“This is a great event which we have regularly attended throughout the years, to bring a sense of dynamism to the tourist trade, and no doubt this year will be another auspicious business occasion,” adds Awni Kawar. We are looking forward to another great ATM 2011.

Amman is a top shopping destination, it’s a shoppers galore, an enchantment and an experience to hunt for exquisite, exclusive international brands and trademarks from virtually anywhere around the world though these tend to be mostly European brands, some from the USA, Canada and even one or two Caribbean names.
Located at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula and strategically placed in the region from east to west, north to south, the Jordanian capital is building itself as a consumption hub, a shopper’s paradise for its locals, and visitors, nearly 60 percent of whom come from the Arab Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain. Some stream into the country, others regard it as a convenient stopping point to Syria and Lebanon. Whatever the case they drool into the country.
It is shopping and international brand names glaring at you and very inviting attraction besides the top touristic sites in the form of Amman itself, Dead Sea, Madaba, Jerash and the Desert Castles.
These are really within a stone throwaway distance from the top shops, designs and brands, the Jordanian capital has become so famous for, in just under a decade.
In an almost L-shaped location in west Amman are some of the most exclusive shops, malls and pleasant neighborhoods and districts sprouted for the ordinary consumer, the noveau riche and the well-established executives, businessmen and traditional merchant families from the Arab world who come here ready-to-buy and enjoy themselves in auspicious and exotic surroundings like Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum.
Top branded shops are packed in as few as four or five kilometers, underlined by cafes, restaurants, hotels and different eateries and modern highways and junctions frequented by visitors from whatever social standing.
Amman has developed slowly but surely through its plush buildings, parks, highways and malls to provide a splendor for high spending tourists here to have a good time and shop.
Starting from its City Mall, Mecca Mall, to Al Wakalat Street and Al Baraka Mall, the capital has become a rich galore of brands and trademarks, of fashions, women’s wear, men’s suits, footwear, toiletries, make-up and high-end market perfumes through brands like Babes, Clairns, Lancome, Doir and la Prairie, to name but a few.
There is virtually every brand from the high end to the low-end with prices for any budget and these are all international, designed to cater for any fashion-tasting palate, guru or dilettante.
Apart from the clothing apparel, the jackets, jeans, the shirts, T-Shirts, pullovers and branded socks and Y-fronts and boxers, there is much more. As they say the world is our oyster, we in Jordan can dig as much as possible with more brands coming out of the global cupboard and the wardrobes and design shops.
From diamond rings and bracelets, the girl’s best friend to different kinds of Jewelry, everything can be brought here at the right price and with the right perspective to suit every style and taste. There is Divas, Carati Paris (Jordan), and the ever impressive damas, a local brand in slick jewelry.
Similarly brand watches from the most popular—being Swatch, to Omegas, Rolexes and Brittling and a host of others are found with different tag prices, that go in the thousands of dollars, or the $20,000 mark. I have been told that you can get a Rolex for $150,000 but that needs to be ordered through of course the right agent and shop.
The shopping culture, the need to buy, choice availability, the mall customs and mores, have become pervasive in the Arab world, Jordan included. Shopping has become a slick, dynamic, vibrant exercise festered in our high streets, malls and shopping centers, in our streets, rows of shops and blocs.
It is an exercise in eye contact, in carefully watching and contemplating the variety, high-end brands and glowing designs. Shopping, the ability to buy, and/or shop with the eyes has become a favorite past time, enjoyed by many with prices and tag-marks becoming part of the voyeurism of watching shop windows, observing and touching the different satins, leather, textiles, shapes and sizes on display, watches, clocks, artworks, and trinkets that speak of an international, local and Bedouin culture that tell much of what we are.
Sameha, a local Jordanian, who always goes to the mall with her friend especially, in the late afternoon after work, says: “Shopping has become a pleasure with these air-conditioned malls as a new concept of buying gripping where you are reeled into these trendy shops almost subconsciously and sometimes without intent, you look around, if you like something you buy, and if you don’t, you move on to the next, and the next, and the next.”
This is the beauty of shopping these days, it is so diversified, casuals in one place, leathers in another, footwear in between, lingerie, tobacco shops, artworks, there is a galore effect, where you see different shops selling the same items but in different brand name. The diversification is electric, with different brands, selling the same multiplying type. Consumer choice is massively increasing.
Lingerie has become a hot thing in Swiefieh, probably because of the high marriage rates which especially shoots up in the summer. In addition to local shops catering for this line of the market, there is the British brand Blush, the French Etam and Montreal-based La vie en rose.
This type of clothing has festered on the entry of other international brands in a big way. It could very well have been the result of the globalization of the 1990s translating itself into companies in nation-states going global.
The result for Jordan at least has become enormous with many European, Canadian and even American firms setting up operations in Jordan, either through direct means or increasing their presence through local agencies.
Aldo, a footwear company, Massimo Dutti, a men and women clothes shop, Zara for women attire, Zara Shops, Pull and Bear, the young and trendy, Geox, footwear, Jack and Jones, as well as Okaidi and Tapeal’oeil are branded everywhere.
For you, me, they have become a means of identification of good living, style and high society for the traditional Arab family.
They are just some of the names coming namely from Europe like the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Italy and trademarks from the United States and Canada.
With the brands come the personalities behind like Channel, Pierre Cardin, Giorgio Armani, Guy Laroche Nina Rici, Versace, Gucci, LV and many more. In fact, some of the names become major brands here because they are associated with being foreign, international, quality and poshness.

