Beyond My Front Door

Friday Photo: Morning on Mt. Sinai

AY — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:25:00 +0000

I can’t say I had a great plan to go and hike up Mt. Sinai, but when a few friends had mentioned the idea, I was in. We found some cheap tickets to Sharm El-Sheikh and made our way to do a quick tour of the mountain. It’s not a large mountain, and certainly not a difficult climb, but it was a valuable evening to get the opportunity to see a place out of history and mythology. I can’t say I really loved Sharm very much for my trip out there, but I was glad to get the opportunity to hike this historic location. We arrived slightly before sunrise, and I prayed, and we sat and watched the sun peak its way through the clouds in front of us. (Maybe I will try to post a photo of the sunrise at a later date). The land around us that was completely pitch black when we arrived started to come into shape and I could see the starkness of the landscape. I wonder if this is how the world looked so many thousands of years past as well.

Sadly no burning bushes were sighted during this trip.

Friday Photo: Lost in the Desert

AY — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:42:00 +0000

OK we weren’t really lost in the desert, although we weren’t exactly sure where we were headed either. Thank goodness for modern technology like Google maps helping me navigate our direction in the open desert towards a hopeful castle on a map. We had no assurance that after 20+ km we would actually reach our destination or not. With a few little detours around natural objects, and a few close calls we eventually found ourselves on a map, somewhere near….what we hoped was our destination. Yet with a little visual navigation and luck we were able to discover our destination where our map happened to fail us instead. So we were out here in the open desert, some numbered kilometers from the Iraqi border, gazing upon the ruined castle, dreaming about civilizations past who treaded on this same sand. While we may not be in the same category of past explorers and warriors, we still had a bit of a taste in seeking out or own adventure.

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Friday Photo: Castle at Sunset

AY — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:37:00 +0000

Ok so we are not really sure if the castle was open or not when we visited. But possibly that is not really important for the story. We were 6 random folks who were thrown together by the happenstance of being in Amman at the same time. A few people canceled, a few last minute additions and we were off to explore another part of the Jordanian landscape. With a 4WD vehicle and a few snacks we set off to go explore a bunch of random rocks that are or previously were castles and cities dotting the arid terrain. To be perfectly honest when people ask me if the places we went were all worth seeing, I have a difficulty answering that question. But when people inquire if the trip was worthwhile, I unequivocally say yes. It was definitely more about the trip, the people, the adventure then it was at all about the random groupings of stones we encountered. At the end of the first day after trekking out to near the Iraqi border we returned to Azraq late in the day. Before heading to dinner we stopped at Azraq castle to take some photos and explore. We were among the only visitors here this day, and it was a perfect ending to a lovely memorable day. I was lucky to get an expressive photo of the castle, as the last rays of light drifted away for the evening.

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Friday Photo: Hejaz Train Station

AY — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:51 +0000

Sometimes the random trips turn out to be little Adventures. We were walking towards the downtown from Jebal Webdeh and someone randomly mentioned they wanted to see the Hejaz Railway Station here in Amman, and then everyone decided it was a good idea and we were off. Trying to Navigate the streets of Amman in a tiny car while trying to Navigate with a Cellphone GPS had it’s ups and downs. Wrongs ways down one way streets, illegal u-turns, and near misses turned into a bit of a road saga, but eventually we made it to our destination. But it was closed… sigh. Fridays in Amman are always a difficult sort with opening times, but then we rang the doorbell and someone did in fact answer. A few phrases in Arabic and we ended up with a private tour of the Amman station. It is quite amazing to think about the history of the Hejaz Railway and supposedly (although you couldn’t imagine from the look) it was operating 2 years ago still prior to the conflict in Syria. One day maybe I will be able to take such a train journey…

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Photo: Little Camels, Big Treasury

AY — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 04:02:00 +0000

I really need to get better at naming photographs or posts. It definitely pays to get in early at times. Well actually most of the time. Being the first person in to a site in the morning certainly has its advantages when it comes to photography. I was there watching the folks set up, getting ready for the onslaught of tourists soon to be approaching. Watching them put in place the required camels for photography and possible camel rides. I grabbed a quick shot here before the rest of the folks made there way around through the entrance of the Siq. Life is good.

