Spring Flowers

"Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul." 

~The Qur'an

Spring flowers are in full bloom in Amman.  The pictures show some of the beautiful flowers that I pass on my walk to work each day.

Breaking the Cycle of Bad Academic Writing

In her Chronicle essay, "Bad Writing and Bad Thinking," Rachel Toor discusses the importance of shedding pretentious academic writing styles that obfuscate the thinking behind the writing to make it seem more brilliant and original than it really is. It's an excellent "Emperor's New Clothes" argument for plain and clear academic writing.  Toor says:

I've heard [the same] song from graduate students in every discipline, and from faculty members, junior and senior, at universities across the country. The message: You have to write the same way as others in your field. You must use multisyllabic words, complex phrasing, and sentences that go on for days, because that's how you show you're smart. If you're too clear, if your sentences are too simple, your peers won't take you seriously.

. . . 

Call me simple-minded, call me anti-intellectual, but I believe that most poor scholarly writing is a result of bad habits, of learning tricks of the academic trade as a way to try to fit in. And it's a result of lazy thinking. 

Toor discusses George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," which connects bad writing with bad thinking and provides these simple rules for clear writing:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. 

Toor concludes that "Orwell's proscriptions of pretentious diction are as hopeless as Oprah's quest for skinniness. His preference for sturdy Anglo-Saxon words over Greek and Latinate constructions is, I'm afraid, doomed in academe." But, borrowing from the words of Atticus Finch*, my response to Toor is "[s]imply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try" to encourage better academic writing. Both Toor's essay and Orwell's essay are worth reading for those of us who want to become better writers.


*Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird 87 (First Perennial Classics ed. 2002).

More on [NOT] Walking in Amman

The Jordan Times reports here on the ongoing issue of poor pedestrian conditions in Amman.  As I have mentioned previously in this blog, Amman is not a "walking city." Sidewalks, when they do exist, are often uneven, in disrepair, and covered with impediments, such as trees. People just don't walk much in Amman, and those who do often end up walking in the street, subjecting themselves to the constant annoyance of being honked at by passing cars.

According to the Jordan Times article, Jordan ranks second in the top five most "unwalkable" cities in the world. The article highlights the serious dangers of walking in Amman, such as being hit by a passing car or by falling debris from construction sites or the upper floors of buildings. The article suggests that the problem has many cuases, including a lack of enforcement of traffic laws regarding the safety of pedestrians, placing responsibility for sidewalk construction and maintenance with property owners rather than with the government, and urban expansion that has emphasized more room for automobile traffic and paid little attention to making space for pedestrians.

Oddly, even merchants in some areas of Amman resent pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk in front of their businesses; they view the sidewalks as private property and passersby as trespassers. Needless to say, there aren't a lot of "window shoppers" in Amman. The shopping culture here is completely different from the American shopping culture of walking along a shop-lined street, deciding whether to enter a shop based on what the shopkeeper displays in the window or near the front of the store.  Often, when my family and I go to an area with a lot of shops, we find ourselves to be the only pedestrians walking along the sidewalk (or in the street).

According to the Jordan Times article, Jordan has spent 15 million JDs (over $20 million) on sidewalk repair and construction in the last four years. Thousands of trees have been removed in order to make the sidewalks more passable. Yet, many people remain skeptical about whether there will be any significant progress in making Amman a more pedestrian-friendly city anytime soon.  There is simply too much working against the pedestrian: culture, history, and other economic priorities and challenges.

Cairo Day 3: Shopping at Khan el-Khalili Market

Cairo is a shopping mecca.  Everywhere you go, there are things to buy or, at least, reasons to shell out more money to more people.

We had done a little bit of shopping here and there on our first two days.  In particular, after we visited the pyramids, our guide took us to a perfume factory, a papyrus shop, and a cotton shop.  In the perfume shop, we got to sample all sorts of Egyptian fragrances. I'm not that big on perfume (when the salesperson asked me what scent I wear, I had to say ". . . uh . . . soap"), but it was fun to hear about how perfume is made and smell the pure oil scents. The papyrus shop was the most interesting of the three. There, we were treated to a demonstration of how papyrus is made and told how to distinguish faux papyrus (made from banana leaves) from real papyrus (real papyrus has cross-hatching, whereas on banana paper, the lines go all one way).  The cotton shop had all sorts of things made from Egyptian cotton, from clothes to bed and table linens. At each of these shops, we fulfilled our touristic obligation to buy a few items.

But the third day was dedicated to serious shopping at the famous Khan el-Khalili Market.  This is perhaps the oldest and most famous bazaar in the Middle East. It started in 1382 and is in the Islamic district of Cairo.  Khan el-Khalili draws both tourists and locals. It is a maze of narrow, crowded, alley-like streets lined with shops.  There are a few coffeehouses where tired shoppers can rest and have a drink, and street vendors sell food.

We were warned: "Prices are high; quality is low." Moreover, Khan el-Khalili is known for being a place where buyers and sellers vigorously negotiate prices. Keeping these things in mind, we ventured into the market.

It was kind of like being at a really intense carnival where the carnival workers are all calling to you trying to get you to waste your money on their game. We were bombarded with great offers, like "Egyptian scarves, only 5 pounds." (By the way, 5 Egyptian pounds is equal to about $1 US). But, when we actually tried to buy anything, it was significantly more than 5 pounds.  We paid more than we should have for some things, but got reasonable deals on other things.  For example, we ended up paying 100 pounds (about $20) for a poorly-made Egyptian flag, but I got a great bag for 50 pounds (about $10).

