Sadly, we aren't getting a chance to go to Israel on this trip, but thanks for letting us know about the closure of the gates. Also, thanks all for adding your insights about what you or others have experienced in Egypt as well.

I still can't quite figure out how to use those hose attachments in the bathrooms. They look like the attachments you have on your sink to spray the dishes. I don't know how you'd use that without soaking yourself in a public place...especially with those long abayas!


JORDAN

Day 1: March 30th: Cairo to Amman.

We started our day around 7:30, but with all the travel shenanigans didn't arrive at the hotel in Amman until around 2ish. The Royal Jordanian flight was comfortable and the plane appeared quite new and well kept up. Interestingly, following the map, the plane took a route which totally avoided Israeli airspace. Today was another travel day but we, Susan, Doug and I, dubbed "the energizer bunnies," managed to see some sights. As we flew in, it was all brown desert. As we got closer to the airport, it was a bit greener. It was refreshing to see a clean city after Egypt. Everything was nicely manicured and the buildings were quite modern. The homes and apartment complexes we passed were very upscale. Amman, itself, is very polished looking. Security is extremely high, but they have had recent issues with the Al-Queda. On November 9, 2005, coordinated explosions rocked three hotels, including the Hyatt where we are staying in Amman, resulting in the death of 60 people and the injury of 115 others (a wedding party was being held in one of the hotels). Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the act. We are all frisked as we enter the hotel and our luggage is run through an xray machine.

The Hyatt is a large, elegant Hyatt…I would say a 4 star versus the 5 star Fairmont or Four Seasons. It is just a tad below. The rooms are nicely appointed and the service levels high, but the rooms are a bit more downscale. They are very modern, with a marble foyer and bathroom and comfortable king size bed and nicely appointed furniture. We were all in different states of hunger, tiredness, etc and some went to rest and others to get a bite to eat. Susan, Doug and I decided to see Amman on foot and the concierge recommended that we go over to the old city and see the citadel, the roman theater and just walk around. Knowing that we would have a city tour the next day, we thought this sounded great. We were surprised at how cool it was here, especially after Egypt. It was sunny, but probably in the 60's and definitely jacket weather.

We grabbed a cab and found out that cabs are VERY reasonable 2 dinar (about $3) to get over the the old city. Note: Cabs were also very reasonable in Cairo. We were somewhat turned around when we got there and couldn't find the citadel (not knowing really what we were looking for). Finally, we stopped into a pharmacy and were pointed to the Roman Theater and Citadel. They didn't know what we were talking about because that's not what they call it…The Hill of the Citadel is called Jabal al-Qal'a and contains ruins on the hill that range from Roman through early Islamic. In fact, the name "Amman" comes from "Rabbath Ammon," or "Great City of the Ammonites," who settled in the region some time after 1200 BC. The city has quite a history. The Bible even mentions that King David captured the city in the early 10th century BC.

In ancient times, Amman with its surrounding region was successively ruled by the then-superpowers of the Middle East: Assyria (8th century BC), Babylonia (6th century), the Ptolemies, the Seleucids (third century BC), Rome (1st century BC), and the Umayyads (7th century AD). Ptolemy II Philadelphus renamed the city "Philadelphia" after himself. I never thought of Amman, Jordan as being the sister city to our Philadelphia!!! Later, it passed to Arab rule in the 7th century AD and its Umayyad rulers restored the city's original name of Amman. Today, greater Amman (the core city plus suburbs) remains by far the most important urban area in Jordan, containing over half of the country's population or about 3 million out of 5 million people.

Since we wandered too long, we never made it to the citadel which closed at 6pm. However, we did make it to the Roman Theater. Built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (169-177 AD), the large and steep theatre seats about 6,000 people. It is built into the hillside, and oriented north to keep the sun off the spectators. It appears to still be in regular use for theatrical and entertainment productions. The theater arena also contains two small museums. One is a handicrafts museum showing dress, daily living habits, etc of the Bedouin people. The other museum is a folkloric museum housing furniture and handicrafts. This museum closed at 5:30.

Once we left the museum, we needed to use some facilities. We asked a gentleman if there were public restrooms. He personally led us to a restaurant for us to us use the facilities. He saw Doug take out some money to tip him for his kindness and said "No. No money. The toilets are free. I take no money. I am Bedouin." We chatted a bit with him and he just asked that we look into a shop in the neighborhood and we did. We also experienced all sorts of other acts of warmth and kindness. I was taking a picture and a man, his wife and child stopped to not get in my way. Doug said "thank you." The man said "Where are you from?" Doug answered, "New York." The man responded, "Welcome to Jordan." The shop keepers were very nice AND very honest. Susan and I noticed the same objects we bought in Egypt. We stopped and asked about them in a shop. The shopkeeper pointed to different items and said, "This is from Egypt, this is from Jordan, this is from India." With dismay, we found out all of our "handmade Nubian necklaces" came from India. So much for our Egyptian souvenirs. Whenever we went into a store, the shopkeepers never said something was from Jordan if it wasn't. They always showed us official government stamps when it was and noted when something was new or old.

Clothing for women is very interesting in Jordan as well. Woman normally cover their heads in a scarf. However, they may wear jeans and western dress or an abaya. The abaya is rarely like that of the Saudi women and many were elegantly embroidered. What was more intriguing was the undergarments and nighties. They were downright sexy. Bright red and see-through and short. The woman may dress discretely on the street, but they dress differently in the privacy of their homes!

We even found the most fun taxi cab driver who was quite a joker…with perfect English and a love for his city. We got a short tour and entertaining commentary on the way back to the hotel before dinner.

We were on our own for dinner tonight. Most of the folks decided to stay in the hotel where there was a Thai, Italian and an American restaurant. Doug, Susan and I added Pat and Ray to our dining companions and asked the concierge to set us up at a nice place for dinner. We originally asked for 7pm reservations, but he told us that 8pm was the earliest he could do, as fancier restaurants are typically open from 8 PM to midnight or 1 AM for dinner. We were the only folks there for a long while, but when we left after 10pm, the place was packed. We were told the best restaurant in town was the Fakhr el-Din Restaurant which was a Lebanese restaurant. It is a stunning mansion that was once the home of the first prime minister of Jordan during the reign of HM the late King Hussein. The meal began with a huge centerpiece of fresh vegetables and garlic dip and ended with a huge centerpiece of fresh fruit. We had the best meal of the trip here complete with cold and hot mezzos (appetizers), soups, and the most wonderful fish, lamb and chicken dishes. It was an altogether wonderful beginning to our Jordan journey!