by Natasha Tynes | Aug 10, 2004 | Jordan, my nation, Shutterbug, Tidbits
We
have but a few days left before we make our way back to Doha. We are scheduled
to leave on Sunday. This vacation passed so quickly. I really can’t believe our
40-day hiatus will come to an end in less than a week. We really had a great time
here amongst friends and family, making the idea of going back to life-less Doha
all the less appealing.
On a positive note, we had a great evening yesterday. We spent it with my Cousin Shereen and her husband Jamal. We visited them to congratulate them on their new baby boy, Kareem. He is just so adorable and his parents are over the moon with happiness with his arrival. Mom, Brigitte and the kids came with us and later that evening other relatives joined. Shereen really made a feast of delicious
deserts and snacks. Yummy!!
While we were enjoying the festive mood, the electricity went out all over Jordan — a first in the history of the Kingdom. As a result, our meal was by candlelight, which was a lot of fun.
We have no major plans for the few coming days; just chilling, packing and taking care of last-minute errands. A couple of days ago we took a quick trip to Iraq el Amir — a Nabatean castle on the suburbs of Amman. Jeff had never been there and was keen to check it out. We went with the Connelly clan, Mark, Brigitte and banat (the girls). Brigitte and I spent most of the trip keeping up with the kids, while the men busied themselves photographing the ancient site.
Tomorrow morning we are invited for breakfast at my cousin Abeer’s house. I anticipate it to be the kind of filling Arabic breakfast that leaves you full for days to come. It should be good!
by Natasha Tynes | Aug 6, 2004 | Jordan, my nation, Shutterbug, Travel
We are back to Amman after a wonderful trip to the south of Jordan that included: Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba. The original plan was to take our parents to Petra for three days which worked out wonderfully.
They had a great time enjoying both the wonders of this Nabatean city and the luxury of the five-star Movenpick hotel. Our time together as a family was very valuable to all of us. We will really cherish this trip forever. The kids (Amy and Jessica) also had a blast, running around the ancient monuments in the morning and playing in the pool in the evening.
On Tuesday morning, my parents along with Tania, Mark, Brigitte and the kids went back to Amman while Jeff and I took a ride the hour or so further south to Wadi Rum. The decision came on the spur of the moment, as we intended to go back with them. But since Rum is less than two hours away from Petra, we decided to spend the night there and check the place out — a first time visit for the two of us.
The spontaneity of our journey made it loads of fun. We managed to find our way there following road signs (i.e. without a map or query of the local population). When we got deep into the area, we saw some sort of rest house. A Sudanese guy named Mohammad greeted us and told us about the Jeep trips offered into the heart of the Wadi Rum desert. We ended up taking a three and a half hour trip, which included a stop to watch the sun set across the desert. It was stunning!
The place is really phenomenal with its red-orange sand dunes and craggy mountains. It is no surprise that the film Lawrence of Arabia was shot in Rum, as it really is the most magnificent and picturesque Arabian desert. We both felt what we were seeing was very surreal — the scenery was absolutely dazzling.
Our jeep driver, a local Bedouin, was very friendly and eager to show us the wonders of his home. He passionately answered all our questions including one about whether there were snakes in Rum, replying causally, "not many," before busying himself with sending text messages from his mobile phone, leaving me to ponder the gravity of his response.
After we finished our trip, we went back to the rest house, where we picked up two people (a bagpipe player and a policeman that acted as a night time security guard) who acted as our navigators to our campsite, some 20 Km from the rest house.
The camp was nice with small white tents for sleeping and a long Bedouin tent for dining and partying. Facilities were complete but they were basic just the same. We spent the night there and left the next morning after breakfast, heading for Aqaba. Camping in the desert was a new experience for the both of us and proved quite exhilarating.
We arrived in Aqaba around 10:00 am, wandered about for an hour or so, and had an early lunch at McDonald’s, which recently opened in the coastal city. The trip home to Amman was long and uneventful down the largely barren Desert Highway for nearly four hours. Now we are back home and beat! We really had a great time playing amongst the many wonders my wonderful home of Jordan offers!
(more…)
by Natasha Tynes | Aug 2, 2004 | Jordan, my nation, Travel
We are taking our parents on a two-day trip to an undisclosed location in Jordan. By “we” I mean: Jeff, me, Mark, Brigitte, and Tania. We told them to pack for two days, bring comfortable shoes, swimsuits and maybe some snacks.
They are unaware of where we are taking them, but they seem excited. We are leaving in about half an hour from here. For those curious about the location of the trip, all I can say is that it is somewhere south.
It’s highly likely I won’t be able to blog in the coming few days but I promise to write a long one with pictures as soon as we come back.
by Natasha Tynes | Aug 1, 2004 | Jordan, my nation, Media watch
There is a brand new newspaper in town. It is called Al Ghad. It is an independant daily and nearly full color! I scanned through it quickly this afternoon and I must admit, I was impressed. The printing quality is very good and the colored pages give it a distinctive mark, as full color dailies are not that common here.
The issues that Al Ghad covered ranged from local to international, as would be expected. Some of the headlines that caught my eyes were: “An Israeli musical band infiltrates Jerash festival” “Youth speak out about abuse in rehabilitation centers” “No Iraqi visa for passports with Israeli stamps.” Some of these topics are considered risqué by major newspapers here and would not have been covered.
Something else that caught my eye was that Hajjaj, Jordan’s most popular cartoonist, is now working for the paper. This guy has moved between most every daily in the Kingdom. Now it seems he finally found a place to settle down. I’m sure his contribution to Al Ghad will play a major role in its circulation.
All, in all, I’m impressed by this ambitious project and I hope that Al Ghad will keep up its journalistic standards and not get sucked up by the aura of unprofessional and lame journalism found here.
We
While we were enjoying the festive mood, the electricity went out all over Jordan — a first in the history of the Kingdom. As a result, our meal was by candlelight, which was a lot of fun.
We are back to Amman after a wonderful trip to the south of Jordan that included: Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba. The original plan was to take our parents to Petra for three days which worked out wonderfully.
The spontaneity of our journey made it loads of fun. We managed to find our way there following road signs (i.e. without a map or query of the local population). When we got deep into the area, we saw some sort of rest house. A Sudanese guy named Mohammad greeted us and told us about the Jeep trips offered into the heart of the Wadi Rum desert. We ended up taking a three and a half hour trip, which included a stop to watch the sun set across the desert. It was stunning!