Adventure Bag

Taking Charlie to College

2010-09-25T12:37:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, we took Charlie off to college at Indiana University, my alma mater. As you can see from the above photo, it seems he was predestined to attend Indiana. Not only did I go to IU, but so did his dad, almost all of his aunts and uncles, many of his cousins, his paternal grandparents, and many other close and distant relatives. In reality, however, he had several choices and, although I tried very hard to remain objective during the decision making process, I can now unapologetically say that he obviously chose the best one.

I had imagined the day we would leave him at college for several years. Frankly, from the moment he was born, it had occurred to me that this day would come. When he was a baby, though, it didn't occur to me that it would come so fast. It was the blink of an eye.

I had imagined that I would be sobbing as I left him behind happily mingling with new friends, just as on his first day of preschool . . . and kindergarten . . . and first grade . . .

But, it didn't happen like I imagined it. Although I did leave him behind happily mingling with new friends . . .

. . . I didn't shed a tear and haven't yet.

This is not to say that I don't miss him. I do. But, taking him to IU was like taking him home. I grew up in Southern Indiana not far from Bloomington and spent many years of my life in Bloomington and nearby. So, while I'm not there with him, he is close to our family and the place I will always consider "home."

Moreover, IU recognized Charlie's accomplishments and potential in journalism and made him part of the Ernie Pyle Scholars Program. Although the scholarship that accompanied this honors program made IU more attractive to out-of-staters like us, what really attracted Charlie to IU (aside from Bloomington being just awesome) is that IU showed interest in having him there. They seemed to really want him. Whether it was sincere of feigned, it was effective.

But, most important, he is having a fabulous time! When did college become so much fun? That is not to say I didn't have fun in college; I did. But, it was a different kind of fun. Charlie is taking classes that are really fun. Here's how he described it on his Facebook status:

[I have an] awesome schedule. German is still in review of what I know, Ernie Pyle Scholars' Seminar is super fun journalism stuff, my English comp class is about zombies, my Collins class is really easy and looks like fun, and in my elective class I'm giving a presentation about George Lucas's influences for Star Wars tomorrow. This semester is going to be sweet.

And, that's another thing: how awesome is it that parents now get to communicate with their kids often and instantaneously by text, Facebook, and Skype, not to mention good-old-fashioned cell phones?

The long and the short of it is that I know Charlie is in the right place at the right time. He has a bright future ahead of him . . . as does his sister who will be off in another blink of the eye . . .

Back from Hiatus--the Adventure Continues . . .

2010-08-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

After a particularly crazy summer hiatus, I am back to blogging and am coming to you from my new hometown, Carbondale, Illinois. I last blogged on the day I was leaving Jordan, May 4th. A lot has happened since then and so this post will be a quick catch-up on what was a very short and busy, but very exciting, summer.

When I left Jordan, my family and I spent a short holiday (in American English, that's "vacation"). Then, we popped over to Madrid for about a day and a half before heading back to the hectic realities of everyday life in America.

We arrived home in mid-May and spent about a week re-adjusting to American culture. It was so strange to drive after not having driven at all for over nine months. I remember feeling dazed and confused the first time I walked into a Barnes & Noble. It was an indescribable feeling. Are all these books . . . in English!?!? How am I supposed to pick from all these hundreds of books . . . all in English!?!? But, it didn't take me long to get my bookstore groove back, which is a good thing because my summer was already moving faster than the speed of light.

While I was away this past year, I had accepted a new job as the dean at the Southern Illinois University School of Law in Carbondale, Illinois. I was excited and eager to get started, but we had not done one thing to prepare to move. It is pretty hard to orchestrate a move across the country when you aren't even in the country. Consequently, we had decided to wait until we got home to make any concrete plans, like finding a place to live, getting our Texas house ready to put on the market, etc. But, now we were home and the plans had to be made quickly. We scrambled to find a house to rent in Carbondale until we could find something more permanent, and we began preparations to move a few things so that we would have a functional home there.

With quick trips to Carbondale, a conference, and my niece's wedding in Colorado, I was only actually at home in Texas for about three weeks total--but not consecutively--before it was time for me to begin work at my new job on July 1. Maggie joined me in mid-July, just in time to start daily band practices (she made the snare line--yea!!). Paul and Charlie are spending some time in Texas and some time in Carbondale. Even since arriving in Carbondale, we attended another niece's wedding, this one in Cincinnati, and I attended a conference.

So, although we are back from our trip abroad, we have not stopped traveling! But, we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Charlie will be going to college in a couple of weeks. Paul will be staying in Carbondale more and just returning to Texas when necessary to deal with matters regarding the house. We hope to have a more permanent home soon so that we can finally get settled in one place after a crazy year of traveling and living out of suitcases and boxes.

So far, I am enjoying Carbondale a lot. It is very much like the area where I grew up in Indiana, and I'm closer to my dad and sisters. We are very excited about the high school Maggie will be attending. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with an incredibly talented group of people at the law school and the university. We are looking forward to becoming part of the Saluki family and the Carbondale community.

Ma'a Salama Amman

2010-05-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving Amman today. I will meet up with my family in London (they left a couple of days ago). My time here in Jordan has gone so fast, and although I am eager to see family and friends at home in America, I am sad to say goodbye to all my new friends in Jordan.

My family and I are fortunate to have had the opportunity to come to Jordan. I am extremely grateful to the ABA for giving me this opportunity and to Texas Wesleyan for providing me with the sabbatical that made this and my time in Germany possible. I greatly enjoyed my work in Jordan and got to visit fascinating places, but the highlight was, undoubtedly, the people I met. The people I worked with, the professors and students at the universities that I visited, and the people I met living and traveling in Jordan were awesome and they made my time in Jordan a personally and professionally rewarding experience that I will always remember.

I hope to continue to write about my observations and experiences in Jordan because there is so much more to say about this amazing country and the wonderful people who live there. And, while I say "ma'a salama Amman" today, I hope I will have an opportunity to return to Jordan in the future, insha'Allah.

Souvenir Shopping in Jordan

2010-05-03T06:00:00.020-05:00

Shopping in Jordan is definitely a learning experience. I'm talking about shopping for traditional Jordanian or Middle Eastern items, not everyday grocery or mall shopping. To get an idea of the sorts of items that are popular Jordan souvenirs, take a look at this blog post.

We were first introduced to tourist shopping in Jordan by our tourist drivers. Whenever we go on an excursion outside of Amman, we hire a driver. The routine is always the same. After being on the road for awhile, the driver stops at a tourist shop. These are large shops that carry all sorts of Jordan souvenirs. Many also serve light food, coffee, and snacks. Each is sort of like a Stuckey's on steroids (do Stuckey's still exist?). There are sometimes a couple of busloads of tourists at these shops when we arrive. But, always a salesperson attaches to us and leads us through a hard-sell exploration of all the "treasures" in the store.

