Jordan and Dubai

Jordan and Dubai

The flight from Istanbul to Amman is only about 2 hours but the two cultures are worlds apart. We could see the change in the way people dressed and interacted even on the plane. We arrived in Amman, Jordan around 5:00PM and were met by a friendly man named Murad. He escorted us to his car, but only after losing and then finding the keys in the airport. Not your standard taxi or even black car. He had a BMW M5, and told us all about it on the way to David and Carrie’s. Murad is Jordanian Jordanian, from one of the two main Bedouin families in Jordan. Jordanians of complete Jordanian decent are the minority in their country. His family is Bedouins, nomadic shepherds, at least part time. Murad is into hunting and going to the shooting range and even pulled out his piston in the car to show us. Rawson was in the back seat and all she could see was this man waving his pistol around toward her new husband speaking in broken English. What a ride! We arrived at “Mr. David’s” house in one piece and found he and Carrie waiting for our arrival. We were delighted to be welcomed into their very nice very large home. We caught up on our travels and learned that they would be leaving Jordan soon, as Carrie accepted a teaching position in her childhood school in Hong Kong. They make the move in July, just in time to greet us there at the end of our trip. David and Charlie were in Bulgaria together as David ran the Investment Fund Charlie worked for. We had a lovely home cooked dinner and a fantastic evening. Tuesday morning we had plans to meet up with Mohammed and Susan Baghdadi (2 of Charlie’s closest friends from Thunderbird and SF) and their two boys, Adnan and Talal, then all head to Petra for a couple of days. We found a taxi easily and were off through Amman to the Four Seasons hotel. At the entrance gate to the hotel we were “greeted” by an armed guard with a peculiar device. It was a handle with a long wand which he held very steady and walked around the vehicle testing for something, we don’t know what. After the bombings a few years ago in Amman at 3 high end hotels new procedures were implemented. We passed the test and went to the roundabout to enter the hotel. Wait! We had to then go through the airport style security checkpoint and scan our bags. Whew! They didn’t find anything damaging. We inquired numerous times about this devise. It looks like the hand control to a toy remote car/boat. Apparently even cheap cologne can set them off. David’s security buddies in Iraq (where he has done Developmental Finance for 5 years; yes crazy stories) tell him they have NO IDEA what this equipment is or how it works. Not overly inspiring! Next challenge… finding the Baghdadis. Not in the room…. Not in the restaurant… hmm….. POOL! We were taken through the lush spa to the pool area. They were frolicking at the indoor pool. We had lunch together, packed up and made a plan to get to Petra, 3 hours south of Amman. We had no rental car and the van was quite expensive. We though “if we can all fit into a taxi it will be economical”. That’s Rawson, Charlie, Susan, Mohammed, Adnan and “Tukie”, and all of our bags went clown car style all the way to Petra. Dad and 4 year-old in the front and the rest of us in the back seat. It was tight, but we all survived. We splurged on a little luxury of our own by staying at the Mövenpick right at the entrance to Petra. Spectacular hotel. After the long drive and getting settled we wanted to check out the park and maybe go in that evening. They were closing in 5 minutes so that option was out but we got all of the info for Wednesday, including the dual pricing information. The fee for Arabs is 1 JD (Jordanian Dinar). The fee for the rest is 22 JD. One USD is equal to about 70 cents JD. Not in our favor. So we walked around the sleepy town before heading to the rooftop restaurant at the hotel; perfect spot to wind the evening down.

