Time to come home

Sept 19: What is so interesting in just the six months since my last visit is to see a high percentage of the people wearing their religion on their sleeve, so to speak. The Muslims from the way that the women dress and the Christians are wearing their crosses.  Either I have never noticed it before, or it is much more obvious now- not really sure, but not a comfortable feeling, but I do hear that throughout the region.

The wind started to blow this evening and it was so pleasant to sit for the last time out in the orchard and work on my computer doing some emails. I had just gotten a call from a journalist that was planning on coming to Jordan and wanted me to set him up with my contacts to do a story on the region. Got that done along with some email introductions.  Friends came and said their good-byes before I had to leave to the airport (which has a really a great duty free shop for some last minute Arabic sweets and nuts).

The flight on Air France was full all the way to Paris.

Update on Syria from Rita

Sept 16:  Spent the day talking to people about Syria who had just returned or had been asked to leave by their companies and are coming to Jordan.  A lot of the UNRWA and other NGO's have closed their offices.  The American Embassy is still open but has only 28 people still there for now.  They are stating that Ambassador Ford will just finish the year and then it might be closed.  That is really sad when you think that it just re-opened.

The fighting is still taking place with both groups doing atrocities to the other.  I was told by a friend that Asma, the wife of Bashar Al Assad, is still in Damascus and she went to visit the Red Cross, trying to talk to people and see if she could help in cooordinating talks between both sides.  There are also rumors that Mazin is not letting her leave the country with the kids, but we are not able to say if that is true or not.

I was trying to figure out before I came why there are no curfews, I have been told that if they had curfews similar to during the reign of his father that you might have a lot more violence and bloodshed.  This way people still have some freedom to get out and say what they want. One of the main slogans is "Alawites out (this is the ruling party in Syria) and the Christians to Lebanon".

The people in Damascus and Aleppo, the two major cities in Syria, are more upper class and have made lots of money during Bashar's reign and they want to keep him.  Life has been good for them. Better than the time of his father.  That is one of the reasons that there are very few demonstrations there.  The places having the most trouble are the border cities and also in Hama and Homs were massacres years ago during the reign of the Bashar's father, Hafez Al Assad.  That is another one of the slogans: "Revenge for our fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters".

News & Topics of Conversation

Sept 15:  Still in Madaba and listening to the news that there is a demonstration in downtown Amman.  The Israeli ambassador has left Jordan for security reasons, and the Palestinians and Jordanians are demonstrating in front of the American embassy and burning the flag. They are not happy with America's total acceptance of  Israel's actions and policies. Especially with what is happening in Gaza. The demonstrators are peaceful and the soldiers and police stay to the side so that nothing happens.  They feel if they go into the crowd it will cause problems.

People still go about their business and try and keep a sense of calm.  There are tensions between the Palestinians and the Jordanians and also the Christians and the Muslims. Everyone is watching what is happening in Syria to see if it will spill over into this area.  So far nothing.  The Christians have a feeling that if the Christians are kicked out of Syria and sent to Lebanon, as some of the slogans that are being shouted say, the same will happen to them here.  But neighbors and friends are talking to each other and say that we are still friends and families, there is no way that anything like this will happen.

These are topics of conversation all over the country in coffee shops, in homes, and in restaurants etc.

Had a BBQ today with friends and family. We had all kinds of meat and salads and Arak in the hot sun. Singing and dancing and playing the tabla.

Dinner with friends & family in Jordan, and a Syria Update

More from Rita on her stay in Jordan.

Sept 13: It seems like we never get to bed before midnight and later each night! I went to a friends house and had the famous dish of mansaf - it was fabulous and we all ate and ate standing around a table with our hands the traditional way.  The rest of the day was totally lost after having such a heavy meal and the heat.

Sept 14:  Listening to the news and calling family and friends in Syria. All of them telling me not to come now.  Also the government has made it illegal to be using US Dollars.  Had a friend working with the UN and they came to Jordan to change all the funds and figure out how they were going to deal with paying people.  I called some merchants I know and asked them what they are doing and they had all set up accounts in other countries to be able to still conduct business.  They said they were taking orders from other countries and then sending the items through to Jordan or Lebanon and then out.  This is all they could do to keep going and making some money to live.  There has been no tourism in the country for the last several months. 

More from Jordan

Sept 11: Each morning I get up, make myself some tea and go out to the orchard and relax, read a book, or let my mind wander.  Listening to the news now and what is happening in the US to commemorate 9/11.  I got a copy of an interview I did with KUOW before I left, and it feels strange listening to it and feeling so relaxed and not really thinking of anything.

Went to the city today to get some things.  Walking around the town of Madaba and seeing signs all over the place with our family name and different people from the tribe and realize what it would be like living in a small town.  The population is 150,000, it really isn't small, but when most of the people are related to you it is very, very small!

