Jordan - must mean "Crossroad"

With another week long holiday on offer – this time because of a second Eid festival in the Muslim calendar, Eid-al-Adha which celebrates a story many faiths are very familiar with, the willingness of Abram to just about sacrifice his son – we were off to Jordan.

Most people, if you have ever even thought of Jordan the country, and not the basketball player, probably only associate it with one significant site – Petra, the stunning and spectacular city carved into the sides of mountains, and hidden from Westerners for centuries. But Jordan is more than this newest wonder of the world. It has an incredible geography that comes from being so close to two continental divides, and a history that seems only fitting when you consider it sits directly in the middle of so much historical, political, and religious turmoil. And with that, it was time for our one hour and bit flight from Cairo to Amman.

We had been told renting a car was the way to go in Jordan as it is a small country that is friendly on the foreign drivers. Needless to say, we did, but not without some serious nerves having just come from Egypt where driving is as much a contact sport as soccer is – not really allowed, but if no one is looking (and no one is, ever) all is fair! But driving truly is the way to go in this country as it frees you from the schedules of public transport that is trouble-some and confusing at the best of times.

After an evening of recovering from our tough travel day (remember that whole hour of flying?), we set out to explore.

The "Promised Land"

On the first day we traveled to Mt. Nemo to visit where Moses first spied the ‘promise land’ and subsequently died at the ripe old age of 120 (we’re shooting for 125); from there we wound down to the River Jordan (more of a muddy stream smaller than 16 Mile Creek at this time of year) to see where it is believed Jesus got baptized by John the Baptist!

The site of Jesus' baptism.

After that it was a short drive to the Dead Sea which is so named because of its incredible levels of salt which is a result of sitting at the lowest point on Earth, some 400 m below sea level – floating in this sea is really something that has to be experienced!



Day two took us to the former Roman city, Jerash. This city is on the Eastern frontier of what was once the Roman Empire, and the ruins here are compared to Pompei. It is truly extraordinary to think of how far the Roman Empire expanded at a time when most travel was by row boat and foot! And then to see the ruins, some incredibly well preserved, elbowing up next to a modern Islamic city is quite something.

The Temple of Artemis - who was Artemis?

Day three was a driving day to find that lost city of Petra, but on our way we crossed some stunning scenery as we moved through mountains that separated the relatively fertile soils of the Jordan valley to the barren desert that covers roughly 90% of the country. Also along the way was a stop at a Crusader castle for some more history – the beginning of the truly violent divide between Islam and Christianity. It is a sorry history on both sides, and something that has us hoping that the bad decisions of today (or the ones we think are good, but turn out not so well) do not have 1000 year repercussions!

After 7 hours of winding around 300 km of roads through the mountains we finally reached our destination, Petra! And just in time for the night walk – a highly recommended activity that takes you on a candle-lit walk to the city inside the rock. An eerie way to be introduced to such a place, but interesting as it is as close as possible these days to replicating what it must have been like to enter and leave the city in the dark. We followed this up with a trip to a cave believed to have been in use for some 6000 years, and for the last 1500 years at least, as a tavern for weary travellers. Today, it sits next to a posh guest house, but once inside you can almost taste the history.

The next day gave us a chance to really explore this magnificent creation of human ingenuity – a city protected and hidden, and very nearly preserved for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Believed to have been a place where the people of the area hid their bounty from controlling the region’s trading routes, it is more recently thought to have been a sacred place where many important people were buried in tombs. However you slice it, it is impressive to see and impressive to walk around in.

Kind of speaks for itself.

The centre-piece known as "The Treasury"

From here it was a short drive for our last adventure – out to the desert for some camping – which as it turned out is actually like staying in a pretty nice motel in the middle of nowhere that provides an outstanding restaurant, a pool, and even an ampli-theatre (that unfortunately sat empty while we were there). Now of course we have loads of desert here in Egypt, but what makes this desert interesting is the incredible rock formations and the fact this was the setting of the Arab uprising during World War I led by T.E. Lawrence, a British soldier made famous by Lawrence of Arabia. Epic and historical country for sure! Made even more epic when taken in at 60 km/h on your ATV! Not quite the romantic way of seeing the desert, like on the back of an uncomfortable camel, but a truly hair-raising good time!

Now if your head is spinning after having read all this, simply grab a map of the world and find Jordan – it’s just east of Israel and the West Bank, a little north of Saudia Arabia, west of Iraq, and a little south of Syria and Iran. No wonder this place has seen it all. Amazingly, it stands proudly as a place of incredible beauty and history!

I think we'll go straight!!

Many differences, many similarities!

You don't see this too often driving around Canada!!

Obviously anytime someone travels thousands of kilometres to a new continent and country, they are going to encounter differences. Differences in language and culture, differences in thoughts and ideas, differences in appearance and priorities. More often than not however, when one travels thousands of kilometres to a new continent and country, it is the many similarities that remind us that home may be far in distance, but the heart travels with us; and it is our hearts that show us we are all in this together.

For instance, in my last posting I mentioned how kids here are the same as kids everywhere, which left me missing students of the past - and how so many of the characters I once taught are reflected in the new characters I get to teach here!!