In a sense they have become almost on everyone’s lips, as new words and phrases entering everyday speech and seen as part of a global culture where hit names are becoming as almost as familiar or more than pop artists, film actors, or even world authors.
The brand name has become much more important because it is something you wear, put on, and before that, search for in the different racks,” adds Sameha who confesses that she looks at different brands wear, particularly dresses, and footwear many times before she eventually decides and buys.
She could be representative of many who do that as the malls, or shopping centers offer that great variety to chose from, and become familiar with, though most of the time, she like her friend, has no idea from which country they came from, though sometimes would venture to give an educated guess.
“I look for style, character, color, groove, and of course price, as I don’t like to buy anything that is too expensive,” she points out.
Part of the fact why Sameha is price conscious lies with the frequency of her shopping expeditions. “I like to buy a lot of shoes, sandals, that’s why I have to bear the price in mind.”
But for her and her friend, the shopping spree doesn’t stop at footwear because of the dresses, skirts, blouses at the shop windows that constantly glare in your face.
Most malls have been designed to give a social character that people can lose themselves there. If they are not in the stores, window shopping is the next best thing or lounging in the food courts or in its cafes spread.
Sameha and her friends usually go alone, but sometimes arrange to meet with a group, girlfriends, they stayed in touch with from the school days. Starbucks in Mecca Mall, of course, is well-known, but there is also the Donotello Gelote ice cream parlor, the Parisian Paul Café in City Mall, and Le Mie Doree in Al Baraka; These are among some of the many brands like Havana Café, whose name may conjure up different exotic images of delight.
Al Wakalat Street in Swiefieh has become a favorite after it has been spruced up, closed to cars, and a pedestrian-only area for many to walk in, sit at its numerous cafes and restaurants and buy from its brand shops at a leisurely pace.
Observers say that with the growth of the mall concept in Jordan, social relations have changed as the mall has become a meeting place for friends, relatives and colleague with people going there for the outing. “Instead of visiting each other in the homes, they assemble in these outside places,” is a prevailing point of view of many sociologists.
In Wakalat Street local planners have introduced what can be called “Shop and eat” or shop and have a snack, a coffee, juice,” in the different eateries that have come to exist while coming face-to-face with the brands and in direct proximity with such shops and labels like Cortfiel, Blush, Jack and Jones as well as Etam, Mango and Zara, Yishion and the House of Style, a local Jordanian entity that brands for Gerry Webber, Scotti, Samoon, Sonneti, Taifoon, Feraud and Facis.
And the names just continue, allowing the shopper to feel that he is living in a brand world like Lacoste, Van Gils, Facconable, Taylor Ray, Polo Ralp Lauren and Birkenstock at the delight of a Japanese Suchi Bar like the one existing in Al Baraka Mall or some other outlet with a foreign name. After a while they become too numerous to remember except for the discernable onlooker.
Missed the first time, second time, probably the umpteenth, its only after I stood on the tip of Wakalat Street I realized they were other brands like Karen Millen, again for lingerie and an English brand, and Rosa Clara, a Spanish house for bridal dresses and a host of others.
Price ranges a great deal depending on the brand type. In a bid to stay competitive, many shops displaying international trademarks, stay with a reasonable price bracket that many can afford, catering for different local, regional and international clienteles and visitors to the country.
These include the Bhs brand label representing British Homes Stores, a departmental chain in the U.K. which opened up at Cosmo on Amman’s 7th Circle, just behind Safeways. Over the years, Bhs posed itself as an inexpensive chain store that has many trademarks.
In a world that has come to believe in labels, brands like this are designed for the mass public to allow the spending power to continue.
There are equally expensive brands and shops in Amman. Top of the range include French label Lanvin represented by Dawood Taycoons with suits ranging up to $4000 for the enterprising consumer and a man of the world. They tell me the cloth is superior with quality, tradition and grandeur, suits fit for kings and leaders, presidents and statesmen but are enjoyed by many others.
High spending shopping continue in other places like City Mall for instance. AI Zone, a Lebanese label and a stream of outlets has appeared to be the most trendy for the entrepreneur. With presence in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Dubai and Bahrain, it caters for the most lavish, trendy and with expensive tastes as suits off the racks in its Jordan shop go for just under $2000; a leather jacket for also for $2000, a pair of trousers for $700 and a pair of jeans for $500 as approximation because these are tagged in the local Jordanian dinar.
An eye opener for me was the ladies handbags which ranged from $2500 to $4000 a piece. This is hot buying and there are buyers I was told, both local and regional who sidestep the price tag.
Similar prices appeared in stores in other malls where in one case there was a $7000 tag mark on one bag. One German name Aigner exhibits the most rich, famous and luxurious brands of shoes, purses, hand bags, and ties among other accessories.
One purse is tagged $600, a pair of ladies shoes for $700, a pair of boots for $1400. This is not to mention the handbags that ranged from as low as $700, $2000 and $4000 and even $5000. I asked how much was the ties, “$450 a piece” came the reply which at first appeared good enough for me!
There is a sense of style, panache and individuality as far as buying expensive items that has as much to do with the culture as it is to do with the quality and even the brand names important as there are.
“The expensive ladies hand bags are all about individualism, ladies come into the store looking for a single hand bag that reflects who they are, and make sure we only stock one piece, so when they buy, and regardless of the expense, it’s one of a kind to show to their friends,” one sales assistant told me.
But even here, there is a distinct culture around richness and quality. Buying expensive ware becomes a sort of exclusive club visited by special customers whose expense is not the only consideration.
I’ve been told customers often whisper in the ear of shop assistants to give them a call, once there is a discount sale on, so a hand bag of $4000 is slashed to $2000 or a $3000 leather beauty goes down $1500. At these prices, society ladies grab them, either going personally to the shops or sending their chauffeurs to collect.
In few words, this is Amman for you, a capital literally saturated with brands, names, ideas and style. It’s a Jordanian capital to shop in and travel through and meander in.

