aqaba



Desert views driving south from Amman

Along the Dead Sea Highway



Our hotel on the Red Sea, with view of mountains on Israeli side

In the summer, a friend of mine here in Jordan took a short vacation to Aqaba, the only port city in Amman. At the time, there was some instability across the border in Israel and I expressed my concerns about her going during that week. "Oh, if it's my time to go," she said with a smile, "I'd choose to go from Aqaba- it's as close to heaven as you can get!"

My love and I decided to get a "slice of heaven" this past weekend during his Columbus day break. After three years of sightseeing in Florida without him, even having a one night get-away as a whole family left me giddy with excitement. We packed on Saturday morning and headed south towards the airport, away from the traffic and from the crowded streets of Amman.

My friend warned me that pretty much the only thing between Amman and Aqaba is desert. And unlike the States, there are no rest stops, no fast food restaurants, no billboards. Just miles and miles of sand with an occasional herd of goats, a few ramshackle desert towns and electrical wires strung like fine thread on needles punctuating the monotony.

In the back of the van, we packed the cooler with sandwiches, fruit, snacks and several liters of water. After jumping excitedly into the car, the older kids pulled out books and drawing pads, the most good-natured travelers I've ever been with. My three-year old snuggled her lovey while perusing the books she crammed into her small backpack. Even the baby settled down for the three and a half hour ride, contented to watch her older siblings.

As the compact civilization of the capital waned down to a few run-down shops, then to mere sand, it was as if I could also leave behind the business of school that week, running a household of six, doing my usual daily Internet surfing for things we need.

We talked and listened to music, then enjoyed quiet. As I gazed out the window at the vast plains of sand, I felt that my mind could actually rest. Though I prefer shades of green, signs of life, there was something comforting, even soothing, about the gentle slopes of sand and rubble that continued on for miles and miles as we drove south on the King's highway. Clouds stretched out thin and wispy in a pure blue sky. A Bedouin man led a flock of black and white speckled goats across the sand. Then, more of the same desert sand.  

After about two hours, we pulled over to the side of the road where we made a makeshift screen with car doors so that we all could "relieve" ourselves. ( It is interesting what you are willing to do in the face of necessity!) The kids ran along dunes of small rocks and dust while chewing the flatbread sandwiches I had made for them. Cars and trucks whooshed past us every now and then, breaking the quiet.

The landscape became more dramatic the further we drove. Craggy rock faces rose up around us, becoming more shadowy with time. The gentle slopes of sand were replaced by large outcroppings of reddish rock that rose and fell continuously. Thin, spindly trees and other bushes dotted the rocky terrain. "This looks like Indiana Jones!" shrieked my tall girl. We laughed, excited that even the kids were captivated by the scenery.

By the time we reached Aqaba, the rise and fall of the small mountains gave way to the sea, the Red Sea. Awed by it's prominent place in Scripture, the very place from which God chose to deliver His people, we marveled at the blue jewel that spread out for miles before us. At it's widest point, the Red Sea stretches about 220 miles and reaches 2000-3000 feet deep. Seeing the vastness of the sea made the miracle even more amazing to reflect on.

We passed several industrial ports where Jordan's store of phosphate and potash are brought for export, then finally reached our hotel. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of Aqaba proper or of the hotel, since we were too busy swimming and enjoying the time away. All I can say is- WOW- it was like a second honeymoon (minus the four kids). The series of swimming pools, each with a distinctive feature like a waterfall, a lazy river, a waterslide, jacuzzi jets kept us occupied for most of the  two days we were there. At night, we walked across the small stretch of beach in front of the hotel to the Marina, which housed several large yachts.

Across the sea, we could see lights from Eilat, Israel's port city and cities on the border of Egypt. At dusk, the mountain ranges along the Israeli/Egyptian border became shadows along the glittering sea.

On the way back to Amman, we drove a different way: on the Dead Sea highway. Another breathtaking landscape, this time with mountain ranges on both left (Israeli) and right (Jordanian), with varying shades of green from the Jordan River valley.  Then patches of irrigated land where farmers could actually grow something: bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers. When we reached the start of the Dead Sea, we stopped to peer down at the salt encrusted coastline. The jagged, craggy cliffs were another amazing sight. We passed Safi, which purportedly houses "Lot's cave," where Lot and his daughters fled when God rained sulfur down on their home city.

We ended up at Reem Al'Bawadi, a traditional Arabic restaurant in Amman where most of the tables sit under Bedouin tents. The kids watched a woman throwing a disc of dough from hand to hand until it stretched paper thin and about two feet in diameter. Then, she threw it onto a flat, rounded oven to bake. The dinner of shish ta'ook (roasted chicken kebab), hummus, flatbread, Arabic salad and tabbouleh, finished off a memory-making weekend.