illa il-janoub

As you can tell by my broken-Arabic title, we went to the south of Jordan this weekend!

From Kifkom Ya Shebab

This is me, in Wadi Rum! It's so beautiful. Soft, fine, red sand carpets the vast expanse with jagged mountains jutting upwards towards the clear, blue sky. The pools of sand that ride up into dunes that you sink into contrast with the razor-sharp mountains to create a feeling of being in an epic adventure, parking your camel to climb to the top of the mountain in order to look out into the distance to see if you can find water.

From Kifkom Ya Shebab

Watched the sunset and slept below the stars, both this night and the following night in Petra. In doing so, my camera managed to collect sand and refuse to focus unless I had zoomed all the way in. That wasn't going to work, so I had given up.

In Aqaba, we saw Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. It was unbelievable how close Eilat and Aqaba are. How massive Eilat is compared with the other cities. How blue the water in the Gulf of Aqaba is. How strange it is to be in between all of these vastly different nations. I had thoughts of jumping out and swimming to Israel, not thoughts of doing it but thoughts of the hypothetical. Thoughts of leaving my program, after all, I have enough credits to take a leave of absence, and just exploring this entire region, learning by doing. But they were just thoughts.

From Kifkom Ya Shebab

Ari and I, at the top of Petra, looking out into the Arava Mountains, reaching for the Holy Land--goofy! Petra is so beautiful. The Nabataeans really knew what they were doing with a chisel and hammer.

From Kifkom Ya Shebab

Indiana Jones, anyone?

We got back, and I was so incredibly wiped. Plans coming up for 3id (holiday after Ramadan), hoping to do Wadi Mujib and maybe Jabal Umm ad Dami, the highest point in Jordan--but I cannot find much info on it so I might have to do more research.

You can view the rest of my photos, and please do enjoy them. Comments are welcome, of course.

Classes are going great, have not heard back from internships yet, but if I do not by Tuesday, Ari and I are going to research working in falafel stands--he probably will even if I don't get a placement. West Bank Story, eh?!

This afternoon, after class, had a great time in the CIEE office with Ala' and Rasha. We played Spanish music, looked at photos, taught each other languages, and discussed some personal issues, like my being Jewish and Israel-Palestine. This last issue is a topic that all of us are interested in pursuing, and that makes me glad. Telling people that I'm Jewish is always thrilling and I love to see the reactions. Today, my friend Lena said, "It's okay, I accept you." Hah! She better!

Well, for now, my friends, I'm out. Take care, and enjoy my new photos!

--Ibrahim