Jordan (Part1)- Wadi Rum

Since I have quite a lot to share about my trip to Jordan I am going to log it in installments so it is easier for me to organize and so it will not take me a whole week to finish just one post!

This first installment will cover our first few days in Jordan and our overnight camel ride in Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a desert valley in Jordan, made famous for most westerners by T.E. Lawrence. Lawrence was in fact THE Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence was a British Army officer renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt against Ottomon Rule in 1916-18.

But first! On our way to Wadi Rum from the capital, Amman, we stopped in Karak to see Karak Castle and have a lunch of traditional Jordanian food.

Hummos and 3 types of Arabic Salads, and pita bread, of course

The Main Course! Chicken and rise, serving it up on a giant communal plate!

View of the Jordanian countryside from Karak

Karak Castle

And now! After a night in the city of Petra, we left the next morning for our camel trek into Wadi Rum. Get ready for a lot of photos, cause I had a hard time narrowing down which ones to use for this post.

Running my camel in the desert! 

Starting our all day camel trek. We started at around 9:30 and didn't arrive at our camp site until around 5:00pm. Other than a 1.5 hour lunch break, we rode the camels the whole time!

I love the lines in the sand that form from the wind.

I nice landscape shot with me and my camel in it too! The desert was so peaceful and so quiet and the views were
spectacular! "Wadi" means valley so the desert is punctuated by large mountains. We saw lots of lizards (no scorpions
though!) that the guides dog would chase after!

Our guide and my friend Kayla. I love this photo with the camel tracks in the sand!

Redwan and Gabe, lagging behind on their camels

We came across this Bedouin woman in the middle of nowhere in the desert. She was herding her herd of goats and sheep while riding her donkey!

Here is a view of our camp. The little huts are our cabins!

The mountains we climbed to watch the sunset!

Me, checking out our camp and the view of the Wadi!

Another view from the mountains!

This was our eating area including the "stove" for heating tea!

Riding through Wadi Rum is easily one of my favorite experiences thus far in the Middle East. I feel that there is not a lot to tell about it, the pictures speak for themselves. It was absolutely beautiful and I recommend anyone who is thinking about going to Jordan, that it is a MUST to do an overnight in Wadi Rum. Be sure to bring WARM clothes. It get SO COLD at night!

All for now, my next post will be on our time in Petra!

Visitors

I started working on my Jordan post when I realized I haven't even posted about the weekend with the family! Yes, that is how behind I am! So here is a quick post sharing what we did through photos!

After Mom and Dad left for the Maldives, Jessi and I went on a day trip to Fujeirah, a small Emirate to the east of Dubai.
This Emirate is much less commercialized and still retains its more traditional feel. Here we are in front of an old fort.

Jessi's and my henna design! We got this on our excursion out
into the desert!

On a beach in Fujeirah, smoking hookah!

Our "guide", Rikabi, (my friend from school) taking us through a market in Fujeirah

This is me in front of the oldest standing Mosque in the UAE!

Local fisherman bring in their nets in Fujeirah

Courtyard of an old house outside of a fort in Fujeirah

Me at an old door in the old town. See the Fujeirah Fort in the background.

Jessi and I in front of the Burj Khalifa. Typical Dubai pic!

I think this is one for the Christmas card! The Niles Family sitting on the floor eating traditional Gulf food with our hands!

At a Lebanese Restaurant enjoying some Lebanese Pastries and Hummos. The large round ones are called "Kebbeh"
Basically like a hushpuppy, but with chicken or lamb in it.

The lobby to the Atlantis Resort in Dubai, where we stayed with mom and dad!

Ma and Pa on the Abra boat going across the Dubai Creek.

Men looking in a shop at the Gold Souk. Comparing prices perhaps?

View of Sheikh Zayed Road from the top of the Burj Khalifa!

Night View of the Burj Al Arab. Another famous building in Dubai. Its built to look like a sail.

And finally, Jessi and I on a camel in the desert!

