1

The Final Two Syria As I ended my time in Turkey, I could feel that the end of the trip was nearing. Originally I had purchased my ticket as a one-way flight to India, then a ticket from Turkey to Jordan, and then from Jordan back to the US. I left the leg between India and Turkey open because I was hoping to go to Iran from India then from Iran onto Turkey. As my departure date for India neared, I decided I needed to have a fallback plan since I had not heard back from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that meant that there was a good chance I was not going to get into Iran. Right before I left home I started researching other destinations within the area to visit and Syria looked like a good choice. While still in the US, I decided to apply for a Syrian visa and as it turned out the Syrian consulate happened to be a few miles from my house. I obtained the visa form online and made an appointment to have the application reviewed. The process was very official and I had no indication as to my chances with getting into Syria. I was very surprised to come home from work the following day to find my passport was waiting for me on my doormat. I checked it and was happy to see that I had a visa for Syria so at least I had another place to go if things with Iran did not materialize. As you know by now, while in India I was able to secure my visa for travel through Iran so I did not consider Syria any further. As I made my way through Turkey, I started thinking about whether I should go to Syria since I already had the Syrian visa and would have plenty of time available to see Jordan. Therefore, at the last minute I decided to squeeze Syria into the mix. I still had to fly down to Jordan (part of my original ticket) then make my way back up to Syria. I had the option of taking a taxi from Amman, Jordan to the Syrian border and then making my way north through Syria but I decided that I would rather fly to the northern part of Syria and make my way south to Damascus. I was able to book and purchase the airline ticket online from Jordan to Syria without any problems while in Cappadocia, Turkey. Geographically Syria is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea with Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Israel to the south and Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Syria is mostly an arid dry plateau however, the northwest corner of the country, next to the Mediterranean Sea, is fairly green. As far as size goes, Syria is slightly larger than the state of North Dakota. Syria's 18.5 million people are approximately 90% Muslim and 10% Christian with a small Syrian Jewish community. The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party has ruled Syria since March 1963. The government is comprised of a president, two vice presidents, and a prime minister. The capital is Damascus, which is located in the southwestern portion of the country.

2

1 - Aleppo After a brief layover in Amman, Jordan, I boarded my flight and noticed that I did not see any other westerners on the flight. It felt like I was going back to Iran. The men and women were dressed in the traditional Arab robes and the women wore the head covering. After a short 1-hour flight from Amman, Jordan, I arrived a little after 9:00 in the evening into the ancient city of Aleppo. After getting my bag, I went to the immigration line where the person looking over my passport started questioning me as to the country of origin for various stamps in my passport. He did not speak English but I understood what he wanted. He then kept asking me about one stamp and finally figured out that he was asking if it was Israeli. I said no but it took me a while to figure out it was one I obtained at Heathrow airport in England a few years ago. Once he

3

came across the Iranian visa, he decided I was good to enter the country. He turned to me and with a big smile and said, “Enjoy Syria”. I decided to change some money while still in the airport and found a small souvenirs shop that was open and asked about changing money. They spoke a little English and motioned me to go down some hallways behind all the now closed airline ticket counters. I was not sure I understood but headed off in that direction. I came upon a small-lit window, peered in, and saw a man smoking a cigarette and counting money. I tapped on the glass and asked if he changed money. He nodded, so I handed him a $100 bill. He went over to his various stacks of money, pulled together some bills, and handed them to me. I wondered if this was legit or not. Typically, you have to give them your passport to review and sign some paperwork. Their currency is the Syrian Pound (SYR) and one dollar was equivalent to approximately 50 SYR (1 USD = 45.8250 SYP). I made my way back to the main hall and out to the parking area. Most people from my flight had already left and I hoped that a few taxi drivers would be left. A man approached me, he said “taxi”, and I nodded. I pulled out my guidebook and pointed to the name of a hotel in the book. He looked at it but it dawned on me that he could not read English. I mentioned the name of the hotel a few times; luckily, it was an English name, and he appeared to know what I was saying and off we went. As we drove off to the city of Aleppo, I was surprised to see how many people were still out and about after 10 pm. If I did not know the time I would have guess it to be around 7 pm. Restaurants were full, people were out walking everywhere, and some shops were still open. On the way to my hotel, I noticed all the billboards of the current president Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad as well as several with the two of them featured everywhere. You are probably more familiar with Hafez al-Assad who took over the government in a bloodless military coup in 1970 and he remained in office until his death in 2000. The city of Aleppo claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It is estimated that the area has had a human settlement since the 11th century BC. It was located on the main trade routes between India in the east and the Mediterranean in the west and Damascus to the south. The current population of Aleppo is nearly 2 million. My hotel was located next to a large public square and park in the center of the city. At one time, it must have been a fairly grand hotel due to the layout and its location. My room cost $50 US per night, which included breakfast. It was a descent room on the quiet side of the hotel. The next day I wandered around the city and made my way to the Citadel of Aleppo. As in other places, I had people go out of their way to assist me in finding things. Most people I met did not speak English but for maybe a word or two. A little sign language was all that was needed in order to communicate. I stopped in one small market to ask directions and one of the customers understood what I needed and took the time to help me out. He motioned to me to follow him across the street and to wait. A few minutes later a bus came along, he told the bus driver something, and motioned to me to board

4

the bus. As the bus made its way through the city the bus driver turned to me and pointed to the walls of a large structure and I realized it was where I wanted to go and when the bus came to a stop to let people off, I started to get off and the bus driver stopped me. We drove for a while longer making our way around the extensive walls of the citadel.

At one point, the bus driver turned to me, said something and pointed. I figured that this must be my stop and I got off and headed in the direction he pointed. It turned out to be near the entrance to the Aleppo Citadel. The Aleppo Citadel is large fortress built atop a hilltop, rising approximately 160 feet above the city. The fortress dates from around the 13th century. A large moat surrounded the citadel with a stone bridge crossing it that leads into the citadel.

5

Adjacent to the Aleppo Citadel is the covered bazaar. The bazaar is a maze of narrow alleyways and aisles between ancient buildings. Overtime, the shopkeepers covered over the alleyways thereby joining the buildings with a solid covering and today everything is interconnected and the alleyways are covered with arched stonework. It almost feels like you are underground as you walk through the area and it is much cooler than the regular streets outside.

Some of the alleyways are very narrow while others are more like small streets. There are people on donkeys, bicycles, mopeds, and bikes pulling trailers, all weaving through the crowds walking down the narrow passageways. There were a few women with scarves and veils covering the lower half of their face as well as women draped entirely in black. The men’s fashion range from western business suits to robes with the checkered head cloth and black cord. The shops and small stands were organized and grouped together within the bazaar according to the type of merchandize they sold. For instance, one group of shops would specialized in carpets, then a little further down it would be bolts of cloth, on down rope and string, then silk scarves, next plumbing fixtures, later soaps, perfumes, toothpaste, spices, then butchered sheep with entrails hanging from large metal hooks, anything and everything you could imagine. As with all other bazaars, the shop owners try to get you to come in, look but you do not have to buy. I found it is better to be polite, smile, compliment, and keep moving at a constant pace. I was very good at saying “shukran” which is Arabic for “thank you”. At one point, the electricity went out and several of the stores/stalls pulled out small diesel generators and had them running along the walkways. The noise was a bit loud; echoing around the enclosed streets and soon the spewing smoke exhaust built up and became a grey, choking haze. No one seemed to notice so I assumed that this was a natural occurrence and a part of every day life.

6

While wandering around a mosque in Aleppo, I met a guy that worked for a travel agency. He offered to show me around some of the old parts of the city, taking me to the major mosques, and a few of the historical buildings in the city center. He also gave me pointers as to where to eat and things to do in the evening. Of course, the real reason for doing this for me was for me to use his agency to set up some tours in Syria. I decided that since coming to Syria was sort of a last minute decision and with the limited time I had to explore the country, that I could use him for part of the time. I told him the few places I had on my list and he gave me a price that was inclusive of a guide, private air-conditioned car, driver, hotel accommodations, and two meals per day. I thought about it and decided to take his offer. 2 - Hama The next morning I was to meet him in front of my hotel and he was going to set me up with the guide and driver. As it turned out, he ended up being my guide, which worked out well since I was already familiar with him and his English was pretty good. One of the first places I wanted to go to was Hama, an agricultural center in Syria. Hama is famous for its norias. Norias are waterwheels (up to 66 feet in diameter) along the Orontes River that supposedly date back to around 1100 BC. According to my guidebook, there were 30 norias in and around the city of Hama; however, only 17 remain today. The norias were used for irrigation purposes. The Orontes River has cut a fairly deep path through the area and the river walls were too high for the water to be transferred up for irrigation so they designed giant waterwheels to lift the water up to the aqueducts that led to canals for irrigating the surrounding fields. The natural flow of the river powers the movement of these giant wheels. I had read that the sound that the norias make is very interesting. Even though I had seen pictures of them, I was more

7

impressed with them once I saw them in person. I ended up taking a couple videos of them groaning as they raised the water up from the river to the channeled aqueducts. I requested that we stop at an outdoor café located between two of the groaning waterwheels for a snack and some tea because I was so taken with them. I wanted to stay there longer just to take in the whole experience but we had to move on to the next place on my list, Krak des Chevaliers.