It could have just as easily been me had my wife not reminded – around this time last year – that it takes a week or two for one’s body to completely absorb and build antibodies in response to a flu shot.

It was good advice, so on the first weekend of October of 2007, I paid my $20 and took my shot at not having to host a ride for the influenza virus to the Hashemite Kingdom a month later.  Nor perchance pick it up as a hitch hiker taking advantage of the close proximity and recycled air that comes with a “comfy” coach seat on Royal Jordanian – despite the best efforts of the crew to kill it with their cigarette smoke wafting out of their cabin.

Latter sarcasm aside, if you’ve traveled in coach, then you know how unavoidable contact is … which is something to consider along with this quote from this ‘International Travel Vaccines and Advice‘ from Passport Health:

“Influenza is spread when people work closely together or touch infected surfaces, …

Oh sure I cried like a baby when I got stuck like a pin cushion by the nice nurse lady … and was a bit put out I didn’t get a lollipop for my effort … but I also didn’t suffer the discomfort of cold sweats, chills, incredible headache and bodily aches while trying to climb the 900+ stairs to the Monastery at Petra, nor hike about the ruins at Umm Qais and Jerash.

Not convinced? Here are some more articles on the topic:

• Washington Post – Flu shot season begins with ample supply coming
• 86% of Americans Told to Get Flu Shot – WaPo again
• Maxim – Find-a-Flu Shot Locator (US only)
• Key Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine – Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Medical Facilities and Health Information – Travel.State.Gov

Update – 06Oct08 – Just got this nice note from Katie at PassportHealthUSA.com.

