Jordan

We flew into Jordan on October 1, hoping to spend a couple of days there before our organized visit began and getting a jump on the eleven hour jet lag. That's a lot of hours.

But we managed just fine, taking one day to explore the Jordan Museum down in the old city, and then wandering around the market and Graqnd Husseini Mosque nearby. We love markets, and this one lived up to our expectations. The vendors would enter into a contest, each one trying to out-yell and out-sell his neighbor, and they were unfailingly friendly to us. We ended up buying a cornucopia of fruit that lasted until our last day in Jordan, including fresh dates! The mosque was off-limits to us, but we did view it from outside and hear the call to prayer.

The second day we visited the Darat al Funun art center, which had good art and even better architecture and exhibits. The story of the now ruined Palace Hotel in Jerusalem was particularly touching. And then on to the National Fine Arts Gallery, where we not only liked the art but enjoyed a pleasant lunch on the terrace above, listening to two young women salt their Arabic conversation with Oh My God and Wow. Very fun.

We toured the outside of the King Abdullah mosque (we were invited in, but M declined) and then took another Uber back to our hotel. We felt quite welcome in Jordan, and were looking foward to our guided tour of Jerash, Amman, the Dead Sea, Petra, and Wadi Rum!