At least that's what happened until we became slightly more savvy tourists. The problem with these big tourist shops is that the prices are much, much higher than they should be--sometimes as in as much as ten times what they should be. They tell you they are giving you a discount, and indeed they do take about 10% off the original price. But, still the prices are significantly higher than they should be. One of the reasons for the high prices is that your driver gets a commission on all of your purchases in these stores.

It took us about two stops--and a couple of unfortunate purchases for which we paid too much--at these shops to figure out what was going on. We figured out that if we buy the same items at "local" stores (that is, stores where the local people shop) or at bazaars, the prices were not only far less, but we still got discounts and could negotiate to some extent for an even lower price. The local stores are smaller, so you might have to go to more shops to find the wide array of items. And, you still have to watch out, since most retailers set the price when they look you over and assess your ability to pay. But the starting price is almost always significantly less and the negotiating room is almost always significantly greater at local shops and bazaars.

At all the souvenir shops--the smaller, local ones or the giant tourist shops--you can always find a huge assortment of souvenirs: Arabian knives, ceramics, scarves, mosaics, hookahs, rugs, olive wood statuary, and much, much more. There is jewelry galore. However, you have to be careful. Some of the things are high quality, locally made, and beautiful; some are of poor quality and are not made in Jordan at all but are imported from places where they can be made and imported cheaply.

For example, I once made the mistake of buying a scarf without taking it out of the package to examine it. The seller assured me that the scarf was handmade in Jordan and of the finest quality just like the display scarf. But, when I got it home, I found that it wasn't like the display scarf at all. Two of the four edges of the scarf (the two that were not showing in the package) were unfinished and fraying. Plus, the scarf was much, much smaller than most scarves and was made of very unevenly woven polyester fabric. A tag said "made in China." Lesson learned: I now take everything out of the package to check it; even when I'm buying two identical items, both come out of the package for inspection.

How do you tell the difference between locally made things and cheap imports? One way is to look for either a tag that says where the item was made or the remains of a tag that has been cut off. Often, sellers will cut off the tag that says "made in China" so they can sell it as a genuine-made-in-Jordan item. I am almost positive that a scarf I bought in Egypt was not made in Egypt despite the seller's enthusiastic assurances that it was. The tag was cut off and when I asked him why, he gave me some lame excuse and pretended not to speak enough English to explain it to me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter because I really like the scarf and would have bought it anyway--in fact, I did buy it knowing full well that it probably wasn't made in Egypt.

Another way to determine if something is really locally made is to examine the item itself for signs that it was really hand made. For instance, I found some red Wadi Rum sand inside some pillow covers that were purportedly hand made by Bedouin women in the desert. The sandy dirt was certainly evidence that this was true. And, the pillow covers were all unique, another sign that they were hand made.

There are also some very upscale retailers of local goods, and it is easier to be assured that the items from these stores are handmade locally. They are also of a much higher quality. For example, the Jordan River Foundation, which is chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania, sells beautiful tapestries, hand-woven rugs, and other locally made items. The mission of the JRF is to "empower society, especially women and children, and in turn, improve the quality of life to secure a better future for all Jordanians." Wild Jordan, the business unit of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, operates stores that provide opportunities for local people to make and sell products using local resources and skills. Some of the items available at Wild Jordan stores include jewelry, olive oil and olive oil products (such as soaps), painted ostrich eggs (a traditional Jordanian art and a very popular, but expensive, item in souvenir shops), and organic jams and fruits. And, we must not forget Silsal, and other artist-owned galleries. Of course, one pays more at these places, but the quality of the items is outstanding and you can be sure that the things you buy were made by Jordanian artists.

Silsal

2010-05-02T06:00:00.014-05:00

"Knowledge: the beginning of it is bitter to taste,

but the end is sweeter than honey."

~Samarkand proverb

No question about it! My favorite shop in Amman is Silsal. It is a ceramics gallery, where artists make (and, of course, sell) the most beautiful ceramics pieces you can imagine. And, if they don't have what you are looking for or if you would like something very unique, you can work with the artists to custom design your own piece.

In dramatic contrast to the numerous tourist and souvenir shops around Amman and throughout Jordan, Silsal makes one-of-a-kind art pieces. Most of the pieces reflect traditional Arabic and Islamic art influences, but some are quite modern and abstract. Here's what Silsal's website says:

Silsal is a place for artists and artisans, and for all those who value the unique. Housed in two 1950s villas [in] Jordan’s capital, Amman, we’ve been making inspiring stoneware art pieces for over twenty years now. As for our designs, many reflect hundreds of years of Oriental heritage.What we produce is more than a product – a Silsal ceramic is a work of art. It’s the result of diligent research, skill, and just that little bit of magic.

Several weeks after we discovered Silsal (and after we had already made several visits to the gallery), Charlie started reading Queen Noor's book "Leap of Faith." We were so excited when he came across this excerpt:

I . . . encouraged two creative and enterprising sisters, Rula and Reem Attallah, who started a handmade ceramics business in Amman using designs and calligraphy from ancient Middle Eastern civilizations and Islamic dynasties. We gave their beautiful glazed pieces, many painted with base-relief imagery, as personal and official gifts with great pride. One of my favorites from Silsal Ceramics was--and is--the "Health, Happiness, and Good Fortune" bowl, which uses the unique Islamic art form of Arabic script to promise blessings on its owner. Another favorite . . . bears the very delicate lettering of an eleventh-century Samarkand proverb that translates to "Knowledge: the beginning of it is bitter to taste, but the end is sweeter than honey."

Imagine how smug we felt to have been validated by Queen Noor! We had come across Silsal before reading Queen Noor's book and we had the same reaction to the beautiful pieces that she did. Indeed, two of our favorites were the ones she mentioned. The "knowledge plate," as we call it, immediately drew our attention and instantly became our favorite piece the first time we visited Silsal. (I say "our" because all four of us had the same reaction to the piece.) The one on display was huge--45 centimeters; it was stunning and dramatic due to its size, yet very elegant due to its simplicity. And, we really liked the message (it reminded me of law school!). It is inspired by a piece that is in the permanent collection at the Louvre, and the Silsal artists make the plate in many different color combinations.

Here are a couple examples of Silsal's knowledge plate:

And, this one is the original in the Louvre's collection:

So, if you are ever in Amman, don't miss Silsal, and if you aren't in Amman, visit Silsal online!

Dinner at the Wild Jordan Cafe

2010-05-01T09:17:00.000-05:00

Paul, Charlie and Maggie left Amman today and headed for London. I am leaving on Tuesday and will meet up with them in London. We will spend about a week in London, then a couple of days in Madrid (long story), before we catch our flights back to the United States.

So, we chose our favorite Amman restaurant for dinner last night--well, it's my favorite anyway--Wild Jordan Cafe. Wild Jordan Cafe is a partnership with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature. The RSCN operates several nature preserves in Jordan, including Azraq Nature Preserve and the Azraq Eco-Lodge, which we visited.

