Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Why Not???

WHY NOT? Shop

I'm always up for an adventure and knew that I needed to take advantage of a long weekend (the prophet Mohammad had a birthday). So we went online, booked a ticket, and jetted off to Jordan.  Now unless you don't have a passport (shameful), there is NO reason why YOU can't book yourself a trip to somewhere phenomenal so don't start whinging about your boring life...

Everyday was a highlight of the trip - though dipping my head into the Jordan might have been one of the most entertaining for the others... or jumping in the back of the Jordanian's truck for a photo shoot... or perhaps it was the mud wrestling at the dead sea?

The first stop was Madaba - in one small church we saw a "carpet" mosaic.  This "carpet" mosaic showed the fish swimming as fast as possible AWAY from the dead sea saltiness!!
See the fish in the top right? ? ? In the river? It's swimming AWAY from the Dead Sea.
Next we headed to Mount Nebo where we looked across the valley, remembering Moses and God's people.

just catching a ride to the next spot... :)
After hanging out with Moses, we headed to the baptism site.  This is when things got wet after I dipped my head in the Jordan river...
self baptisms are allowed in most churches, right?


Obviously we stopped at the dead sea for a swim float!  I took full advantage of the "free mud", probably making me look 25 again! No wrinkles ANYWHERE on my body!






We finished the day by driving down to Petra where we met some local boys, ate delicious falafel's and hung out at the ghetto cafeteria until way too late.  Early the next morning we headed into Petra.  The entire experience was phenomenal, the treasury is the most photographed part of Petra, however the highlight was hiking up to the monastery!!   I learned that I'm unbelievably scared of riding donkeys up stairs carved into the side of a mountain.  I'll skydive, ride alone on an elephants neck, heck - travel alone in the middle east... but ride a crazy ass up a mountain? NOPE!



My wedding came next in the Wadi Rum, following a beautiful sunset over the desert... What's most interesting is that many people believed (from my facebook updates) that I ACTUALLY married a guy I just met!!! Don't worry, I'm only married according to some Bedouin traditions - and some wonderful Bedouin lady even stood in as my mother... or perhaps crazy aunt!

Jerash was the last 'tour' part of the trip - I hadn't realized the Romans had built so many cities around the middle east... part of their world domination tour I guess.

Amman sightseeing was cut a bit short by torrential rains (whoever says it doesn't rain in the middle east is a liar) but we still were able to see more Roman ruins and explore the downtown markets.  I'm not convinced that I want to move to Jordan anytime soon, however it was great to see the different cultures and religions all wildly accepted - we even came across a yoga store off Rainbow Street - many people would never believe a New Age store would exist next to a Christian bookstore in Jordan!!











Moral of the Story:  When in Jordan be sure to hit up Books at Cafe on Rainbow Street for a coffee and dessert in a chill environment!!

11 comments:

  1. Ha, ha... you said "whinging." That's Australian slang.

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  2. Wow! What an amazing trip! Thanks for sharing and taking so many pictures. You look beautiful!!! If I have a chance to travel there, I will remember your moral of your story.

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  3. I am so jealous! Is there any place you haven't been? I would have loved to see all those biblical sites. Maybe someday.

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  4. Who are the guys? Details.

    Carrie

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  5. I sure hope that wedding wasn't real. Who knows what happens with the Bedouins. They have some unusual customs!

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  6. great pics - looks like you had an awesome time! who were you with?

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  7. Josh - I love aussie slang.
    ckm - happy smiling people always look great in photos!
    Silvana - I haven't been to your place for dinner yet!!
    carrie - friends
    Suzanne - ;)

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  8. Totally love the pics and captions! Amazing trip and I would love to see so much biblical history in PERSON! Thanks for sharing!

    Jaime

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  9. yeah for Petra! Someone else to share such a magical place with. Wish I would have been able to see everything else you got to.

    Hannah--you lead an amazing life. I'm jealous. :)
    love ya, sista

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