Looking back on the trip, my friends and I (and most of the other AUC students who visited) agree that Lebanon was the best stop on our journey. Jordan definitely had its charms, but there were many downsides as well-- the worst being the exchange rate. The Jordanian dinar is about as strong as the British pound, making the exchange rate 0.7 dollars to the dinar. Although it wasn't necessarily an expensive country, for a place much more like Egypt than it was like Europe, things weren't cheap.
I will say that Jordan was significantly cleaner than Egypt (though you could say that's damning with faint praise), and maybe even cleaner and better-organized than Lebanon. Our hotel, the Cameo in northern Amman, was very, very nice for what we paid, and the managers were so helpful with our questions and assisting us in traveling the country. Jordan was the first place I've seen in the Middle East with actual traffic control, from speed bumps to cops with radar guns to parking tickets. That could be a result of the difference between Lebanon's government (still in relative upheaval) and Jordan's strict monarchy. Unlike Egypt and Lebanon, Jordan is actually the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. However, while posters and reproduced paintings of King Abdullah II (husband of American-educated Queen Rania) are literally everywhere, the Jordanian attitude is more liberal than, say, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This could be because of the country's focus on tourism; there are so many designated sites to visit in Jordan that one group of AUC students spent their entire 12-day break there.
We stayed in Amman for two nights, but for a large, wealthy capital city, there really just isn't much to do there. We wandered the downtown area on our first day there , and while we ate some delicious mansaf (the Jordanian national food; a large piece of chicken or lamb [simply called "meat" here, which I find hilarious] over rice, with a cheesy broth/dip on the side), the sidewalk souqs (markets) were a pale and pricey comparison to the enormous Khan el-Khalili in Cairo. We went to visit the "Roman ruins"-- one of only two historical/educational attractions Amman seems to have-- and it was just a few columns right in the middle of town, its marble all weedy and the chain-link fence rickety. Our hotel was out in the suburbs (most of Amman is suburban, and all the buildings are built in the same square, flat-roofed, white style due to the heat), so there wasn't much within walking distance. However, we did go to the mall (not quite as crazy as the City Stars mall in Cairo, but close), AND (I was really excited) we saw a person with a Clemson sticker on their car! That will probably be the only time I'm excited to see a Clemson fan. (Just kidding... kind of.)
After the relaxation of the first day, we took our second day in Amman to visit the Dead Sea. Because of the aforementioned exchange rate and the relatively large size of Jordan geographically, it was too expensive for us to drive to multiple places in one day, so we missed out on seeing places like Mount Nebo (where Moses is buried), Jerash (the impressive ruins of a Roman city), and Wadi Rum (a desert with beautiful natural formations, much like the Black and White Deserts I visited in March). But the Dead Sea was definitely our top priority! We descended about 1800 m in elevation over an hourlong trip, from the high hills of Amman (1400 m above sea level) to the depths of the Dead Sea, the lowest land area on Earth (-422 m below sea level). Our first words upon getting out of the car were "Oh my gosh, that's Israel!" Since the Arab-Israeli conflict has been the focus of my studies for the past three years, to actually see Israel for the first time was amazing. It looks pretty much the same as the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, but the lack of visible resorts and hotels on the Israeli side (most of the Israeli shore of the Dead Sea is located in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank-- i.e., the West Bank of the Jordan/Dead Sea) and constant drone of military planes overhead added gravity to the otherwise idyllic atmosphere.
The Dead Sea, as you may know, is named for its hypersalinity: because the lake's water is 33.7% salt, making it more than eight times saltier than ocean water, no life can survive in it. However, this unique environment also means that human bodies are less dense than the water, and naturally float rather than sinking, as they would in a normal lake. The thick, black mud on the lake floor is also prized for its exfoliating qualities and sold in spas around the world. These aspects of the Sea made it fun to play in for several hours, although John did accidentally put his face and eyes into the water. Don't do that if you ever visit the Dead Sea (there is a sign outside that warns you not to, but clearly it's easy to ignore). We laid out by the pool at the resort for the rest of the afternoon. This was the first place I visited in the Middle East where I saw people (mostly Europeans and Americans, of course) wearing Western swimsuits, and they made an odd contrast with the Jordanian and Saudi men sitting poolside in their keffiyehs and galabeyas (traditional scarf headdresses and loose robes).
On our last full day in Jordan, the Cameo arranged for our same driver from the day before to take us to Petra, about two hours south of Amman, wait for us while we toured, and then drive us another hour south to the coastal city of Aqaba. This was great, because it would have been hard for us to find a bus to Aqaba in Petra, and we wouldn't have been able to guarantee the security of our bags while we hiked around the ancient city. We were visiting on a very hot and sunny day, and also on the same one chosen by at least five or six other groups from AUC. While the city is beautiful and it's mind-boggling to think that these intricate buildings were carved out of solid rock and actually built into the mountains, I'm still not sure whether the visit was worth the $50 USD (33 dinar) and vicious sunburns. Petra is, however, one of those places in the Middle East that you absolutely have to visit, and is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, so I'm sure in hindsight I'll be glad I went.
