Petra Weekend!!!

Wow, so lately I've been super busy. Let me first start with this past weekend. Our program took us to three popular tourist attractions in Jordan for a three day long excursion. I think the idea was to get all 80 of us together for some good old "Arabic style" bonding, which most definitely occurred. The trip was AMAZING but also proved to be one of the longest, most tiring weekends of my life.

We left Amman early Thursday morning and drove 4 hours south to an area known as "Wadi Rum". Along the way we made a nice pit stop at a Arabic rest stop, which honestly was a HUGE tourist trap, selling over priced tea, golden camels, and arab garments. Needless to say, many people in my program spent way too much money on items that could easily be purchased here in downtown Amman for about 2 or 3 American dollars.

Wadi, which means "valley" in arabic and Rum which means "high or elevated" is the biggest valley in Jordan. It's very famous for it's beautiful mountains, red sand and Bedouin inhabitants. The Bedouins are a group of nomadic Arab desert dwellers who continue to live and thrive in Wadi Rum. They're extremely hospitable, but choose to maintain a very secluded lifestyle in the desert, away from the outside world. Anyway, once we got to Wadi Rum, we ate lunch at the welcome center, lathered on sunscreen and set out into the desert on camels, YES CAMELS, for a 3 hour ride. Let me remind you again, that there was 80 American students, setting off on 80 camels, it was crazy. Camels are not the nicest creatures, they actually are VERY stubborn and I found them terrifying. They make this noise which sounds like a dying man, and often refuse to follow the instructions of their trainers, which are of course barefoot bedouin young men. The guys honestly ranged in age from about 12 to 23, and they got paid a total of 5 JD for the three hour hike. Can you please just imagine a 12 year old boy, with a large stick, yelling at a camel in some crazy dialect of arabic, while I'm trying to get on the camel's back and not pee my pants at the same time, because the camel is HUGE and making dying man noises. Yup, that's pretty much how it went. The ride was pretty rough, and again the camels were stubborn so it was quite intimidating. One girl's camel ran off, well sprinted off with her on its back and another girl's camel threw her off... mine thankfully was good, I was praying the whole time! Not only did I have to get on the camel once, but three times, because we stopped at three different places to let the camels rest and to take note of the GORGEOUS scenery. I will probably say this way too many times in my blog, but words and pictures cannot describe how quaint and beautiful the Wadi Rum desert is, I wish I could have taken a movie for everyone at home. It was so incredible to see a vast area of land, untouched by people, that endlessly stretched for miles and miles.

I was humbled by the experience, I've never seen anything so amazing. I imagine it resembles the Grand Canyon, everything was so big, and when looking into the distance I almost felt like I was looking at a picture, the colors were so bright and vivid. After our three hour camel ride, we arrived at our resting place for the first night, a Bedouin camp at the desert's edge. YES, all 80 of us camped with nomadic Arabs in the desert. The night was filled with food, traditional argeelah(hookah) and stars. The stars were unbelievable out in the desert, better than anyplace I've ever seen. The camp was nestled in the mountains so besides the huge bonfire, everything was pitch black. I've never felt so small. The night ended with some circle dancing around the fire, and a not so nice sleep in a tent on sandy mattresses. Hey, but what an experience it was.

The next day we woke up early, ate in the camp and piled on to what they called 4 by 4's. Basically, it was a pickup truck with benches in the back. We spent the morning off-roading through the mountains/desert and visiting magnificent stops along the way. It was CRAZY and when I say crazy I mean it, numerous times I thought trucks were going to roll over, and the guys in my program totally egged the drivers on by hooting and hollering, so of course no speed limit was observed and many times the drivers would race each other or cut each other off. I think my driver was probably 14, and I can honestly say, at times I was scared for my life, but hey, it was another experience that I lived through and with no seat belt haha. Once we reached civilization we drove to the southern most tip of Jordan, to a Port called Aqaba. Right on the Red Sea, the town looked like it could fit right into the Caribbean. It was hot, sunny and there were palm trees everywhere, not to mention the water was a beautiful shade of blue and you could actually see straight to the bottom! We all ate lunch, then got on boats and spent the afternoon snorkeling. It was of course, fun in the sun, but the amazing thing was in the middle of the sea you could look around and see Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan. Although I probably won't make it to those other countries, I can at least say I saw them! After boating we re boarded the buses and drove to Petra, where we camped in another Bedouin camp for the night.

Saturday morning we woke up extra early and prepared for our Petra Adventure. Petra is an archeological site that was first discovered in the mountains of Jordan in 1812. The city dates back to the 18th dynasty of Egypt and was once inhibited by the Romans. People lived in Petra on and off until around 1985 when it was deemed a World Heritage Site. Petra is said to have biblical connections through the dead sea scrolls and certain passages in the bible.

We left the camp and hiked 4 hours through the mountains, entering Petra from behind. It was a really hard hike, and was a problem for the non athletic kids in my program. It was really amazing though, again with all the mountains, plus along the way there were ruins of towns, left over uninhabited homes, and arabic messages carved into rocks. I was so elated once we finally reached the "rose-red city half as old as time". I honestly can't put Petra into words, I hate to be lame but you really need to experience it for yourself. It's hard to believe that people lived there and it's even harder to believe they carved a massive city out of stone during that pre-historic time. It was again, humbling, and I was and will continue to be in awe of Petra. After seeing everything in the city of Petra we left through the entrance, which basically is a path between two huge mountains, the path is probably 2 miles long and seems never ending. I think entering that way into Petra makes it that much more amazing, you're just walking through mountains and all of a sudden you walk into this huge open space and carved into the mountains is a beautiful city, it's mind boggling.We then drove back to Amman, exhausted from the two nights of desert camping and all the adventures, everyone was pretty quiet for the 4 hour ride back.

I will honestly remember this weekend for the entirety of my life. I can't put the experience into words, although I have tried to here. I feel very blessed I have seen places most people have never even heard of. The beauty of Jordan is again impossible to put into words. It's rustic, untouched by man and totally a sight that will never be forgotten in my mind. I know my pictures can't express the beauty, but I hope everyone can see that there IS beauty in the Middle East that ranges from oceans to mountains to lost cities. This area is NOT just a big sand box filled with dirty people who are religious extremists. Rather, this area is filled with successful people, some who live in unimaginable ways and have done so for centuries. These people don't know the hate or stereotypes of the outside world. These people are proud of their culture, heritage and home. They show it to outsiders with an open heart and mind. I only hope people will embrace this culture and visit more of the middle east, because it has SO much to offer us. I really was amazed by my time in the desert, I hope my post will inspire people to research these areas, or study them, or hey, maybe even travel, if not here, anywhere. Going abroad offers so much, I've learned there is such a BIG world outside of America. Ma'salaama for now...