Jordan and Israel Trip- part 12

Modern Jeresh.

Something I enjoyed about my three night stay in Jeresh was the complete absence of tourists outside of the archological park. Because Jordan is such a small country, many tourists stay in the capital and take day trips, which makes logistical sense, but in my opinion no good for actually experiencing the country.

Tour buses would park just outside of the archeological site, and vomit out tourists. The tourists would be herded around for a few hours, perhaps get lunch at one of the on site restaurants, then be consumed by the tour buses and sent back to safety in Amman.

My hostel was a good kilometre and a half from the site, and because I refuse to pay for a taxi when I can walk it without feeling too exhausted by the time I get there, I spent a lot of time over the two days around the windy, hilly streets. This is how I ended up eating at restaurants where I was the only non-resident, getting a haircut conducted with no English ( and at a price that I suspect indicates the sheer audacity of me walking in there), and getting on first name basis with the owners and patrons of a coffee shop, where I was not allowed to pay for my first coffee. It was in this coffee house I learned that many Arabs as much as practicable pretend that Israel doesn’t exist, and all that land west of the Dead Sea is simply Palestine.

Every where I went I was asked where I was from, and welcomed.

The hostel I stayed at had only been open for a month, and each night I had a six bed dorm room to myself. The afternoon staff member noticed me writing and typing up my blog entries, and commented that as a writer, I must love the authenticity of the city. I loved my stay in the hostel, lonely as it was, but I doubt it will still be there in a year, unless there is some dramatic shift in the way people travel through this amazing country.