Jordan: There and back again. Part Two: The Tourist

Jordan is, in many ways, a land of refugees. It has become a land of stability amidst difficult neighbours. Westward is Palestine, eastward Iraq and Kuwait. To the north is Syria. In times of strife, refugees from these locations have found a home in Jordan. If you speak to someone in Jordan it is more likely than not that they are from Palestine, who today make up over half the population, over 3 million. I also met many from Kuwait, who arrived in the early 90s when Saddam decided he was going to try his luck on this small land in the south. More recently of course Jordan has become a refuge to over 1 million Syrian refugees. But Jordan seems to have thrived from such increases in its population, and from what I could tell it has fused a harmony of its own. 

It was only after I started traveling through Jordan that I realised how significantly improved I was as a traveler. That's probably not saying much, considering how terrible I was to begin with. One of the key ways in which one improves as a traveler is being perfectly comfortable not knowing what you are doing, knowing that you will be able to figure it out somehow. Of course, it could have been that I was so grumpy after the Allenby border crossing that I could have made my way from A to anywhere without the least concern. My first stop was Amman, and I had rough plans for how I would spend my week, which quickly changed after I commenced a brief search for phantom visas and made friends at the hostel I was staying at. This leads me to two other things I was to learn while in Jordan. One, people in hostels are some of the friendliest people one can meet. Two, don't plan too far ahead when you are traveling, because sometimes you want to change your plans quickly, and one small change can put everything else out of kilter. A more fun way to travel is day by day, though I guess that depends on how busy places are. I was visiting in the low season. 

Roman amphitheatre in Amman.

Nod to the Petone Stonecutters football team. Have a good season lads.

Amman was like an unoccupied, comparatively relaxed, relatively touristy and significantly more populated Nablus. Or 'Nablus on steroids' as a friend Ben, who had just finished volunteering in Palestine, liked to call it. Bumping into Ben after arriving in Amman was a strange event. On my first night in Amman I was walking down the street when I spotted a juice store. I stared long and hard at the shop, trying to discern whether I wanted a juice or not. Meanwhile, just in front of me, Ben was waiting at a cash machine, staring into space as he waited in line. We stared past each other for a good minute. Eventually we spotted each other and exchanged puzzled and surprised glances, as both had been completely unaware that the other was in the city. We explored the city for the rest of the night, managed to find very expensive orange juice and cookies, and spoke some broken Arabic with some local Jordanians, before I finally succumbed to fatigue and had to go back to the hostel to bed.

Things could be worse in NZ.

Castle where Laurence of Arabia held off the Ottomans.

It was in Jordan that I finally embraced my identity as a camera happy tourist. I took over 200 pictures of everything from castles to empty deserts to magnificent buildings carved into rock. After a few days in Amman, and more than enough visits to ancient castles, a few of us began to tour south. Unfortunately, dust storms from Saudi Arabia prevented us from seeing some of the magnificent views Jordan is famous for, but we were still able to experience the sights of Petra and Wadi Rum. Petra lived up to its reputation, and the decision to wake up bright and early to beat the crowds was a good one. Arriving at 6:30 in the morning, we had the place pretty much to ourselves, and were able to dwell on the grand structures of this now long past civilisation.

Liam, Jose and myself atop yet another castle. The sand from Saudi Arabia was unfortunate timing - rumour has it it only happens 5 days of the year on average.

The famous treasury building of the Nabataeans, guarded by two camels.

Petra was devoid of the safety regulations that the western world has embraced, so we were able to pretty much climb anywhere we wanted. Although I lead our expedition of 3 enthusiastic climbers astray a couple of times, we were able to find some great spots overlooking the famous treasury.

Although we got lost on the way up, we eventually found this view from a Bedouin's hut. He gave us some tea too.

Just a typical view in Petra.

View from a mosque marking the burial place of Aaron, brother of Moses. We ran dangerously short of water during the 2 hour walk up.

It was also in Petra that my traveling companion Liam and myself were able to create a new form of bartering. This basically involved approaching a small food and drink stall and asking about the prices. Exhausted and hungry from walking, and dumbstruck by the exorbitant tourist prices, we would then stand in a stupor for about ten minutes, unable to make a decision on what to order. Eventually, the owner would offer us a deal, sometimes cutting the price by up to 50%. This worked for us on numerous occasions, to the point where we stopped achieving this accidentally and began deliberately planning our inability to make a decision on what to order. Never has my indecisiveness worked to my advantage to such a degree.

My final stop in Jordan was Wadi Rum, the desert, famous for its connection to Lawrence of Arabia. In fact, I enjoyed the grandeur and silence of Wadi Rum so much that I think I have finally reached the patience level required to watch the film. The Bedouin people have made an interesting life for themselves in the desert, in one sense living a simple and traditional way of life, and in another thriving from a fruitful tourist trade. From what I could tell, education is a core part of Bedouin culture, and many have university degrees and speak English fluently. However, being in such a unique landscape inevitably raises questions about politics and the environment. Is the tourism you are involved in having an effect on the ecosystem? Who actually has control of the area - where are all the profits going?  Were the big players really going to let the tourism potential of the Bedouin land go by unnoticed? I was not surprised to read of controversies and disputes over the land when I got a chance to do some quick online research the following week. 

Wadi Rum

Jump with your arms Jon, with your arms.

As good as it was to see Jordan, one of the key purposes for the trip was to renew my visa. Somehow, I managed to do that. I arrived home to find others had not been so lucky. One volunteer, on the same journey into Jordan as I had taken, had had her passport stamped 'banned from entry' when leaving Israeli territory. Her crime? Teaching art classes around Nablus. If only more Palestinian youth could see that art is a more powerful medium against occupation than throwing stones.