Where we really got ripped off was in a cotton clothing shop.  We had a great time in the shop, but we really let things get away from us and made a few critical errors that, in the end, cost us.  Here's what happened:  I wanted to get an Egyptian shirt. I had been regretting not buying one at the cotton shop we visited the day before, and so when I saw one hanging in a store, I decided to go in and take a look.  That was my first mistake.

I tried on a couple of shirts and decided I wanted the spiffy green one that had attracted my attention to begin with.  So, I asked the salesperson "how much for this shirt."  He didn't answer me.  Instead, he said, "um . . . well . . . let's make sure you don't want anything else because the price will be better for two items."  So, I said "OK," and turned to my family and asked "anyone else want anything?"  That was my second mistake.

Now, he set out to outfit our whole family in Egyptian clothing . . .

We actually had a great time in this store, and were there for quite a long time.  We were served tea with fresh mint, and it was perhaps the best tea I've ever had. When all was said and done, we had selected six items to purchase.

"How much?" I asked.  This time he told me.  He suggested a price of . . . get this . . . 2500 pounds.  That's over 450 US dollars! And, the stuff was not that great.  The original shirt I wanted to buy was made of a thin cotton fabric--about the weight of doctor scrubs--and the seams and edges were not well finished. I should have just said "forget it" right then and walked out.  But, I didn't.  That was my third mistake.

Then, the negotiation began.  Paul and I were trying to negotiate with the salesperson and the owner. That was our fourth mistake: too many people involved in the negotiation.

It quickly became apparent that trying to buy multiple items (mistake number 2 above) was the biggest mistake because this gave them two grounds upon which to negotiate.  In other words, when I went down in price, they suggested removing items, so that I was still, at every price point, paying too much for the items still on the table.  Add to this the general difficulty of trying to do money conversions from Egyptian pounds to Jordanian dinars to  U.S. dollars and back again. In the end, we paid 500 pounds (about $100) for two items.  A complete rip off!!

Oh well, we had a good time and got the full Khan el-Khalili experience!

Morals of the story:  (1) buy one thing at a time; (2) know how much you are willing to spend on that one item and be ready to walk out of the store if they won't take that amount; (3) when you mess up and pay too much, chalk it up to having a good time and get over it! By following #1 and #2, I got my awesome bag for about $10; by violating #1 and #2, I got to learn #3 the hard way.

After the clothing store experience, we were ready for a break at the famous El Fishawy coffeeshop. This popular coffee shop has been in business for over 200 years and has never been closed one day. It is located right in the alley of the souq, so shoppers continue to walk through as you sit and enjoy your drink (no food served here).  Vendors walk through trying to sell everything from fake Rolex watches to single tissues.  We had numerous offers to brush off our shoes, and even one offer to comb off our shoes.

Cairo Day 2: The Great Pyramids

We set out early to see the pyramids and the sphinx, but by the time we got there, it was already hot and smoggy, and there were huge crowds. School groups from all over Egypt come to the pyramids for their field trips. (How awesome would it be to get to go to the pyramids for a school field trip!) But, even though there were what seemed like hundreds of busloads of people there, the area is so huge and expansive that it didn't seem crowded at all--at least not when we were there.

The pyramids and the sphinx were awesome.  It's almost surreal to see them in person. You probably think that since you have seen millions of pictures, you don't need to go see them in person.  Not true. What you need to do is go buy yourself a plane ticket to Cairo and see them for yourself!

The desert area surrounding the pyramids is huge.  But, you can get up close and even climb on and go inside the pyramids. There are several parking lot spots, and some of them are quite close to the pyramids, so not much walking is required to get up close. Or, you can hike up from some of the more remote parking areas--if you really want to walk across the hot, dry, smoggy desert. (You can see the thick smog in the picture.)

Or you can take a camel ride. There were lots of camels lined up waiting to give tourists a lift closer to the pyramids.







After we visited the pyramids and the sphinx, we went to a couple of shops. (I'll have more to say about shopping in Cairo in the post for Day 3.) The shops had a great view of the pyramids.

Then, we visited Muhammad Ali Mosque in the Cairo Citadel. (No, it is not named after the boxer.) Unlike at the mosque we visited the day before, Maggie and I did not have to cover ourselves to enter this one.  It was filled with tourists--from inside and outside of Egypt. Many, many school groups were there.




Maggie was approached numerous times by groups of teenagers asking if they could have their picture with her.  One girl introduced herself in extraordinarily good English and inquired about Maggie's name and nationality and then very politely asked for a photo with Maggie.  We said "sure, where is your camera?" and she replied "no, with her camera!" Apparently, it was exciting just to be in a picture with Maggie, even if she would never even see the picture.  Here is the photo of Maggie with the two Egyptian girls. Some kids just came up and snapped pictures of us with their phones or cameras without even bothering to ask if it was OK or if they could be in the picture with us.

Here are a few more pictures of the Muhammad Ali Mosque.

Stay tuned for Day 3, on which we visited Khan el-Khalili Market.

Cairo Day 1: Old Cairo and Egyptian Museum

Only a couple days after the tragic journal loss, we went to Cairo.  If the Curse of the Wadi Rum Scorpion could be broken anywhere, it was in Cairo.

OK, we didn't go to Cairo only to break the curse--we had already planned the trip in advance--but the timing was right to shed all that bad luck that had been following us around and regain our good luck, ancient Egyptian style.

Cairo was perhaps the most awesome place I've ever visited.  It is a city of contrasts. The city is dirty, dusty, gritty, polluted, over-populated, impoverished, and crumbling.  But, it is also spectacular, mysterious, moving, beautiful, and magnificent. It's ancient but modern, ugly but beautiful, hectic but mesmerizing.

When we arrived, we quickly checked into our Nile-view rooms in the Ramses Hilton . . .

view of the Nile from our hotel room

. . . and immediately set off to explore the city and see the Egyptian Museum.