Friday Photo: The Promised Land…

AY — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:15:24 +0000

Several weeks ago I had the chance to visit Umm Qais up in the northern Part of Jordan. It was far more green than I expected it to be, and it amazes me how constantly surprised I am at the environment in this part of the world. In the distance there you can see Syria, the Golan Heights, Israel, Palestine. Its hard to see from the photographs here the fences and borders, but they exist, preventing people from moving freely, preventing conflicts from spilling over from one side to another. Syria especially with the news reports of the war going on further north, it is hard to imagine the conflict when you see the peaceful valley below. As I walk through the ruins of an incredibly old city I try to imagine what life would have been like even a hundred years or so ago before all the borders went up between countries, how seeing Sea of Galilee in the distance and just wanting to wander and explore, something that is impossible in the current political environment. Maybe one day the borders will be less hostile, and maybe we all will be able to wander freely once again.

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Friday Photo: Of Petra and Pragmatism

AY — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:30:00 +0000

I realized that I’m posting less newer photos these days mostly because I’m taking less newer photos too. I’d like to blame it solely on the weather, but to be perfectly honest it is because I’m just settling in more to my life here in Jordan. I guess that inevitably occurs in any new location, you start to become settled, and you start to take for granted the area around where you are. In December I was traveling somewhere new every weekend, and even on the weekdays I was trying to explore the area near by. In January I made one trip outside of Amman. I suppose that is not something that is necessarily a bad thing, I’m becoming a local now in my Jordanian lifestyle. I have my routines, my coffee shops, my laundry place, frequent restaurants. Some of the shop keepers know exactly what I want as soon as I walk into the store. It’s not an exciting daily adventure, it’s simply just life…

The photo this week is another of my photos from my travel to Petra. I probably will get back there I’m sure some day but probably only if someone from home treks out here to visit me during my stay.

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Friday Photo: The snows of Amman

AY — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:43:34 +0000

I am having a hard time remembering the snows from merely two weeks prior. The weather currently floats in the mid 60s Fahrenheit and the chill seems a distant memory. But a few weeks past I awoke in the morning to witness the streets of my adopted home blanketed with several inches of fresh powder. It was a lovely and yet strange sight as well. I won’t say people did not warn me that Amman could possibly be cold, but I simply imagined their version of cold differed greatly than my own. For me this type of cold was relegated to the further northern reaches of the world and not to the deserts of the middle east. But there it was, and there I was wondering how I was going to manage to navigate the city during this weather phenomenon. I apologize that this photo is not up to my usual standard for photography, I did not bring out my real camera, nor did I risk trying to go far from my residence. The sidewalks had begun to ice over and the streets were slick as well and I did not trust my fate to the skills of local drivers. But regardless I saw the city shut down but also light up in a new way. People running around outside making snowmen and having snowball fights. It was both uniquely foreign to me in this location but also familiar from the winters of my home. A little taste of my former home in my new temporary one.

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Friday Photo: Floating along at the Dead Sea

AY — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 20:11:00 +0000

I decided to spend a nice cold December weekend at the Dead Sea (البحر الميت) as I had well never been there before. Usually I would probably wait until warmer weather but often it’s best to take the chance and do it while you can. And with that weekend being the “end of the world” with the whole Mayan Calendar hoopla who knows when you will have another chance. Maybe I found a bit of irony in the fact that I’d be spending the potential last moments on earth at a place called the Dead Sea. To be honest I didn’t realize it was that weekend until well after I had booked my trip, but it was a fun little coincidence anyway. But yes, it does make me wonder a bit about last moments perhaps. If it was your last week or year or whatever, are you living or completing the things that mean a lot to you? Those things you always put off until someday with hopes that maybe someday will just pop on the horizon and everything will work out magically well? I think that is a lot of the reason I’m here in Jordan though at the moment. I always imagined I would “someday” go off and study Arabic for a few months and maybe live outside my home country in one spot for a little while. But someday always seemed to delay and then years quietly evaporated. Eventually I had to just say today and hope for the best in the end. For even if December 21st wasn’t the last day of the world, there will be eventual last day for each one of us.

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Friday Photo: Sunrise at the Treasury

AY — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 21:15:00 +0000

Another Petra photo and another photo of the Treasury. I swear I took more photos than just near the entrance! I will try to post them soon or write about them more, but with studying it’s been hard, since I feel so guilty spending so much time writing when I could be studying more! I arrived really early on my second day in Petra. I was actually the first tourist in the morning. I groped my way through the Siq in the dark, with only the small light from my headlamp keeping me from stumbling. The Siq was magical at this time of day, I felt so alive, and so humbled as well. I could turn off my lamp and I could see a million stars in the sky and only imagine the imposing walls surrounding me. I startled the Bedouin merchants as I exited from the canyon onto the doorstep of the Treasury. We shared tea and stories while we sat and watched the sun peak its way above the valley walls, and welcomed a new day here in this breathtaking wonder.

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