Between Amman & the Dead Sea

It takes approximately 45 minutes to drive from Amman to the Dead Sea. It is a very beautiful road (and a bit dangereous as well), specially here in spring time as the trees are blossoming and everything is green. So I thought I would share a few pictures. They are all taken from the car. It is not easy to stop on the road and with Bibs in the car I prefer not to.

It goes down and down and down... Amman is between 800m and 1400m in the mountains and the shores of the Dead Sea are at 420 under sea level. All that in roughly 40km!

We are at sea level. 18 kilometers still to go. 

A road check before you arrive to the hotel area by the Dead Sea. The car in front of us was stopped and the guard asked some questions, the car behind us was send to the side, I suppose for a search. We were waved through and that's a good thing: first of all I always panic when asked questions by the police or the army, don't know why. It's

like I have done something wrong even when I haven't! and then I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten my drivers licence at home, because I changed my bag and forgot to take it! So shortly after Bobs took the wheel for the rest of the journey... Not easy if we get stopped to explain to a non-english-speaking jordanian police officer that I still have a (post) pregnancy brain!!

One thing you see everywhere specially on Fridays is people having a picnic. They just stop on the side of the road, find a tree a sit under it. So you have cars parked everywhere on the side of the road. They even make a fire to have a barbeque! They only thing is that they also leave the garbage behind them instead of taking it with them to throw it out... so you often see plenty of platic bags hanging in the trees...Ashame...

Something else on the side of the road: vegetables! You see women, men and children selling small or big amounts of fruits and vegetables. It can be just one sorts: oranges, eggplants, tomatoes, courgettes... or a stall with many different varieties. And then you have others just selling random things!

A little note on... security

I must admit that one of my biggest concerns when we moved to Jordan was security. Jordan is good friends with all it's neighbours, but still... we didn't really know what to expect. And then, we don't hear many things about the small Kingdom of Jordan in European newspapers.

Ovisously everybody know about the terror attacks which happened in Nov 2005, where 3 hotels were hit by suicide bombers and sadly 57 persons died.

But I have to say I feel as much in security here as in Geneva or Copenhagen - certainly more than in Paris or Los Angeles (don't be offended please!). So what is giving that sense of security? Well first of all there is a large amount of police and army around. But that is not the only thing. Hotels have drastic security measures: when somebody drives up to a hotel, the car is searched, boot can be opened and questions might be asked. The number plate of each vehicule is noted. Luggage/hand bags are scanned and all men go through a metal detector, then searched; women are only searched. It is the same measures in all malls, supermarkets and though I thought it was a bit weird in the beginning now it is just part of the routine and I find it somehow reassuring. As well, when you drive out of Amman it is very common to see road blocks, where cars can be searched, papers checked. Nobody are offended, it is normal.

I suppose there are areas in Amman where you don't go, but that's the case everywhere.

So, yes I feel safe in Amman. Even my mum is reassured (and that's no easy task!!). So if you are thinking about a visit to Jordan or thinking about coming to live here that is one thing you don't need to be so concerned about!

One of these days...

You know, that day where you should have stayed in bed; the one where, without anything majorly bad happens, everything just seems to go wrong??? Well I had my day today!

It starts with that I wake up with a terribly stiff neck. No, it starts at 4am when Bibs has decided that she wants to feed every 30 min or so, then the bad neck and the headache that goes with it, bouh. The temperature has dropped (to normal) and the wind picked up, bouh. The Director of Guest Services calls Bibs: Isabella - which was our fancy gold fish that we had to leave behind (poor Isabella, now dead), bouh. A couple of hours where nothing happens. I am now at a friends apartment for a so called "baby group" - been there 30mins, Homecentre calls to say that our coffee table is on the way, so I have to leave - too early, didn't even finish my juice and Bibs is playing so nicely, bouh. Reverse out of the parking space and "boom" into a parked car. My first accident in Jordan, bouh. To my defence the car is parked about a meter from the pavement... Leave my phone number and explain I am in a rush - at least there is a lady who understands a bit of English. Get to the apartment, and guess what: The table is already there! So accident for nothing, double bouh! Drive back to the car-parked-in-the-middle-of-the-street. The whole family now is involved - Father, Daughter, Son, and baby girl, even neighbours. I have to wait cause the police needs to come to make a statement, bouh. Back to my friend's place. This time I get a cup of coffee. After 30mins the police comes, he asks me for the papers and what happened. So I explain and he says "you need to pay 25JD", so I say "Why" - and here comes the obvious: because it's my fault, bouh & rebouh. Mr Policeman and myself get invited on the terrace of the owner of the car-parked-in-the-middle-of-the-street, we get a glass of juice while he does the paper work. I don't think that kind of thing would happen in Europe! Get Bobs on the phone who tells me I need to watch where I am going when I am driving (thank you!) and say I have to go back to our apartment, because something is wrong with the boiler and they need access, BOUH. I am tired now, it's 4pm I still haven't had lunch, you guessed bouh!!

So all in all a very Bouh-Bouh day! Then I look at my beautiful daughter, who has been a star through this day and ok I am short of a couple of hundred JDs for the insurance, my neck still hurts and I am hungry but I know that I am blessed with a fantastic baby-girl and a wonderful husband, so it doesn't matter.

Was still a bouh day though...