Sept 12: This morning I woke and went to the Allenby Bridge border crossing with Israel.  I wanted to see what had changed and the process that clients go through to go across.  The drive from Madaba down to the Dead Sea to the crossing takes about 45 minutes.  It was really hot (about 85) and getting warmer.  Got there and talked to the police about what I wanted to do and see if I could take pictures.  They were very helpful, but no pictures.  The crossing, if doing VIP services, is $94 one way.  You get to go to a special lounge to wait and someone comes and takes your passport and will get it signed and stamped.  You are then taken to a waiting car or a van depending if you are traveling alone or with others.  The crossing takes no more then 10 minutes.  If you do not take the VIP service (which we normally include in our tour services) there are buses that leave every half hour and you have to do your own paper work and carry your own luggage.  Most of the people that are working there are from the secret police.  The VIP lounge is run by a private company contracted with the government.  They will call to the Israelis and tell them that you are coming and then someone from the Israeli side will meet the car or van and take you to a lounge. 

The Israeli side doesn’t move as fast as the Jordanian side.  Then it also depends if you are an Arab of Palestinian descent.  You could have been born in the US, but you had family in Jerusalem or they have property - they will have all this listed and they ask you these questions to verify, then you go thru a series of questions back and forth and one agent to another and maybe after two or three hours they will let you go.  It is unbelievable how much information they have on Jordanians and Palestinians.  When you give your name they will pull it up and let you know when you last came in to Israel and where you stayed and also the name of your father and grandfather etc.  If you are an American with no other papers, and not with any political group, it is quite easy to go in to Israel.  I entered Jordan with my Jordanian passport so when leaving Jordan for Jerusalem I have to give them my Jordanian passport, and then go in to Israel on my American passport.  I had to tell the Israeli border officer that I was doing that since I had no Jordanian visa/entry stamp in my American passport.

People don’t realize that you can enter Jordan at the airport and get a visa on arrival.  If you are flying into Israel first and then going to Jordan you need to get a Jordanian visa from the embassy in the US – they do not issue the visas on arrival at the border crossing.

Rita in Jordan

The owner of Caravan-Serai Tours, Rita Zawaideh, is in Jordan right now and has sent her daily diary to be posted on the blog so you can get a first hand account of what she is seeing there. Her family is there and she is staying at their farm just outside the city of Madaba. They grow olives, grapes, and other foods, and raise a few animals. The Jordan office is also in Madaba. The posts are being broken up into smaller pieces, and here are the first few days. Photos to be posted soon too! Enjoy! 

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Sept 8: After 14 hours of flying I arrived at Beirut airport.  I was making a connection to Amman from here and I was really surprised at how full the Beirut-Amman flight was.  I was trying to figure out why and started asking people -most of them it seems are Lebanese that usually drive to Jordan to see relatives, but because of the situation in Syria they’re flying.  The airlines have added more flights to be able to handle all the traffic going both ways.  No one is driving since they are not sure of the situation and what is happening from day to day.  A lot of the problems, I was told, are at the border towns.

The flight took off on time and I finally arrived in Amman at 6pm after having left Seattle at 10am on the 7th.  I had my nieces and nephews meet me at the airport for arrival and then I was driven to the house about 30 minutes away in the town of Madaba.

Sept 9: Waking up to peace and quiet, not really feeling anything of the world around me.  Sat outside in the orchard with the grapes dangling down and being able to pick them and eat fresh grapes off the vine, the kids bringing in bread with thyme and oil, leben (a yogurt without water similar to cream cheese but so much better for you), olives, jam, white cheese - a feast fit for a king. There is a nice breeze and the smell of jasmine.  I eat away and have my tea while sitting on a rocking sofa, day dreaming.  I enjoy talking to the kids and relaxing, getting over the jet lag.

In the afternoon we go to the office to check on reservations for clients.  Up the street is a salon and I am able to have my brows done with string – a traditional way of plucking them.  It hurt but is so fast and lasts a lot longer then using wax!

Sept 10: We start to cook for the clients that are here in Jordan - they have been invited to the farm for a traditional Jordanian meal.  We are making grapes leaves, stuffed zucchini, tabbouleh (parsley salad,) rocca salad (made from arugula) yogurt and cucumber salad, humus, chicken sumac rolls, stuffed pastries with cheese, spinach, sausage, so much food.  The group comes by 1pm, they have no idea that I am in Jordan and are surprised that I am here.  We visit for a couple of hours and eat and they get to meet the rest of the family. We then send them on their way to Kerak and then to Petra to spend the night.

Tonight friends come over and we have a nice night of music and dancing and just playing around.  Lots of discussions about what is happening in the region, but really no feeling or idea of what is going on around us.  It is so strange since in the states I am glued to the news.

Looking forward

After quite a tumultuous spring in the Middle East and here at Caravan-Serai Tours, we are looking forward to getting back to "normal" this fall. People are starting to get over the shock of what happened in the wake of a demand for democracy in decidedly un-democratic countries, are are beginning to think about traveling there again.

Of course, there are still places we do not recommend you travel to, such as Libya, Syria and Yemen, but destinations such as Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia are safe. We also have a group planned for Oman and Dubai this fall!

Be sure to check our website (which is undergoing renovation right now!) to see the latest tour offerings. Join us in Turkey next spring, or Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia in April 2012. And as always, we can do private tours to any of our destinations.

It's been a crazy spring, but we are getting back on track with travel to the Middle East and North Africa, and we hope you will too!