The year from hell that was 2020 may be over, but 2021 doesn’t really feel all that different just yet. The world is still attempting to come back from the brink and fight off this accursed virus, businesses and families are still out here struggling financially due to restrictions designed to keep people safe, and many industries are still flailing about with all the uncertainty that remains.
Read MoreBeing serenaded in Arabic by a blind man playing the oud in a Jordanian desert was not a memory I ever suspected I’d make.
Read MoreWe awoke before the crack of dawn today, at which time the temperature was mild — only in the 80s — in Aqaba. By the time we'd arrived at the Israeli-Jordanian border, it was easily over 100 degrees. Such intense heat makes it a bit difficult to do anything outdoors, which is why it proved advantageous that a visit to the Dead Sea — the lowest point on Earth — was the only real activity on today's docket.
Read MoreOur Jordanian tour guide, Mustache — whose real name is Isam — rendezvoused with us at the Captain's Hotel this morning, tearing, I imagine, into one of the made-in-front-of-you omelettes that the chefs were serving up (I know I did). Isam is privy to vast amounts of knowledge regarding the history of the Kingdom of Jordan; it spills from his lips and over the speaker system on the tour bus during our rides along the desert highways, much to the chagrin of those of us who would prefer to catch up on some sleep while we are traveling.
Read MoreFor probably the past year, I have been following an account on Instagram called "Visit Jordan" and the place I see featured the most is the one in the image above: the ancient city of Petra. It's made appearances in films like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Mummy Returns (2001), and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) — and it is truly something to see in person.
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