On the way, we experienced the absolute craziness of driving and walking in Cairo--which occurs simultaneously in a huge tangled mess. Until I went to Cairo, I thought Amman driving was the craziest ever, but Cairo driving made Amman driving seem like taking a country drive on a Sunday afternoon. There were people everywhere: people riding, people walking, people waiting, people sitting, and people standing. People were beside the cars, between the cars, and all around the cars. The cars don't slow down for the people, and the people don't watch out for the cars. Add in some busses, carts, donkeys, and anything else you can think of, and you get an idea of the tangled mess moving in the streets of Cairo. We didn't see anyone get run over, but that was a miracle, it seemed to me, because the people and cars seemed to be in a constant clash in the streets.

Our first stop was in Coptic Cairo to see three churches, a synagogue, and a mosque. My favorite was Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, which is built on the spot where Mary and Joseph supposedly hid out with baby Jesus to avoid Herod. I looked down into the 10-meter-deep crypt where Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus are said to have rested when they arrived in Egypt. We next visited the Hanging Church (pictured), and then Saint George Greek Orthodox Church.

Then, we visited Ben Ezra Synagogue, which is at the place where the Pharaoh's daughter supposedly pulled Moses out of the Nile.

Next, we visited Mosque of Amr ibn al-'As, which is the oldest mosque in Africa.  We went on Friday, so there was a lot of activity at the mosque while we were there. Maggie and I had to enter through a special door for women; our guide and Paul and Charlie went in the men's door.  We got to the door, took off our shoes, and we each put on one of the special robes to cover our heads and clothing.

We entered the women's side and went into a large open room, which had some benches scattered here and there mostly near the edges. We stood out like two sore thumbs.  Apart from the bright green robes that said "TOURIST" as clearly as if we had been wearing neon signs on our heads, we also didn't know what we were doing--we didn't know where to go or which way to walk.  We were met by curious looks, smiles, and even some laughs from the women there.  A couple of people said "hello," indicating that they identified us as English speakers. There was one group of women sitting in a group listening to another woman who seemed to be giving a sermon (but, of course, it was in Arabic, so we could not understand what she was saying).  Then throughout the rest of the very large room, women were scattered around either talking in small groups or resting on benches or on the floor.  There were some children playing at one end of the large open room. It seemed like, for the most part, there were just a lot of women taking it easy and enjoying rest and conversation with their friends.

The next stop was The Egyptian Museum. When you see this . . .

. . . you know you are in the right place to see awesome stuff. But, you have to actually go there to see it;  there is a strict NO PHOTOGRAPHY policy in this museum. We had to check our cameras outside and were not even permitted to bring them in.  But, . . . we saw a lot of cell phone cameras inside.

This museum was fabulous.  They have so much ancient Egyptian stuff, they don't have a place to put it all. There were stacks of things here and there.  There were boxes marked for shipping to other museums.  There were lots of things right out in the open where you could touch them and really examine the detail, but other things were locked up tightly in cabinets. Everywhere you looked in the museum, there were amazing artifacts from one of the most fascinating periods in human history.

There is a special mummy room in the museum.  This was the most creepy part of the museum because it had the acutal mummies intact and on display.  Some of them still had hair!  One thing I could not  help but notice was that these folks had extraordinarily long toes. The notes about one of the mummies said she had been obese and had bad teeth.  However, the years have been good to her: she is quite thin now and her teeth were all but covered by her upper lip. Perhaps she's one of those rare individuals that looks better after having been dead for a few thousand years; forget all that plastic surgery, just go for mummification! 

King Tut (actually pronounced "toot") himself was in the basement, so we didn't get to see his actual mummified body.  But, we did get to see all his stuff. There is a special King Tut room with his mask, two of his sarcophagi, and a lot of his jewelry and things. This room, along with the mummy room, were the highlights of the museum for me. We got the not-so-brilliant idea for Paul to take an iPhone picture of King Tut's amazing mask and just as he was raising the iPhone toward the cabinet holding the mask, a guard approached Paul.  Holy smoke!  I thought he was going to be hauled off to Egyptian Museum Jail--which could be kinda cool, actually (maybe it's down there in the basement with King Tut and some of the other too-awesome-to-display mummies).  But, no, he just got a stern talking to and he put away his phone for the rest of the day.  We didn't get any pictures.

Throughout the museum, signs and markers explain about Egypt's relentless efforts to reclaim all of the ancient Egyptian artifacts that have found their way into other countries and are being held by other governments, museums, and even private individuals.  For example, the notes accompanying the mummy of Ramesses II indicated that some of his hair and other objects related to his mummified body had appeared for sale on an internet website in France and had been retrieved (and by "retrieved" I do not mean "purchased") by the Egyptian government from the would-be seller.  So, here's a message to all of you people out there hoping to sell your ancient Egyptian artifacts on e-Bay:  don't even think about it! 

That evening we went on a super-tacky Nile dinner cruise. There was a buffet with marginally edible food and terrible wine. There was even a belly dancer and a roving photographer.  It could have been Las Vegas!

We had a great taxi ride back to the hotel.  As frequently happens, when the taxi driver realized we were American, he started playing American music.  This taxi driver started with some Backstreet Boys and moved on to 50 Cent's "Candy Shop." He cranked the music and sang along. The entertainment in the taxi was much better than the entertainment on the boat!

Stay tuned for Day 2, on which we saw the Great Pyramids.

Getting Around in Amman

Remember I mentioned that no one walks in Amman?  We don't have a car here, so that means that whenever we need to go somewhere that's more than a couple of blocks, we take a taxi. But, there are some challenges in getting around  in taxis also.  Even though taxis are plentiful and cheap, it's just not that easy to get around, at least for foreigners like me. 

