in excavations. Two churches in Madaba are renown for their mosaics, but my driver knew of a man who had a site that has been closed by the government. The driver said his friend would be happy to show me the mosaic for a couple of dinar. I am glad we stopped there as it was very large and beautiful and more well-preserved than the others I saw later. Of course, the others didn't have tons of tourists traipsing around them every day either!
The most famous mosaic is the map of the world as it was thought to be in about the 6th century. It is in St. George Greek Orthodox Church:
As you can see, not as well preserved as the one above, but very cool to look at all the work that went into this piece.
Then it was back to Amman where I caught my flight back to Doha. It was a great trip to a country that is rich with history.
I'm now in the last months of my time in Doha. I am going to Calgary for summer vacation on July 12th, and it is uncertain at this point whether I will be returning to Doha or not. My contract is officially over in mid-October, but if they find a replacement for my position who can start in August when the other new faculty and staff arrive, then I won't need to return. I expect I will know for sure by the beginning of June, but the uncertainty is hard to take right now.
I am very much looking forward to being home with my family and to reconnecting with friends and activities in Calgary that I have missed. I know how blessed I am to have had this opportunity, but now it is time to go. They say you know when it is time and I certainly concur as I definitely feel the call of home.
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