A brief post for 2 brief visits to Jordan and Dubai.My main reason for stopping off in Jordan was to visit Petra, one of the new wonders of the world known as a rose-red city half as old as time. I took a 3 hour mini bus ride from Amman where I met 3 American students studying in Cairo who were traveling the Middle East on their mid-term break. An entire day was spent exploring the archaeological site, admiring each rock-cut structure and trying to figure out how each temple and cave came to be.
While in Amman I visited the Roman amphitheatre, a huge theatre which once could seat 6000 people. On the amphitheatre's grounds are 2 interesting museums: the Museum of Popular Tradition and the Folklore Museum. I found it an oasis of peace with not many tourists but plenty of people sitting down and reading a good book.
Dubai I experienced thanks to a very hospitable friend named Sara, who drove me around this crazily rich place which could also be described as an entire construction site. Imagine my horror when I was told that you had to have a license to buy alcohol, I soon calmed down after my friend informed me that she lived right next door to The Irish Village where alcohol was easily purchasable and plentiful. We drove out on one of the 3 man-made Palm Islands, a huge project to be finish within the next 10-15 years. A spin was taken down Sheikh Zayed Road and several strolls along Jumeirah beach admiring the many huge and expensive properties, only in my wildest dreams could I imagine myself living here!
I got a great glimpse of the Burj Dubai, tallest man-made structure on earth. The building is expected to be at least 162 floors high and at a height of 2,684 ft.A few things I found amusing about Dubai were the lower your car license plate number and the stronger your window tint are the richer you must be! Oh and even the bus stops are air-conditioned!
The only thing that disappointed me about my visit to Dubai was my failure to meet any of the rich Sheikhs! ;-)
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