3 - Krak des Chevaliers

After Hama we headed southwest towards the border with Lebanon to visit Krak des Chevaliers (aka Krak), a huge Crusaders fortress just north of the Lebanese border. Krak des Chevaliers is made up of a combination of languages. Krak is from ancient Syriac "karak", which means "fortress", and "des chevaliers" is French for "of the knights". The fortress is built on an approximately 2,100 foot hill overlooking two important routes; the north-south road from Antioch to Beirut, and the east-west route from the Mediterranean coast to the interior. It was a fortress in a network of defenses used by the Crusaders and is one of the world's best preserved and largest medieval military castles.

8

The original fortress was built in 1031 for the Emir of Aleppo. It was captured in 1099 during the First Crusade, and then abandoned by the Crusaders as they marched on to Jerusalem. It was later recaptured by the Crusaders in 1110 and became the Knights Hospitaliers headquarters throughout the Crusades. They expanded Krak between 1150 and 1250 to hold a garrison of up to 2,000 soldiers along with 1,000 horses within two vaulted stone stables. The inner curtain wall of Krak is almost 100 feet thick at the base, has seven guard towers that are about 33 feet in diameter, and a moat with a drawbridge. It was estimated that they had enough food storage capacity to contain the supplies needed to support the garrison through a five-year siege.

9

I was expecting a broken down fortress where the outline of the building would be visible on the ground but instead found a fortress with huge stone rooms, long stone corridors, covered stone stables, a kitchen with food urns partially buried in the ground, dining area, guard towers, a church, and a cistern. The huge arching stone ceilings did not contain any central support and I kept thinking to myself… I hope that they do not have an earthquake while I am in here.

10

I was impressed that so much of the fortress was in such good shape and it had not sustained more damage during the earthquakes. In addition, the immense size of it along with the design and layout were very impressive. In prepping on coming to the area I had not read too many accounts of it from other travelers. A couple of people I had chatted with about Krak gave me the impression that I could skip it. Therefore, I was not expecting too much but as I was leaving it, I was very glad that I made the trip.

After Krak we stopped and ate at a restaurant with a view of the fortress. As per all the meals I ate in Syria, it came with several salads (Arabic salads – cucumber, onion, and tomato; hummus; baba ganoush; tahini), fish, chicken, and steamed vegetables. After the meal, I wandered around the grounds to take photographs and came across a group of workers eating lunch under a tree. They called me over and asked me to join them. I politely signaled that I had already eaten but they proceeded to pour me some tea. I ended up joining them for about 10 minutes. Since we could not converse, I showed them some of the photographs on the camera then I took a couple of photographs of them for demonstration purposes. After a bit I worried that my guide and driver were going to be looking for me so I excused myself. After leaving Krak we drove towards the city of Homs (aka Hims) located east of Krak and south of Hama. Homs is the third largest city in Syria. According to the Thorne Tree website and my guidebook, I would not be missing much if I skipped stopping and sightseeing in the city. Most people use it as a base to go to Krak, the dead cities, Hama, and Palmyra.

11

4 - Palmyra Palmyra (aka Tadmor) was my next point of interest located due east of Homs. Palmyra was built at an oasis in the central portion of Syrian the desert. Around the 1st century AD, the city was very wealthy due to its important location along the caravan trade routes from Persia to the Mediterranean. The trade connections reached as far as India and China in the east and the Roman Empire in the west. For many years, Palmyra was the only city to remain independent from Romans while the surrounding areas were all under Rome’s control.

At one time Palmyra was under the rule of Empress Zenobia and it became the capital of an empire, which she expanded to encompassed Egypt and much of Asia Minor. During her reign, she became known as the "Warrior Queen" (Xena: Warrior Queen - the TV show adapted her name). Her reign was short lived and she was defeated by the Romans, sent to Rome, and paraded through the streets of Rome in chains of gold. She was described as a very strong woman who spoke five languages, had pale skin, black eyes, and beautiful teeth as white as pearls. She was considered the most noble and the most beautiful woman in the Orient. Various stories describe her end differently. In one version, she was allowed to spend her remaining years in relative freedom at a royal villa in Tivoli, Italy. In another, she married a Roman Senator, and had several children. Another story states that the Roman emperor had her beheaded.

12

During the 16th century, the Qala’at ibn Maan Castle was built on top of a small mountain overlooking Palmyra. Approximately 100 years later, the city’s wealth and power declined and it became an oasis village. The inhabitants of the area continued to live amongst the ruins of the ancient city of Palmyra. Then in the 1930s, the Syrian government built a city next to the ancient ruins and moved the people out of the ruins and into the new town. Today the "new" small town of Palmyra contains several hotels and a few restaurants. I would recommend staying a night in Palmyra so that you see the ruins with the different lighting, both late afternoon and morning.

13

The first day in Palmyra, I spent at the Temple of Ba’al (temple size approximately 670 feet by 680 feet). It was an important religious building from the 1st century. While walking around the grounds I recognized a girl from Canada who I shared a balloon basket ride over Cappadocia, Turkey. I was glad to see her because following our ballooning experience she asked if I was able to get some nice photographs from the air. I told her I was not sure because I do not trust details on my camera's small 3-inch screen and typically, I do not take photographs with the camera's viewing monitor turned on. I told her that I had a chance to review them on my netbook and was generally pleased with them. We chatted about Turkey and where all she had been since Cappadocia. Later on that afternoon, my guide had seen me talking to her and wanted to know how I knew her. He also asked me what her name. Afterwards he went up to her, greeted her by name, and pretended to know who she was. I was sorry that I ever said anything to him. I could see that his lame attempt at picking her up was not working. I stood behind him and mouthed, “I’m sorry” to let her know that it was all a ruse.

14

In the late afternoon, I went up to the Qala’at ibn Maan Castle to watch the sun go down over the ancient ruins of Palmyra. While up at the castle I noticed that it was starting to get overcast and a bit hazy. I took several photographs of the city below but was disappointed with the way they were turning out as well as with the dismal sunset. As we made our way back down the mountain and back into town, we drove into what looked like a solid wall. It was a wall of blowing sand. That explained the haze I could see and why I was having difficulty photographing the sites. My guide dropped me off at my hotel (Hotel Mi Casa) which did not look like much on the outside but the rooms inside were very nice. The hotel is very small, with only three rooms available. They provided free internet access, meals, and bicycles if you wanted to explore the ruins by bike. Earlier I had arranged to use a bike at daybreak to watch the sunrise at the ruins but after dealing with the sandstorm, I decided that it might be iffy in the morning. In addition, I got the impression that the hotel “concierge” had upped the price of the bicycle because he was asking 2,000 SYR (equivalent to $40 US) for it. I was hot, tired, and dehydrated when I first considered using the bike but the ruins were just a few blocks away so there was really no need for a bike. The concierge kept telling me that it would be perfect weather in the morning and he would have it available for me anyway.

The next day turned out to be a bright blue morning with no signs of the sandstorm from the night before. I downed my breakfast and headed out to the ruins. Of all the ancient Roman-style ruins that I have seen, these were the most impressive. I first visited the

15

funerary monuments in an area referred to as the Valley of the Tombs. The Palmyran people built square funerary towers to bury their dead. Some of the funerary monuments are several stories tall while others are built underground. The aboveground towers are square-shaped towers that taper slightly as they rise. The Valley of the Tombs contains a series of these stretching for about a half-mile or more, running up the valley to the west of the ancient city. The interior tombs usually contained a series of burial compartments with stacked limestone slabs where whole families were placed in one funerary tower. Each burial compartment would have a limestone bust depicting the dead person’s remains inside and these busts were placed over the openings to seal in the body.

After visiting the funerary, I went back to Palmyra and walked down the main colonnade that leads to the various gates of the city (Hadrian's Gate, Damascus Gate). The long colonnade was lined with columns and several remains of structures were located near it. Midway along the colonnade, I came across the restored theater area. It was impressive but I felt like the restoration was too good because it had lost that “ancient ruin” feeling. My favorite of all the structures and ruins at Palmyra was the restored Tetrapylon. The Tetrapylon is comprised of a series of four platforms each made up of four columns with a statue between each of the four columns. I wandered around the ruins for a few hours taking in the views of a bright blue sky against a sandstone colored ancient city. I was rather impressed with Palmyra and was surprised to have the ruins all to myself. It was like wandering around the ruins at Angkor Wat in Cambodia and not seeing another person for hours.

16

I met my driver and guide back in the new town of Palmyra and we headed towards Damascus in the southwestern portion of Syria. Palmyra is located approximately 130 miles northeast of the capital Damascus. The road to Damascus is a long straight two-lane paved highway in very good condition. The landscape along the route is very barren. Several times, we came upon signs for the Iraq border and the guide would joke with me about going to Iraq instead since it was closer than Damascus. During the next two hours I stared out the window in a sort of mesmerized state looking at the barren landscape go by while listening to the Arabic music blaring on the car radio.

17

5 - Ma'lula

Time seemed to fly by because the next thing I knew we were in Damascus. We skirted around the northern part of Damascus to catch a road headed north to the city of Ma'lula located about 30 miles from Damascus in the direction of Lebanon. The village of Ma'lula is the only place in the world that still speaks Aramaic, the language of Jesus. If the word Aramaic sounds familiar, it is because it was the language spoken in Mel Gibson's movie “The Passion of the Christ”.