This morning was another one of those mornings when I remembered that no matter where I go, I go with my brothers and sisters of the world, and I go with their hopes and dreams, loves and losses. This morning I got to join thousands of Egyptians, Canadians, Americans, English, Australian, Korean, you name it, at The Great Pyramids of Giza. And while many were there this morning to take in the spectacular ancient ruins, many more were there to show their love and support to those affected by breast cancer.

It was just one of those mornings where every fibre of my being seemed to be stretched to its very limit as I tried to take in everything that surrounded me - many thousands of years of history; a modern phenomenon that does not care about race, creed, or colour; an ancient culture that honoured their dead with HUGE monuments; a modern, multi-cultural world that honours their dead with memories, and walks, and fundraisers, and research, and monuments of our own; a personal stake in what is happening and has happened; a future so bright, yet so unknown. It was quite overwhelming.

It was a strange and wonderful day indeed. A day I had to share with you because you have shared so much with me. Thank you.

Ready to walk in support of a cure - by the pyramids!?!

Sporting pink, Egyptian style!!

And we're off! Literally thousands kicking up the dust of thousands of years!

Traveling in style - after the walk was done of course!!

We were at THE Pyramids!?!

To School and then Mt. Sinai!!

It's incredible that nearly a month has passed since I last had an opportunity to sit down and write to you everything that is going on. Just goes to show how fast time flies when you're having fun!

Since my last post, school has gotten underway, quite successfully, and you may be surprised to learn, the kids here are just like kids everywhere else! They like to play, they don't like to sit, and most times they wish they were home doing something other than listening to their teacher!!

One thing that has really impressed me here though, is that while Arabic is most student's first language, almost all speak fluent English, and many at our school are also part of the French Immersion program. This means that throughout their day they spend 3 hours speaking to their teachers in French, 1 hour in Arabic, and 2 hours with English - an impressive feat for anyone, not to mention students as young as Grade 1!! I find this especially incredible as I continue to struggle with English and hope to one day speak more than passing French! Makes those 40 minutes of French most of you do seem like a breeze (and an opportunity not to be wasted!!), n'est pas?

With a couple of weeks under our belts at school, it was time for the students to get a rest from me, and fortunately, Egyptian Armed Forces Day (Oct. 6) and then Thanksgiving came so close together, that they combined the holidays for a nice long weekend. To help us celebrate this important time of year we headed to where it all began for Christians, Jews, and Muslims - MT. SINAI!!

A big reason for wanting to come to Egypt is the obvious history of the land. Civilization, at least as we are familiar with it, has been in this neck of the woods for thousands and thousands of years. But one of the defining moments for many of the cultures of the world took place right here in Egypt, on the Sinai peninsula, when God spoke to Moses and the 10 Commandments were born. No matter your beliefs on how or why this happened, to be sure, in the history of human civilization, the adoption of these commandments as law and as a way to govern was an inspired step forward in the way people dealt with each other. As a result, this place holds considerable significance for people from all walks of life and faiths.

Of course, before tackling the midnight hike up the mountain, some much needed R & R was called for on the Sinai coast, in a small little coastal town of Nuweiba - a sleepy village on the Gulf of Aqaba with stunning views of the mountains, the sea, and near the cross roads of four countries (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia) and two continents (Africa and Asia). No wonder there is so much history in this area!!

A pretty sweet way to start this adventure and remind me of just how much I have to be thankful for!

I wonder how long people have been traveling down this little beach road??

Our little huts, with an emphasis on little - no wasted space here!

Amazing what you can get used to - camels on the beach!! (those are mountains of Saudia Arabia faintly in the background)

After a couple of days of relaxing, it was now time to follow in the footsteps of Moses, and hike up Mt. Sinai. To do this we left at midnight(!?!), and began our walk at about 3 in the morning (more !?!?), in what seemed like another world - a hundred languages, hundreds of people, just as many camels, and all the smells and sounds that go with it all - IN THE DARK!

I have often said pictures can never do justice to the experience, and in this case, I have never been more right. Walking in the dark up the side of this famous mountain, feeling the presence of so much, listening to the chatter, the singing, and the chanting of others as they too make their way up in the darkness will be something I never forget. That, and the fact our guide decided he didn't feel like making the final ascent up the 750 steps and instead choosing to sleep at one of the little rest stops along the way!! Oh well, I think it actually gave us more a sense of adventure as we had no idea what to expect.

Eager anticipation of the sunrise over the mountains. The ever changing colours were awesome!

A just a few of the hundreds of people taking in the warmth of the sun and rejoicing in the new day. There was singing, a few solemn prayers, and a number of religious services, giving a real sense of the pilgrimmage we were a part of on this night.

It was truly a tremendous experience, and despite being surrounded by desoltion (there is no greenery anywhere), the colours of the rocks and sky were something I've never witnessed. Spectacular! And to think, "I coul be sitting right where Moses sat some 4000 years ago!?!", is not something I could ever express adequately. Maybe if I spoke a second, or even third language!

Looking back up in the day - Mt. Sinai!