The food at Wild Jordan Cafe is delicious and organic, and the view is spectacular--especially at sunset, which is when we were there last night. They also serve a great breakfast on Fridays and Saturdays; we went a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Plus, you can get handmade jewelry and other locally made items in the gift shop.

It's a great place to spend an evening. Or a morning. Or an afternoon.

Spring Flowers

2010-04-21T06:00:00.005-05:00

"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

2010-04-20T06:00:00.005-05:00

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

2010-04-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-18T11:55:00.001-05:00

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

2010-04-17T15:21:00.003-05:00

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

2010-04-16T07:43:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-14T12:06:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-13T13:07:00.001-05:00

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

2010-04-04T06:00:00.014-05:00

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

2010-04-03T07:45:00.012-05:00

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

2010-04-02T05:10:00.000-05:00

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

2010-03-27T06:20:00.001-05:00

"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

2010-03-26T04:41:00.008-05:00

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

2010-03-23T14:00:00.001-05:00

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

2010-03-22T15:24:00.000-05:00

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.

Petra Part II: Getting Around in Petra

2010-03-21T14:04:00.002-05:00

There are all sorts of ways to get around inside Petra. The obvious one is on foot. The vast majority of visitors to Petra see it on foot. However, if you don't want to walk, there are plenty of animals to make your journey easier.

For starters, you can take a horseback ride from just past the Visitor's Center to the entrance to As-Siq.

All non-residents of Jordan are required to buy a 33 JD ticket that includes one-day admission plus a horseback ride. So, almost everyone has already paid for this ride. But, we saw very few people actually take this ride. The distance that the horse can go is not very far at all, and it is an easy downhill walk. Moreover, when you first get there, you are filled with excitement and energy and, therefore, do not feel the need to ride. The time you want the ride is back up the hill at the end of the day when you are tired and hot and hungry and feel like you can't take another step. But, the horses aren't available then!

Once you get to the entrance of the Siq, you have the option to take a horse drawn carriage. The horse drawn carriages are quite beautiful; they are adorned with brightly colored blankets.

They go really fast down the Siq, however, so if you take the ride, you miss out on all the beautiful scenery on your way. And, the key word in that last sentence was "down." The walk through the Siq into Petra is all downhill. Therefore, it's a relatively easy walk. The only obstacles are the uneven cobblestones that cover some parts of the path, and the only dangers are that you will trip while looking up at the amazing overhead views or get runover by a carriage which comes barreling down the narrow Siq at what seems like 150 miles per hour.

We walked and I'm glad we did. We took our time and enjoyed the amazing natural and carved beauty of the Siq. It was one of the highlights of our trip to Petra.

However, coming out is another story. Coming out, the Siq is an uphill walk. It comes at the end of your day when you are hot, tired, and hungry (as I mentioned above), and a ride would be nice at this point. We still did not take the ride and I'm glad we walked out. It gave us another chance to enjoy the Siq, take some more pictures, and generally reflect on our awesome day.

Once we got inside Petra after coming through the Siq, we were bombarded with possibilities for camel rides. There were camels everywhere!

The camels didn't seem to like me much. Every time I got near one hoping to get my picture taken with it, it turned and indicated by a show of big, ugly teeth that it was about to bite me. One stuck out its tongue at me, which was one of the most disgusting gestures I have ever seen any animal make. I wish I had had the wherewithall to take a picture, but I was in a slight state of shock at the gross display and could not decide whether to stand still or run. The tongue looked like a giant internal organ--most likely a bladder, but I'm not sure exactly which organ it looked like. Then, as the camel was moving the tongue around, a frothy foam covered the camel's tongue, lips, and face. If it had been a dog, I would have thought for sure it was rabid.

Although the camels seemed to dislike me, they seemed to like Maggie quite a bit. In fact, it almost seemed as if they swooned in her presence.

Photo by Paul Scudder

As we made our way around the ancient city's first curve, we were again bombarded by offers for rides--this time on donkeys and mules. There were donkeys galore, each with its own entreprenurial Bedouin who tried to convince us that his ride and his price is the best in all of Petra.

We ended up deciding on a donkey ride with Mohammed. Why Mohammed's donkeys? For one thing, he was very persistent. He followed us up a hill with two donkeys. He was nice, and he described, in clearer detail than anyone else, what we would get for our money. I'll have more details about our wild donkey ride up to the Monastery and our journey on to the End of the World in Petra Part III.

Undoubtedly, the horses, camels, and donkeys and their Bedouin owners were part of the ambience of Petra and they are a big part of what makes a visit to Petra such a unique and memorable experience.

Petra Part I: Getting to the Treasury

2010-03-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

We woke up to a steady rain on Thursday morning in Amman. We had big plans to go to Petra for "Petra at Night"--a special opportunity to see Petra by candlelight--on Thursday and then a full day of exploring the ancient Nabataean city carved into the giant rock cliffs in Petra. But, it was raining. It was too late to cancel our hotel reservation without paying for it anyway, so we decided we would go ahead and go, hoping that the rain would stop in time for the candlelight tour of Petra to commence as planned on Thursday evening.

As we put our backpacks into the trunk and got into the car to leave at about 3:00 p.m., the weather was still iffy. But, as we drove out of Amman and into the desert, the sky cleared up and the rain stopped. Yes! It looked like we were going to be lucky.

But, we had driven for about 2 1/2 hours and were deep into the desert and only about 50 kilometers from Petra when our car broke down. It was around 5:30 p.m., so it was beginning to get dark and it was very, very cold in the desert. We were stopped on the side of a two-lane highway which had a fair amount of traffic, but . . . hey . . . it's not like we were eager to get into a car with just anyone out in the middle of the desert! Our driver called his company, which said it would send another car from Amman to pick us up and deliver us to Petra. Well, that was all fine and good, except that Amman was 2 1/2 hours away. We would surely miss Petra at Night, and we would likely be freezing cold by the time the car arrived.

However, we lucked out again! Another driver, who was a friend of our driver, happened to be coming by with a large van and only two passengers. The two passengers--very friendly Brazilian tourists--agreed to share their van with us. So, we all climbed in and made it to Wadi Musa (the town just outside of Petra) just in time to grab a quick bite to eat and make it to Petra at Night. We are extremely grateful to the Brazilians and their driver for picking us up.

You remember Petra from the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Petra is one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Nabateans, who built Petra, were ancient Arab tribes who came to Jordan about 2200 years ago. They controlled the trade routes in southern Jordan, charging tolls and providing protection for caravans carrying valuable cargo, such as Arabian frankincense and myrrh, Indian spices and silks, and African ivory and animal hides.