Ma'lula means "the entrance" in Aramaic, referring to its location at the entrance to a narrow canyon on the slopes of the Kalamun Mountains.

Ma'lula is a predominantly Christian village with a population of about 2,000. The city contains two ancient Christian monasteries, St. Sergius and St. Thecla. Both Christian and Muslim pilgrims come to Ma'lula to visit the monasteries.

The Greek Catholic St. Sergius monastery (also called Mar Sarkis or Mar Sergus) is famous for its chapel with a display of religious icons. The monastery was built in the 4th century on the remains of a former pagan temple. The St. Sergius monastery is one of the oldest in Christendom. The monastery St. Sergius is dedicated to a Roman soldier who was executed for his Christian beliefs.

Further down in the village is the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Thecla (Mar Takla). Thecla was the daughter of a Seleucid prince. It is believed that she is buried in the mountain above the monastery. The monastery was constructed on several levels. The top level contains a relatively modern church adjacent to a cave containing a small flowing stream of water. The water is supposed to have miraculous properties and it is customary to drink from a ladle offered by an attendant. I figured, when in Rome… so I went up and took a sip out from the ladle. I think the attendant expected that I would drink more but I only wanted a sip. I was a bit hesitant with the thought of all those people before me that partook of the same ladle for a drink and I was not too sure about the quality of the water. This religious monument receives a steady stream of Christian and Muslim pilgrims.

After visiting the monasteries my guide and I walked up the small narrow canyon that in my guidebook compared to the "Siq" in Jordan that leads to Petra. Since that was going to be coming up in my travels, I decided to check it out and see what I had in store for me. I was rather unimpressed with the walk through the so-called “Siq”. The canyon soon turned into a very narrow pathway with a very small stream of water flowing through it. After a few minutes, we reached a road at which point I turned back around and met back up with my guide and driver.

From there my guide and driver took me into the center of Damascus where I had booked a room at centrally located hotel I found from a couple postings on the Internet. My guide tried very hard to make me change my location to another claiming that the place was terrible and run by unscrupulous people. Most likely the reason he did not

18

want me going there was because he had not made the arrangements, therefore he was not getting a kickback.

6 - Damascus

Damascus is the capital and largest city in Syria (approximately 4 million) and it also stakes the claim of being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Damascus is located about 50 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea on a plateau approximately 2,200 feet above sea level.

Upon entering Damascus, it felt like any other large city I have visited so far in my journeys. I was dropped off at the hotel and was pleasantly surprised. The front staff was very friendly and gave me a map and a few pointers about places in the area. I unloaded my gear and decided to go into the main souk that was located a few blocks east of the hotel. The souk was completely covered over by a high tin roof and my guidebook stated that you could make out the bullet holes in the ceiling from when Damascus was strafed by the French during an air raid on October 18, 1925. Inside the souk, the main walkway was about the size of a regular street and the tin roof ceiling completely connected both sides of the street, making the souk was very dark. When I looked up I was surprised to see the amount of bullet holes in the ceiling, it was almost like looking up at a nighttime sky full of lots of stars (I lightened the photograph below to show the bullet holes in the tin roof ceiling).

19

While walking along looking at the people and the shops I came across a young man toting what looked like a large brass coffee carafe on his back. A person would approach him, he would grab a cup, lean forward, and a dark liquid would come out of a spout that looped up around by his armpit. I tried several times to photograph him without him noticing (I am not good with taking people pictures). He caught me, came over, and asked if I wanted a drink. When I asked what kind of drink, it turned into a bunch of sign language but no real answer and I thought, why not. He poured me a cup, I paid him, and at this point, I had several people around me now watching to see what I would do with it. I took a sip, expecting it to be hot but instead it turned out to be a cool fruit drink made from tamarind juice. I thanked (shukran) him and watched as a few more customers came to him for refreshments then proceeded to make my way through the souk.

By now, it was late Friday afternoon and my main goal was to head to the famous Umayyad Mosque. Being Friday I wanted to witness the call to prayers and see the people coming to the mosque as I had in Shiraz, Iran. The main mosque in central Damascus is the Umayyad Mosque and it is dedicated to John the Baptist. It houses what is believed to be his tomb (or at least the tomb for his head). As a side note, the main mosque in Aleppo is dedicated to Ananias, the father of John the Baptist. I do not know if you have noticed by now, but most of the holy men and women of Christianity are also holy to Islam too, although I have to admit it was a bit surprising to me when I first encountered this. The large minaret, visible from the main courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, is the Jesus Minaret. It is literally called the Isa Minere, as it is pronounced in Arabic. The Islamic belief is that Jesus will appear there on Judgment Day.

20

21

The Umayyad Mosque is also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus. It is one of the oldest sites of continuous prayer since the rise of Islam, but that is a more recent event as far as the timeline goes this particular location's religious background. Similar to the mosques in Turkey, this mosque was built out of an existing Christian church, which in turn was built on the foundation of a Roman temple, which in turn was built on another so no one really knows how far back it goes. Just remember that Damascus has been occupied since at least the 10th century BC.

I paid my entrance fee to enter Umayyad Mosque (regular worshipers do not pay to enter) and took off my shoes, put them in a plastic bag, and tied them to my belt loop so that I could easily walk around the main courtyard and use both hands to take photographs. The courtyard was full of families and friends all visiting with each other. Kids were screaming and running up and down the large marble flooring of the courtyard. I walked around the whole perimeter, taking photographs of the dome, alcoves, and of some of the people. I made my way into the mosque and wandered around, photographing and listening to an imam preaching to a group of men. Along the back wall was the roped off area for the women and children. After being in there for a little while, I could here the beginnings to the call to prayer. I made my way out into the courtyard and watched as the families gathered everyone together to head into the mosque. In addition, the doorways leading in from the city were starting to fill up with people coming in off the streets to come worship. I decided to turn on the video function of my camera, held it against my stomach, and made my way back into the mosque to film a little of what was happening without anyone knowing I was actually filming them. After watching and listening to the services for a few minutes, I made my way back out and onto the main streets of Damascus. I went back to the hotel to drop the camera off and then came back into the central area to find a restaurant I had heard about that served great authentic Syrian food. I found the restaurant after stopping at a couple places to ask directions. The shop owners were very nice and I found myself chatting with each of them before heading out in search of the restaurant. The restaurant was located in the courtyard of a converted merchant's house. I had a fantastic meal, then went back into the heart of the city to mill about and explore further.

After my whirlwind tour of Syria, I had to head to the airport to fly to Amman, Jordan, less than one hour south. Originally, I wanted to take a shared taxi to the border with Jordan but in order to book the airline ticket to Aleppo, I had to purchase a round trip ticket.

Jordan Jordan is located south of Syria, west-southwest of Iraq, with Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Jordan divides control of the Dead Sea with Israel. Most of Jordan is covered by desert (Arabian Desert). The northwestern portion, along the Jordan River, is referred to as part of the Fertile Crescent where most of the crops are grown. The capital city of

22

Amman is in the northwestern part of the country. Jordan is a modern Arab nation with a predominantly middle class population without the oil wealth of some of its neighbors. Their currency is fixed at 1 US dollar to 0.709 dinar (JOD). Jordan also is home to millions of refuges that make up approximately 40% of their population. When talking with Jordanians, many were quick to tell me that they were real Jordanians and not a refuge.

23

1 - Amman Amman is the capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is also the largest city in Jordan with approximately 2.5 million people. Again, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Amman is located in a hilly area of Jordan with an elevation ranging from 2,400 feet to 3,375 feet above sea level. The city was originally built on seven hills (like Rome), but it now spans an area of over 19 hills. Many of Amman's districts derive their names from the name of the hill/mountain where they are located.

Because Amman's location is on a high plateau, it enjoys a Mediterranean climate and has four seasons of relatively pleasant weather as compared to other places in the region. Summer temperatures get up to 90 °F, with very low humidity and frequent breezes. Spring and fall temperatures are pleasant and cool. In the winter, the nighttime temperatures can go below 32 °F and snowfall in not uncommon. During the summer time Amman gets an influx of visitors from other Persian Gulf countries that come to take advantage of the milder weather.

Amman is also one of the more liberal cities in the Middle East and therefore a more westernized dress than what I had observed in other Middle Eastern countries. Jordan has no laws forcing women or men to dress in a particular way. For instance, women are not required to wear the veil. Appropriate dress is expected around places of worship but walking around neighborhoods and malls, I observed the whole range of dress. Amman is also home to several religious sects with a breakdown of 93% Muslims and 7% Christians.

Areas within central Amman are known as circles and I had decided to stay in the old part of the city, also known as 1st Circle. I did the usual when I landed, changed some money over to their currency at a normal money exchange booth and proceeded to leave the airport to find a taxi into the city. I found the taxis queued up and was directed

24

to a taxi. I told the driver where I wanted to go and he seemed a bit puzzled. I took out my guidebook and pointed out where in the old city it was located and he still seemed puzzled. Soon he was on the phone and after the quick call told me that, the hotel was no longer there. I figured it was one of those typical scams to get you to a hotel where they earn a commission for bringing you there. I insisted that we go and he proceeded to take me. We got to the address and sure enough, the hotel was no longer in business. The name was still on the door but it had been padlocked. The driver had told me of another place and said that it was much better than this place and for a good price. It was relatively near the one I wanted so I said OK. We arrived and he dropped me off to go park the car and came in to collect his commission. The hotel was rather large and was located a little closer to places that I wanted to be and was not located adjacent to a mosque, which was a plus since that meant I could sleep past 4:30 am. It turned out that the hotel was also a bargain and included breakfast. The room was large and was located on a side street right off one of the main roads of Amman. I dropped my stuff off, went downstairs and told them that I would take it.

