On the move...

We have returned safely from our 24 hours of Jordan rally car experience (really just average Jordanian driving). We rented the car and sped out to the eastern desert following the signs for the Iraqi and Saudi Arabia border. We passed many a tanker truck, those coming from Iraq/Saudi full and those returning were of course empty. Our destination was Azraq, a small truck stop hamlet that is situated next to what used to be a 17,000sqkm wetland/oasis. This wetland has unfortanately literally been tapped out and now the ground water table averages 10M below the surface. There is an acitve wetland restoration program now in place to restore at least part of the wetlands, a rare bit of positive environmental action for the greater region. Much like its neighbors (see previous post) Jordan is guilty of terrible past environmental stewardship and responsibility.
Our journey took us to several ‘desert castles’ that are not really castles but other outposts or historic hunting camps for the ruling elite. Most dating to early Islam (8th century) but one back as far as 2nd century AD. Chandra found a really cool souvenir here that will be shared upon our return. Most of these places were of modest interest but it was good to get out and be on our own with the freedom of our own transport in the big expansive featureless landscape. The desert out in this area is made up of mostly black stones or large pebbles. I believe overgrazing for the last several thousand years have contributed to a drastric decline in what little topsoil previously existed. I would imgine most people from outside the region may describe this area as a ‘wasteland’. Current uses now consist of some bedouin grazing, and large government installations, including severel military bases and a large police training facility. At our hotel last night, we met with the owner’s friends who were policemen and they told us of large training facility that we passed. This is a federal Jordanian faciltiy with some American officers conducting much of the training they said. Interesting. Police here randomly wave over vehicles on all the roads, checking for anything suspicious, individuals, weapons, drugs etc. We got waved over but as we were stopping they waved us through. There are lots of police here in Jordan and they are very friendly and helpful (we talked to several for driving directions).
Today we took the car to Jerash, one of the best preserved ancient roman cities in Jordan. It was very cool. Several theatres and a large ‘Temple of Zeus’ were the engineering highlights, but sometimes it is the small things that make such a place unique. For instance at Jerash, for the first time we could see the grooves worn into the stone along the main ‘street’ from the chariots. There is also evidence of what they claim as the worlds first ‘machine’, a water driven stone saw from the 6th century AD.
Weather wise, the last few days is what most people probably imagine what the Middle East is like, hot, dry and dusty. Reading in the Jordanian Daily english paper, the temps the last few days and for the next few days to come are running about 10C above average, somewhere in the low 30’ C (low 90’s F), with breezy conditions.
So far we have really enjoyed Jordan. Based on our recent travels I would have to say it is step up from Syria and a step short of Turkey in terms of infastructure and overall social affluence. It is a comfortable place to travel and is reflected by the number of tourists we have seen here. A lot more big package groups than Syria, and seemingly a few more independent travellers as well. As we head south we are also getting into more of the peak season for tourists. We met a nice couple from Seattle tonite over dinner but otherwise the few tourists from the US have almost been exclusively from California. We have only seen one package trip from the US and that was in Turkey. All the other trips our from (in order of frequency), France, Germany, Italy, Korea, and other East Asian countries. Why aren’t there more Americans here or in most other countries? Given a nation the size of the US, one would expect to see more Americans abroad. It is just surprising how few Americans actually do travel abroad.
Chandra also wants to write soon about the women here and how she as been received as a female in the region. It is striking the differences socially between men and women here. That post will ‘soon come’.
Otherwise we have physically regained some of our strength. We crossed the halfway point in our trip today. We had a good day today after yesterday being not a great day. We were both ‘off’, for various reasons, especially hearing the bad news of a serious injury to, and also the passing of a friend back home.
We trading in the car for some bus tickets tonite and we will strike it out south tomorrow AM. We shoud be dipping in the Dead Sea by 1:00pm, and then on to the redrock, juniper forested Dana Natural Preserve. Eventually we will be tripping into Jordan’s pride and joy, Petra (and surely its most overun with tourists, oh joy) We may not be online for a few days but we will be sure to ‘blog on’ when we get a chance. We hope all is well with friends and loved ones the world over. Please be safe as we will return the favor. It is amazing how much one thinks of loved ones when we are so far away. I guess travelling like this, in places like this, we can’t help but appreciate how lucky we are and how much we have to be thankful for. -CB