Petra at Night was awesome! Three nights a week, they light the long As-Siq path and the area in front of the Treasury with hundreds of candles. We waked through the 1200 meter As-Siq gorge to the Treasury where we sat on rugs, sipped warm tea, and listened to Bedouin music and storytelling. The whole experience was well worth the stressful trip and whet our appetites for our daylight visit the next day.

Photo by Paul Scudder

The As-Siq is a long narrow pathway entrance to Petra that winds between tall rock cliffs. (This is the gorge through which Indy and his dad escaped on horseback in the Indiana Jones movie.) The As-Siq gorge contains some of the most amazing rock formations and colors imaginable. It also contains numerous carved terraces, water channels, and decorative sculptures and votive-niches. It is a spectacular entrance to the amazing ancient city.

This photo shows some of the amazing color and layers in the rock walls of As-Siq.

A camel caravan is carved into the rose-colored stone wall of the Siq. Only the camels' feet and a portion of the camel driver remain. This photo shows what remains of the camel driver.

The centerpiece of the ancient city (and the facade of the building in which Indy found the Holy Grail) is the Treasury. The top photo in this post and the Petra at Night photo both show the Treasury. The facade of As-Khazneh ("the Treasury" in Arabic) is enormous--it is 30 meters wide and 43 meters high. What makes the Treasury all the more spectacular is how you come upon it after walking through the long, narrow, shadowy As-Siq.

The inside walls of the Treasury have some of the most amazing color in all of Petra.

Getting to the Treasury (twice--once at night and then again during the daylight) felt like a huge accomplishment. The weather cooperated; we had perfect weather on both of our visits: Thursday night was crisp and clear, Friday was sunny--not a cloud in the sky--and cool. But, the Treasury was just the beginning of our great day in Petra. We had the rest of the day to explore this archeological wonderland! And, we made it all the way to the End of the World. Stay tuned; I'll get to that . . . .

Safire's Rules of Writing

2010-03-19T07:00:00.001-05:00

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

Nonsense!

2010-03-18T07:00:00.002-05:00

"Nonsense like girls walking 10 kilometres every day on empty stomachs to find water for their families; nonsense like girls denied the chance to go to school for a lifetime of cooking, cleaning and childcare; nonsense like girls thrust into marriages they’re too young to understand. . . . For over 600 million girls around the world, this nonsensical reality is their daily reality where the four walls of inequality, injustice, indignity, and ignorance close in around them, limiting their potential at a time when it should be limitless."

This is an excerpt from Her Majesty Queen Rania's speech at the "Women in the World" summit at the Hudson Theatre in New York City. The Jordan Times reports more about the conference and Queen Rania's speech emphasizing the importance of educating girls in impoverished areas around the world.

Women May Soon Be Eligible for Appointment as Judges in Egypt

2010-03-17T14:55:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, Egypt's Constitutional Court issued an opinion opening the door for the appointment of women judges in Egypt by reversing a previous decision by the General Assembly of State Council to exclude women from the judiciary. The General Assembly had voted by an overwhelming majority in February to prohibit women from being given judicial appointments. The Constitutional Court's decision came as a result of a "request for clarification" by Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif. The Constitutional Court voted that the general assembly did not have the power to decide the issue and that the decision about whether to appoint women judges is within the administrative committee's jurisdiction.

The administrative committee will take up the question next week. If the administrative committee decides to approve women judicial candidates, then women would be eligible for judicial appointment by presidential decree following approval of the candidate by the administrative committee.

The Jordan Times reports about the Egyptian Constitutional Court's decision here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day--Brought to you by a Rainy Spring in Jordan

2010-03-17T02:17:00.001-05:00

This has been the rainiest spring Jordan has had in about twenty years. This photo shows green hills and an olive grove. Usually, these hills are brown, but the spring rain has brought lots of green--just in time for St. Patrick's Day. In the center of the photo, you will see a lake. This is one of the main dammed water sources for Jordan. Even with the heavy rain, it is currently at just over 60% capacity. But, that is considered a very good water storage level. Last year at this time, the water level was at about 37% of capacity. Jordan is the 4th poorest country in the world in terms of water.

Photo by Ayyam Safady.

Desert Castles

2010-03-16T06:11:00.002-05:00

On our way to the Azraq Wetlands Nature Preserve, we stopped at three desert castles. Paul took the above photo at Qasr al-Kharraneh. This might be my favorite photo of all time. Well, at least it's a contender for that title.

These castles were not like European castles at all (no Neuschwanstein here!!). They never housed Royalty (as far as archeologists know). But, they are big, expansive, unique places in the desert, so they are called castles.

Qasr al-Kharraneh was cool because of all the nooks and crannies and how the tiny windows were perfectly placed and proportioned to let in the light and air but keep out the heat and rain. This was, by far, the most photogenic of the three castles because of the way the light hit the inside doorways, angles, and windows. When you look at the picture below, you can see a lot of small slits in the facade; these are all windows that are set at different angles to illuminate the rooms inside and create "air conditioning" so that the inside was amazingly cool despite the high desert temperatures outside.

Qusayr Amra was an 8th century bath house. It was my favorite because of the ancient Islamic frescos covering the walls and ceiling and because it had a sauna and steam room--right smack in the middle of the one of the hottest, driest areas in the world.

The last one was Qsar al-Azraq, a 300 AD Roman fortress, which was made from the unique black Azraq stone. The stones were simply piled together to make the structure; there did not appear to be any cement or mud or anything else holding the stones together. (I'm glad there wasn't an earthquake while we were visiting this castle.) This structure has been used over the years by many different groups of people, including T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).

Read Paul's blog post about the desert castles.
Read Charlie's blog post about the desert castles.
Read Maggie's blog post about the desert castles (and do not--I repeat--DO NOT miss the Water Buffalo Song. If you do, you will be very, very sorry--I'm not kidding--you will be haunted by this thought: "how could I have missed the Water Buffalo Song? Why didn't I just click the link?").

See my photos from the Jordan Desert Castles here.

What Beats Finding Bones in the Desert?

2010-03-15T07:14:00.006-05:00

. . . Not much, that's for sure! But a grazing herd of water buffalo gives it a run for its money. We arrived at the Azraq Wetlands Nature Preserve just in time to see about 12-15 water buffalo grazing near the Visitor's Center. This one was kind enough to pose (with a mouthful of grass):

The wetlands have become drylands for the most part. The natural oaisis that existed here for about 250,000 years completely dried up in 1991, at least party due to water being diverted to nearby agricultural activities and to Amman. As if to add insult to injury, a fire destroyed much of the preserve just a few months ago. You can see part of the charred area in this photo:

Conservationists pump in 10,000,000 cubic meters (that's about 353,146,667 cubic feet) of water each year to preserved the little bit of wetland that remains (you can see the small area above) for the animals that come to this area to drink and munch on the vegetation (much of which was all burned up in the recent fire). The current wetland area is about 10% of the original wetlands.

Also, nearby is the "mud flat" which is a large muddy area covered with shallow water where animals and birds congregate to cool off and get a drink.