It was a very busy weekend trying to make sure Mom and Dad saw all the must sees of Dubai and Sharjah! I recommend to anyone planning on visiting the Emirates to stay more that 2 days! You have to see Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and its always good to stop by one of the smaller Emirates, so you can see a little more traditional areas in this country! Anyway, my blog for Jordan should be posted soon! Check back in a few hours!

Helpful Arabic Phrases

السلام عليكم
As-salaamu Alaykum- Peace be upon you (standard greeting)

كيفك؟
Kayfak/Kayfik? - How are you?

إن شاء الله
Enshallah- If God wills it (used often, like saying "hopefully")

ما شاء الله
Mashallah- What God wills! (used a lot like "congratulations")

...إسمي
Ismii- My name is...

أنا من أمريكا
Ana min amreeka- I am from America

أحبك
Uhubak/ Uhubki- I love you

حبيبي/ حبيبتي
Habibi(boy)/ Habibtii (girl)- sweetheart

شكراً
Shukraan- Thank You

Omani Adventures

This past weekend, a group of us went to Oman! For anyone not familiar with the geography of the Gulf, This is the country just south east of UAE. Please refer to this handy dandy map for further reference! We drove straight to the capital (Muscat) and stayed there for one night. It is about a 5 hour drive, longer, depending on how long it takes you at the border. In some routes, you have to pass through multiple border crossings (which was the case with us) due to small pockets of Oman territory that are in the UAE. 

First, as we arrived in Muscat, we did a drive through the city and went up into the nearby hills to get  a decent view.
Here is the old city of Muscat. The Omani flag is flying in the fort and palace in the background, signifying the Sultan
of Oman is currently in the city. Muscat is the capital yet you will not find skyscrapers. In fact, there is a national law
in Oman that you can not build buildings over 16 stories tall (which is the height of the tallest building in the
country: a Sheraton hotel). I like it this way in that Muscat, and the country as a whole, has maintained it's
Arabian character. While in Dubai you may question from time to time "Am I really in the Middle East right now?"
due to it's extreme westernization. In Oman you get all the benefits of being in a developed country without sacrificing
your Arab cultural experience.

A photo of my at the gates to the Palace in Muscat. On the gold plate is the Omani coat of arms.

The Souq (market) in Muscat. Famous for its Frankincense and perfumes, which were FABULOUSLY expensive. I
didn't buy any frankincense, but I did by the black abaya on the right hand side with the purple and blue trim!

Another view of the Souq.

That night for dinner we went to a traditional gulf restaurant where we got the standard
meal of rice an your choice of lamb or chicken. Of course we also got some hommos
as well as some other Middle Eastern treats!

Layal and I shared a plate and STILL couldn't finish it. They put so much rice and a
complete half a chicken for one meal!

The next day we started off by going to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. I think I found it more stunning than the
Sheikh Zayid Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. This Mosque was smaller, but the artwork was exquisite! Here is a
picture of our group in the gardens of the Mosque, you can see the main dome behind us.

The entrance to the Grand Mosque. While the Grand mosque in Abu Dhabi I think
went for simplicity in it's design and artwork the Grand Mosque in Muscat had more
intricate and minute details (as you can see the beautiful Arabic calligraphy that
lines the walls and archways)

Before one prays in Islam, you must wash yourself (hands, feet, face, mouth). They have
stations like this throughout the mosque for worshippers to wash themselves before
going to pray. Here is a picture of my friend, Redwan, beautifully demonstrating
how to purify yourself. The hat was our guide's hat and adds a nice touch!

Here is me inside the main prayer room in the Mosque. Behind me in the far back
is an archway that is decorated with precious stones and gold. This indicates the
direction of the Ka'bah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In Islam this place is considered
the most sacred spot on Earth. All muslims pray everyday, five times a day, facing
this direction.

After the Mosque we started a slow trip back to UAE making some stops. The first stop was a place where they make
traditional "Halwa". Halwa is very hard to describe. It is a jello-y, custard-y sweet that tastes similar to caramel.
The easiest way to say it is that I have never tasted anything quite like it. It is very delicious, but two small
spoonfuls and you can already feel your teeth starting to rot, it is that sweet.

