Wadi Rum Cont'd
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
25
93
Trip End
Jan 31, 2009
Wadi Rum,
Jordan
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Went to the race track after a quick breakfast of bread, cheese and tea. By chance, we were in Wadi Rum on the day of the biggest camel race of the year. Camels arrived from both Jordan and the Emirates. Children used to ride them. Now, remote controlled robots whip them due to child labor concerns. The race was organized in 3 categories. They started late, at 11.30am, after the arrival of the royal helipcopter. Just like most things in Arabia, the race was quite chaotic with camels running in the wrong direction and escaping by breaking the weak aluminium barricades. Both the camel owners and the spectators alike were following the camels with their jeeps, right outside the race track
Murad of Arabia
. The owners began to press the whip button on their remotes more frequently as their camels were left behind. The winners were awarded a brand new jeep. Some hopefuls were planning to sell it for the cash, while some where planning to drive it.After the race, went to see the house of T. E. Lawrence. The bottom of a hill was covered with large bricks. It was a semi-intact structure. This is where Lawrence of Arabia stored his weapons, which he woudl later supply to the Arab tribes in order to make them rise up to their Ottoman governors.
Returned to King's Academy in 4.5 hours. There were extremely few bathrooms, eateries and gas stations on the way.
Learned from Patrick, who teaches physics at King's, that Jordan has rich Phosphate and Uranium resources. The railway is mostly used to carry these.
They have Junior Fellows at King's Academy who are below Diana in the school hierarchy. These are new high school graduates who have gone to the most reputable American boarding schools. Their goal is to import that culture to King's
Salah
.I have heard a few people mention the Turkish gold that was hidden and left behind as the Ottoman Turks were fleeing the region. Salah was claiming that there were related treasure maps in Turkey. I wonder if any of this is true.
Had beer and sushi at a place in Amman called "Living Room". It was a very nice lounge/restaurant easily comparable to its peers in Istanbul. 15 JDs.
The tallest buildings in Amman are the numerous prime hotels, including the Four Seasons. 2 new skyscrapers of approximately 40 stories are being built for one of the major holding companies of the country. However, there are no complete skyscrapers yet.
Jordan is lightyears ahead of Syria. The infrastructure is well-developed, streets are clean and the balance between the Islamists and the Secularists well maintained. How has the King established this fine system without the riches of oil? The relatively low penetration of the fundamentalists into this region and the small size of the population may as well be 2 reasons. Another major factor is the openness of the country and high amounts of American aid. With a goal similar to that of the Marshall Plan, the US is attempting to prevent Jordan from falling into the axis of evil by pumping financial assistance through various channels, including USAID.
