Happy Birthday Muhammad (Aqaba ~ Jordan)

November 2019

From Eastern Europe we headed to the Middle East, specifically Jordan. Our first stop was in Southern Jordan just south of Aqaba (mind you any further south and we would have been in Saudi Arabia).

Our experience is that traveling in middle eastern countries is that it is not as easy as European or Asian countries so opted for a few days at the beach to rest up and get the feel of things. We chose the slighty oddly named hotel "Public Security and Chalets Hotel" on the basis it was half way affordable and looked like there were some nearby resorts which would give us alternative dining options. Sadly nearby resorts were abandoned, under renovation, under construction and a naval military base.

As part of settling in and getting the feel of things we realized that in terms of costs food is relatively cheap and accommodation relatively expensive (and of dubious quality). Mind you still cheaper than NZ. The climate is very dry air, hot when sitting in the sun and v cold out if it.

We found out after arriving that the weekend we were there was the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad - this meant that the bulk of the other guests were locals celebrating Muhammad birthday - all slightly odd.

The hotel was very much a local, not tourist hotel (think it may have actually been a subsidiary of the Naval Base). This was evident with the buffet breakfast. Lots of pickled stuff, white cheese etc... and Ful Medamas. The latter I must admit I have acquired a bit of a taste for. It's a stew of broad beans, tomatoe etc and is typically served in a large spherical pot out of which you ladle a portion and add lemon juice, olive oil and tahini.

Have to say though that the buffet dinner we had whilst there was superb. V tasty and included lots of dishes that we had read about. Such as

• Kibbeh - little football shaped bulger wheat croquettes stuffed with finely minced beef and deep fried
• Kibbeh bi Laban - kibbeh cooked in yoghurt
•  Foul???? - broad beans cooked in yoghurt
• Maqluba - chicken and rice dish much like a biryani
• Red Sea Seafood Tagine - ok not a traditional dish but seriously good anyway.

The snorkeling at the Hotel wasn't that great as reef was shallow enough that it had been seriously trampled over the years but we did find a private beach (Berenice Beach Club) just up the road that had some very good snorkeling, sun beds, pool and restaurant so spent a couple of days chilling there.

Must say that Aqaba itself doesn't have a great deal going for it as large parts of it are constantly undergoing building work (ie demolition or construction or got halfway through demolition/construction and gave up).

From Aqaba the plan was for Sue and David (old friends from the UK) to fly out, meet us and then head off to Wadi Rum and then Petra. Small hiccup in that plan occured when David tried to board the plane and was told sorry you need six months on your passport! Net result was Sue arriving sans David and some re-planning taking place. So next stop was then the Shobak Castle, Dana Village and Nature reserve, little Petra with David meeting us in Petra itself a few days later with a brand new passport.

Shobak Fort, like a lot of castles and forts in Jordan, where built by the Crusaders in 1115 and were kicked out about 70 years later by the armies of Saladin. Don't think that was any easy task based on the location of the fort.

The Dana Biosphere Reserve covers some 320 square kilometres and deep inside it is the Feynan area which has been described as the most polluted place on earth as copper mining has been going on there for the last 6,000 years. We stayed a night in Dana Village on the upper lip of the reserve. The Dana Village is about 500 years old and was almost abandoned until ecotourism took off and as a result it feels as everything if second dwelling is now a lodge of some sort.

Did a pleasent walk in the afternoon with views down the valley and had planned to do a walk the next morning into a bit of the valley and were forewarned about a barky dog. On getting ready to start the walk didn't encounter a barky dog instead got a barky man who informed us we needed to pay for an entrance permit and a guide.  We decided against the walk.

En route to Little Petra we stopped of at a few viewpoints over the rift valley (the one that extends all the way into Africa). It is seriously big.

Next stop Little Petra.

Ful Medames 

Ingredients 

• 200g dry fava beans
• 1 tablespoon of chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 mild chillies
• 1 small tomato deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 garlic gloves
• 2 teaspoons of sumac
• 2 teaspoons of ground cumin
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil to taste
• Salt

Directions

• Soak the beans overnight.
• Rinse the beans and place in a heavy bottomed pot and cover with water. Boil until very soft (20 – 30 minutes). Empty, but retain, some of the water from the beans when they are ready.
• Crush the garlic with some salt.
• Add the garlic to the beans and roughly mash the beans.
• Spoon the beans into large bowls and depending on the consistency, add some of the reserved water. The consistency should be that of a thick textured soup.
• Drizzle the olive oil and lemon juice on top then spoon on the cumin, sumac, tomatoes, chilli and parsley.