After tasting Halwa, we go to an old fort; a remnant of the Portuguese occupation of
Oman. Here is a photo of my friend, Gabe, standing in the entrance to the inside of the fort.
The fort was called Nakhal Fort, with means Palm (as in the tree)

Here is me looking out the window of one of the rooms in the fort. A room like this was covered in carpet and pillows
and was used to entertain guests.

Here is a view of the top of the fort and the city of Nakhal beyond.

A picture of myself expelling the fort!

Here is one of the many cannons in Nakhal Fort. During Ramadan, this cannon is set off
at sunset. Ramadan is the holiest month of the Islamic calendar. During this month
Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, not eating or drinking. At sunset, they break the
fast, often with tea and dates to start, then have a large meal.

After seeing the fort we went to a nearby freshwater spring to have lunch. Here we say this man drive right of the road
and straight into the creek to start washing his car.

Before we left we found a donkey that probably belonged to one of the local villagers grazing on the bank of the
stream. He was too cute not to take pictures of!

After all this we reluctantly went back to the UAE to start another school week! Oman was an amazingly beautiful place and I wish I had more time there! I recommend anyone to keep Oman in their thoughts when they plan their next adventure! You will not be dissapointed!

Coming soon! I have made plans to go visit Jordan during spring break with some friends! Stay tuned! :)

Happy International Women's Day!!!

Ok, so its actually on Thursday, but we had a celebration in the Women's Dorms today in honor of women of the world!

Many girls gave speeches about the history and achievements women in their countries. My friend, Kayla, and I also gave a short speech about the history of women in the United States. We were upstaged momentarily by two toddlers (brother and sister) who walked in front of us hand in hand. Then the little girl  bit her brother on the hand! The ladies laughed and said "in the true spirit of Women's Day!". The poor little boy didn't know what hit him and stared at his hand and yelled for his mom! It was too cute!

After presentations they had some performances including a girl doing some belly dancing and a singer. I took a video of the singer, which is below! Sorry about the format! I forgot I can hold the camera vertically when taking a video!!!

Next came the food! We had delicious Arabian style BBQ. Yummy!

One weird thing is the buffet manners in this country! While in the United States, at a buffet we queue up and wait to go through the line. Here, everyone rushes to the table in no order and just starts grabbing food. Complete chaos. I was tempted to yell out "We are not monkeys here! We are humans! Let's show a little civility!". Instead I just decided to try and get my food as fast as I could and get out of there! After dinner the played music and some ladies danced including what I can only describe as an arabian line dance. Below is a short video!

Thanks for reading! I am going to Oman for the weekend, so I will hopefully have some very interesting blogs coming soon!

An Ornithological post....

Since not much has been going on lately for me, just school and the occasional trip into Dubai for dinner on the weekends, I decided to do a little blog post about my fellow avian countrymen here in the UAE!

I have been amazed since coming here at the variety of birds I see everyday just on campus. I swear, I discover a new one almost every week that I haven't seen before! Three of my favorites that I see around campus are...

Rose-ringed Parakeet. (not my photo) I only ever see these guys high up hanging out on the outside of the Library Building. I could never get a proper picture of them, so I had to steal one from the internet!

This little guy is by far my favorite, the Eurasian Hoopoe (not my picture). I have only seen one twice, but he is absolutely gorgeous! They can put their little crowns either up or down, so precious!!!

There is another bird on campus that I couldn't find on the internet but that I like that looks a little like a Magpie.

Here are some lovely birds that you can see here OFF campus!

ME! With a Falcon! This was a store that sold falcons in the Animal Souq. So precious!

Flamingoes at the end of the Dubai Creek right outside of Dubai. Not as colorful as you would assume flamingoes to be, but still lovely! Right now their number are healthy, but their wetland habitat is in danger of being developed!

All for now! I am going to Oman for the weekend next weekend, so I will have blogs with more substance very soon!