Well, we're on our way out of Jordan. The drive out to the airport seemed so normal, when three months ago the drive in seemed so odd.
The taxi ride was everything I'd expect. The seat-belts didn't work, the driver had is coffee, played on his phone to get his music sorted and drove rather faster than required. He did, however, offer Alison and me a cigarette when he started smoking (a couple of the others have done that too).
We hired a car the day before yesterday and did a loop past the Dead Sea (including the lowest inhabited point on earth) and Kerak, which got us a view of some of the southern hill country. The driving was every bit as hair-raising as I feared in town, but the countryside wasn't too bad, apart from the appalling quality of the road surface.
We got to see all the "must see" things in the country during our time. There's a few places we would have seen if we had more time (and access to a car) but nothing that I feel bad about missing. I would have liked to see the fields of dolmens and menhirs, of which Jordan has lots, but I've seen similar in Europe.
I've been thinking of things I will miss about Jordan, and to be honest the list is pretty short. Some foods that I've enjoyed and I've enjoyed the call to prayer and minarets everywhere. The different things, like the sheep above, tied up on the street.
I would have liked to have learned to read Arabic a bit, but three months wasn't anywhere near enough time for that.
Then again, the list of things that I am glad to be leaving behind is also pretty short -- appalling plumbing, terrible roads (and footpaths) and the lack of quality bread really.
We didn't miss eating pork during our time, although Alison found that bacon formed quite a large part of her list of recipes, so missed it from that point of view. We're looking forward to cheap red Cypriot and Bulgarian wine, but it was only the price that prevented us having it in Jordan, not accessibility.
And so now to Cyprus.
The taxi ride was everything I'd expect. The seat-belts didn't work, the driver had is coffee, played on his phone to get his music sorted and drove rather faster than required. He did, however, offer Alison and me a cigarette when he started smoking (a couple of the others have done that too).
We hired a car the day before yesterday and did a loop past the Dead Sea (including the lowest inhabited point on earth) and Kerak, which got us a view of some of the southern hill country. The driving was every bit as hair-raising as I feared in town, but the countryside wasn't too bad, apart from the appalling quality of the road surface.
We got to see all the "must see" things in the country during our time. There's a few places we would have seen if we had more time (and access to a car) but nothing that I feel bad about missing. I would have liked to see the fields of dolmens and menhirs, of which Jordan has lots, but I've seen similar in Europe.
Sheep tied up outside the local butcher
I've been thinking of things I will miss about Jordan, and to be honest the list is pretty short. Some foods that I've enjoyed and I've enjoyed the call to prayer and minarets everywhere. The different things, like the sheep above, tied up on the street.
I would have liked to have learned to read Arabic a bit, but three months wasn't anywhere near enough time for that.
Then again, the list of things that I am glad to be leaving behind is also pretty short -- appalling plumbing, terrible roads (and footpaths) and the lack of quality bread really.
We didn't miss eating pork during our time, although Alison found that bacon formed quite a large part of her list of recipes, so missed it from that point of view. We're looking forward to cheap red Cypriot and Bulgarian wine, but it was only the price that prevented us having it in Jordan, not accessibility.
And so now to Cyprus.
No comments:
Post a Comment