Peggy and I are currently sitting in the Business Class Lounge in the Amman Airport awaiting our flight to Cairo to fly out in the morning. Some people in our group liked Jordan more than Egypt. Yes, Petra was beyond my wildest dreams but I am not sure about the rest of it. First of all, it is very expensive especially as compared to Egypt. Second of all, I learned that I could care less about the castles of the Crusaders. I can’t even post pictures because I wasn’t interested. I know, I am pathetic. I would much rather look at Pyramids.

Yesterday we spent some time in the old section of Amman. Very reminiscent of the medinas in Morocco. Our guide said that it was extremely busy because people were buying for Ramadan that starts in several weeks.

We also stopped at a Mosaic School that was very interesting. Apparently Queen Noor, wife of the late King Hussein, started this initiative to relieve some of the unemployment. A Jordanian can attend Mosaic School for free for 2 months. After that they have all the skills to produce this beautiful art. The shop owner said that some of the graduates work in the store making the mosaics but most of the them work from home so they can take care of their children.

Of course, I found a piece I wanted to buy. It was a very unusual tree of life but it would cost $1,000. But free shipping! What these salespeople don’t realize is that Americans hate to be followed and dogged to death. I said no to the sales girl and she literally found me later in the store saying she could give me a better price. I saw the same piece in many other gift shops at a cheaper price but I could tell by looking that it was not the same quality. The tiles were much bigger than the one’s at the school. Although no one but me would have known, I could not buy the lesser quality piece.

I had an interesting conversation with a guy in a gift shop at my hotel about the shopping habits of people from different countries. I told him about my experience at the mosaic shop. He told me that Americans and Europeans want to be left alone but Russians want constant attention from the moment they walk in the door. I commented that he really knew what he was talking about because he did not approach me until I had looked at 3/4’s of the shop and was looking at jewelry. Needless to say I bought 3 pieces. He also told me that Sally was a very popular name in Jordan and he once had a girlfriend by that name. Yeh, right. Anyhow, he was the one that dressed me in the head scarf and jacket. When this happened in Morocco, I got a marriage proposal. I found out later, that is not the way they propose marriage in Jordan.

Our guide, Mohammed, told us how marriages are arranged in Jordan and probably in most Muslim countries. When 2 people meet, either in school or work or whatever, the mother of the boy needs to talk to the mother of the girl. Mohammed said that it might be weeks before the boy can find out the telephone number of the girl’s mother. Once that happens and the girl’s mother feels that the “family” is worthy of their daughter, a visit is scheduled for the boy and his parents to visit the home of the girl and her parents. These meetings can go on for a while. If the boy is interested, his father contacts the girl’s father. The entire relationship is up to the girl. If she says no, it’s over. If she says yes, then the relationship goes on. From that point it can go 2 ways. The girl and boy can sign a contact that they plan to be married. That means that they can see each other alone, have sex, etc. If they decide that it isn’t going to work out they have to get a divorce even though they were never married. Way to complicated for me!

Our guide was very aware that our last day in Jordan was very light and that our plan to Cairo was not scheduled to leave until 9:00 PM. The only thing that was scheduled was a visit to Roman ruins and lunch. He convinced Gate 1 to include a visit to the Blue Domed Mosque in Amman. I have been to mosques in Dubai and Morocco. Below is a picture of the YaYa’s in Dubai at the mosque.

Of course, all the YaYa’s wanted to buy the robes from the tour operator and they refused to sell them to us. Next stop Amazon! We planned to wear them as Halloween costumes but life took a horrible turn and most of you know what I am referring to,

I have been in three Muslim countries with guides, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. With everyone of these men I have been so impressed with the simplicity of their beliefs. One of the only problems I have is their treatment of women that to me, appears subservient. Our guide today said that that is not the case at all. The woman is seen as a precious gift and to be covered is to protect her from unwanted advances from other men.

So I am back at home after 27 hours of traveling and I lost a pound. I am very thankful for everything we have here especially clean toilets. I am also thankful for the wonderful experience to meet so many people and experience things that I have only seen in books. I will definitely be making a return trip to Egypt. Next stop Turkey in six weeks!