On the dry edge of the mud flat area is where we saw the bones. These are probably the bones of a sheep or goat.

We stayed over night in the Azraq Eco-Lodge. The lodge was originally a hospital built by the British during World War II, and it is typical of British outpost buildings with a low ceiling to keep things cool during the hot, hot summer months in the desert. The building was used as a boys' school following World War II. The lobby has a fabulous collection of photographs of the building, the people who have used it, and the Azraq area over the past 70 years.

The rooms were very comfortable, clean, and roomy. The staff was extremely helpful and nice. Here is the great view from our room:

We enjoyed hanging out on the canopy covered patio.

We were served a traditional Chechen dinner, made by local cooks using local ingredients. Delicious! Following dinner, we were treated to a movie about the desert ecosystem and wildlife. The movie highlighted the plight of the Arabian Oryx, which is this animal:

The Oryx lives primarily in the desert of Saudi Arabia, but had become almost extinct. Due to an international cooperative effort led by Saudi Arabia, and including Jordan and the United States among others, the Oryx is making a comeback.

We had a wonderful, relaxing time in Azraq and got to see and learn about an amazing and unique ecosystem.

See my other photos from the Azraq Wetlands Nature Preserve and Mud Flat here.

Oh What a View From Mount Nebo!

2010-03-12T11:42:00.001-06:00

This is where Moses saw the Promised Land, and then died. There is a spectacular view of the Jordan River Valley and the West Bank from up here. And, if you look at what Moses saw when he got to the top of Mount Nebo, you can fully understand why, after already walking through the desert for 40 years, he called it quits at the top of Mount Nebo!

Golda Meir said "Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil."

Check out Maggie's incredibly awesome blog post about our trip to Mount Nebo. See my other photos from Mount Nebo (and Madaba and Bethany Beyond the Jordan) here.

The Lowest Place on Earth: The Dead Sea

2010-03-11T15:48:00.003-06:00

The ritual is to cover yourself with mud . . .

. . . and then float in the water . . .

That's Charlie, kicked back, floating in the Dead Sea reading the Jordan Times.

There is so much salt in the water--it's about ten times saltier than ordinary sea water--that not only do you float effortlessly as if you were on an invisible raft, but also it is virtually impossible to stand up even if you want to. With every step, your feet just pop up and it's hard to get them back down.

The water is so salty that nothing lives in the water--no fish and no plant life. But, the minerals and oils in the mud and water are supposed to be good for your skin, and floating effortlessly in the water is very relaxing. It is said that even King Herod the Great and Cleopatra came to bask in the relaxing and rejuvenating mud, water, and sun. The water is rich in magnesium, sodium, potasium, bromide, and other minerals. And, get this: supposedly the water vapor that rises from the surface of the Dead Sea provides a natural sunscreen!

The Dead Sea is more like a lake than a sea, and it is getting smaller all the time. It is dropping one meter every year, and has already lost a third of its surface area. At the current rate of evaporation, it is expected to drop from 411 meters below sea level to almost 1500 meters below sea level by 2025.

Jericho is plainly visible on the other side and, at night, I could see the lights of Jerusalem just over the hill on the West Bank.

Photo Credit: Muddy People courtesy of Maggie Scudder; Charlie Floating courtesy of Paul Scudder. See more of Maggie's pictures from our weekend at the Dead Sea here. See my photos from the Dead Sea here.

Writers on Writer's Block

2010-03-10T14:41:00.000-06:00

"Writing comes more easily if you have something to say" ~Sholem Asch

"The only cure for writer's block is insomnia." ~Merit Antares

"Writing is a struggle against silence." Carlos Fuentes

"All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If I'm trying to sleep, the ideas won't stop. If I'm trying to write, there appears a barren nothingness." ~Carrie Latet

"What things there are to write, if one could only write them! My mind is full of gleaming thought; gay moods and mysterious, moth-like meditations hover in my imagination, fanning their painted wings. But always the rarest, those streaked with azure and the deepest crimson, flutter away beyond my reach." ~Logan Pearsall Smith

That last one is my favorite, but I don't think Logan Pearsall Smith really had writer's block--do you? So, what do you do to get past writer's block?

It's International Women's Day and Jordan is Celebrating Women in the Legal Profession

2010-03-08T10:05:00.002-06:00

Today is International Women's Day and to celebrate, Jordan is focusing on highlighting the expanded role of women in the judiciary and legal profession. Special events were held at the Ministry of Justice to celebrate "Women in the Judiciary Branch and the Legal Professions."

Currently, 48 of the Kingdom's 700 judges and 17% of the Kingdom's lawyers are women. Asma Khader, Jordanian National Commission for Women Secretary General, would like to see more women appointed as prosecutors and judges.

Among the improvements in women's rights that have occurred in the past few years in Jordan are the following:

*Publication of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), thus eliminating restrictions on freedom of mobility and residency rights and providing the basis for civil law suits for certain discrimination claims.

*New laws have been enacted to add family protections and to stiffen the prohibitions against human trafficking.

*A special tribunal has been created to hear "honor killing" cases, leading to these cases being treated as regular murders carrying stiffer penalties.

*The "Family Reconciliation House" was created to provide help and protection for abused women.

*Women make up 15% of the workforce, compared with 12.3% in 1995.

However, women's rights advocates say more protection is still needed. In particular, advocates say that the government needs to focus on issues facing women related to the high rate of unemployment, poverty, and lack of education.

The Jordan Times has more on International Women's Day in Jordan.

UPDATE: The Jordan Times reports here about the International Women's Day Program at the Ministry of Justice:

Appeals Judge Ihsan Barakat, director of the AWLN who also holds the distinction of being the first female chief of court in Jordan and the region, highlighted the role of all women in the field who have achieved “quantitative and qualitative progress”.

“We, in the Jordanian judiciary have adapted to the new reality where women have become an integral part of the human resources that advance the mission of the judiciary,” she said.

Barakat also highlighted the Kingdom’s achievement in backing women’s participation in the public interest.

“Proudly, I can say that our fellow male judges have stood by our side rather than standing in the way… The way forward is to continue to judge human beings objectively based on appreciation for good conduct, accountability and the quality of performance without any discrimination on the basis of gender,” she added.

And the Oscar Goes To . . .

2010-03-07T16:17:00.002-06:00

With two locally-filmed movies contending for Oscars this year, Jordanians are watching tonight's Academy Awards with a little added enthusiasm. "The Hurt Locker," which is nominated for several Academy Awards, was filmed in Jordan. Sites in east Amman, southern Amman, the desert area of Swaqa, and Madaba were made to look like war-ravaged Iraq for the movie. Many of the locations were filmed just as they are; the street vendors and shops look very much like those found throughout Iraq, especially in Bagdad. The movie generated over $7 million in Jordan, and employed 300 Jordanians as extras and another 25-30 as actors in the film. Also, a nominee for Best Sound Mixing, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" was partially filmed in Wadi Rum and Petra.