We didn’t get the sunrise start we had anticipated, but most of you know how it is with little kids. Rawson and Charlie purchased their expensive entrance tickets followed by Mohammed (those of you who don’t know Mo, he is Syrian; though a US citizen) who was promptly turned down for the Arab discount. Explaining to the fellow in fluent Arabic that he was Syrian and lives in Dubai was no help. So, off to the room to get his and Susan’s Dubai drivers licenses. 20 minutes later he came back with both, but they indicated that their nationality was US (Mo didn’t have his Syrian passport with him). So they also ended up paying the non-Arab price. Ok, off to Petra, again. The Baghdadis took horses through the first portion of the walk while we walked along side as acting family photographers for the day. We walked through the canyons toward the main attraction which is the breathtaking Treasury building. Petra is one of the new wonders of the world and is famous for very well preserved rock cut architecture built by the Nabataens as their capital. The Nabateans are ancient Arabs from southern Jordan. Petra was the site at the end of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. You can see in the photos just how amazing it is. After checking out the Treasury we hired a donkey for the kids to ride, along with a Bedouin boy named Ahmad. We ventured a bit farther into the ancient city and saw some spectacular carvings. The entire visit lasted about 5 hours and we were all pooped. Taking an afternoon break by the pool sounded quite refreshing. We took lunch and a nap by the pool before venturing to the park in the evening for “Petra by Night”. There are hundreds of candelabras (bagged candles) lining the canyon leading us to the Treasury. The Baghdadis didn’t make it far, even with the Bugaboo stroller. So we went on our own. Once we arrived at the Treasury the entire ground in front of the structure was covered with bagged candles creating a mystical atmosphere. The guide quieted everyone down and the Bedouin music began. We saw two performances that made us feel like we had stepped back in time. After the show we headed back out to meet up with our friends. Pizza for dinner and a bottle of wine on the balcony after the boys went to bed. Nice day. Thursday morning, we had to find way to the Dead Sea. Mo arranged a van after our clown car experience and it was very comfortable. It took us a bit longer to get there than we had expected, but it’s vacation after all so no problem. Mo and Susan had booked the Kempinski Hotel for 2 nights to celebrate Susan’s 40^th in style. We arrived and got the same Four Seasons hand held sniff test again, passed again. What an overwhelming property. Ultra luxury, 10 infinity pools, over the top service, all right on the Dead Sea. We met David there after his day at the water park with some friends and their kids. We had a dip in the Dead Sea which is quite an unusual experience. You’ve probably heard but the Dead Sea sits about 400 feet below sea level and has an extremely high salt content, too high for anything to live (hence DEAD). Anyway, once you walk into the water up to your waist your body starts to float. It’s like sitting on a deflated raft. You don’t want to put your head in the water, however. It will burn your eyes , nose and even ears. Freaky! We loaded up in David’s car and the three of us headed back to Amman for 2 more nights. Another relaxing evening with David and Carrie before the BIG adventure on Friday, Wadi Mujib Reserve. This is the lowest altitude nature reserve in the world; being below sea level and all! Think orange rock gorge with a river running through and lots and lots of small rapids and waterfalls. For those of you who have seen Zion NP In Utah, this is “the Narrows” with more water. Simply spectacular. The hike was billed as quite strenuous with lots of rock hoping and repelling down a waterfall. We hiked in about 2 hours and dropped all of our gear before swimming through a gorge, climbing over huge boulders and sliding down rapids to work up our appetite for lunch. After lunch we geared back up and headed on. One of the ladies in the group was in over her head. Clearly she didn’t read the email David had sent explaining the hike because she couldn’t swim. So our expert guide had to call for a back up to pick her up, the hike was not a loop so the rest of were going in another direction. One of the others had brought his cell phone, again must not have read the email because the instructions were that EVERYTHING would get wet. The guide knew from experience that the only cell reception was up high on a cliff. So he headed out, cigarette dangling, and rocketed up this massive cliff in 12 minutes flat. He is definitely a local, although no altitude issues here. After making the call and sending the non-swimmer on her way we were on the move. We hiked through the water for about 30 minutes before reaching the climax of the hike, the falls. One by one we were harnessed in and lowered down, full repelling style, literally thorough a waterfall. Charlie did great, Rawson not so great. The falls flipped her around and slammed her into the rocks. A bit water logged and knee banged but she made it out. Next challenge, the rapids. This part was quite technical and intimidating. Our guide was fantastic and led us through in the safest manner possible. Rawson wasn’t done with getting banged up just yet. While trying to slide down a rock through the rapids her foot got caught, and she slipped, banged her head and was pushed under the rapids. That one hurt, but she managed to finish up the hike just fine. This was a very exciting and adventurous hike. Thanks David for including us! What a blast. Chilly beers waited at the car and we all had a victory toast. We showered up in the evening and headed out for Quiz night at the local English Pub. We did OK, but the “Boozers” (a group of 60+ year-old, red-nosed guys holding up the bar) killed us. Saturday, our final day in Amman, David and Carrie took us out for a tour of the city. We had lunch at the King’s favorite falafel stand. We know why it’s his favorite! We shopped around and Charlie bought a full Bedouin outfit. Now he can wear the full length white man dress and red and white scarf on his head complete with spare tire and all! Rawson got a traditional top but it’s a lot more versatile than Charlie’s outfit. Back to the house to pack and head to the airport for our 8:45 PM flight to Dubai.

David and Carrie were wonderful hosts. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time and getting to know them both better. We look forward to catching up in Hong Kong in late August.

The flight was simple enough but slightly delayed. We landed in Dubai after 1AM and walked a very long way to immigration. No problems there and as promised Mo had sent someone to fetch us. We drove through Dubai to the Baghdadis high rise apartment in 93 degree weather, yes at 1AM, and arrived just after 2AM. We got settled and hit the sheets. Sunday here is Monday back home, a work day. Mo went to the office for a while and then knocked off early to hang out with us. We all piled into their car and went to the Mall of the Emirates to check it out. This is the largest mall in the world, right below the new tallest building in the world, 190 stories. We shopped around and had lunch and stayed long enough to catch the Bellagio style, but bigger, fountain dancing. It’s a large fountain that has a show after sunset every 15 minutes to a different song. It just makes you smile. We headed home and had a chill night. Monday after coffee we walked down to the beach. Mo and Susan’s place is on the 28^th floor right on the beach overlooking the Persian Gulf. It’s beautiful, but indescribably hot. We swam in the sea, but not for long. The water is warmer than body temperature and not at all refreshing. We enjoyed the air conditioning after having lunch with Kelly Eide, an old Thunderbird friend of Charlie’s that lives here. As thanks for their hospitality we cooked up a yummy dinner for the Baghdadis and for Rany and Jena, Mo’s brother and future sister in law. Rawson made up some Mojitos and Charlie cooked up a mean Tagine (we learned this dish in Morocco). Tuesday was another lazy day. Tuesday night, Rawson and Susan went out with a group of local expat women for a “girls-night-out”. Mo and Charlie packed up the boys and did some touring around town, including a stop at the Palm Jebel, a man-made island in the shape of palm tree housing thousands of expats and the Atlantis hotel at its apex. Charlie and the Bagdhadi boys ended the evening at an AMAZING resort, a “One & Only” property called the Royal Mirage, with a 1^st class middle-eastern, outdoor patio restaurant. Mo and Charlie balanced a fine line of eat, feed and blocking off dangerous falls on the marble floor. 2 more arms each would have been ideal!

Many warm thanks to the Strines and the Bagdhadis for the amazing hospitality and great times! Well off to the airport for the long haul to SE Asia. Next stop, Thailand!