Honeymoon in Baghdad: R&R2: Jordan

R&R #2! We decided to go through Jordan (instead of Kuwait) and spend a few days with friends, so our time in DC was shorter than usual. We had a day in Jordan on our way home, which we spent hanging out with Ben, a fellow FSO on his way home, and catching up with Jill, my close friend from my days at Peace Corps HQ.

Our Jordan adventure started at the Roman ruins in downtown Amman.

We took pictures of each other-- Aaron won't admit it but my shot of him is way better :)

Who says tops of heads are important in pictures?

What a lovely shot! Must have been taken by a professional.

The colosseum was very cool, though not for those afraid of heights. The stairs became increasingly steep and crumbly as you ascended. It took us twice as long to get down.

As we descended, Ben offered to take a few "candid" shots of us...

Aaron wasn't pointing at anything.We're just trying to look natural. FAIL!

After walking around the city, we decided to be adventurous and eat lunch at a random alley restaurant.

Facing a wall of dead carcasses while eating was such a delight!

We had no clue what to order, so when the waiter came over and presented us with a plate of raw meat as a suggestion, we assumed he was asking if we wanted kabobs. So we said, "Yes please! With hummus!" Well, it wasn't really a kabob. It was more like a kabob pie!

We weren't sure what to make of the kabob pie at first...

But it turned out to be tasty! Just how you would imagine a pie made out of kabob meat to taste.

That night we had dinner with Jill, who just moved to Amman after living in Kabul for the past few years, and got a tour of her new awesome apartment!

After dinner it was time for our flight to the States. It was a short visit, but we got to see our baby's heartbeat! At seven weeks, it kind of looks like a pulsating kidney bean, but it was amazing nonetheless.

On our way back to Baghdad, we stopped in Jordan again to spend a few days with our good friend and colleague, Saher. Saher works with us in Baghdad, but timed his home leave to coincide with our R&R so he could give us the royal tour of his home country.

Why do they refuse to smile? Don't they know I'll just keep taking pictures?

There we go!

Saher used to work in the tourism business, and planned an amazing itinerary to show us the best of Jordan-- we visited Madaba (a historic town full of archaeologic wonders and also Saher's home town), Mount Nebo (where Moses was apparently shown the view of the promised land and subsequently buried), Petra (the famous rock-hewn town from the 6th century B.C.), and the Dead Sea.
It was amazing! But the highlight of the trip was definitely Petra, which was recently made one of the wonders of the world.

Entrance of Petra (that's Saher in the background)

To get to the city, you walk between these huge cliffs lined with the city's original irrigation system (you can see it in the picture below on the left-hand side) and centuries-old statues and carvings. So amazing. Our pictures don't do it justice.

"The Elephant" (so said the tour guide). Look close to see the eye & tusk.

Statues of 3 soldiers (two sets of feet and one lower torso)

After about 30 minutes, you're pretty impressed with Petra. And then, out of nowhere, this comes into view:

Al Khazneh, the old Treasury and most famous facade in Petra.

The details on Al Khazneh are stunning.

Just beyond Al Khazneh, the city of Petra really opens up-- the sheer scale of the ruins is a sight to behold in and of itself. We only spent a few hours in Petra, but many people spend a week here exloring the ruins.

Apparently, a small group of Jordanians lived in the ruins until the government resettled them in the 1980s, but they and their children still make a living selling trinkets and souvenirs to tourists.

One of the many rock-hewn family dwellings

One of the many interesting things about Petra was the striking variations in rock-- Not sure what this was called, but the rock in these dwellings was beautifully variegated and almost iridescent. They were actually selling pieces of Petra rock along the side of the roads, but we decided to be responsible tourists.

All in all, Petra was AMAZING and absolutely deserving of its "Wonder of the World" title.

We spent our last day in Jordan at the Dead Sea. I promptly covered myself in the highly-esteemed Dead Sea mud, though I couldn't convince Aaron to join me. It was only when he felt the baby softness of my skin after I washed it off that he relented!

Swimming in the Dead Sea was definitely an experience! It has a 34% salinity, so you're completely buoyant. They recommend that you spend no longer than 20 minutes in the water (would you really want to spend any longer in a body of water too hostile to sustain any life form?).

Guess who?

After our fill of floating and Dead Sea mud treatments, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the Movenpick Resort (which was amazing if you're looking for a place to stay in Jordan, btw).