Week 2: Trip to Amman, Jordan

Trip to Amman, Jordan

 Thursday May 27, 2010

Mr. Yabroudi took the six SU students, Amanda (our TA), and Professor Clemence on a long weekend trip to Amman, Jordan and adjacent historical sites. We woke up at the crack of dawn and caught an early, three hour flight. The agenda for the day started with a visit to the nearly completed DCC office building and the Vertex Tower, which is halfway through construction. Both buildings were constructed to DCC quality and the things that stood out were the organization and neatness of both sites. We also saw one of the extravagant mock apartments for the Vertex Tower, and after going through the three bedroom place; we were informed that this would be one of the smaller apartments!

Our adventure for the day continued with a stop at a hole-in-the-wall falafel sandwich joint, which provided our hungry stomachs with chick-a-pee/ panini delight. Next stop: Jerash.

Jerash was about a 45 minute drive north from Amman where the remains +   200o year old remains of a Roman city have been excavated and restored. We got the feeling, while walking along the stone paths next to huge columns and through the chariot racing area that life was not very different those many years ago as it is today, in fact, it could have been better. We walked about 2 miles in total, making many stops to admire the ruins and imagine what they looked like when they were new. The amphitheater was one of the most memorable stops, in which we were able to hear the acoustical qualities of the structure.  We also walked off the beaten path a little to find the remains of a basilica with an intricate mosaic floor, still amazingly colored and intact. Jerash has many historical features that our guide explained to us, but of all this information, nothing topped the fact that we were walking on rocks that have been kept in place since the major earthquake in 749 AD.

We returned in the ‘Premier Jett’ van on the way back to the hotel; stopped for traditional sweets made from fried cheese, wheat, and pistachio nuts, and swam in the multiple pools/Jacuzzis at the hotel before getting ready to go out to Fakhr-Eldine Restaurant, a traditional Lebanese restaurant that not only satiated our taste buds, but was also a graduation celebration for Amanda. So many delicious food items were put on the table, and the favorites remain the hummus and the eggplant, feta cheese, tomato tower. This was a day that a lot of us considered one of the best of our lives, and we were so happy to finally be able to spend a day enjoying traveling, not just thinking about assignments or work.

Friday May 28, 2010

It was another early morning and a three hour van ride to Petra, our destination for the day --at Petra, one of the new seven Wonders of the World--- we walked through the canyons with dropped jaws and nine cameras continuously taking artistic photographs. Awe is not a strong enough word to describe how we felt as we ventured past the 2,000+ year old, carved facades for tombs and dwellings. On the way, we passed horses, camels, and tourists in bouncing carriages, funny sights indeed.

The best moment was when we turned around a bend and saw the first glimpse of the Treasury through the stone valley, as if we went back in time to when this sculpture was first discovered for the western world. Who knows how many people have felt this same feeling, just thinking about all the possibilities of how this façade was designed and constructed, and how it still remains intact today.

We heard a story about a New Zealand woman who fell in love with a Bedouin, a native of Petra, claming to be direct descendants of the people who built the city, and her change of lifestyle from Western living to cave dwelling. We passed by a stand while walking through the city, and we stopped to talk with one of her sons, who sold us a signed copy of her autobiography, ‘Married to a Bedouin.’

Our day was not over yet--- on no, and as we came to the end of the trail, we all remembered that we had agreed to ride donkeys back to the van, even though all the girls were in shorts or skirts and almost everyone was in sandals! I don’t think we’ve laughed so hard in our lives as we were lead up the hilly trail on short legged animals, getting poked and yelled at by Bedouin donkey herders, all brothers. Not only did Stacy get a marriage proposal from one of them, but Amanda had a 13 year old boy fall in love with her and joined her on the back side of her donkey. Professor Clemence couldn’t stop laughing as he rode along, taking pictures and commenting on everyone else’s riding abilities  Pete’s donkey, Scotch (on the rocks) lost steam halfway up the hill and Marieke realized that her feet almost touched the ground while she was riding, and oh so many photos were taken. The king of the donkey herd, Mr. Yabroudi himself, was bringing up the rear, making contract deals on his Blackberry as he was riding along. When we returned to the hotel---a wedding was going on by the pool, and being the typical tourists we were, we watched over the railing as the couple promenaded around the area and had their first dance. Jordan Day Two, was another wonderful day.

           

Saturday May 29, 2010

Our third and final day in Jordan arrived, and we were all caught between emotions of excitement, exhaustion and displeasure toward the prospect of our midterm report due the next day. Our first stop of the day was to Mt. Nebo, where we were able to see the same view that Moses did as he looked over the Promised Land. After this monumental stop, we made our way to the River Jordan to visit the side of the river that Jesus was baptized on. No one is sure about the exact location of his baptism, but authorities are positive it was on the Jordan side, the west side.

Finally, we ended the day at the lowest point on earth, the 27% salt body of water, the Dead Sea. We were treated to an afternoon at the Marriott, and we swam in the salty water, well, floated because swimming would only make our eyes scream in pain. The water was so dense, and the waves made us drift away from the dock, but it was such an amazing feeling to be able to just let the water hold you.

After about 10 minutes in the water, the longest we could stand, we covered our bodies in Dead Sea mud and tried to let it cake to our skin as much as possible before rinsing it off in the shower. The rest of the afternoon consisted of water slides, sun tanning, and refreshing pools. Relaxing is the best word to describe the feeling that we were all enthralled by, but this word is not nearly enough to explain how amazing it felt to simply be for an afternoon.

We went back to the hotel in Amman, packed and left for the airport, arriving back in Dubai very late, but never regretting the lovely events that happened this memorable weekend.