Right you are about the importance of the flu shot!  I did want to bring to your attention one thing.  The link to our Passport Health blog is incorrect.  The correct blog address is http://internationaltravelvaccines.blogspot.com/ … Enjoy your travels and stay healthy!

With increased travel to the historic site up over the half million mark this year alone, and as a result of a survey jointly conducted by USAID/Jordan Tourism Development Project, PAP and the Ministry of Tourism, the plan was developed to help keep up with and sustain the growth in visitor traffic to the site.

This will include notice boards will be posted at different sites within Petra informing visitors of the services they are entitled to, while specific areas will be marked with guidelines for trails and the requirements to undertake them. For example, signs will indicate sections that could be physically challenging and require good fitness levels as well as equipment, he noted.

Tourists will also be informed which trails they are permitted to take on their own and those that require the presence of a tour guide.

As part of the changes, focus will also be placed on local bedouins working in the site, such as horse carriage owners and vendors, the PAP official said. For example there will be stricter regulations ranging from the welfare of animals to their attire and licensing for vendors.

Regulations will also be applied to film crews wishing to shoot in the rose-red city – to prevent harm from  heavy equipment and cars to the fragile environment; not to mention the disruptions to tourists.

In addition, a larger visitor center is slated for construction in the near future.

According to the latest Minister of Tourism and Antiquities figures, the number of visitors on package tours increased by 60 per cent to 287,646 compared to 180,052 tourists in the first seven months of last year. The number of nights spent by visitors on package tours also rose by 60 per cent during the same period, reaching 1.229 million overnight stays with an average stay of 5 nights per person.

European tourists topped the list of arrivals on package tours, accounting for 187,291 visitors, followed by East Asia and the Pacific with 44,722 tourists and 37,724 tourists from the United States. Arrivals from the three regions rose 68 per cent, 48 per cent and 97 per cent respectively for the comparative period.

According to hotel records, the top locations in order were Amman, Petra, Dead Sea and Aqaba; Petra alone witnessing a 58% increase with 455,024 registered tourists.

Visitors to Jerash rose 66 per cent to 190,400 tourists, while the St. George Church of Madaba saw an increase of 104 per cent, drawing 163,027 visitors. The Baptism Site also witnessed a 63 per cent increase in visitors, as some 79,954 tourists visited the site, while 77,582 visitors came to Ajloun between January and July, a 16 per cent increase from last year.

Big in Jordan: How to reenact Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, is a post by Matthew Firestone linking up the ancient World of the Nebateans at Petra with Hollywood pop culture in this snappy little snippet:
With the world premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull scheduled for May 22, 2008, it’s no surprise that the internet is buzzing these days with Indy-related travel themes …

… one of the newly minted New Seven Wonders of the World, namely the ancient city of Petra, happens to be the location of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade …

… In the climax of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Joneses, Sallah, and Brody race across the world to reach the temple housing the Holy Grail, which is located in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon in Hatay near İskenderun.

Interested in reenacting one of the greatest moments in cinema history? Go grab your trusty bull whip and keep on reading Mr.Firestone’s excellent article. Just remember, I’m the guy who this past November spared no expense nor YouTube bandwidth to show you “The Petra Treasury Indiana Jones didn’t show you!”

Speaking of adventures, over at Jubilada Fashionista, said blogger armed only guide books and the internet made all their reservations and other travel arrangements own with relative ease; despite competing for rooms with visitors attending a world class auto race event and/or a nursing conference near the Dead Sea. Along with this factoid, Jubilada writes towards the end of an extensive and well-written review of his Jordanian journey:

In conclusion, Jordan is a very good trip and easy to go independently . I understand why most high end tour companies tagged it on to their trips to Egypt. The Jordanians are very well schooled about being nice to tourists. I do think they have to work on the transportation systems in this small country especially for tourists. I did read that they were working on a railway but it keeps getting stalled.

Jordan is also very safe and they love America (not George). It was a pleasure to see how different it is from what we constantly hear about Middle East chaos. You do not need guides as your book will explain all the sites for you.