First challenge: Most of the taxi drivers speak very little or no English.  Thus, it is difficult to explain where you want to go.  I have directions to my house written in Arabic on a piece of paper that I show to taxi drivers, but still it is difficult.  Some can't read--either because they "forgot their glasses" or because they simply don't know how to read or refuse to read.  Those who can read have trouble with the directions due to challenge number two.

Second challenge: There aren't really addresses here.  Yes, there are street names, and yes, there are building numbers, but places don't seem to be identified by address the way we are used to in the U.S. and Europe. So, you have to explain to the driver where to go, usually by reference to the nearest of the eight circles (which are large round-a-bouts that sort of define the regions of the city).  This is difficult under any circumstances, but it is even more difficult when you don't speak Arabic and the driver doesn't speak English.

Third challenge: GPS?  Forget about it.  Taxis don't even have communcation radios, much less GPSs. And, remember challenge number two?  It would be tough to have GPS without addresses.

Fourth challenge: Drivers know some landmark places, but to a very limited extent.  If you want to go somewhere that is not a common taxi destination, such as an office or someone's home, then it is virtually impossible to explain to a taxi driver how to get there.  In fact, I live near a hotel, which should provide a good landmark for getting to my apartment.  However, it is extremely rare to find a taxi driver who actually knows where this hotel is.  I have to give directions, using hand signals instead of language (remember the first challenge!).  Forget it if I want to go somewhere to which I don't know the way (see fifth challenge).

Fifth challenge: If you are like me and bad with directions anyway, you can't even point out the route using hand signals because you really have no idea where you are going, but only know where you want to end up! Add to this directional-challenge the additional challenges of being in a relatively unfamiliar city with streets that do not seem to be laid out in a nice organized grid and of not being able to speak or write the language, and you have a real challenge getting around.

Sixth challenge:  Just being in a car is a frightening experience. Traffic is insane. There appear to be no traffic rules at all and, if there are, no one follows them.  I have actually seen stop signs, but I have never, ever, not one single time, seen any car stop at one. When cars come to a corner, they just keep going and sort of meet in the middle and whichever car can "take" the right of way, does. Also, lanes are meaningless; people drive on top of the lane line or anywhere else they want to. People change lanes without any sort of signal at all or any worry whether there is another car in the spot they are moving to.  Horns are honked constantly; a horn honk can apparently mean a plethora of different things: "watch out, I'm coming through," "go ahead, I'll wait but not for long," "what the heck are you doing pulling into the side of my car," "do you want a taxi?," or any number of other things.  I'm still trying to decode the intricate details of the horn honking language that exists among Amman drivers--it's almost as hard to learn as Arabic.

Despite all these challenges, I do seem to manage to get everywhere I want to go and then home again.  It always seems like a small miracle when I pull up to my destination.  It seems like a large miracle when the taxi meter says that the whole ride--which seemed to have taken me all around the world and back to get me to my destination--cost only 90 cents.

Advice for Wadi Rum Bedouin Camping

We stayed overnight at Bedouin Whispers Camp.  Above is a photo of the camp. The overnight experience includes a camel and/or Jeep tour, plus overnight accommodations and lunch, dinner, and breakfast.

It was very nice and orderly (I would say "clean" but really it was quite dusty). It had plumbing, including flush toilets, showers, and sinks.  However, the restroom was dark, wet, and unisex. There was no electricity (so don't plan on charging your cell phone or blowdrying your hair). It had an awesome dining tent with a fireplace in the middle. You can sleep under the tents or pull your mattress out and sleep under the stars.  But yes, there are scorpions in the desert and, yes, they do climb onto the beds of campers.

I like camping and I'm glad we did this, but this was not my favorite experience of all time.  On the downside was that I didn't pack properly (I did not bring a flashlight, for example) and I didn't get much sleep (due mainly to allergies and a headache, but also partly due to the snoring of other guests). The desert is simply exhausting; there is something about that dusty, dry air that just makes you want to go to sleep--but it's hard to really go to sleep because of the heat and dryness.

On the upside, the people at the camp--including our Bedouin guides as well as the other guests--were all friendly and nice. In addition to giving us a great tour of Wadi Rum, our guides watched out for us at the camp, made sure we knew where to go to watch the beautiful sunset, and cooked us a delicious dinner. Significantly, they "took care" of the scorpion that crawled into Maggie's bedroll.

There were two other families there at the same time we were: a German family and an Italian family. The Germans were from very close to where we lived in Germany--in Northern Bavaria--and we got to practice speaking our minimal German with them. The Italians brought special Italian Easter cake and shared it with everyone on Easter morning; it was delicious and the undisputed highlight of our Easter breakfast for sure!  The desert was really beautiful and we enjoyed the camel ride, hiking, and the Jeep tour.

Here is my advice for Bedouin camping in Wadi Rum:

1.  Most important: Bring a flashlight.  Once it gets dark, it is very dark. The stars are bright and beautiful, but it's tough to see enough to do things like taking out contact lenses and brushing your teeth.

2. Even more important: Bring your own sleep sack and warm sleep clothes.  The bedding is extremely dusty (as you would expect since it is the sandy desert after all) and not very clean.  Also, the blankets we were given to put under us on the plastic-covered mattress were wool; consequently, if you are allergic to wool, you might think twice before sleeping on the wool.  Apparently, I only thought once because I put the wool blanket under my nice cozy fleece sleep sack.  A dumb move since I'm allergic to wool.

3. Pack like you are going to camp in a tent because that is precisely what you are doing.  This means packing things like a flashlight and a sleep sack (see items 1 and 2 above), and it also means packing only what you need in a very accessible way. Don't bring make-up, for example. Bring your own soap and something to wash and dry your face and hands with (although a community towel is provided in the bathroom, all campers for who-knows-how-long have used that towel).