I'm not kidding when I say it wasn't an easy trip, though. Petra, an ancient Nabatean city taken over by the Romans and differentiated from other cities of the time by the fact that its buildings are carved entirely into the mountains of Wadi Musa in southern Jordan, has been left unpaved, and walking through thick sand can make a leisurely stroll into a tough hike. It's also a real city, and of proportional size to a real city; you can spend up to three days just visiting its attractions. We wanted to be done in four hours, which required a lot of speedy walking and climbing. There are also locals constantly harassing you, asking if you would prefer to ride a donkey through the city; some of our friends did this, but we resisted. The Treasury at Petra (see picture) is by far the most impressive and recognizable sight in the whole city, and many of the other buildings can just seem like less-well-preserved renditions of the same architecture. But I am glad that I went, as rigorous a tour as it was. And anyone else who has the chance should go-- just come prepared!
The beautiful, ancient tectonic canyon that forms the path into Petra.
In front of the famous Treasury at Petra!
We drove into Aqaba, Jordan's only coastal city (at the juncture of the Red Sea, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia) that night, ready to celebrate Leo's 21st birthday and set sail for Egypt's Sinai the next day. I had several applications and emails to take care of, and internet had been so intermittent throughout the trip that I needed about three hours in our hotel's business center to get my life together. Aqaba seemed nice, but we didn't really have a chance to do any sightseeing, and it's not a historical attraction in the way that Byblos or Beirut are. Our hotels were also getting progressively nicer as our journey went on; the Days Inn in Aqaba was the first one to have a shower with a bathtub!
The ferry across the Red Sea from Aqaba to Nuweiba, Egypt was the only reasonable way for us to travel from Jordan to Egypt without paying for another flight (other AUC students took it, too), but it was honestly pretty awful. I don't have much ferry experience (the only one I've taken, I think, being that from the North Carolina mainland to Ocracoke Island), but even Staten Island native Leo was surprised that we weren't allowed to go outside at all for the entire four-hour ferry ride. The boat was very crowded (although being in second class rather than economy helped), but the worst part was that we sat in our seats for a full two hours after we reached Nuweiba. Why? Who knows. We were definitely back in Egypt. Also, John was told that his visa was invalid for reentry, and only after going to the bank at the dock, paying for a new visa, and taking it to the immigration office for approval was he told that his visa was actually valid and he'd done all that for nothing. We had expected to spend the whole day traveling, but hadn't realized just how annoying and taxing that travel would be. Haggling for a microbus to take the four of us and our luggage (plus our friends Emily and Amy, who we ran into at the dock) to Sharm el-Sheikh (a two-hour drive) was equally unpleasant, although we did eventually get the driver down to the price we had been told by Egyptian friends was reasonable to pay.
Haggling here is a complex art, and extremely common-- if something doesn't have a price tag on it, it is open for bidding. You're at a disadvantage if you don't have a clear idea of the item's value beforehand, and in the case of taxis, bus rides, and the like, it is always best to ask a friendly, trustworthy local (i.e. someone who has no monetary interest in ripping you off), or a travel official/tourist police officer what kind of price to expect. The driver/salesperson will always go into the sale asking for significantly more than the item's value, and you should ask for less than its value. Stand your ground, even when he starts yelling and cursing you, and eventually most salespeople of any kind will come down. Or, he'll drive away, and you'll bargain with the next one to come along. No problem (mafish mishkala).
The main issue we faced with bargaining in the Sinai was that there are very few Egyptian residents living there, and the swarms of Eastern European (and some Italian and British, but very few American) tourists buzzing about the beaches of Sharm meant that taxi drivers and other salespeople (restaurant managers, grocers, internet cafe owners, etc.) were accustomed to being easily able to rip people off, to the point where all prices were incredibly inflated. A taxi ride that would have cost perhaps 10 LE (Egyptian pounds; around $2 USD) in Cairo cost 40 LE ($8 USD) there. All food was both very mediocre and very expensive. I was aghast at the prices of things like pretzels in stores. I'm sure this is the same kind of exchange-rate shock I'll experience when I get home, but I feel the difference is that the expensive stuff in Sharm was still Egyptian expensive stuff (i.e. produced for, worth, and usually sold at a much, much lower price). Considering how poor we all were from the expenses of Lebanon and Jordan, we had been looking forward to getting back to the Egyptian exchange rate (5.5 LE to 1 USD), and the cost of Sharm put us in an unpleasant mood for the rest of the trip.
This isn't to say that Sharm el-Sheikh wasn't beautiful; it was. The Red Sea was gorgeous, and snorkeling to see the magnificent coral reefs and huge schools of fish was awesome. Our hotel was very nice, and thanks to John's hotel-booking skills (and maybe also the fact that we were sleeping five people in a two-person double room), relatively cheap. Thanks to a scheduling mix-up, our friend Rosie found herself with extra time during break, and hopped an overnight bus from Cairo to meet us at the beach (accounting for the fifth person in the room). It was so fun to have a fresh face in the group for the last few days of the trip! I think in the future, though, I will definitely be choosing Dahab, the cheaper, more student/backpacker-oriented Red Sea resort area, over Sharm. Speaking of the future, I'll actually be going to Dahab in four days, but more about that in my next post!
The main pool at our resort in Sharm.
The beautiful Red Sea-- there are huge coral reefs right along the shore!
The trip was worth every penny, and any small frustrations (or significant sunburns) we had were nothing compared to the daily frustrations of Cairo. The clean air in all three places we visited was reason enough to leave the Nile Delta, one of the most polluted regions in the world, for two weeks. I added several new stamps to my passport, and can now say I've visited four continents (Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America)! I got to know John, Leo, and Chelsea so much better, and really felt like a world traveler rather than just a student in Cairo. But in the end, I was happy to come "home," to my little dorm room on its leafy, familiar street in Zamalek, the other AUC friends I'd missed, free internet, and, of course, that good old Egyptian exchange rate.
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