Friends in Far Away Places

There is really something to getting to know your neighbor. Here in Jordan, we have gotten to know our neighbors that live right across the hall from us. Through the friendship we developed, even though their home is in Australia, we know we will always be friends.

After our winter break, I was feeling very homesick and desperately wanted to return home.  And then our neighbor’s wife move to Jordan from Australia, and things got a lot better for me. She was the perfect mother figure to have when feeling homesick. Lots of times I would tell Darren, “ I will be right back; I’m going to talk to Cathie,” and not come back for several hours. He was so happy that I had made a friend that he didn’t mind me spending a lot of my free time with her.

We went on several adventures with Andrew and Cathie that we feel are worth sharing.

Inside Kan Zaman restaurant

Our first adventure was to Kan Zaman Village and Wild Jordan. The Kan Zaman complex was the sight of a successful merchant operation in the 1800s; it is now used as a tourist attraction. Here we enjoyed doing some shopping and eating a delicious buffet meal. We were the fist and only ones there for the first hour of the buffet being open!  We had bread and falafel made fresh just for us. After we left, we were hoping that there would be tour busses coming so that none of the food went to waste. On our way back home, we stopped by a shop called Wild Jordan, where they sell jewelry, art, soaps and bags made by the local Bedouin tribes. The money that is made from selling the local crafts goes back to the respective community. Their focus is on green industries and educating the community about the importance of conservation and restoration.  They even host seminars on these topics (one of which I got to attend). The shop also houses a delicious café/restaurant – the prices are a little high compared to the local venue, but the food is fresh and the chef is fantastic, so it is worth the price.  

Our next adventure was to Iraq Al Amir, or The Caves of the Prince. On our way to the Caves we were watching for a section of the old Roman aqueduct that you can see from the road. We did find a section of it, but it was not the one that was in the Lonely Planet Guide. I think the one we found was on someone’s property, but we still drove down the little dirt road and took all the photos we wanted of the structure. After that, we went to the Castle at Iraq Al Amir, which was constructed by a powerful Jewish family before the Roman era. There has been lots of restoration after its destruction in an earthquake, but you can tell that in its prime it was a beautiful building. After thoroughly exploring the castle, we went to the caves, where Darren and I enjoyed exploring some of the interconnected passages. In one cave you could still see were they carved troughs out for horses.  We were also able to visit the women’s workshop in the nearby village, even though they seemed closed when we arrived. A lady came and opened everything up for us. She showed us where they make paper, ceramics, and rugs. Then we were led to the showroom, where everything they made was set out for display and sold. On our way back to Amman, we found the section of the Roman aqueduct that we were looking for in the first place, but it was nowhere near as impressive as the other.

The aqueduct

The "castle"

The stable cave

Tel Hesban

Our third, and most exciting, adventure with Andrew and Cathie was to Tel Hesban. We were going with them to attend an international luncheon at a school outside of Amman, but when we got there it was so crowded that we decided to find somewhere else to eat. On our way to find something to eat, we noticed in our guidebook that there were ruins nearby, so we decided to check them out after lunch.  Tel Hesban is a free historical sight that is only partially excavated. There are a few signs here and there telling you what was suspected to be at that location, but these aren’t the cool parts about this sight. What made this place so much fun was that we were able to dig a bit in the dirt and find different pieces of pottery. We spent hours just looking for things. All we found were potshards – thousands of them, in fact – but it was still fun to look around.  We returned to Amman a bit on the grimy side, but we were all happy.

Souk Jara

The last outing was just Cathie and me. We went down to Rainbow Street, where on Fridays during the summer there is a little street market called Souk Jara. Cathie’s goal for the outing was to find Darren and me a going away present but she only told me that she was looking for something for Darren. I told her that the only thing Darren had mentioned, that he would like but would never buy for himself, was some artwork. So the hunt began, and we found a beautiful black and white painting with some accent colors that we thought Darren would love.  For my going away present, she got me a little teapot with two cups and a beautiful tea tray that is decorated with an Arab village motif. Which I unknowingly helped pick out.

We look forward to when our paths cross again, and we are able to go on more adventures. Thank you Andrew and Cathie for sharing your time here in Jordan with us. We will miss you lots. 

~Amber