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Salam Alikum from Amman, Jordan |
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Written by Keith Rhoades
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Wednesday, 15 November 2006 |
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That means....the peace of Allah be with you....my phrase for the day. Greetings from Amman Jordan..For your information I am 150 miles from the Iraqi Border and about 60 miles from Saudi Arabia...30 miles from Israel and 60 miles from Syria...smack dab in the middle of it all! The last 24 hours proved to be tiring but very good. After I wrote...I found the shuttle to the airport and ended up getting there way to early. The flight left on time and I got to Istanbul with 2 hours to do duty free shopping, have a smoke, and make my connecting flight at 11:40 pm. But then the real fun began...the plane was 1/2 hour late taking off...we flew over Cypress, Lebanon and Syria and began to land in Amman at 2:10 AM....moments before landing...the plane began to ascend at a very fast rate and we were going back up. We then flew for another 30 minutes and I had no idea what was going on. WE finally landed....and it turned out we were supposed to land at Queen Allyfah International Airport but ended up landing at Marca Jordanian Air force base. I still have no idea why! When we got of the plane onto the runway...there were military planes and Jordanian Army everywhere and we were escorted inside and waited for 40 minutes. I was a nervous wreck as 1) I didn't know what was going on or where I was and 2) Simon from Hospitality Club was so supposed to pick me up at the other airport 2 hours earlier. It was already 3:30 AM. I then entered customs and it was a fiasco...pushing, shoving, fingerprinted, questioned, etc. I then went to wait for my luggage...They even x-ray you and your luggage when you leave the airport. As I exited...I was so happy to see Simon waiting for me! He said he went to the other airport and they told him the flight had been diverted to the air force base. I do not know why and neither did he. What was to be a 2-hour flight turned out to be a 5-hour fiasco! I was a bit shaken by the whole ordeal. I hosted Simon and his girlfriend a while ago when they visited Los Angeles. They are wonderful people. We got home about 5 am. I only got a few hours of sleep. Then today was pretty low key...Simon made breakfast, we went for a walk to the largest mosque in Jordan and visited King Hussein’s Palace. It is an odd situation....his girlfriend Suzanne is a diplomat and works for the Jordanian Embassy. He is a househusband and cooks, cleans, etc. She got home from work and he had lunch ready for us. It is Thursday here...which is their Friday...they are off on Friday and Saturday. Their house is like a palace with marble floors, veranda overlooking the city! Private room and bath. I'm like a Prince. So now we are downtown and they are taking me to a hookah bar and then we have a party to attend tonight with Suzanne’s Embassy Friends. They have decided to take me all the way to Petra tomorrow and we are going to stay at a resort because she gets a diplomats discount so it will be dirt-cheap. And I will have them with me to help translate and not have to take a bus! Thank God for them! It feels very odd to be in Jordan...it truly is a world away. Though I am shocked at the number of American Business here. Simon taught me a few Arabic phrases to get by and am very grateful they are here for me as this leg of the journey would be a bit overwhelming for me. Well, I guess that is it for now. I hope all is well with you. I may not be able to check emails for the next day or two, as I will be in Petra for two days. Keith
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