4. Drink plenty of water. And then drink some more.  I think a big part of my problem was that I didn't drink enough water. The camp provides all the bottled water you can drink, so take advantage of the opportunity to drink whenever you can.

5. If possible, wear your PJs under your clothes so you don't have to change.  There is no privacy at all. I ended up just sleeping in my clothes, which worked fine.

6.  Don't plan on taking a shower. Although showers are provided, it is not very convenient to use them for numerous reasons: (1) the showers are co-ed; (2) there is no dry place to put your stuff while you shower; (3) you are there for a limited amount of daylight time and you have no privacy from the other guests; (4) the showers are dark even during daylight and there is no way to distinguish your shampoo from your conditioner from your shower gel.  Just plan on not taking a shower and you will get along better. It's OK; the camels won't notice how bad you smell.

7. Be adventurous and sleep outside even though there are creepy bugs out there. The risk that you will actually be killed or seriously injured by a bug is minimal and it's much yuckier to sleep inside the tent than it is to sleep outside.

8. Although the dinner was delicious and the breakfast was sufficient (enhanced significantly by the Italian Easter cake--which won't be there the next time), the lunch left a bit to be desired and there were no snacks other than tea and water.  Bring your own snacks if you think you will be hungry (and you will be hungry after riding camels through the desert).  But, be careful not to bring sweets that will attract insects and other undesirables.

9. Bring allergy medicine, aspirin, bandaids, and any other supplies you might need.  There are NO shops out in Wadi Rum.  None. You will not be able to purchase anything once you leave Rum Village (and shopping in Rum Village leaves much to be desired--the only stores are small convenience stores).

10. Consider the luxury Bedouin camps if you don't like camping. We passed a "luxury" camp on our Jeep tour; it appeared to have electricity generators, more bathrooms, and private tents. I am not sure how much more luxurious this camp was, however, and so if you don't like camping at all, just drive on to Aqaba and stay in a nice hotel.

The Curse of the Wadi Rum Scorpion

We had been warned that when camping in a Wadi Rum Bedouin camp, one should be cautious about pulling one's bed out to sleep under the stars.  The small stone walls that encircle the tent-covered sleeping areas keep the scorpions out, while there is no such impediment when you are sleeping right on the desert sand under the stars.

But, our Bedouin guide assured us that they had not seen a scorpion in more than three years and we had nothing to worry about.  So, we pulled out our matresses, slept under the stars, woke up the next morning and went to breakfast.  When Maggie went back to her bed to pack up her sleeping bag, she found this in her bed:

Photo by Maggie Scudder

We joked that it must be a sign of good luck to have found it in the morning instead of being poisoned by it during the night. Perhaps it had provided protection from other intruders throughout the night.

But our bad luck had started setting in almost the minute we left our apartment--long before the scorpion wandered into Maggie's bedroll.  

It started with some driver problems. Without going into too much detail, we had arranged for two cars and two drivers because Paul's sister and her family were visiting from the United States. Our drivers seemed to agree on only one thing: that their primary goal was to slow down our trip to Wadi Rum enough to make us miss our camel ride reservation (presumably so they could make another reservation for us for which they would get commission). [The ins-and-outs of tourist drivers in Jordan is worthy of an entirely separate blog post.] The driver problems continued throughout the entirety of our trip to Wadi Rum and Aqaba. But, this was not the worst of the bad luck.

We finally made it to Wadi Rum, but almost as soon as I stepped foot onto the desert sand and climbed up onto my camel (which was awesome, by the way), I started getting a headache.  I'm not sure if it was the beautiful purple flowers that were blooming all over the place or the sand or the camel or the wool blanket that covered the camel or the one I later slept on, but I was pretty miserable with allergies and a headache the whole time we were there. (I had quit bringing migraine medicine along with me because my migraines have become so few and far between . . . but note to self: always pack the Imitrex!)  But, this was not the worst of the bad luck.

After sleeping under the stars at Bedouin Whispers Camp, we spent most of Easter day touring Wadi Rum.  Read about our spectacular experience in Charlie's blog post and watch his video featuring the Camel Cam. 

We cut short our time in Wadi Rum--partly because my headache continued to get worse and partly because just over 24 hours is PLENTY of time to spend in the desert (at least in my opinion).  The desert really was awesome--and I'm glad we went and glad we got to tour on camels and in a Jeep--but it's also dry (duh!) and hot and stark and exhausting.  The Italians who were in the Jeep next to us actually said out loud what I had been thinking all day: "this just isn't our kind of relaxing; we would like to get to Aqaba as soon as possible."

We got to Aqaba (the Red Sea) as soon as possible (which was longer than we had hoped due to ongoing driver problems). The water there is beautiful--the most amazing shades of blue I've ever seen. And clear!  You could see all the way to the bottom. Maggie commented that it looked like a swimming pool with a blue-painted bottom; she was right! As the water got deeper, the turquoise water got darker, but it was still clear and blue. We went out on a snorkeling/dive boat and the snorkeling was unbelievable--the coral was so colorful, as were the fish. I saw a lion fish, which was my primary fish-spotting goal. But our snorkeling trip was cursed by heavy winds. I mean hard, hard wind the whole day. It was just so windy that we called it quits too early and spent the rest of the day on the boat . . . with no snacks . . . and my headache was still hanging on.  But, that's not the worst of the bad luck.  