It had been several weeks since I had gotten a haircut and I had always heard that the barbers in the Middle East were very good, I decided it was time. I asked the front desk if there were any barbers around (all in sign language because no one spoke English). The door attendant took me outside and pointed in either direction along the main boulevard and I found that the barbershops were located all over the place. I chose one a couple doors down from the hotel, did some sign language to the guy inside, and walked out with one of the best haircuts I have ever had. Not a piece of cut hair went down my shirt.

I continued wandering the shops along the main street and figured I would look at the cell phones being offered in Jordan. You have so many more choices overseas than you do in the States. They had a couple models that I liked but nothing that was inexpensive enough for me to take a chance on, especially if it ended up breaking. After a bit more wandering, I found a great restaurant by the usual method, which restaurant looks packed with locals. Come to find out, I chosen one of the recommended places to eat in the older part of Amman.

After eating, I decided to walk up onto one of the original seven hills. It turned out that the hill I chose was a nice, older area of Jordan that was tree lined with boutique shops, and restaurants. While walking I came across a street fair taking place off on a side street. A group of men, all wearing brown shirts, were monitoring the entrance to the street. I decided to go have a look. I started walking up towards the street and I notice the men stopping several people from continuing onto the street. I figured I would probably be stopped as well but they did not pay any attention to me and I walked on by. The street contained various booths selling everything from wood, metal, and ceramic crafts, to paintings and antiques. When I got to the far end of the street, I was caught in a crowd of people. The next thing I knew, a young guy showed up and he was mobbed by the crowd. I figured he was a celebrity so I stood around and watched for a while then made my way back and exited out of the side street. The main street was also lined with some very nice homes, and was packed with cars (BMWs,

25

Mercedes, Range Rovers, etc.) all inching along, trying to get through the throngs of people. As I wandered along, I came across the British Embassy surrounded by bomb blast concrete k-rails and armed security guards. It was definitely a high-end neighborhood. I scoped the area out some more and decided to come back later to eat at a nice looking upscale restaurant.

I went back to the hotel, dropped off my stuff then turned right around and climbed back up the steep streets to go all the way across the hill to the other side to eat at the restaurant I had spotted. The restaurant was packed with a young crowd of Jordanians on their cell phones, laptops and smoking hookahs (water pipes). It was interesting to note that they acted just like young adults in the States. I ended up ordering a meal that included a salad with a special Mediterranean cheese called halloumi cheese. Halloumi is a hard white, salty cheese that is cut into slices and fried (browned without using oil). It taste just like the cheese used in tequeños (a Venezuelan snack made of a dough wrapped white cheese that is deep-fried). After that night, if I ever saw halloumi on the menu I ordered it (sandwich, salad, pizza, etc.). That night I made my way back through the dark streets, down the steep hill back to my hotel to plan my next day's adventure. When I got back to the hotel I found that one of my knees was really bothering me. I figured it must be due to all the hill climbing and descending I had done throughout the day. The sidewalks on the hills are actually stairs so it was quite a workout walking around Amman. 2 - Jerash

The next day I had decided to go north towards the Syrian border, to the city of Jerash. Jerash is located approximately 30 miles north of Amman. Several places within Jordan can be reached by going to particular bus stations scattered around the city. I caught a taxi to one of the bus stations that had buses going north through Jerash. I was dropped off outside the bus station and I walked around until I found a group of men sitting around chatting. I asked about Jerash and they pointed and finally one of them led me to a bus and motioned to wait. I knew that meant that I would have to wait until enough passengers showed up to make it worthwhile to leave the bus station. I boarded the bus, sat down, and pulled out my guidebook to read up on all the various ruins to see in Jerash when I heard a person calling out to me. I looked up, a man was speaking to me in broken English, and I could tell he wanted to know where I was going. I said Jerash and he replied "taxi?". I said, “no, bus”, I was in no hurry and I knew I could get the bus driver to drop me off close to the entrance gate to the ruins at Jerash for 2 dinars. The taxi driver then said 10 dinars to Jerash. I thought about it and figured might as well leave now because I had no idea how long I would be waiting at the bus station for other passengers.

The taxi driver was very friendly and as we drove along, he would say something then point. I really did not understand what it was he was pointing out but acknowledged each comment by looking and nodding. Reminded me of the taxi ride in Cairo, Egypt, where the driver pointed things out in Arabic and most of the time I had no idea what he

26

was saying. About 40 minutes into the ride, the taxi driver asked me if I wanted him to wait for me while I toured the ruins. Trust me, it was not asked that simply but I figured out what he was asking after much exchange and sign language. He said he would take me back to the bus station for 5 dinar and I thought that would work out better for me since I knew that after touring the ruins I was going to have to walk up into the town of Jerash and find the bus station there to catch a bus back to Amman.

Jerash is known for its ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa. Jerash is now the second-most popular tourist attraction in Jordan, behind the ruins of Petra. The ruins are adjacent to the modern city of Jerash located to the west of the ruins.

27

Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East and is sometimes referred to as the Pompeii of the Middle East. Excavations show that Jerash was inhabited from about 3200 BC. In 749 AD, a major earthquake destroyed most of Jerash. Since the 1920s excavation and restoration work has taken place in Jerash.

When I entered the grounds, I came across a performance taking place at the Hippodrome. It is a show featuring forty-five legionaries in full armor, ten gladiators, and several Roman chariots competing in a race around the track at the Hippodrome. I am not one for watching these types of things and was more interested in the ruins themselves. I watched from a grassy knoll for a few minutes and then went about exploring the ruins.

28

There are a large number of monuments located in Jerash including Hadrian's Arch, the Hippodrome, the Corinthium column, the Temples of Zeus and Artemis, an Oval Forum, which is surrounded by a colonnade, a long colonnaded street, two amphitheatres (large South Theatre and smaller North Theatre), and various small temples. I found the ruins to be fairly spectacular. I was afraid that I would be unimpressed after seeing Ephesus in Turkey and Palmyra in Syria but I found the Oval Forum and the long colonnaded street with all the structures along it to be quiet impressive. Another reason I liked walking around the ruins of Jerash was that it was not jammed packed with tourists. Several times, I found I had the whole area to myself.

29

After spending several hours walking around, I made my way back to the parking lot, found the taxi driver, and we headed back to Amman. While driving back to Amman I decided I should be dropped off at the Citadel instead of the bus station, saving myself the hassle of having to get another taxi. He agreed to do it and dropped me off at the top of the hill with the Citadel overlooking the center of Amman. The Citadel area contains the Temple of Hercules which is said to have been constructed from 161-180 AD under the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and was supposed to be similar to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, Turkey. If you remember from my Turkey travel notes,

30

all that remains there is one column with a stork's nest on top so I was not planning on it being too spectacular. I wandered around the hilltop starting with the Umayyad Palace. There are great views looking down at the city of Amman below. After the palace, I went over to the Temple of Hercules, climbed around the stones, and took in the sights of the city below including the grand Roman Theatre across on the side of the neighboring hill. The Temple of Hercules was not very impressive but it was slightly better than the Temple of Artemis. From the Temple of Hercules, you could see the whole Roman Theatre area including the Odeon.

I decided that rather than take a taxi over to it, I could scale down the steep hillside and make my way over to it by foot. I had to plan out a path and to traverse the area I had to go through peoples yards, across planks between rooftops and down several series of sidewalks (stairways) to get down to the bottom. It was an interesting way to see parts of Amman that most people do not get to see firsthand.

The Roman Theatre was one of the largest I had ever seen and it is the largest theatre in Jordan with a seating capacity for approximately 6,000. It is estimated to have been built between 138 and 161 AD and is still used today for sports and cultural events. A guide approached me at the entrance to the theatre and asked to take me around to show me things but I declined. After walking around the stage area, I decided to climb up the steep steps of the theatre to take in the views from above. While taking in the view from the top I heard a person's voice saying my name and asking if I could hear them. I started looking around and realized it was the guide I had originally spoken with at the entrance to the theatre. He was now standing on the stage and was doing a demonstration for his new clients. He was showing them that the sound travels perfectly all the way up to the top and that everyone in the theatre seats can hear what is going happening on the stage. He told me to wave if I could hear him, which I did. I ended up climbing up and down the theatre steps a few times to obtain certain artistic photographs.