Facts :

1. Blackberries do work here
2. All current is 220 but some plugs are European and some English
3. Lots of Atms and they still take our dollars
4. Hot book for foreigners “Married to a Bedouin”
5. Watch Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones DVDs before you go
6. Read the Jordan Times the local English newspaper on line www.jordantimes.com to see what’s doing.
7. Check Jett buses to see their schedule and then work around it.
8. The tour books say that the luxury hotels have buses to take you to your next destination….not true

Prepare to be stunned – or so writes a TravelPod blogger from Wadi Musa, Jordan who also had a great experience arranging their own travel explaining:

Our Taxi driver turned out to be a gem. He spent 7 hours driving us from Amman to Petra along the Kings highway. He stopped at all the points of interest and let us take photos. This land is full of history (as we anticipate Israel will be). Characters from the old testament walked this land. We were in awe.

Meanwhile a “Request for Dates and Info on Jerash Festival in 2008” on the Lonely Planet forums is returned with this response:

For the third time in over 27 years, the world-renowned Jerash Festival will be largely absent from the Kingdom’s cultural activities season, which will kick off in July, to come back in 2009 in a new shape, Culture Minister Nancy Bakir said on Thursday.

Bummer! That said, don’t forget, alternate events are easy to find at our BlogJordan Calendar of Jordanian Events page and/or our “This Week in Jordan” category.

Speaking of staying on schedule, as Scott on Safari ‘traveling through Africa 2008′ he takes a stop at one of my favorite cities on the entire planet, Aqaba, opining:

The rooms were very nice, it was very luxurious after coming from Egypt. We went for a walk to find at ATM to get some JD since all I had was 6 JD. Then we walked to a nearby café, Tche Tche Café, for dinner. The food was great and came out nice and warm; a very nice change. Jordan seems to be a lot cleaner and more organised than Egypt.

Of course Scott goes on to describe an encounter with Saladin’s revenge while ‘Journeying Jordan.’

Still, better that than an uncommonly rare but none-the-less unfortunate and fatal crash of a Jordan tour bus traveling from Jerash to Irbid.

Finally, Zawya is reporting that “Visitors on package tours [of Jordan] rise by 48.4% in first quarter” citing:

Tourist traffic to the [Hashemite] Kingdom continued to grow during the first quarter of this year, with visitors on package tours rising by 48.4 per cent compared to the same period of last year.

Official figures released by the [Jordanian] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities yesterday revealed that some 101,311 tourists on package tours visited the country between January and March compared to 68,279 in the same period of 2007.

According to the figures, their average length of stay also increased by around 7.3 per cent to 4.4 nights during the first quarter of this year compared to 4.1 last year.

Here is a link to the English rendering of the 1st Quarter OTA report entitled “Tourism Statistical Bulletin JAN – MARCH 2008 Volume 4 – Edition 1.

This last report proving once again what I’ve been saying since November:

“Why spend $2000 for a week of manufactured fun Magic Kingdom when you can experience the journey of a lifetime in the Hashemite Kingdom?”

The Jordan Times

After reading the specifics of the report myself, I tend to agree with the former – the WEF/TTCR metrics do not measure-up. Beginning with and citing section 2.1 of the document “Country/Economy Profile for Jordan,” on page 216, the 14 pillars indicate competitive advantage and the competitive disadvantage.

While I won’t go into detail on all the indicators, I will mention a few that are marked with a gray box that cause me to want more information on how they came to be considered disadvantagious:

4th Pillar – Health and Hygiene

While Jordan may be not Germany in terms of fastidiousness, how about next time including some measures that count directly towards travel interests, such as growing numbers of visitors whom seek Jordan as a destination for medical tourism? Include with that perhaps a physician to population ratio.

8th Pillar – Tourism infrastructure

Considering how much of the Jordanian GDP is comprised of and depends on tourism, I’d think that said ‘pillar’ needs a few more measures than merely ATMs accepting visa cards and presence of rental car companies. For example, where are the counts for trained tour guides, inbound travel packages, and/or expenditures and efforts to promote tourism through full-time agencies such as the Jordan Tourism Board North America?

9.04 – Broadband Internet Subscribers, rank 69 out of 130

Is anyone on the WEF/TTCR board panel of the fact that Jordan is currently in the process of re-paving the King’s Highway, virtually, by leveraging dark fiber available via the miles and miles of guidelines connecting the power towers that primarily support Jordan’s electrical infrastructure?