Then, when we got back from the boat, I had to rush to meet my driver (because the boat was late), so I couldn't even wash off the salt water.  I had to get back to Amman to go to work on Tuesday and the rest of our group would go on to Petra the next day.  I met my driver and we headed out for Amman.  My driver was the slowest driver in the history of driving, so the trip that should have taken only 3 1/2 hours took 5!  All the while, my headache was getting worse and worse. Miserable. But, that's not the worst of the bad luck. 

I brought home a lot of extra stuff besides my own stuff--the snorkeling gear and everyone's dirty clothes, etc. from the previous three days. So, the trunk was full of bags and stuff.  When I got back to my apartment in Amman, my building-guard/helper helped me get the bags out of the trunk and bring them in.  

And, here's when the worst of the bad luck occurred: Maggie's backpack was missed and was left all night on the sidewalk.  By the time I realized it was missing, I went out and searched for it and it was gone. Stolen. And, with it her journal which contained all her thoughts, souvenirs, letters, and everything else from our entire year away.  A lot of her clothes and things were in the bag too, but all that can be replaced.  The journal can't be replaced.  I am just sick about it and, of course, she is too. What a horrible thing to have happen when she has spent the entirety of our time abroad collecting all of her memories, not to mention the photos and letters she brought from home, in the journal. I'm pretty irritated at the driver for driving off knowing the bag was there (when we called to see if it was still in his car, he said he had left it on the sidewalk for the guard to pick up; it would have been helpful if he had told the guard or me that it was there), but I take responsibility for being careless and in a hurry to get inside after such a long drive. That was, by far, the best journal ever. She has been SO creative with it all year, including everything from original drawings to small souvenirs to photos and ticket stubs.  Tragic!

Photo by Maggie Scudder

Easter in The Holy Land

Mosaic at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church, Madaba, Jordan

"Since once again, Lord -- though this time not in the forests of the Aisne but in the Steppes of Asia -- I have neither bread, nor wine, nor altar, I will raise myself beyond these symbols, up to the pure majesty of the real itself; I will make the whole earth my altar and on it I will offer you all the labours and sufferings of the world."  ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

My sister sent that prayer to me after I commented on her blog post that, although we are here in the Holy Land at Easter, it doesn't seem much like Easter.  For one thing, unlike in the United States, here we are not inundated by commercial reminders of the season. There aren't endless aisles of chocolate bunnies and pre-filled, cellophane-wrapped Easter baskets. I haven't seen a single Peep!  I haven't even seen an Easter lily. There are small reminders here and there: small sections of Easter candy in remote corners of the grocery stores and a few linens decorated with bunnies and eggs in some of the linen stores. But Easter is just not "in your face" like it is in the U.S.  In addition, although there are churches here, we don't see them much; they don't stand out with tall steeples like in the U.S. and especially in Europe.

Moreover, instead of waking up on Easter morning to candy-filled Easter baskets and rushing to get ready to go to church to hear the Hallelujah Chorus, we are deep in the desert, at Wadi Rum, waking up after sleeping under the stars at a Bedouin camp.

But, I can't think of a better place to be. That prayer I quoted above seems perfect for this Easter morning. I have my iPod with my Easter playlist, which includes the "Hallelujah Chorus" and "Jesus Christ is Risen Today." I even have Starburst jelly beans (thanks to Paul's sister who is visiting from the U.S.) to get my early morning sugar rush. What more does one need to celebrate Easter in the Holy Land?!?!

I hope you have a peaceful Easter. In honor of the Day, here are few more pictures of Christian holy places:

The spot where John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, Bethany Beyond The Jordan

A baptismal fountain, decorated with a beautiful mosaic,
near the spot where John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River.

Sculpture at the top of Mount Nebo, where Moses viewed the Promised Land

Shawarma Reem

Finally, we had the good sense to dine on the local culinary staple: shawarma. A shawarma sandwich is marinated, grilled meat (usually lamb), roasted on a spit and then shaved off and wrapped in a pita with tomatoes, onions, and tahini sauce.  It's very much like a Greek gyro or a Turkish döner.

We went to Shawarma Reem, a shawarma stand which sits on the Second Circle. It is the oldest--and arguably the most popular--shawarma place in Amman, having served customers since 1976. Many people swear that Shawarma Reem has the very best shawarma in all of the Middle East.

There are no tables at Reem.  People either eat in their cars, stand and eat, or take their sandwiches to go.  We went around the corner, found a nice rock suitable for sitting, and had an urban picnic with our shawarmas.

And, oh!, they were delicious! The owners--the sons of the original founder--say that the secret to their shawarma is in the marinade.  Only one person knows the recipe: the oldest son.  He doesn't cook at the stand anymore, but he mixes the marinade according the secret recipe that is kept only in his head.

To give you an idea of the popularity of Reem, here are a few stats:
Number of shawarma sandwiches served per day: about 5000;
Price per shawarma: less than 1 JD (about $1 US);
Pounds of meat consumed per day: more than 1000.

The New York Times even did an article about Reem.  But, far from being touristy, Sharama Reem is a popular place for locals. Everyone comes here--rich people, poor people, old people and young.  Although it was mostly men at the stand, there were some women there (I was there!) and there were many women waiting in cars. There were few English speakers there and we had to rely on the kindness of the other patrons to help us know when our number was called out in Arabic to signal that our order was ready.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

A lot of people smoke here.  It is strange to us Americans who have gotten used to living in a relatively smoke-free environment.  Here, hotel lobbies, restaurants, and even university buildings are smoke-filled.

When I walked through the halls at one of the university buildings recently, I felt like I had been transported back to 1978.  I remember sitting in my first college class ever watching the barefooted teacher smoking a cigarette as he told us about sociology.  What a difference 30 years makes! OK, so it's 32 years--but who's counting!

But, I digress . . .