31

Adjacent to the Roman Theatre is the Odeon. It is like a miniature of the Roman Theatre and it is not really worth going into because it had been fully restored to nearly new condition and did not appear historical. Again, I traipsed up and down the stairs of the Odeon to take photographs. Afterwards I sat in the park adjacent to both theatres to people watch. My hotel was only about 10 blocks away so after I rested I made my way back to drop off my camera and then back out to do some more window shopping. As I got ready to go back to the hotel I felt my camera strap across my shoulder become very lightweight and then I heard a loud crashing sound and the breaking of glass. My camera strap had come undone from the camera body and my camera and lens crashed onto the concrete floor. The camera lens (Canon EF 24-105mm) took the brunt of the fall with the weight of 3¼ pounds shattering the UV filter ring attached to the end of the lens. I quickly picked it up and was just sick to my stomach. I was in shock at what just happened to my camera and lens and I waited until I was back in my hotel room to examine it fully. The UV filter ring was dented however; the camera still appeared to work including the ultrasonic focusing motor of the lens. I tried but could not remove the UV filter so I removed the lens from the camera and attached another one of my lenses (Canon EF 24-70mm) that I had been using on the trip. That night I climbed back up hill with all the restaurants and had another great meal that included halloumi cheese. On the way back down the hill I found I was having a hard time with both knees and hoped, a good night's sleep would be all I needed. 3 - Petra / Wadi Musa

That night I rang up a hotel in Wadi Musa and asked if they had a room available and then asked him about catching a bus to Wadi Musa. The man on the phone asked me if

32

he could call me back because he might have a person coming in from the airport and I could share a ride with them. He called me back and told me that he had it all arranged and I would be sharing a ride to Wadi Musa at noon.

The next day I walked around the streets of Amman and then got ready to leave the hotel to head south to Wadi Musa to visit the ancient ruins of Petra. It turns out that the driver that picked me up at the hotel did not have anyone with him except for his brother. I never quite understood if he pickup his brother at the airport or how he happened to be in the car with us. The driver was very friendly young guy named Ibrahim (Abraham). During the 2½-hour trip down to Wadi Musa, we attempted to communicate but it was a bit difficult. When we stopped for gas, I showed Ibrahim my damaged camera lens and explained what happened. He told me he might know of someone in Wadi Musa that could help me with it.

Wadi Musa (Valley of Moses) is not actually down in the wadi (valley) but up on higher ground adjacent to the entrance to the ruins of Petra. Petra (petra is Greek for rock) is a world famous archaeological site located in a basin surrounded by mountains. Petra is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.

Petra was the home of the Nabateans and consists of city carved into the sides of mountains. The Nabataeans built Petra as their capital city around 100 BC. The site remained undiscovered to the western world until 1812, when a Swiss explorer heard tales of an amazing ancient city tucked away in the mountains. He disguised himself as an Arab and had a guide lead him to the city. He secretly made sketches of some of the buildings and then left the city so as to not draw any attention to himself.

A couple years ago when I was in Dahab, Egypt, I considered taking a ferry up the Red Sea to Aqaba and from there up to Petra, but the hotel manager in Dahab talked me out of going, saying it was nothing special. After returning to the States, I always regretted not going and planned to return one day to see it.

While in Wadi Musa I dropped my camera lens off at a camera studio that my driver recommended near my hotel. I then went shopping for supplies (water and food) to take with me for the next day's adventure into Petra. I then relaxed in the pool at the hotel and later on went back to the photo studio and picked up my camera lens. They were not able to remove the UV filter from the lens but they took out all the broken glass from the UV ring. Close to the camera shop was a pharmacy with an interesting sign.

33

At 6 pm that evening, I was shocked at how loud the call to prayer was from the nearby mosque. I had asked for the quiet side of the hotel… That evening I ate a huge meal prepared by the hotel that included various Arabic salads, the main course, and several deserts. Ibrahim arrived at dark to drive me down to the entrance to Petra so that I could go to see "Petra By Night". Twice a week at 8:30 pm tours are provided to experience Petra by night. It consists of a walk down the Siq (the shaft) that is lit up by candlelight and after walking about 1 mile in total silence, you end up at Petra's most famous site, the Treasury. You are asked to sit on some mats placed on the ground and listen to Bedouin musicians play on string and flute instruments. It was pitch black except for the light from a candle next to the musician. Occasionally someone would flash his or her camera and for a split second, you see the façade of the Treasury. The experience was nice but I am not sure I would classify it as a must-see experience. The walk back seemed to take a long time and I did not realize how far down we had actually descended. One of my knees was still really bothering me and this trek did not help. After coming back to the hotel that night, I decided to replace the lens I had on my camera with the one that I had dropped. I wanted to take a chance that it would work properly at Petra, mainly because it had the extra zoom reach (70mm vs 105mm).

34

The next morning I was awakened by the call to prayer, wow was it loud. I went back to sleep for another ½ hour then got up at 5 am and grabbed a bite to eat at the hotel and took a taxi to the entrance to Petra. As per the night before, to reach Petra you have to walk about 1 mile along a gorge, which slowly descends and becomes very narrow. It is a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks. The split or gorge in the mountain is referred to as the Siq. As I walked down the Siq, I realized I was the only one making my way down to Petra that early in the morning. Now that it was light, I was able to see what I passed through during the night. As I got deeper down the Siq, the walls almost appeared as if they were going to come together. All of a sudden, I rounded a bend and there was a partial view of the Treasury.

35

At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most famous ruin, Al Khazneh or the Treasury, which has been carved out of the sandstone cliff. If the Treasury exterior looks familiar it is probably because it was used in the Harrison Ford movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I stopped walking to take in the moment. It was better than I imagined. Here I was in Petra and I had another amazing monument all to myself. Other major sites of interest in Petra include the Monastery, the Roman Theater, the Royal Tombs, and the High Place of Sacrifice.

36

37

The ancient city of Petra is composed of huge rock buildings carved out of the mountains. These carved out building had ornate façades with varying colors of pink, orange, burgundy, red, and purple set off by white and black accents.

I wandered about and climbed up into the various buildings (tombs) in and around the perimeter of the mountains. I could not get over all the colors of the rock and some of the washed geologic formations. Instead of taking so many photographs of the outsides of these façades, I ended up photographing the ribbons of color that made up the walls to these buildings. One comment I will bring up here… they ask that people to do not urinate inside the buildings, which I totally agree with because when you enter into some of them the smell of urine is very strong. They could alleviate the problem by unlocking the port-a-potties scattered about Petra so that people can use them. Just a thought…

38

After visiting the Roman Theater and the Royal Tombs, I decided it was time to head up to the Monastery. The Monastery is supposed to be about a one-hour's climb from the city center on an ancient rock-cut path of over 800 steps. My knee was OK for the moment but I had done considerable climbing already and hoped for the best. I understood that there are plenty of places to rest along the way. I had also heard that there are donkeys to take you up the mountain path. As I started up the path I was approached by a man on a donkey leading another small white donkey behind him. He offered for me to ride up for 10 dinar. I declined and kept walking. He followed and kept telling me how far it was and how long it take on foot (1 hour) vs on the donkey (15 minutes). He was persistent and the price soon came down to 7 dinar. I thought that maybe I should consider it to save my knees. I got on the small white donkey; the guide got behind me on his donkey and started yelling out commands to my little donkey. We took off at a pretty brisk rate and crossed over a dry streambed and trotted along a well-worn path that soon turned into steps. The guide behind me shouted out to me to lean forward so I did and soon I heard another guide coming down trail with his donkey yelling at me to lean forward. I was practically laying on the neck of the donkey as it started trotting up the sand covered steps. I could see his hooves slipping and sliding with the loose sand on the steps as he trotted up them. Several of the steps were really worn away and some were more bowl-shaped and at times they were worn to the shape of a smooth shoot rather than stairs. I imagine that all the hooves grinding into them were the culprit. I tried to balance myself with my camera in one hand, hang on the donkey with the other, and watch as we climbed up twisting steps with a mountainside on one side and a drop off to the valley below on the other. I remember at one point the guide behind me yelling out we were halfway and I was surprised because I thought this grueling climb had to be almost over and I wondered if my little donkey would be able to make it all the way. When we finally got to the top, I was never so glad to get off the donkey. The guide pointed to the trail ahead and told me to continue on around. It was still a bit of a walk before I finally came upon the Monastery.

The Monastery is similar in design to the Treasury, but on a much larger scale (165 feet high x 150 feet wide). One difference between the two is the Monastery is not as ornate as the Treasury. When I first saw the Monastery, I did not realize that the doorway is several stories high. When I walked up to the doorway, I could barely see into the interior because the step up into the room was about my height (note the person in the

39

photograph below standing at the doorway). It is assumed that the name (Monastery) was given to this structure based on its remote location and because of some inscribed crosses in its interior. Because of the crosses inscribed in the interior, they think that at one time it may have been used as a church.

Directly opposite the Monastery is a small café built out of a stone outcropping with some tents and carpets, offering shade and drinks. While walking around the Monastery area I met a German doctor working in Gaza, helping the people there with healthcare. We compared notes on our recent travels and we exchanged some food and drink. She mentioned that she saw me on the donkey coming up the mountain. I was immediately embarrassed and then she told me that she had done the same thing. She too was trying to keep from being completely worn out by having to climb all the stairs. After we chatted, I told her that I wanted to climb up further and she was reluctant and told me that she was only going to go so far then make her way back down the mountain.

From the Monastery, you can climb another path leading up the mountain from behind the café. The path takes you to a cave and then to a viewing area where you can take photographs of some of your surroundings. Instead of walking up to the cave you can continue on flatter ground to an area known as High Place with views of valleys and the expanses of the desert that are over 3,200 feet down below. While up there, I ran into people from my hotel and a local Bedouin whose family used to live in the old ruins. The Bedouin had a small tent set up on the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley below where offered all of us some tea. He earned his living from tourists stopping by for a chat and some tea. After visiting for a while, I made my way back down the hill.

