Stepping Lightly: Should I Travel to Jordan with a Stopover in Doha, Qatar ?

Picture taken from top of Mount Nebo - Jordanian country side with soft hills
and desert terrain except the most northern region where it is a bit green

I’ve always wanted to travel to Jordan, home of my parent’s birthplace, a country existing as a benign monarchy that gets along with the mishmash of countries of the Middle East including Israel. To add to the locals, a few million refugees from Syria and Iraq have found new homes in the last decade, reluctant to return back to their birth countries even after the quasi passing of conflict, choosing rather to remain in Jordan, despite the hardship and family and community separation this choice engendered.

Basically, Jordan is a very poor country, discarded plastic bags and other refuse freely littering the roadside (very sad to witness!), infrastructure in disrepair, and a country in which locals claim a 70% (20% from more official sources) unemployment rate. They also claim it is a country riddled with corruption that does little to help its citizens and immigrant populations. No social security, crowded overrun government education, healthcare dangerously substandard, and an expected lifespan of a little over 74 years. I was especially sad to hear how conditions are viewed by the locals…..I have always been a fan of King Hussein and his family and thought they were doing what best they could do for the people of their country. But in many cases, talking to locals, you cannot rely entirely on their strong and passionate biases, particularly from the dominant males who speak with certainty and determination. I learned this not only from this trip, but from a lifelong experience with my large and extended middle eastern family and relatives.

Age is always a topic that emerges in any of my conversations. Clearly, it felt that I was the oldest person that I encountered in my four days there. Calculating my destiny, I should have one more year left to live, had I been born and raised in Jordan rather than fortuitously in a mid-Long Island community in New York where my second grade educated parents settled in order to escape and overcome the paralyzing poverty of the “old country”. Amazing how decisions out of one’s control play into our destiny.

Perhaps one reason for a short life span was that everyone – our driver claimed 99% of Jordanians – smoke (more like 45% of males and 15% of women according to more reliable sources). On the other hand, with a predominantly Muslim population – 2/3^rds – it was difficult to find any homeless drunks or any drunks for that matter, almost as difficult as to find a beer or a decent glass of wine in Jordan.

And why would anyone want to travel to Jordan anyway. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and other well-travelled Arab cities are now the property of Israel and they are raking in the money 24/7 from tourists wanting to visit the “holy land”, both Jewish and Christians alike. Moreover, I doubt that many people in the world even know whether there are any worthwhile sites to see in Jordan, with the possible exception of Petra ....Thanks to Indiana Jones.

Driver on left; Mosaic City Hotel owners - family run business

A bakery making bread that sells for about 70 cents per package

Indeed, I am not here to give anyone a history lesson, only to admit my own ignorance on Jordan before this last week of awakening. Only four days spent in Jordan on this trip, I can now confess how much I enjoyed not only Petra and Wadi Rum visited on my previous trip last year, but the sites and cities ventured in this second trip to Jordan. These include the mosaic city of Madaba where we chose as our base, Mt Nebo made famous by Moses, Bethany where Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, the fantastically preserved Roman city of Jerash, the fabulous stronghold castle of Ajloun, the super buoyant salty Dead Sea, in Amman, (the well preserved citadel, roman theatre, Jordan Museum (dead sea scrolls), and Old Town), the ubiquitous shops and food stands, i.e., the bakeries and shawarma stands, the intricate and finely crafted mosaics sold in mom and pop shops, and in small and large factories catering to not enough tourists, and the warm hearted, kind and friendly populace willing and eager to help you in any way possible. I must admit I was a little concerned about the safety factor for an American visiting any middle east country in terms of terrorism……10 minutes in Jordan dispelled any fear or concern.

Amazingly preserved Roman city of Jerash

Much of my knowledge and impression of Jordan was gleaned from our wonderful driver and tour guide. He was truly outstanding, patient, knowledgeable, accommodating and kind. We spoke English and we spoke Arabic, which was infinitely more fun. Through him, I could see how difficult it was to earn a living in Jordan and the intense pressure placed on the male population to provide for their families.

We really enjoyed our trip to Jordan this December. Cold but not too cold, historical sites to see but not too many, enough tourists but not too crowded, friendly surroundings, a slow enough pace of life, streets that were not overly congested, and wonderful Arabic food I grew up with at every corner. Just the perfect blend of exotic, off the beaten track, historical, accommodating but not oppressive, and just comfortable overall.

Tree of Life Mosaic purchased in hotel gift shop

A few snippets from our trip…… I couldn’t believe how salty the Dead Sea was. Salt crystals forming fingertip size clumps littered the shore line of the sea - we took a handful home - I hope they will retain their shape and dimension. It took more than a little water to wash away the sea from my skin; both my feet and hands were burning from the slimy super-concentrated feel of the seawater. We were warned but you have to experience this yourself to get the full experience.

We puzzled over where to eat; so many restaurants catering to both local and tourist populations. The first night we guessed – wrong and spent about $45 on a meal that was mediocre at best. Our driver and hotel manager then filled in the blanks. A busy popular local shawarma stand, and two bakeries across from the hotel, a local restaurant nine minutes away by foot served our needs for the rest of the trip. I love one Arabic dish called mincef (some spell and pronounce it mancef), a rice, yogurt, nut and lamb concoction that my mother would slave over for two days to make. On the last night before flying back to Qatar to catch our flight back home, we followed the advice of our driver and ordered a take-out of mincef and a small coke. The dish was literally overflowing with scoopfuls of rice, the lamb was just enough, tender and moist, and the mincef was truly outstanding. A good way to savor the best taste in my mouth leaving Jordan the next morning with good memories of a trip that was truly enjoyable, rewarding and worth the effort.

If I have enough energy, I may upload more pictures into an upcoming blog.......