Here in Jordan, in addition to the ordinary cigarette smoking, there is hookah smoking.  Hookah, also known as "hubbly bubbly" and "shisha" and "argeela" and "nargeela," is basically a water pipe through which flavored tobacco is smoked. Hookah is served in cafes and restaurants, and sometimes in special "hookah bars." This is a highly social activity, and seems to replace alcohol consumption as the thing many people do to socialize. Smokers each get their own new plastic mouthpiece (to avoid passing germs), but one hookah is commonly shared by two or more people at a table.

To give you an idea of how important hookah smoking is to the culture in the Middle East, consider what William Hickey wrote in his Memoirs upon arriving in India in 1775:

"The most highly-dressed and splendid hookah was prepared for me. I tried it, but did not like it. As after several trials I still found it disagreeable, I with much gravity requested to know whether it was indispensably necessary that I should become a smoker, which was answered with equal gravity, 'Undoubtedly it is, for you might as well be out of the world as out of the fashion. Here everybody uses a hookah, and it is impossible to get on without.' . . . [I] have frequently heard men declare they would much rather be deprived of their dinner than their hookah."

Hookahs range in appearance from the very ornate to the very plain. To operate a hookah, one simply fills the glass jar at the bottom with water. The bowl at the top is filled with flavored tobacco and then covered with aluminum foil with small holes poked into it (as if you were covering a jar containing lightening bugs). Then, a red hot charcoal is placed on top of the foil.  The heat from the charcoal begins to warm and evaporate the tobacco, which creates smoke that passes down and settles on top of the water in the water jar. When the smoker inhales through the long hose that attaches to the hookah, the water bubbles and pushes the smoke up into the neck and through the hose into the smoker's mouth and lungs. The smoker's inhalation through the hookah also pulls additional heat from the charcoal through the tobacco, making more smoke and repeating the process.

Unfortunately, despite popular belief to the contrary, the negative health effects from smoking tobacco from a hookah are the same as or worse than those from smoking cigarettes. In fact, the World Health Organization and the American Cancer Society report that hookah smokers consume 100 to 200 times more smoke and 70 times more nicotine in a one-hour hookah session than they do by smoking one cigarette. In addition, studies show that hookah smokers are five times more likely than non-smokers to get gum disease, and five times more likely than non-smokers to get lung cancer. As with cigarettes, health risks become greater with longer hookah sessions and more frequent hookah smoking.

Riding on Trains

"Since the day this train opened, I have never, never set foot on the plane again. Why would anyone fly?"
~Carlos Martinez, a lawyer, on the high speed connection between Madrid and Barcelona (New York Times Quotation of the Day, March 18, 2010)

Today's Forecast

You know you are in the desert when . . .

. . . your weather report includes an appeal to a Higher Power.

[Hat Tip: Paul Scudder]

Petra Part IV: Preserving The Delicate Treasure

At over 2000 years old, Petra is showing signs of age. The photo above shows a small portion of As-Siq that is in need of some structural support and repair.  In March 2009, a crack was discovered in the Siq wall, and one month later, a 150 Kilogram rock fell from the wall.  Luckily, no one was harmed because the incident occurred while the park was closed. In addition, in February 2010, a small burial chamber and facade collapsed, killing a young camel that was resting in the monument's shade.

These incidents have signaled a need to monitor the wear and tear on all of Petra, and reduce the stress put on the site's most fragile areas. In addition, these incidents underscore the difficult balance between preservation of the delicate site and encouraging tourism, the primary economic activity in the area.

Many things can cause the delicate structures of Petra to deteriorate: use by local Bedouins who work in and occupy parts of the site, use and misuse of the site by visitors, and ordinary weather and natural forces.

The Bedouins

The Jordanian government moved the local Bedouins out of the caves of Petra about 25 years ago. Homes were constructed for the Bedouin community on a hillside overlooking Petra. Yet, one man told us that he lives in a cave inside Petra, and there is evidence throughout the park that some Bedouins are still living in the park.

At minimum, many Bedouins spend their days in the park and earn their living by transacting business with tourists. It appears that the Bedouins have complete freedom to conduct economic activities inside the park during the day. They sell and guide the horseback rides, horse carriage rides, camel rides, and donkey rides, they sell jewelry and other souvenirs, and they operate snack bars.

Some of the Bedouins' activities are hard on the park.  For example, to the extent people are living inside Petra--permanently or on an occasional basis--their living activities cause wear and tear on the site. Also, several of the outdoor Bedouin shopping tents have small fires nearby; these fires, built for warmth and to make tea for themselves and tourists, can cause damage.  The horse carriages that go through the Siq at a high speeds cause vibrations in the Siq walls. The donkeys wear down the walkways and steps on which they tread.

The Tourists

As one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Petra is visited by over 700,000 tourists annually, with more than 116,000 people visiting in January and February of this year alone. The number of visitors has been steadily increasing in recent years.

The presence of all these people causes deterioration and erosion in all the areas where visitors are permitted.

For example, the theater has been closed due to deterioration resulting from so many people climbing and walking on the stone ledges and seats.

This photo shows erosion of the steps leading up to the Monastery 

caused by millions of footsteps and donkey hooves. 

Also, the pounding footsteps of visitors traveling through the Siq contribute to the vibration in the Siq walls. Visitors are no longer allowed to go inside the Treasury because the breath of so many visitors damaged the interior walls. Moreover, the misuse of the area by any tourist causes damage.  As we were leaving, I saw a man approach the Siq wall with a chisel and begin trying to help himself to an authentic rock souvenir.

Natural Effects

Natural effects also take a heavy toll on Petra.  Due to development in nearby Wadi Musa, and alteration of the ancient Nabataean water system, Petra is now prone to flooding and consequential water damage.  Rain water also gets into already-existing cracks in the rock surfaces and enlarges the cracks, leading to more damage.  In addition, seismic activity in the Jordan Rift Valley has resulted in some movement and is believed to have contributed to the recent burial chamber collapse.