Of course, other famous films, such as "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," have also been filmed here.

Jordan is a very film-industry-friendly country. His Majesty King Abdullah is said to be interested in the film industry and very supportive of filming in Jordan. He appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager while he was still a prince. Recently, when "Transformers" Revenge of the Fallen" was filming in Jordan, King Abdullah sent 38 military helicopters to help transport equipment to Petra. In partnership with the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, His Majesty created the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts at Aqaba.

UPDATE: "The Hurt Locker" dominated the Oscars, winning six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and it even beat out "Transformers" for Best Sound Mixing. Interestingly, "The Hurt Locker" is the lowest theater grossing movie in modern history (i.e., since big box office blockbusters became the norm) to win Best Picture; it earned about 2% of the amount earned by James Cameron's blockbuster "Avatar." While film critics and the Academy loved "The Hurt Locker," some soldiers and the Department of Defense thought the movie was inaccurate and made the military look unprofessional.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Check out this great article in the Jordan Times about the making of The Hurt Locker.

Hemingway's Message: Stop Procrastinating!

2010-03-07T14:32:00.001-06:00

For all of you out there who are putting off writing your magnum opus (or doing anything else you've always dreamed of), consider the dying thoughts of the narrator of Hemingway's Snows of Kilimanjaro: "Now he would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well. Well, he would not have to fail at trying to write them either. Maybe you could never write them, and that was why you put them off and delayed the starting. Well he would never know, now."

[H/T Lyrissa Lidsky at PrawfsBlawg for the great quote!]

Study Shows Modest Improvements in Women's Rights in the Middle East

2010-03-04T14:40:00.002-06:00

According to a study by Freedom House, a Washington D.C.-based NGO, modest progress in women's rights has been made over the past five years in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Speaking about the complexity of women's rights issues in the Middle East, Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House stated:

“There are more women entrepreneurs, more women doctors, more women Ph.Ds, and more women in universities, than ever before. However, substantial roadblocks remain for women pursuing careers. For instance, women in Saudi Arabia are allowed to earn law degrees, but not to appear in court on behalf of their clients, . . . and these same women are still subject to abuse at home, lack child guardianship rights, and are legally compelled to be ‘obedient’ to their husbands.”

In Jordan, several new laws and programs protect women's rights and give women a greater voice in the political process. In addition, Jordanian women have taken a more active role in the judiciary and bar. The Jordan Times reports:

"In 1996, . . . the Kingdom had only one female judge, compared with 48 today, while 60 per cent of the Jordan Judicial Institute’s students are women in addition to 90 out of 162 students accepted into the Justice Ministry’s Future Judges Programme, which aims to provide the local judiciary system with top class judges."

Fifteen of the 18 countries included in the survey showed some improvement in women's rights. But, of the 18 countries surveyed, Jordan and Tunisia are the only countries that offer legal protection against domestic violence. The only countries to show actual declines in women's rights were Iraq, Yemen, and the Palestinian Territories.

You can access the full report for each country here, and the Freedom House press release is here.

A Message From The Queen

2010-03-03T15:27:00.000-06:00

The Jordan Times reports here that Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan spoke at her alma mater, the American University in Cairo, and encouraged students to become more involved in public service activities. She also emphasized the importance of universities encouraging their students to become more involved in public service work by integrating civic engagement opportunities into their curricula.

Queen Rania said, "often, social progress doesn't come from governments looking down, directing change. It comes from communities, families and individuals looking up, driving society forward themselves, fueled by nothing more than an idea or instinct to do good. It comes from civic engagement." More civic engagement by young people is also important, Queen Rania emphasized, to improve the image of the Middle East throughout the world. She said, "I'm tired of the Middle East being perceived as a fractious, fragmented region, when we're renowned for our loving devotion to our families . . . when our culture is built on a foundation of compassion and charity."

I applaud and support Queen Rania for her commitment to encouraging public service among the young people of the region. Moreover, her call on universities to lead the way by instilling in their students a commitment to civic engagement and public service is laudable.

I think an important part of our responsibility as law professors is to provide opportunities for our students to learn to appreciate their civic responsibility as lawyers. Being a lawyer is an enormous privilege, but with this privilege comes important responsibilities. Dean Charles Hamilton Houston said, “A lawyer who is not a social architect is a social parasite.” The starting point is teaching students how to be professionally ethical, but we have an obligation to do more. We must strive to inspire in our students an appreciation of the potential of the law to improve people’s lives and to help students recognize their responsibility to use the law to effectuate positive change.

Watching Television in Amman

2010-02-28T13:57:00.001-06:00

We have been stuck inside all weekend while Amman has been pounded by rain, hail, and high winds. Luckily, Jordanian television provides plenty of good choices in English--a constant, varied selection of American TV shows and movies.

The movies are often heavily edited, and I can't figure out any rhyme or reason to the editing. For example, sometimes a particular word will be cut out and sometimes the same word will be left in. Some violent scenes are cut out, and others are left in. Sometimes a kiss is deleted, and sometimes kisses stay in the movie. Sometimes the cuts are hard to detect, but things just don't quite make sense and the dialog doesn't quite match up with the part of the story that you've seen.

The commercials seem to occur at odd moments, as if they are just randomly inserted. In addition, there are very few commercials and the same ones run over and over again; often the same commercial runs two or three times during the same commercial break. Here is a typical TV commercial:

Some VERY Good Advice for Writers

2010-02-27T12:42:00.001-06:00

"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." ~Mark Twain

This reminds me of a conversation during an Intercultural Workshop I attended in Germany on the topic of Americans' overuse of superlatives. I was the only American in the room to defend us all, and I wasn't an effective defender because I'm very damn fond of using superlatives.

I Get My Dinner From a Garbage Can

2010-02-26T07:57:00.000-06:00

Yellow Is The New White

2010-02-25T07:58:00.000-06:00

Nobody Walks in Amman

2010-02-24T12:50:00.002-06:00

It's quite a coincidence that just as I was preparing this blog post about how no one walks in Amman, the New York Times posted an article--"Sidewalks, and an Identity, Sprout in Jordan's Capital"--about how Amman's urban planners are adding and improving sidewalks, benches, and parks in order to encourage more walking and outdoor recreational activity and achieve a lifestyle consistent with its motto: "A livable city is an organized city--with a soul."

My observation has been that very few people walk outside any distance farther than from their car to the building they want to enter. There are probably many reasons for the lack of walkers in Amman--ranging from cultural and habit to the absence of "walkable" sidewalks and the availability of inexpensive transportation.

