The kids successfully compl
eted their first term of school. With that comes a term break, which I would normally refer to as spring break, but what they call here Easter Break. If only everywhere celebrated Easter for two weeks. We had long been anticipating the break and had decided to take a family trip to Jordan. Jordan borders Saudia Arabia on the northwest and is a mere two hour flight from Jeddah to Amman. We left early Saturday morning in order to capture a complete day of exploring. Amman was beautiful upon arrival. We easily made it through customs and began our trip of about fours hours south toward Aqaba. Our first stop was in Wadi Rum. Per previous entries, ‘wadi’ is Arabic for valley. Wadi Rum is the largest wadi in Jordan. It is where a good portion of “Lawrence of Arabia” was filmed. It was a supreme expanse of granite mountains, sandstone mountains, sand dunes, and just plain desert sand. Since there are only dirt roads, we toured around Wadi Rum for several hours in a Jeep. We were shown more petroglyphs, most notably from the Nabateans again. Our guide, Mohammed, is friends with several of the local Bedouins and invited us to sit and enjoy tea in their tent.
The tents surp
risingly are very cool, situated near the rocks allowing cool air to rush through…what Mohammed referred to as ‘air conditioned tent.’ Dano had quite a time explaining to Mohammed why we were so appreciative of their kindness, but would not drink the tea due to our “religious law of health.” As the majority of the middle east is devoutly religious, it usually works to explain your reasons coupled with religion. We thoroughly enjoyed our Bedouin tent experience. We met a man who had just welcomed his twelfth child. He asked Dano how many children he had and upon the answer of “four” asked, “Only one wife?” We were serenaded by another man who sang and played on his stringed instrument made out of goat hide and hair. It was soothing music and I could just imagine the Bedouin families gathering and gettin’ down to the melodious harmony. We hiked around a flood-created cavern near their tent. The kids enjoyed climbing an incredibly steep sand hill. They were surprised how difficult
it was. As Dano climbed up with Abby on his back, I watched his boots sink in to the sand up to his ankles. If only we had that workout everyday
! Mohammed had also arranged for one of his friends, also Mohammed, to cook us a meal. We sat in the desert on mats and feasted on grilled chicken, potatoes, onions, green peppers and beautiful tomatoes, and of course, flat bread. One final hike led us to the “Rock Bridge.” I’m not sure what we’re going to do when we get back to Ohio and there are no mountains to climb for my little mountain goats. No fear.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Aqaba. The kids were excited to find the Easter Bunny had already been to our room and left a chocolaty-decorated plate of chocolate bunnies and eggs. As the hotel is located on the shore of the Red Sea, our room ov
erlooked the sea. Aqaba is Jordan’s only seaport, which pleased Ethan to see all the new ships. The beach was beautiful and peaceful but too chilly to swim. Erin took to her normal routine of finding the perfect shells. Living on the sea, we have quickly become avid beachcombers who love swishing our feet in the surf. Abby and Dano sat on the dock and attempted to call the fish that were swarming nearby, although, I’m not sure what Abby’s reaction would be if they actually swamed over to her. We were all happy to shower up and wash off the sand, sunscreen and grit. I’m not sure our white socks will ever be white again.
eted their first term of school. With that comes a term break, which I would normally refer to as spring break, but what they call here Easter Break. If only everywhere celebrated Easter for two weeks. We had long been anticipating the break and had decided to take a family trip to Jordan. Jordan borders Saudia Arabia on the northwest and is a mere two hour flight from Jeddah to Amman. We left early Saturday morning in order to capture a complete day of exploring. Amman was beautiful upon arrival. We easily made it through customs and began our trip of about fours hours south toward Aqaba. Our first stop was in Wadi Rum. Per previous entries, ‘wadi’ is Arabic for valley. Wadi Rum is the largest wadi in Jordan. It is where a good portion of “Lawrence of Arabia” was filmed. It was a supreme expanse of granite mountains, sandstone mountains, sand dunes, and just plain desert sand. Since there are only dirt roads, we toured around Wadi Rum for several hours in a Jeep. We were shown more petroglyphs, most notably from the Nabateans again. Our guide, Mohammed, is friends with several of the local Bedouins and invited us to sit and enjoy tea in their tent. 
The tents surp
risingly are very cool, situated near the rocks allowing cool air to rush through…what Mohammed referred to as ‘air conditioned tent.’ Dano had quite a time explaining to Mohammed why we were so appreciative of their kindness, but would not drink the tea due to our “religious law of health.” As the majority of the middle east is devoutly religious, it usually works to explain your reasons coupled with religion. We thoroughly enjoyed our Bedouin tent experience. We met a man who had just welcomed his twelfth child. He asked Dano how many children he had and upon the answer of “four” asked, “Only one wife?” We were serenaded by another man who sang and played on his stringed instrument made out of goat hide and hair. It was soothing music and I could just imagine the Bedouin families gathering and gettin’ down to the melodious harmony. We hiked around a flood-created cavern near their tent. The kids enjoyed climbing an incredibly steep sand hill. They were surprised how difficult 
it was. As Dano climbed up with Abby on his back, I watched his boots sink in to the sand up to his ankles. If only we had that workout everyday
! Mohammed had also arranged for one of his friends, also Mohammed, to cook us a meal. We sat in the desert on mats and feasted on grilled chicken, potatoes, onions, green peppers and beautiful tomatoes, and of course, flat bread. One final hike led us to the “Rock Bridge.” I’m not sure what we’re going to do when we get back to Ohio and there are no mountains to climb for my little mountain goats. No fear.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Aqaba. The kids were excited to find the Easter Bunny had already been to our room and left a chocolaty-decorated plate of chocolate bunnies and eggs. As the hotel is located on the shore of the Red Sea, our room ov
erlooked the sea. Aqaba is Jordan’s only seaport, which pleased Ethan to see all the new ships. The beach was beautiful and peaceful but too chilly to swim. Erin took to her normal routine of finding the perfect shells. Living on the sea, we have quickly become avid beachcombers who love swishing our feet in the surf. Abby and Dano sat on the dock and attempted to call the fish that were swarming nearby, although, I’m not sure what Abby’s reaction would be if they actually swamed over to her. We were all happy to shower up and wash off the sand, sunscreen and grit. I’m not sure our white socks will ever be white again.
No comments:
Post a Comment