As I made my way past the Monastery I ran into the German doctor starting her descent so we decided to travel down together. During the descent we passed several tourists walking up the mountain, some asked us how much further, and they seem totally beat. A couple times, I joked and said only about 45 minutes more and the look on their faces was pretty funny. On the way down, I stopped off at the Basin Museum and viewed the exhibits. You would not miss much if you continued pass it. From there I went over and climbed around the Great Temple and a couple more tombs before I started my trek back to the Treasury. I passed many locals offering donkey and camel rides back to the

40

Treasury but I passed on those. Once I got back to the Treasury, I took a more photographs then started back up through the Siq. Again, it seemed longer and steeper than I remembered. Once I was in Wadi Musa I caught a ride from a local townsperson back to my hotel.

4 - Wadi Rum The next day I decided to head out to Wadi Rum and I made arrangements with the hotel to have a minibus come by and pick me up for the hour long ride. One other guy from Ireland was going to go for the day and come back to the hotel. Originally, I had planned to make it a day trip but changed my mind. I thought it might be fun to spend the night out under the desert stars. Once we bordered the minibus, a young man came around to each of us on the bus and tried to sign us up for a package tour of Wadi Rum. He told us that a package deal would cost more if we booked it at the village in Wadi Rum. The Irishman sent him away and I told him maybe. He kept pestering me for an answer and I delayed. We picked up more passengers, an Italian couple and a Spanish couple. Soon he was doing the same sales job on them; however, the price for them was lower than what he was offering me. When he came back my way, I told him that I heard him offer the others better deals. He reluctantly offered me the same deal. No one had committed to him so he was like a fly going to each of us trying to get a commitment. After a while, we all agreed to taking a tour of Wadi Rum through someone he set up but each of us had different ending destinations. I told him that I had reservations at Bait Ali Desert Camp, which I did not, but hoped that they would be able to accommodate me. Wadi Rum is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southwestern part of Jordan. It is the largest wadi in Jordan. Wadi Rum is also known for its association with T. E. Lawrence, who hid out here and helped with the Arab Revolt from 1917–18. Today many Bedouin tribes still inhabit Rum and the surrounding area. The area is now one of Jordan's important tourist destinations because of its interesting landscapes. Once we arrived at the small village at the edge of Wadi Rum, I went across to a store and purchased water, and some snacks for the day. I met up with the other travelers in a large room where we waited until the open-air jeep arrived to take us on the journey. Thankfully, the jeep had a rooftop covering the back end. The jeep turned out to be more like a large pickup truck and we were loaded into the back with two benches along either side of the truck bed to sit on. We also had to share the foot area with a large tire that took up two thirds of the truck bed. When the driver took off we all grabbed onto the small railing and off we went out into the desert. The Wadi Rum is like a moonscape with wide expanses of desert between sheer towering rock walls, strange outcropping that look like melted wax candles, rock bridges, narrow canyons with hieroglyphics, and sand dunes with hues of white, brown, and red that change colors throughout the day. Our driver took us to various locations including the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the red sand dunes, rock bridges where a few of

41

us climbed up onto them, then to the ancient Thamudic inscriptions (rock-carved drawings) within a narrow gorge, and to the stone dwelling where T. E. Lawrence supposedly lived while in the desert. At the end of our excursion, we stopped at a Bedouin campsite and had tea under the shade of a goat-hair tent.

As a side note, the Wadi Rum area has been used as a background for several films including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Red Planet (2000, the surface of Mars), and most recently Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009).

Afterwards we were all brought back to the small village and told that we would each be taken to our requested final destinations. The Italians and Spaniards were each staying in different camps within the Wadi Rum, the Irishman was going back to the hotel, and I was headed to Bait Ali Desert Camp. During the drive around Wadi Rum, I saw a couple of the campsites out in the desert and wondered if mine would be the same type of thing – very basic. Soon a taxi arrived to take the Irishman back to the hotel in Wadi Musa and they told me that I was riding with him to Bait Ali Desert Camp. My campsite was relatively close to the small village and when I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. It had a nice reception building with several rows of tents and small A-framed buildings. I asked if they had room for me and they said that they did. They showed me my choices. Originally I was going to stay in one of the tents but for a couple dollars more, I could stay in a little A-frame structure with my own bathroom. They then asked if I would like something to eat. Since I really had not eaten lunch I told them I could go for

42

something small like a snack. They told me to get comfortable and to come back to the outdoor dining area to have my snack. The outdoor dining area was huge and was located next to a large pool. I looked around and wondered if I was the only person staying there. Soon my huge meal arrived. I say huge because I only asked for a snack and they brought me a sandwich, green salad, and two Arabic salads. After that, I went back to my room, changed into a bathing suit, and went to the pool. Three other travelers joined me after a while, a couple from New Zealand, and a guy from Mexico. One of the more famous things about Wadi Rum is the beautiful sunsets. As the sun started setting, I decided to climb the mountain that was right on the backside of the pool. It looked fairly easy to scale and as I climbed up I could see that I would be able to reach the top without too much difficulty. I got to the top of the mountain and waited with my camera. I watched as the golden hues turned into shades of red and purple and the desert turned dark. Soon a quarter moon was visible with a faint glow of the sunset on the horizon. I was able to get some great shots of the sun setting over the desert mountains. I could even make out some desert sandstorms blowing across the floor of the desert in the distance. After I got all my photographs, I realized that I would now have to climb down in the dark, with my camera and wished I had brought my flashlight. It took a while to get down and at times I was having to crawl on all fours just to be sure of my footing. I ended up exiting the mountain into the dining area where several of the locals were sitting around having a chat when all of a sudden I appeared. They looked at me with puzzled looks on their faces and probably wondered where I came from and what was I doing.

That night I returned to the dining area and feasted on an all-you-can-eat buffet of k-bobs, various Arabic salads, and an assortment of grilled vegetables followed by a variety of deserts. Afterwards I retired back to my little A-framed room to plan for my next destination, Aqaba. 5 - Aqaba The next morning I had to be up early and down at the main road to catch a local bus going to Aqaba. I had made arrangements with the front desk and they told me that if I

43

was not out at the main road by 7 am I would miss the bus. As usual, the distance to the main road was a lot further than was originally quoted to me. I found that to be the case all throughout my travels. I made it out to the road a couple minutes late due to distance and having to carry my camera bag (~18 pounds) and my luggage (~48 pounds). For 45 minutes I waited and watched as a few vehicles went on by. One of the passing vehicles going in the opposite direction was a little Toyota minibus. The driver waved and I waved back as he passed. Later I saw the same minibus coming back and he slowed down and stopped next to me. The driver got out of the minibus, opened the sliding door, and started to grab my bag. I asked him if he was the bus coming to pick me up to take me to Aqaba. He said, no, that the bus had already come and gone. Since I did not see it pass, I figured that it must have passed my location before 7:00. I asked again if he was going to Aqaba and he replied that no, he was going north but he would take me to the main north-south highway and I could flag down a ride there or maybe catch a bus. I was hesitant and he said, “Don’t worry, it is OK. What choice do you have?”. So, proceeded to climbed into the minibus. The first seat across from the sliding door had one lone female passenger and I started to take a seat next to her when the driver motioned to me to move into the backseat. The backseat was already crowded with three guys but that is where I had to sit. I stupidly forgot that a male cannot sit next to woman unless she is his wife or brother. The trip to the main north-south highway was not long. One of the three guys started talking to me and told me that I could easily catch a bus going south on the highway. He also told me that it should not cost me more 1 dinar to go to Aqaba. When we got to the main highway the guy sitting next to me tapped me and pointed, saying “bus, bus”. I looked up and a bus was sitting on the other side of the highway facing south towards Aqaba. The minibus driver motioned to the larger bus to wait and I made my way across the highway with my stuff. I got on the bus and it was packed with local people. A young man in the back of the bus motioned for me to come back and sit in the last row with him and about five other passengers. I squeezed my way through the crowded aisle with my luggage and backpack as the bus took off down the highway. I then had to squeeze into the seat. I just looked upon this as another part of the whole adventure. Seated to my left was a young man and to my right, an older, white-haired man that did appear too happy to be sitting next to me. The young man started talking to me and during the conversation, he told me to be sure not to pay more than 1 dinar to the bus driver. It must be a common thing for the bus drivers to charge more to foreigners. After declining the usual cigarette offer, I sat back and quietly took in the scenery passing by outside. I also checked out the other passengers on the bus and notice a man in the bus stairwell changing his location from the stairwell to the main aisle. I saw him smile at one of the other passengers as he changed his location. The next thing I knew, the young man next to me yelled something out to him. The man in the aisle said something back but in a sort of shrug off way. Then the young man next to me shouted a few more things to him. A young woman several seats ahead of us turned and glanced back at the young man next to me. She was holding a small boy in her lap. Soon the voices between the young man next to me and the one in the aisle were raised and the next thing I knew, the young man next to me tried to stand up and push

44

his way past my luggage and me. He continued to struggle and tried to lunge over some of the passengers while the man in the aisle kept making comments. The young woman holding the child seemed embarrassed and tried to get the young man next to me to calm down. The young man was very angry and completely oblivious that I was in his way. Soon several of the passengers around me were mixed up in the yelling match with me stuck in the middle. They were standing up at this point, yelling back at the young man and they confronted him, by making him sit back down. Here I was caught in the middle of bodies pushing back and forth around me. Things seem to calm down for a bit but the young man kept trying to get up to move past me. I gathered that the young woman was probably his wife and that the man in the stairwell probably looked her way and that upset the young man. Right before we reached Aqaba we came to a complete stop on the highway. An oil tanker truck had overturned on highway and it appeared to have lost all of its contents of oil. The bus driver did not want to wait around so he took off down the embankment of the highway and proceeded around the overturned tanker truck then pulled the bus back up onto the highway. The whole area smelled of petroleum and the highway was covered in what appeared to be crude oil. All of a sudden, the bus started to slide sideways down the highway on the oil slick, sort of like a car sliding on ice. After a bit of maneuvering the driver regained control of the bus and we continued onto Aqaba.