The sidewalks seem to be more like obstacle courses than walkways. They are bumpy and torn up in many places. Trees adorn and sometimes fill the sidewalk (as is shown in the photo above). The roots from the trees have caused the pavement to buckle in many places. Sidewalks dip deeply for driveways, requiring a pedestrian to go up and down inclines or even actual steps frequently. Sidewalks are covered with other impediments to free travel, such as trash cans, guard houses, parked cars, and other things. Sidewalks often end, sometimes mid-block, for no apparent reason; perhaps the builders just ran out of stone bricks or concrete. People who do walk often end up walking in the street, between the traffic lanes and the parked cars.

Add to the problem of the sidewalks that don't invite pedestrian traffic this: taxis are cheap here. Really cheap. Really, really cheap. A taxi ride that might cost $20 or more in New York City might cost about the equivalent of $1.50 or less here. Really cheap. Why walk when you can ride for next to nothing?

Nevertheless, I really like to walk. I walk to and from work every day, and home and back for lunch. My walk is a series of turns and veers designed to avoid running into trees, guard houses, holes in the sidewalk, parked cars, moving cars, trash cans, wires mysteriously strung across the sidewalk at about neck level (this is the strangest of all of the obstacles I encounter on my walk to work), low hanging branches, and any other surprise that might have popped up since the last time I walked my route.

I hope that walkable sidewalks will pop up all over Amman. I imagine that it will still take a serious cultural shift to change Amman from a driving-city to a walking-city. Los Angeles has plenty of fine sidewalks and yet no one walks there. People are, after all, creatures of habit.

Happy Hump Day!

2010-02-24T08:00:00.007-06:00

Actually, yesterday (Tuesday) was hump-day in Jordan since the weekend is Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday.

Views From the Amman Citadel

2010-02-23T08:00:00.006-06:00

The Amman Citadel (in Arabic, Jabal al-Qal'a), situated on one of Amman's seven jabals (hills), is the site of one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited places, and it symbolizes the birthplace of the world's three monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The photo above depicts the ruins of the Temple of Hercules. The banner photo on this blog shows the Umayyad Palace. The photos below show some of the great views from the Citadel.

Hey . . . is Daniel in there?

2010-02-22T11:00:00.003-06:00

"Daniel in the Lion's Den" was one of my favorite stories when I was a kid; I used to make my mom tell it over and over. The story is basically that Daniel was too good--the king liked him too much--so his jealous comrades threw him in the lion's den. He emerged unscathed, leading people to think he had close connections to the Almighty.

This is exactly how I imagined the lion's den to look. This is a small alcove off the Jerash Hippodrome, which is where the Roman gladiator battles, chariot races, and other violent human competitions (some of which involved wild animals) occurred.

When water just won't do . . .

2010-02-21T10:13:00.001-06:00

. . . have some Wine of the Holy Land.

Jerash

2010-02-20T06:08:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, we made our first venture outside of Amman and visited the ancient Roman city ruins at Jerash. It was amazing, and, although I have selected a few pictures from the hundreds I took, none of the pictures do this place justice. Our visit to Jerash was a multi-sensory experience. Our experience was shaped not only by sight, but also by sound, smell, touch, and taste. I'll get back to that in a moment; first, some history.

People have inhabited Jerash for more than 6500 years. General Pompey conquered the area in 63 BC and it came under Roman rule. It was one of the ten great Roman Cities. While it was under Roman rule, Jerash was known as "Gerasa," and it is one of the best preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. The ancient Roman city, which has been undergoing excavation and restoration for the past 70 years, includes examples of stone-paved and colonnaded streets, hilltop temples, theatres with amazing acoustics, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains, and city walls.

My son's blog explains the Biblical significance of Jerash:

In Luke 8:26, Jerash is referred to as the "region of the Garasenes." If you know your bible well, [you know that] this is where Jesus banishes the demons from the man and sends them into the swine who jump off the cliff. Later, in the same chapter (Luke 8), Jesus is touched by the sick woman wanting to be healed in the street and then Jesus is taken to the house where a daughter is claimed to be dead. Jesus simply says "Stop wailing . . . she is not dead but asleep . . . My child, get up!" and up she goes.

In addition, Byzantine Christians conducted an annual ceremony at this red marble fountain commemorating Jesus's turning water into wine.

So, back to our multi-sensory visit to Jerash. Our visit to Jerash stimulated all of our senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.

Sight:

Of course, there was much to see. The ruins are at the top of a high hill (though not the highest point in the area) and so the views were spectacular.

This next photo shows a portion of a mosaic floor in a bath house. The tiles are completely exposed to the sun and other weather, so they have faded a lot and many tiles from the large floor are destroyed or missing. I enhanced the color on this photograph to show my estimation of what the floor might have looked like when it was in use. (Notice the peacock!)

This photo shows part of a fountain with some Roman lettering.

This photo shows the Temple of Artemis. Artemis is the patron goddess of the city. This was supposedly the most beautiful temple in the city and was decorated with beautiful marble paneling.

Hearing:

We visited Jerash on Friday, which is the day of Salat al-Jumu'ah, the Muslim Friday congregational prayer. Salat al-Jumu'ah consists of a khutba (a sermon) followed by Raka'ah (part of the Salat ritual). The khutba is broadcast from the mosques' minarets. Consequently, we heard the sounds of the voices from all directions saying the khutba. Mostly we heard spoken voices, but occasionally, we also heard the beautiful singing.

Added to that amazing sound, there was the sound of bagpipe music. This picture shows the man who played the bagpipes in the old Roman theater. The acoustics were so good that the sound of the bagpipes could be heard all over the area of the ancient ruins (plus, bagpipes are just loud anyway).

Touch:

One of the things that makes the ruins at Jerash unique is that visitors are allowed to touch and even climb on the ruins. Here is a picture of Maggie on top of a giant wall.

Smell:

The spring wild flowers were in bloom. They were beautiful and stimulated not only our sense of smell, but also our allergies!

Taste:

After spending about two and a half hours touring the ruins, we were ready for an authentic Jordanian lunch, which we had at the Jordan House Restaurant. This was our first "local" meal. Our lunch was significantly more expensive than we expected (50 JD = $70). We should have guessed that it would be expensive since it was the only restaurant at the Jerash ruins--the second most popular tourist destination in Jordan (Petra is first). But, it was delicious! I especially liked the salad bar, from which we indulged in lots of fresh vegetable salads as well as some especially yummy hummus, labneh, and baba ghanoush.

See the rest of my photos from Jerash here.

Our Night at the Jordan Hospital

2010-02-19T15:49:00.000-06:00

Our second night here (last Monday), we had an unexpected trip to the emergency room at Jordan Hospital. Paul (my husband) had been having some chest pain and shortness of breath, and it got much worse on Monday afternoon. So we decided to go to the ER.

They very quickly concluded that Paul hadn't had a heart attack by doing an EKG, a chest X-ray, and a complete blood work-up. I mean, they had completed all these tests and he had been seen multiple times by the doctor within 45 minutes of our walking in the door! That's quick service for an ER.

