LOCALadk Magazine
Issue link: https://localadkmagazine.uberflip.com/i/728742
Fall 2016 LOCALadk Magazine 32 LOCALadk Places are vanishing due to environmental issues or polit- ical unrest. There are places that will be gone, places that we will no longer be able to connect to. Places that are no lon- ger accessible, or, just the name of the place will be, but not the structure, inhabitants, life. I decided to go to the place we are terrorized by, the axis of the devil, the place that Ameri- cans are not welcomed: The Middle East. I decided to travel to Jordan, the reputed safest place in the Middle East. In this small country, peace was not only intentional, it was pursued. I arrived pretty nervous. What would happen, what could hap- pen, is half of the fun traveling, as a true traveler invites the unknown. But, when media tells you the Middle East is a place of people you cannot trust, you don't know what to expect. I wanted to go to the source and learn the true Islamic style. Although I often travel solo, personal safety dictated that I travel with a group. My first day in Amman, the Capital, was by myself, and the Jordanian hospitality quickly put me at ease. "Welcome to Jordan" was a consistent greeting. A fourth-generation cardamom coffee brewer invited me into his shop. He and his son were both there that day, and con- trary to most other countries I have visited, he didn't push his product on me. He wanted me to come in and taste what his family so passionately brewed. He boasted about how his son would take over the business. He asked what I do, where I am from, and how I felt about his country. His amiability and con- geniality kept me sharing stories about each other's daily lives for nearly an hour. I then ventured to the Roman Theatre where I simply sat and absorbed the sun and sights. Children were running about, playing with a soccer ball and laughing. Groups of local people were slowly taking in the day, socializing. It was all so very undisturbed and tranquil. Small groups of Jordanian women would exchange embracing smiles with me as I passed. Our 65 year old Jordanian driver had the heart of a teenage boy. He started each morning with a stash of ten packages Story and photos By Tiffany O'Brien