…made a Bedouin out of me.
Arriving in Azraq we felt a bit… uneasy. It was clear that the town is not a magnet for travelers. Our guidebook mentioned two hotels. One we couldn’t find. And the other…we couldn’t find. We eventually found one of the places and checked into an empty box of a building reminiscent of a hospital or dorm. Not very cozy, although the proprietor offered us a slew of dates. Next we headed back out to find food. After several passes down the main (and only) street we settled on a place that perhaps wasn’t accustomed to hosting women.
Back at the hotel things were feeling a bit fishy. Large trucks were out front loaded with canisters. More canisters were surrounding the walkway. Molly thought for certain they were smuggling illegal goods into Saudi. I guess we’ll never know…
The hotel didn’t offer heat or hot water, so we skedaddled pretty quickly the next morning. We decided to hit the desert castles on our drive back to Amman.
First up was Qasr Azraq. Nothing too extraordinary to see but it was the garrison used by T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) during the Great Arab Revolt.
Next, we visted Qasr Amra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The inside walls feature frescoes… some of which are quite bawdy (for Islam).
Amra is also where our guide decided to make me “a Bedouin woman.” I kept refusing to look up because he was so close I was just sure he was going to kiss me. Eep!
The last castle we visited was Qasr Kharanah.
I know this photo is blurry but it makes me laugh. It’s the perfect depiction of Molly and Caitlin on this trip. Caitlin was a pretty good sport about all of our teasing!
At this point we thought perhaps we might have a low tire. Better to get back to Amman for a bit of souvenir shopping before heading out the next day.
xo, jill
Jill, it amazes me that these buildings have been there for so long…and yet are in relatively good shape. Being surrounded by all this history must be fun! I love all your travel photos. I get to live vicariously through them.