But his blood pressure was extremely high, so they ended up admitting him to the CCU for further tests and observation and to get the blood pressure down. The next morning they did a coronary catheterization, the results of which were normal. So, health crisis averted!

But, we were going to have to pay for all this!

We have insurance, but it is through a U.S. insurer, so we have to pay all the bills up front and then submit them for reimbursement. When they told me I would have to pay the entire bill, I asked "right now?" And, they said "no, tomorrow morning will be fine." (Ha! I meant "can I pay in a few weeks,"--"over time" as we say in the US--but I didn't elaborate.) So, I got a little bit worried about not having enough cash to cover a night in the CCU, including medicine, plus a coronary catheterization procedure, on top of the EKG, chest X-ray, and complete blood work-up that had already been done. But, it turned out that the bill was only 700 JD, which is about $1000. I think it costs more than that to walk into a hospital in the United States! In fact, this was cheaper than the $1400 vet bill we had to pay when our dog spent one night in the animal ER after eating chocolate.

So, I was able to "bail" Paul out of the hospital the next day with a credit card.

The hospital was well equipped. We felt very comfortable with the treatment Paul got, and we were very pleasantly surprised that the cost was so reasonable. His cardiologist was Johns-Hopkins trained in the US and American Board Certified, and all the residents were excellent in both their medical and English skills. Everyone was extremely nice to us even though we are non-Arabic speaking, "uninsured" (from the hospital's perspective) foreigners. The moral of the story is that everything was done quickly, efficiently, and at a very reasonable cost.

Moreover, my new colleagues at the ABA were a huge help to us--several of them stopped by to visit him, make sure he was being well cared for by the best doctors, and that we were not being overcharged. Although it is stressful to have to take your husband to the ER on your second day in a foreign country (and, of course, it's stressful for the husband to be taken to the ER under these circumstances), the whole experience was made much easier by the support and kindness of our new friends at the ABA.

At the Jordan House Restaurant . . .

2010-02-19T15:33:00.000-06:00

We started with a delicious array of salads and appetizers . . .

and finished with the yummy "mixed grill."

The Tourist Police

2010-02-19T09:23:00.000-06:00

Are they for us or against us?

Ahlan wa sahlan Amman!

2010-02-18T14:53:00.000-06:00

I wrote this on Sunday--our second day here. My blog wasn't working so I couldn't post it until today.

Here we are in Amman, Jordan. Why are we here, you ask? I will be working with the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative program with the University of Jordan. I’ll write more about the details of my work here later. I am extremely grateful to the ABA for giving me this opportunity, and I am looking forward to our three months in the Middle East.

We arrived in Amman late on Saturday night. As we flew in over Tel Aviv, it dawned on me how far we have traveled, literally and figuratively, since we left our home in Texas last summer. I never in my wildest imagination could have anticipated what a wild and fabulous adventure this year would be.

Our apartment is wonderful and roomy (just like our apartment in Germany was). It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a large kitchen, a dining room and a living room. It is fully furnished.

Here, the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday, so Sunday is a workday. I was excited to be able to go into the office this morning and meet my new colleagues. My apartment is within walking distance of the ABA office, so—like in Germany—I will be able to walk to work.

We live in the area where the foreign embassies are located. Therefore, my walk to work takes me past several embassies, each of which has a heavily armed guard protecting its gate. I’m not sure if the big guns make me feel safer or less safe, but they most certainly make my walk to work unique. In addition to the guns, there are dozens of stray cats that greet me on my walk to work.

Last night we got in late and, although we each had one bottle of water with us, we did not have dinner before we got to our apartment. It took us a couple of hours to figure out where we could get food, and finally we found a website promising that KFC delivers until midnight. So, at about 11:30 p.m. we were eating KFC. Our first priority today was to get food, water, and other supplies.

One of my ABA colleagues took us to Safeway Supermarket—our first supermarket in six months! There, we experienced severe culture shock—but in a good way. So many choices! In Germany, the grocery stores we went to were very small, and most of the time we shopped in specialty shops, such as a bakery for bread, a butchery for meat, a farmer’s market for fruits and vegetables, etc. There were a few product choices, but nothing like what we were used to in the U.S. (Of course, there were large supermarkets in Germany, but we didn't go to them because we didn't have a car.) But, today, we went to a gigantic supermarket and were bombarded with 50 kinds of cereal, 80 kinds of shampoo, and anything else we could think of wanting—just like back home in the U.S.A. It was a two-story store with food downstairs and an entire department store upstairs. “American” products were plentiful.

We got back to our apartment and tried to figure out the stove, which we could not get turned on previously. After a near disaster with a defective gas tank, we learned there was something wrong with the stove. This led to an eventful afternoon, including our discovery that our apartment comes with a “helper,” who is a delightful guy who will do for us anything we ask—run errands, take us places, call taxis for us, pick things up for us, etc.

But here was the highlight of the day for me: as we were standing on the steps out in front of our apartment building, waiting for a taxi to pick us up, I heard the most amazing sound I have ever heard. It was the call to prayer. This was the first time I had heard it because our apartment overlooks the back of the building, away from the mosques, and so it is hard to hear the “adhan” from inside our apartment or on our balcony. Of course, I have heard audio recordings of this before, but that was nothing like standing there and hearing it in person. It was amazing and I’ll never forget it. I know I will hear it many, many more times while I’m here, but I hope I never get so used to it that I don’t stop and take it in.

So, my initial thoughts: In many ways, Amman is much more like the United States than is any city we visited in Germany. The climate reminds me of Southern California—warm days, cool nights—and even the architecture is similar. Also, there are many more English channels on TV and “American” products in the grocery store than we found in Germany. But, in other ways, of course, Amman is very different from the United States. There are sights and sounds that we could only hear on this side of the globe. There is history here far more ancient even than what we saw in Germany. There are hundreds of satellite dishes dotting the flat roofs of the houses and dominating the skyline. The Arabic subtitles on the English TV shows and Arabic logos alongside the familiar logos of the American food products are a distinct reminder that we are far, far from both Texas and Bavaria!

All New Adventure Bag

2010-02-18T13:53:00.000-06:00

Talk about frustrating--just as I was moving to Amman, Jordan, my blog--the original Adventure Bag--crashed. Actually, the blog itself didn't crash--it's still there at www.FountaineOnline.com--but the software I use to post crashed. I have no idea what the problem is, but I couldn't wait any longer to blog about my experiences in Amman. So, I have created this new blog. Same idea; slightly different URL. I hope you will follow my adventures in Amman, Jordan and beyond here on this new blog.

I started the Adventure Bag blog just before my family and I moved to Germany for six-months were I was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Bayreuth. Our time in Germany ended last week. I already miss Bayreuth--my friends, colleagues, and students.

On Saturday, we packed up and moved to Amman, Jordan. Our first week in Jordan has been fabulous. Stay tuned for more about my visit to Jordan!