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Things we noticed about Jordan

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One of the most fabulous skies we have ever seen
  •  Jordan is bordered by Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia
  • Jordanians are warm and welcoming
  • Lots of people smoke- even 14 year-old kids
  • There are police check points on the major highways
  • Flash-flooding and road wash-outs are problems when it rains
  • Hummus is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner but not with shawarma
  • Shawarmas contain only meat and garlic sauce and are grilled on a panini press.  Pickled vegetables are served on the side.
  • Pita is cheap and delicious and it is called 'shrak'
  • Bedouin hospitality includes lots of tea
  • Bedouin scarves are worn in different styles depending on the part of the country you are in
  • Kids ride donkeys and tether them with old electrical wires
  • Donkeys eat out of the trash cans
  • Grown men get very excited when they see rain
  • Shooting pistols in the desert is a past time
  • Scarves are very useful when the wind blows the sand
  • Food is flavoured but not spicy
  • Weather is cooler than we predicted
  • A lot of people offer donkey and camel rides for a living
  • Petra is one of the world's most visited sites
  • Kids play outside barefoot and play with old car tires
  • Bedouins eat on the floor
  • Bedouins who continue to choose to live in caves use solar power to charge their cellphones
  • There are very few access points to the Dead Sea.  Most of the shoreline is made up of steep cliffs 
  • Jordan's landscape is very varied
  • Jordan is a very biblically relevant place
  • Many historical relics remain in tact
  • There are many tourists resorts by the Dead Sea
  • Rural highways can be in significant disrepair
  • When driving, you never know when a herd of animals will cross the road
  • We saw roadside camels, sheep, donkeys, horses, dogs, cats and mules
  • Much of Jordan's land is rocky wilderness
  • There was more greenery in Jordan than we expected
  • Many houses hope for an additional storey and leave rebar protruding from the concrete to allow for this
  • The climate allow for fairly rickety housing structures
  • We didn't see anyone out walking, running or biking.  
  • We heard the call to prayer over loudspeakers 5x/day
  • All Jordanian women we saw had some form of head covering
  • Maqluba translates to 'upside down' and is a rice, vegetable and chicken/mutton dish served everywhere
  • We did not seen any markets
  • Kohl is an popular eyecare product (similar to black eyeliner) that is worn by both men and women
  • We floated even more than we thought we would in the Dead Sea- the floatation was truly unbelievable
  • The shoreline of the Dead Sea was full of clay and the salt formed in large crystals


Our first view of the Dead Sea

Our jumping picture in Jordan!

Scarves really do have a practical uses


Roof-top patio, Jordan-style



Wind and sand are not a fun combination


These are the perks of travel and cultural immersion- Nathan teaching our Bedouin friend how to solve the Rubik's cube and Parker learning to draw with Mohammed (who is mute and deaf)

Breakfast Bedouin-style

Much of Jordan is untouched land



Dead Sea mud is hard to remove




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