After a terrific 10-day trip to Jordan as a guest of the Jordan Tourism Board, I’m back in Bangkok. With two weeks before I fly back to the States for the summer, I’ve got time to process the swirl of memories from these last days and go through the mountain of photos from the trip. I’ve always said that being on a press trip wouldn’t preclude me from talking about negative aspects of the experience; there’s a professional, constructive way to discuss when things aren’t what you expected. But these 10 days were all that I could have wanted and more: camels, piles of delicious food, an insight into Bedouin culture and historical wonders aplenty. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the experience and am seriously considering heading back there for a few months to do more research and writing about spices and foods from Jordan. I’ll be posting about each of those topics (especially the camels and the spices!), but until then here are some highlights of my trip.
Photos from Jordan
The Food in Jordan:
Bedouin woman making jameed, a fermented yoghurt used in the national Mansaf dish, in Feynan.
Hummus in Jerash, at our (delicious!) lunch break.
Many small plates (mezze) at a delicious lunch with a Druze family in Azraq.
The Scenes:
The Dead Sea from above.
Overlooking the lush Ajloun Forest Reserve.
Me and Shannon (affectionately referred to by our friends in Chiang Mai as “The Shodi Show”) overlooking Amman.
Wadi Rum at daybreak, just after a dawn camel ride.
The Ruins:
One small part of the ruins at Jerash.
Deep colors in the sandstone rocks of Petra, Jordan.
The Camel:
A 10-day old baby camel in Wadi Rum, Jordan.
All told, my trip can be summarized thusly:
Me at The Monastery in Petra, Jordan
Definitely a great time.
More to come shortly from Jordan and wrapping up my time in Chiang Mai!
-Jodi
The photos look amazing!! I love the one of the woman hand-mixing the yogurt. Sounds like you had a phenomenal time. Have you been to Israel? Obviously a very similar landscape/food.
I have been, but many years ago (over a decade at this point!). Very similar landscape and food. It was nice to have seen the sun rise over the Dead Sea from the Israeli side and then see it set last week over the Jordanian side. Excellent symmetry, many years apart.
Wow, what a recap and some of the most stunning pics of Jordan I’ve ever seen. Looks like you had an amazing time there. My favorite pic is the baby camel…oh soooo cute!!!
Thanks Jeff! Glad you enjoyed. These are just a precursor to more photos, likely quite a bit on the food too ;) The baby camel was absolutely adorable and hard to believe it was only 10 days old.
I’m looking extremely foward to going to Jordan. I was planning on spending only maybe five days in the country. Maybe I’ll stay longer, though. And your food photos are fantastic!
I’d allocate a bit longer than 5 days, to be honest. It’s a small country geographically, which means you can get to see quite a large part of it if you stay for a week or so. Worth it in my mind; such diversity of landscape that the contrasts help make the time there that much more special.
OMG, it was painful seeing the pics here and of fuul in the another post! I’m not hungry, but somewhere in my soul there is pain (hunger). Anyway, if you liked the cuisine, you should absolutely visit Lebanon, the birthplace of many of those dishes, and the place with the best culinary culture in the near east. You will discover real mezze with its never-ending varieties, and try mana’eesh.. Still, Jordan zaatar mixes will be the best; the ones from Aleppo-Syria will come in second.. Have fun in your travels, and thanks for your awesome blog.
Glad you enjoyed Ahmad. Tried several versions of manakeesh and all were delicious (though all were not good for my stomach). The Middle East definitely has a huge set of food options, all of which are enticing. Lebanon’s high up on the list as I grew up with a Lebanese friend and dinners at her place involved labne and tabouli and all sorts of deliciousness. Hope to get there soon!
very nice pics :)
Great photos, Jodi! Jordan is very, very, very high on our list of places to go, and I can’t read enough about it. Your pictures are amazing!
I love your pictures! They definitely show the beauty of Jordan.
I hope that y’all pay us a visit oneday, you won’t regret it I promise :)
These are all beautiful, beautiful photos, Jodi. I love the nickname Shodi, it works so well. I also love how closely these photos and stories mirror my own experience on the other side of the Dead Sea. I worked predominantly with Bedouin women in the past year and wrote about their entrepreneurial experience, so your photos of their cooking (as well as of the hummus and the Dead Sea) are making me deeply nostalgic and appreciative. I cannot wait to see the rest of the images and hear all about your trip. Thank you, as always, for sharing all this beauty.
Thank you Roxanne. I’ve really enjoyed your farewell posts to a country you obviously love but had a very intense time discovering. Hope to see you Stateside this summer!
Great pictures! Especially love the ruins! Jordan is definitely on the list of our “must travel” to places. Your post just bumped it up the list a few more notches!
You got me cravin’ a trip to Jordan now.
Who knew?
Jordan’s on the list for me this year too! LOVE your photos!I’m super curious about this whole being a guest of the tourism board for various countries gig… do you go into depth about how this happens on any of your posts? Much appreciated:)
Hi Monica, usually the tourist boards reach out to me directly, as was the case with Jordan. I don’t go on press trips very often; as I said above, I want the destination to be one I’m excited about and a place I’d visit independently if I could. Jordan was a perfect fit and when the asked me to participate in their bloggers’ press efforts, I was thrilled to say yes.
Many tourism boards or cities will use PR companies to do outreach for them, so to the extent you have a conference or travel show with PR representation, getting your name out there in that capacity would be helpful too.
Brings back great memories. Was just there with my Mum and Dad to celebrate my Mum’s 70th birthday.
Maybe see you when you are back in the States.
Nicola (Apt 7C)
Hi Nicola! Were you in Jordan this spring? Thank you for the comment and hope to see you in NY later this summer.
Just great photos I really enjoy looking at the one of the 10 day old camel and of course the delicious looking food. I always think of Jordan as being unbearable with the heat..how was it?
Oh no, it was beautiful weather. It is hot in the summer months but April and May are cooler and very pleasant.
Beautiful pictures! My favorite is the dead sea viewed from the cliff. Somehow it looks really serene. Oh and the food looks very interesting also.