Peace be with you

Greetings (again) from Jordan! Looks like I might finally get up to date on my posts here, in sha' allah (god willing).

There are (still) so many stories to share about Egypt - like how Egyptian men are big flirts (Dad recieved an offer of 1 million camels for me in Aswan), watching my dad have a cobra placed around his neck or getting under, and down on the floor, with a Whirling Dervish and then trying it for myself....I think my head is still spinning from that experience!

We arrived in Jordan on Sunday afternoon. Jordan has been an unexpected surprise for me. I don't know what I was expecting - a smaller version of Egypt perhaps. Instead I have found that Jordan is everything Egypt is not; clean, white, organised. Heck, even the drivers use their headlights at night here! However I have found that the Jordanian people are perhaps not quite as friendly or open as the Egyptians. I suspect that may be because it is a much more conservative (muslim) society than in Egypt. In the time that I have been here, I have only seen a handful of local women not wearing a head scarf.

I have to admit that I also wasn't expecting so much Roman ruins nor so much biblical history here in Jordan. Needless to say, as an atheist / buddhist, I have never had (nor had any inclination for) religious or Christen education.

I have been learning a bit more Arabic and a bit more about Islam since arriving. Our guide has been going to great lengths to stress that some fundamentalists have twisted the religion for their own purposes (which of course happens in all religions). Muslims are, eg, required to honour and respect other religions. You gotta give a religion, any religion, credit for that. I also like the fact that the standard greeting, in English, is 'peace be with you'.

On Monday, our first full day here, we headed out of the city to Jerash which is considered the best preserved Roman city here in Jordan. At its peak, its occupants would have numbered around 40,000. Later in the afternoon we visited a Roman fort.

Yesterday, we had a city tour in Amman including visiting a mosque and citadel. From there, we travelled south (stopping a few times including to view the Dead Sea Scrolls) to arrive here at the town on Petra. Tourist central of course but then again, the ruins here at Petra were recently voted as one of the 7 wonders of the new world. Last night was an (unexpected) highlight of the whole trip for me. 3 nights each week, Petra by Night is held. Basically the path from the tourist gate all the way to the building called the Treasury - it is the classic building that you see in all adds/articles etc for Petra - was lit by 1,500 candles. We were encouraged to walk in silence to make the most of the atmosphere; of course the definition of silence varies for some people. The path first follows a wide canyon before it narrows. Once it narrows, the walls of it soar overhead; sometimes you can only see patches of sky & stars. The walk to the Treasury took around 45 mins. I can't describe what its like to see the Treasury for the first time. You catch a glimpse of it, towering overhead, between the canyon walls. I was with 3 other people when we first caught a glimpse of it for the first time - and all of us said 'oh my god' almost simultaneously. Once we arrived we were ushered to mats on the ground for a seat, before being asked to observe 2 mins silence which was followed by some traditional Jordanian music & singing and stories about their culture. I was laying on the ground, looking up at this marvel, listening to the music & thinking to myself 'how blessed am I'. Quite simply one of the most special experiences of my life; I feel very privileged to have experienced it.

Today we spent the whole day in the ancient city of Petra. I was very surprised & amazed by it; I never expected the city to be so extensive. My dad, who never uses a superlative other than 'good', actually said he was 'gobsmacked' and described it as 'magic'. Unfortunately neither words or photos will do the ruins justice - so you'll just have to come & visit it for yourself ;-)

Tomorrow we are off to the Dead Sea where I am looking forward to a swim, um I mean float. And then on Saturday, I fly - via Egypt & Kenya - to Tanzania. Stay tuned....