Aqaba is a coastal beach resort in the southern end of Jordan and it is the country's only seaport. Eilat, Israel is located adjacent and to the west of Aqaba and Saudi Arabian border a few miles to the east.

In 1965, King Hussein traded 2,316 square miles of desert land in the interior of Jordan with Saudi Arabia for 7 miles of coastline south of Aqaba. The extra land allowed for the expansion of the seaport and gave Jordan access to the Yamanieh coral reef.

While in Aqaba, I had decided to stay at the Alcazar Hotel and the bus station was not too far from the hotel. I planned to walk from the bus station to the hotel when one of the taxi drivers insisted that I ride with him. He said that he needed to earn a living and he would take me to the hotel for 2 dinar. I took him up on his offer. As usual, I had not booked reservations and I hoped that the hotel would have a room available. My guidebook mentioned that the hotel was a bit run down but it had a dive club/pool and beach associated with it, south of Aqaba. The hotel looked like it was built in the 1960s, pastel blue and white, terrazzo flooring, large entryway, with a huge pool on the side. The building was several stories high and honestly did not look that bad. I asked if they had room and they did and gave me a very nice room on the seventh floor overlooking the front of the hotel. It was early in the morning and I had time to wander around town and then catch the early afternoon shuttle bus over to their private dive club/pool on the Red Sea, located south of the city. When I got to the dive club, I enquired about diving and was a little hesitant diving again in the Red Sea since I found the diving down the coast in Dahab, Egypt to be just so-so. They gave me a free mask, snorkel, and fins and told me to go to the reef right offshore from their location and I could decide later whether I would be interested in diving. A few people on the Thorne Tree site including

45

the girl I met online who went to Iran before me had also traveled through Syria and Jordan did not speak highly of the diving in Aqaba. Base on the comments and my previous Red Sea diving experience, I was not expecting much. I made my way across the hot rocky beach (ouch!), got into the water, and was surprised to find healthy, vibrant coral right at the water’s edge. The corals were comprised of a large variety of both hard and soft corals. The marine life was also quite varied and I observed several schools of large fish, rather than the juvenile varieties observed in Dahab. The one thing that bothered me about Aqaba was to see so many people walking out on the coral with their flip-flops to take a look at all the sea life. The corals were just a few inches below the surface of the water and in some areas, the people could walk way out in relatively shallow water. After spending a couple hours floating around I came back, dropped off the borrowed equipment, and booked a couple of dives. After lounging around the pool, the shuttle driver came and got me and we went back to the hotel. I cleaned up, went walking around town, and ate at a seafood restaurant listed in my guidebook. Afterwards I wandered around Aqaba, people watched, and did a little shopping. The next morning I met the hotel’s shuttle driver and he took me down to the dive resort along with a blonde haired woman. On the ride to the resort, she told me that she was the dive master and would be taking me on some dives. She was a very pretty, young Russian woman, with short blonde hair that was practically white. She asked what sort of things I would be interested in seeing and I told her what I liked, and I suggested she surprise me. We suited up, two other divers joined us, and we did the basic safety review near the shore before heading out to see the reefs and sea life. I saw a huge variety of fish as we dove around large coral clusters. The dive master point out many animals living in amongst the corals as well as on the sandy bottom. I was impressed and I felt like this was so much better than anything I saw around the Blue Hole in Dahab. For the second dive, it was just the dive master and I. She told me that she had a surprise for me. To get to the dive area we were going to have to take a bus ride down the coast towards the Saudi Arabian border. She had decided to dive at the Cedar Pride, a sunken ship that lies in up to 88 feet water. We swam all around the sunken ship and then under it. She knew that I was not that crazy about going inside so we only viewed it from the outside. In places, it was covered in marine life and several large schools of fish had made it their home. While diving I noticed her demeanor changed, I could tell she wanted me to follow her. She kept pointing to a large fish in the distance. It was a snapper, several feet long but I could not figure out why she was so upset by it. During the dives, I had watched her lift up stonefish from the bottom of the ocean and coax lionfish away from isolated corals, neither of which I would ever attempt. From the Cedar Pride we swam through another dive location referred to as the Eel Garden, which consisted of an area of sand full of moray eels feeding on the bottom. I have never seen so many moray eels before and to see them out in the open away from the corals was even odder. We were just gliding a couple feet over them and they seemed more interested in foraging on the bottom than us floating over them.

46

After we surfaced, I asked about the large snapper and she told me that they are a dangerous, aggressive fish and it scared her because of its size. The sea life I saw consisted of a variety of hard and soft corals, parrot fish, angelfish, butterfly fish, clownfish, lionfish, blue spotted stingrays, flatworms, moray eels, squid, octopus; I could go on and on. I was very impressed with all the varied marine life found here, and only a few feet from the shoreline. Aqaba also has the historical Aqaba Fort on the waterfront. I barely toured around the area because I was winding down from my extensive travels and, as with my other trips, I wanted to relax at the end. Therefore, I took the time to relax, scuba dive, eat, and wander around the city without feeling like I had to do much sightseeing. While in Aqaba I decided that I had one more place I would like to experience while in Jordan before catching a plane home. I checked out of my hotel, caught a luxury bus at a station around the corner, and headed back to Amman. I arrived at the bus station in Amman and as in the past, I was going to take my chances on finding accommodations. I wanted to stay at a hotel near the Marriott Hotel so that I could take advantage of a shuttle bus service they offer from their hotel to their Marriott resort on the Dead Sea. The taxi driver talked me out of the hotel I had chosen and into another saying; it is so much nicer than the one I was considering. He ended up taking me to a nice little boutique hotel, sort of in the middle of a residential area that was a few dollars more than the place I had originally chosen. The hotel offered breakfast but did not have a restaurant attached to it so I would not be able to eat dinner there, which was fine by me. I noticed a nice Italian restaurant not too far away. That night I asked the front desk for a restaurant recommendation and they told me that I could order in and have the food delivered. At the time, I was asking a man was there delivering food for someone else at the hotel. They asked if I wanted to ride back with the man to the restaurant, which they said was nearby. I decided to take them up on the offer. The man drove for about 10 minutes through a series of winding streets then stopped and pointed across the street to small local’s restaurant with a couple tables on the sidewalk. It was not fancy by any means and did not look very clean but the food smelled good. I looked around at what others were ordering and started pointing since no one could understand me. They prepared it for me and just as I was paying for it, I saw the man that drove me there take off in his car. I decided I would sit down at one of the little tables to eat and wait to see if he came back so that I might get a ride back to the hotel. As I was eating my food, I looked up to see the Italian couple from Wadi Rum walking down the little side street. I called out and they were very surprised to see me. We chatted in Italian/Spanish, they told me of their experience camping in the desert, and I told them about mine. They also had continued down to Aqaba for a couple days before heading back to Amman. I am always surprised to run into people again that I meet during my travels, but then again I should not be surprised, because that sort of thing seems to happen repeatedly.

47

The man that brought me to the restaurant never did come back so I decided to see if I could catch a taxi back to my hidden hotel. After trying hail a taxi for a while, I finally got a taxi to stop. Luckily, I had taken a business card with the name of the hotel on it, written in both English and Arabic. The taxi driver drove around for a while and I could tell he had no idea where it was. Periodically he would stop, get out of the taxi in his long flowing robe and sandals, and ask someone for directions. He even stopped at a rather grand looking hotel and asked. I kept saying the name of the hotel, which sounded like “camel”, and he drove me up to a place and smiled and I looked at him and shook my head. He pointed to the building and said something that sounded like "camel" so obviously he thought he had reached the right place. It had a similar sounding name but it was not my hotel. After stopping at another place to ask, they directed him in the general direction at which point I could steer him through the winding residential streets to it. I was so glad to be back and I am sure he was glad to be rid of me. 6 - Dead Sea

The next morning I made plans to go over the Marriott Hotel to catch their shuttle bus over to their resort on the Dead Sea. I got a taxi to take me through the security and bomb blast k-rails into the porte cochere of the Marriott Hotel. I bought my round trip ticket and was told the shuttle bus would be leaving in 5 minutes. I went over to a lounge area of the hotel and waited with my camera bag. I did not bring anything else besides a swimsuit since the hotel resort would be providing the rest. A very attractive young women came over and sat down near me with her coffee drink. The concierge came and told the both of us that the shuttle bus was ready to leave. We boarded and were soon chatting with each other and the driver who was a very nice man. He told us about sights as we drove past them and a little history of places we were passing. At one point, he asked which Dead Sea resort we were going to for the day. I asked if he stopped at any other place besides the Marriott Resort. He responded that he also goes to the Dead Sea Mövenpick Resort and Spa Hotel as well. I said I was going to the Marriott and the young woman said she was going to the Mövenpick. The young woman then asked the driver which he thought was better and he stated he preferred the Mövenpick. With that, I decided that I too wanted to go to the Mövenpick.