Jordan has formed an emergency committee to assess the situation in Petra and make recommendations for how to proceed with preservation efforts while attempting to preserve the Bedouin way of life and continue to make the Petra experience accessible for tourists.  Read more about Jordan's efforts to preserve Petra here.

Petra Part III: Up, Up, Up to the Monastery and Then On Up to The End of the World

Ad-Deir (The Monastery)

Our approach to traveling this year has been relaxed. We decide where we are going to go and then we go there, without a lot of advance research and planning. When we get to a destination, we see what presents itself. There are downsides to this approach, of course.  The primary one is that we have probably missed some things that were right in front of our noses. On the other hand, there have been many upsides to this approach.  The most obvious is that we rarely argue about what we are going to do when we reach a destination because we all just go with the flow in exploring what we find. (Don't worry, we have plenty of other things to argue about) The other significant upside is that, since we arrive at most destinations without etched-in-stone expectations, we are never disappointed.  In fact, we usually go away saying "that was even better than I thought it would be."

At no time was this more true than on our visit to Petra. We got to Petra, made it to the Treasury, and then looked around for what we would do next. What presented itself was a donkey ride with Mohammed and his buddies. If I had known what was in store for me on the donkey ride up, up, up the mountain to the Monastery, I probably would not have gone.  If I had not gone, I would have missed out on a fabulous experience.

Mohammed told me that he and his buddies and their donkeys would take us up the 800 steps to the Monastery, which was the "best place in Petra."  Missing from his description of the trip were words like "treacherous," "dangerous," "hazardous," and "perilous," but all of these words accurately describe our journey up the narrow, worn, fragile, slippery, crowded steps on the donkeys' backs to the Monastery.  But, so could words like "awesome," "exciting," "thrilling," "breathtaking," "spectacular," and "magnificent."

So, I climbed onto  Shakira, who, my guide was quick to point out, was a "boy donkey," Obviously, he didn't want me to confuse Shakira The Boy Donkey for Shakira The Girl Singer.

Shakira The Boy Donkey and his owner, my Bedouin guide

I was very nervous at the beginning, but then relaxed and enjoyed the ride until we got to the base of the climb and I realized how far up we had to go and how steep the climb was.  Then, I got nervous again.  My guide just kept saying "relax, relax, relax."

I had two things working against me on the trek up the mountain:  (1) I'm not that crazy about heights. The top of the Empire State Building is not my favorite spot in New York.  My knees feel like jello when I get anywhere near the edge of a high place.  In fact, my knees feel like jello when I even see my kids get close to the edge of a high place. So, the higher we went, the less I was able to relax, relax, relax. (2) Being a lawyer, I had no trouble thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong.  And, the ride was long enough that I could be very creative in imagining every possible horrifying, tragic scenario.

But, up we went.  Up, up, up.  And up some more.  They say there are about 800 steps.  If so, I would estimate that about 600 of them are "steps" in the ordinary sense.  The rest are rocky inclines that you simply hike up--or that the donkeys hike up while the riders hold on for dear life.

The donkey went fast.  It wasted no time getting up the mountain, which would have been fine except that all the walking people on the steps were practically being trampled by the donkeys.  It did not take me long to figure out that, as terrifying as it was going up the narrow stairs on Shakira with the edge of the steep cliff very close to my right side, it would have been even more terrifying to have been one of the pedestrians on the steps trying to get out of the way to avoid being knocked over or pushed off the cliff by the passing donkeys. The moral of the story: the climb is as treacherous for the people off the donkeys as it is for the people on the donkeys--maybe even more!

Photo by Charlie Scudder

Mohammad and his buddies really earned their money keeping up with the donkeys too.  My guide ran all the way up the steps close to Shakira, telling me to "relax, relax, relax" and trying to keep Shakira going the right direction (once Shakira turned completely around and started heading back down the steps).

The donkeys took us up as far as a plateau about 1/4 mile below the Monastery.  We climbed the rest of the way on foot.  As we came around the corner with the Monastery in view, I immediately knew that the harrowing trip had been completely worth it.

In the large open area in front of the Monastery, all sorts of things could be found.  For example, this photo shows some ancient column pieces.

And, there was a snack bar with cold water (almost frozen, actually), soft drinks, and snacks, and there were comfortable benches to rest on after the long ride and climb up the mountain.











Once we had enjoyed a short rest, we continued our upward journey on foot toward the End of the World.

The climb from the Monastery up to the top was not far and relatively easy compared to the steep climb up to the Monastery.

And, the view was spectacular.  (That person sitting on the edge of the cliff is Charlie.)

From up here, you can see the Rift Valley and all the way to the mountains in Israel.

No matter how high I climbed, Maggie climbed higher.  All day--even before the donkey ride up the mountain--every time I turned around, Maggie would be missing. But, I would just have to look up onto the rocky cliffs to find her. Sure enough, there she would be, up higher than everyone else.

Notice the carved out caves even up here at the very top of the mountain.

We walked most of the way down the mountain instead of riding.  As we made our way down, we passed numerous jewelry stands operated by Bedouin women.  They called out very special offers such as "look for free." On the way up, we were moving too fast on the donkeys to be the targets of the sales pitches, but we were not moving very fast on the way down.  Now we were dodging the donkeys and trying to avoid the gaze of the jewelry sellers.

We got back on our donkeys when were were near the bottom of the mountain, and had a relaxing ride back to the place we started. We were tired and sore, but we were all still alive and glad we made the journey up to the Monastery and the End of the World.