A deployment plan proven in preliminary field tests through Amman’s University Broadband Network and the School Broadband Network, it makes me wonder if “subscribers” isn’t being given too much weigh over “adopters” of broadband? There’s a big difference between the two, and one I think the WEF/TTFR report overlooks.

9.05 – Mobile telephone subscriptions

MENAFN.com reports that “The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has become the third largest contributor to the Kingdom’s economy, generating 10 per cent of the GDP and attracting JD150 million in investments annually.”

This is no surprise to anyone who keeps abreast of Arabic news outlets as they continually report how fiercely competitive the mobile sector in Jordan has become. A point that again calls into question WEF/TTCR’s sole choice of subscriptions over adopters as truly reflective of any country’s progressive deployment of emerging technologies.

13th Pillar – Natural Resources

While the quality of the natural environment ranks high, Jordan takes a big hit for “Total known species” … a measure which compels me to ask: how does one accurately compare apples to oranges?

Meaning, how does one compare the total species headcount in an arid region versus that of a rain forest? Is there a relative scale?

Similarly, is it just a matter of the Hashemite Kingdom sitting down and pushing out a piece of paperwork to declare the desert areas as nationally protected? Does the WEF give consideration to what such beauricratic bungling would have on indigenous Bedouins?

14th Pillar – Cultural Resources

I would assert that “Sports stadiums” without a balance of other factors is … as I stated earlier, a bit “Eurocentric.” Does one really get on a plan and visit Jordan to see football match?

I mean, soccer is a great sport, but I’m too busy enjoying the Biblical and historic landmarks … but I guess that doesn’t count in terms of the WEF/TTC report as they did not include such cultural resources as a measure to offset stadiums.

Finally, and I don’t even know where to begin with the following metric — so I’ll just close my arguments with it as it is a perfect example of how off-the-mark I believe the WEF/TTCR’s standards are :

14.01 – Number of World Heritage cultural sites rank: 54/130

They’re kidding … right? Yes, I understand the WEF simply and singularly employed an exclusive count of World Heritage Cultural sites to make up said indicator indicator, but in doing so, the panel ignores hundreds of sites Jordan possesses that though not official World heritage sites, still offer abundant options for guests.

I understand Jordan is not without its problems – what nation isn’t? However, when it comes to the viability of sustainable tourism, I’m thinking that maybe the WEF/TTCR’s metrics don’t quite measure up to what they should be for most other locations not part of the EU.

The metrics used to compile this report are troubling at best and deceptive at worst. Jordan, while not a world leading tourist destination, is a growing market for tourism of many sorts. But applying metrics that boost the rank of European nations is unfair to all those working in the Jordanian tourism industry.

Quit ‘Bugging’ me about Wadi Rum!

Blogging Brit Tim Nunn reports that while traveling through the Jordanian desert that is Wadi Rum, Mel was worried about this part of the trip and expected to see creepy crawly bugs, but instead they made it through the night without any bites!

I never thought about the bugs when I was in Wadi Rum, but Tim’s Flickr photo set of his Jordanian experience proves that they do indeed exist. And a fast moving one it looks like at that!

Perusing Petra faster than you can say Indiana Jones!

As part of a Ken McFarland tour, the Wandering Bruces (gad I love that title) blog about their Jordan, with of course much writing and photos about ancient lost city of Petra. I think this quote from their blog best sums up the experience many of us have:

“What a fantastic place! The sandstone has been carved into beautiful shapes and colors by the various elements over time, and the Nabateans who lived here carved temples, graves, and homes into that sandstone. “

You can visually experience the rest of their Journey that is Jordan over on their Petra, etcera Picasa photo gallery (say that 5 times fast!-).

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Amsterdam anymore

Last but not certainly least of today’s international trio of Jordan tourist blogs, an entry from Hielke en Marlieke writing to us in annotated and fun photos about their 1st week in Jordan.

Y’know, the normal fare:

• getting up early enough and getting into Petra before everyone else (the only way to get tourist-free photos of the Treasury);
• remembering to bring a book along to read while floating about the Dead Sea; and
• capturing an incriminating photo of one’s significant other enjoying a bit of “hubbly bubbly” before or after some beer (I’d think preferably before?-).

So what about you, got a Journey of Jordan you’ve recorded online? Send me a link-o-love and I’ll see what I can do about getting it reviewed.