The shuttle bus left the outskirts of Amman and started descending into the Jordan Valley, which contains the Dead Sea. At one point, we passed a sign stating we were at sea level and it felt like we were still on a mountaintop looking down into a deep valley with a large lake. As we continued down, I could see the Dead Sea reflecting in the morning sun. We passed several farms with orchards including banana plantations.

48

After a while the shuttle bus pulled into the plush spa resort, the driver told us to go in and that they would take care of us. He then asked what time did we want to return to Amman. We both answered 4 pm. I wanted to spend the whole day relaxing in the spa and taking a few dips in the Dead Sea. I was given a locker key for my camera equipment and a huge, soft, white, Turkish towel. I proceeded out to the first set of pools that contained all sorts of waterfalls and roiling bubble configurations that included various lounging seats to bubbling tubes you stand in order to be massaged by the churning water. Of course, I had to try them all. After that, I continued heading down to the next series of pools and restaurants. Each of the pool areas contained a large tranquil endless pool, which seemed to fade off into the horizon with the Dead Sea below. I made my way down several flights of stairs until I was down to the level of the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is a salt lake located between Jordan on the east, and the West Bank and Israel, to the west. The Dead Sea is about 42 miles long and 11 miles wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley and the Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea. The surface waters are approximately 1,385 feet below sea level, and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of Earth. The Dead Sea itself is 1,240 feet deep and is the deepest saltwater lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with a salinity of 33.7 % (over 8 times as salty as the ocean). The level of the Dead Sea has been dropping rapidly because of less incoming water from the Jordan River. Since 1970, the Dead Sea levels have dropped 72 feet and are currently dropping at a rate of approximately 3 feet per year.

I read in a Jordanian newspaper that Jordan announced its plans to construct the "Jordan National Red Sea Development Project". The project consists of the desalination of seawater from the Red Sea in the south as a means of providing

49

freshwater for the population of Jordan. The left over brine water would then be piped to the southern part of the Dead Sea for replenishment. Jordan would also gain an added benefit by being able to generate hydroelectric power due to the change in elevation as the brine waters travel down to the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea has been an attraction for people for thousands of years. It is considered one of the world's first health resorts. The Egyptians used balms from the Dead Sea for Egyptian mummification and potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics. Many people also believe that the mud of the Dead Sea has special healing and cosmetic uses.

The Dead Sea's climate offers year-round sunny skies and dry air. Supposedly, the area is not subject to as much ultraviolet radiation, particularly the UVB, because of a natural haze that forms down in the Jordan Rift Valley. The atmosphere is also supposed to be higher in oxygen content due to the high barometric pressure.

Once I got down to the water’s edge, I found a lounge chair with an umbrella and table, and set my towel and camera down so that I could go down and take a dip. I looked over and saw the young woman from the shuttle bus applying dark brown mud to her skin from a clay urn at the water’s edge. She waved me over and told me that I needed to try it. It did not take long for it to dry and then she proceeded to walk down a wood ramp and into the Dead Sea for a float. She then laid out flat and just bobbed in the gentle surf of the Dead Sea. I then went over and applied the muds to my body until I was completely caked with them. The young woman ran over, got my camera, and started taking photographs of me as I applied the muds. I stayed on the shore to dry and after I felt the tightening of my skin and the cracking of the muds, I figured it was time for a dip. The slippery rocks and pebbles along the Dead Sea shoreline are coated with a white halite mineral crystal that is formed from the evaporation of the Dead Sea waters.

I slipped and slid my way into the strange feeling waters. The clear water felt thicker and very slippery as compared to fresh or salt water. Also, as I moved my hand through the water, the water would turn from being transparent to cloudy for a moment, as if a

50

chemical reaction was taking place. I made my way out until I was waist deep then laid out flat. I could not have walked very much deeper because I was buoyant enough that I was having a hard time keeping my feet on the bottom. I could feel the mud slowly coming off my skin but it actually took some rubbing to get it all off. Also, I did notice that a couple areas where I had either a cut or nick on my the skin, that spot would sting when it came in contact with the water.

I floated out in the water for over a half hour then came back in and rinsed off with the fresh water showers located along the shoreline. I then went back to my lounge chair to find that the young woman had moved her stuff over next to mine. The young woman was from Brazil and worked as the editor and chief for Vogue in Brazil. I asked her what she was doing in Jordan and she mentioned that she was visiting at a friend's house in Amman. Her friend was from France and was currently living in Jordan. Her friend comes down to the Dead Sea Mövenpick Resort and Spa Hotel on the weekends, and recommended it to her. We spent the rest of the day together getting our bodies caked (face and hair included) with the mud and then floating in the Dead Sea. Towards the end of our time, we tried out the pool areas with the various bubbling whirlpools before we headed to the lobby to await our ride back to Amman. By the end of the day, I noticed that the skin on my legs was shiny, like they had been polished.

We let the concierge in the lobby know that we were awaiting our ride back to Amman. A man came over and asked for out return tickets and left. He came back and

51

apologized for the delay then a couple of minutes later he returned and said that we could leave now. He walked us over to a BMW and told us he would be driving us back to Amman. I think something must have happened to our shuttle bus ride back. We climbed in and continued chatting about travel adventures. I happened to have my netbook with me and she asked to see my Iran story. She paged through it, reading bits and pieces of it and then asked me to e-mail it to her because she was interested in reading more about Iran. Before arriving in Amman, we stopped off at a Dead Sea products store and she bought Dead Sea muds and salts to take back with her. After we returned to Amman, I bid her farewell and caught a taxi ride back to my hotel.

After I cleaned up, I walked down to the Italian restaurant near the hotel and had a great Italian meal in a large open-air courtyard. It turned out to be a perfect day with a perfect meal to end a perfect trip.

I did not know what to expect at the start of my trip and came away with the sense that I wish this would never end and I could keep going. As I traveled around, I began to reflect back on places and I reassessed how I now feel about them as I gained new experiences. The thing I noticed was my perspective on how I viewed some of the recently visited places changed with each new adventure.

India was truly an adventure. The Indian way and life is such a sharp contrast to my regular everyday life. Would I go back to India? Without hesitation, but at least this time I will be ready to have all of my senses assaulted. If I were asked what was my favorite site in India. That is a hard choice but I have to say that the Taj Mahal is must see. India is photographer's dream with so many choices ranging from the varied landscapes to the historical and religious sites and its people.

Iran… what can I say about Iran. Of all the countries I visited on this trip, Iran turned out to be my favorite. Some of that might be due to the 180-degree change from what I experienced in India but also because it contains so much history, beautiful religious sites, and warm welcoming people. If I had to choose my favorite place in Iran, it would be the Naqsh-e Jahan Square (Imam Square) in Isfahan. I wish I had taken more photographs of the whole area at various times of the day. Turkey, I have to apologize about Turkey because I did not do it justice. When I got to Turkey, I had already spent more time than I intended in both India and Iran and I was constrained by my exit airline ticket date that I was unable to change. That meant that I had to speed things up and not spend as much time in each location as I had wished. Also, the faster pace was hard because I had so many sites I wanted to see while there and I was a little tired from all the traveling I had already done so far. Turkey contains some amazing sites and it is hard to pick one but I probably would have to go with the strange landscape of Cappadocia. Again, I wish I had taken more photographs of the natural wonders of that region. I got so used to seeing amazing sites on this trip that I became over saturated by it all and ended up only capturing that which I thought was truly outstanding.

52

When I got to Syria, I felt like I was trust back into a place that was somewhere between Iran and Jordan. Each place had its unique character too and if I had to choose one place that really grabbed me in Syria; it would have to be Palmyra. I can only imagine how beautiful the city must have been during its heyday. The colors of the present day ruins set against the shifting desert sands and the striking blue skies above made it a site to behold. Jordan is a modern, westernize, Arab country that has so much packed within its borders. Even though Turkey is similar with its European parts and its Muslim heritage, Jordan has a different feel to it. The Roman ruins of Jerash; the photographic desert at Wadi Rum; and the World Heritage site of Petra. Historical places that I had read about or seen on the screen were now in living color. Again, if I had to choose one place in Jordan, it would have to be Petra with its combination of ancient ruins and the natural beauty of the landscape. The one thing to remember is that none of these places would be very interesting if it were not for the whole package. This package includes the natural landscape, the history that has taken place there, the people and customs, and the present day way of life. I hope that I was a good guest in each in country and I hope that I prompted some of you to come and explore for yourself. I want to thank you for coming along with me and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, until next time… Ciao

Mark

53

It is better to travel well than to arrive. — Buddha (563-483 BC)

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. — Saint Augustine (354-430)

All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it. — Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. — Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend. — Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. — Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. — Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff. — Britney Spears (1981-)