Aqaba

  Aqaba, Jordan
Friday, May 4, 2007

Jeannie here. We left Petra and headed to Aqaba in order to catch a ferry to Egypt tomorrow.  While an important port city in a bizarre neighborhood of countries (Israel and Saudi Arabia are visible from this town), it is relatively unexciting to visit.  Sean's high point was discovering Cincinnati-style chili in a downtown restaurant, while my high point was taking a shower.  

We're off to Egypt tomorrow! 

Sean here:  So far, we've been holding ourselves back by not mentioning "Lawrence of Arabia" on an obsessive basis.  It hasn't been easy, but we've managed.  Arriving in Aqaba pretty much ended that streak, as in for the past day, I pretty much kept say to everyone I talked to, regardless of if they spoke English, Arabic, or Armenian, such killer quotes as: "We must get to Aqaba!", "You are mad.  To come to Aqaba by land you have to cross the desert, and that can not be done", "We'll cross the desert, damn it, it can be done, we'll get to Aqaba!", and "You know why I like the desert.... because it's clean".   Yeah, I like "Lawrence of Arabia" under normal circumstances, but going to Aqaba has changed that to an obsession.  I bought a pirated copy of the movie in Amman for a single JD in hopes that I get access to a DVD player while still in the Middle East, thus getting a few more killer quotes burned into my consciousness.

When we finally got to Aqaba, the town was sort of a let down, as we didn't storm it on camels while over running enemy artillery positions.  Instead we came in via a bus and check into a half-decent hotel.  The town seems nice enough as a rest and restocking stop over, as it has friendly shops but not many attractions, as most of these were replaced by the modernization of the port and city.  No big deal there.  What was a big deal was the fact that Cincinnati-style chili (think Skyline) is available in a port city in Jordan.  I mean, that's just weird.  However, as we travel around the world, things we don't expect keep showing up.  Some things, like hearing a song from 1993 by The Cranberries every day or learning that we export the worst movies pretty much a given.  Others things that combine the very familiar with the unfamiliar are just jarring, like chatting with a guy from Bangalore that is a hard-core Ohio State fan while hanging out on a beach in Malaysia is just a bit odd or eating a cheese coney standing next to a woman in full burqa while looking across the Red Sea at the coast of Egypt.

As Jeannie says, we're off to Egypt tomorrow.  We'll be taking a hydrofoil to the Sinai, thus avoiding the massive customs headaches and problems of transiting the two hundred yards of Israel to get from Jordan to Egypt.  Wish us luck, as this crossing has a reputation for being unpleasant and time consuming.