Oh, Jordan. As you may have seen on Instagram, Amanda, Jessica, Julika and I could not have had more fun on our #GirlsGoneJordan campaign. While a lot of bloggers complain that press trips are awkward because they’re traveling with strangers, for us it was more like a work-trip with friends.
Photo credit – Sateless Suitcase
Before jumping into more in-depth posts about Jordan, I wanted to share my favorite moments. Because there’s so much about my trip to Jordan- countless meals, laughs and just good old-fashioned travel moments- that I don’t want to forget.
Table of Contents
Visiting Amman Citadel
I’m a sucker for ancient ruins, so I was stoked to visit the Amman Citadel on our first day in Amman.
Standing there, staring over the city, I realized that this was the first time in too long I had a. seen something older than 200 years old, and b. even touched my DSLR. That first day on Amman Citadel, I felt more like myself than I had in a long time.
But anyway, back to the citadel. The citadel dates back to the Bronze Age, around 1650 BC. Considering the amount of conquerors who have set foot there, it’s remarkable that it still stands: it was conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and Muslims.
Random fact- did you know that when the Greeks conquered Amman in 331 BC, they renamed the city, “Philadephia?”
I loved being able to see Amman in all of its sprawling, sand-colored glory, as well as spot the Raghadan Flagpole, one of the tallest flagpoles in the world.
And my favorite part of the citadel was this lone hand. And all of the spring wildflowers.
All in all visiting the Amman citadel was the perfect first day and a good introduction to the city.
Taking Camel Portraits in the Desert
Guys, I think I’ve found my calling- camel photography. Honestly I enjoyed taking photos of camels more than riding them- is that normal?
I’ve always enjoyed portrait photography more than landscape or still life, but it had never occurred to me to apply human portrait photography techniques to an animal. Or a camel, specifically.
My favorite shot was this camel “portrait.” I took a tip from Steve McCurry to square the eyes in the center of the frame and I think it worked. In fact this photo was my most liked Instagram photo ever!
Having Kohl Eyeliner Done by a Bedouin Girl
The Bedouins traditionally wear kohl eyeliner for aesthetic reasons but also practical ones- to protect the eyes from dust and bright sunlight. Similar to why football players wear eye black.
And as we had seen Bedouin men and women all over Jordan with their trademark kohl, I was excited to visit a Bedouin family and learn how to make it ourselves.
Photo credit Sateless Suitcase. And props for for retouching my skin so expertly, ha.
To make the kohl, all you do is burn black cotton and olive oil underneath a pan for about 10-15 minutes.
After the kohl was finished, the teenaged daughter applied it on all of us. It looked beautiful and kind of Jack Sparrow-esque.
It was especially beautiful on Jessica and Julika because of their green and blue eyes. Amanda looked straight-up like a Bedouin girl and well, I just looked like a white girl with eyeliner.
Drinking Mint Tea with a Diplomat’s Wife at Dana Biosphere Reserve
After a leisurely hike in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, the girls and I took a tea-break with a knowledgable and sweet Englishwoman. Her husband was a diplomat in Amman, and she had been living in Jordan for three years.
It was so interesting to chat with her and get a woman’s perspective on gender relations in Jordan. She told us that while Jordan is a relatively liberal country, in most parts traditional values run deep. She also told us that homosexuality occurs obviously but isn’t accepted, and that most sexual education is next-to-nothing.
And as we chatted and sipped our sweet mint tea, we watched the sun set over the desert. Not the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.
Sigh, I would love to be a diplomat’s wife.
Floating (And Near-drowning) in the Dead Sea
When we drove up to the Dead Sea I was shocked- the Dead Sea is beautiful. The sea is navy blue, surrounded by salt-stained white cliffs. I guess the name “Dead Sea” doesn’t conjure a beautiful image- but that’s just bad marketing.
Once we made our way down to the beach I was surprised again- the Dead Sea was rough that day, with three-foot tall waves crashing to the shore. I had pictured myself floating in a flat and tranquil sea, not frantically swimming against the current.
The third surprise came once I entered the water- the Dead Sea was so much saltier than I had imagined. While floating on my back I turned over to wet my hair- big mistake. I was instantly blinded and my mouth tasted like burnt turnips.
I tried to compose myself and wait for the burning in my eyes to subside, but I realized it was getting worse and called for the lifeguards.
Realizing how ridiculous all this was (I swam on swim team for seven years), I couldn’t stop laughing as two lifeguards pulled me to shore. Once we reached the sand one lifeguard held me up as the other doused my eyes with water.
After that… interesting experience, I covered my body in black mud from the Dead Sea. Being… me, I was a bit overzealous with the mud application and even put it on my lips. This photo will illustrate that:
Don’t I look just like Goofy, the Disney cartoon character?
And although I ruined my bikini, my skin did felt quite soft after I took off the mud.
Lessons learned: the Dead Sea feels like contact solution, tastes horrendous and is actually quite beautiful. And black mud is no friend to bikinis.
Smoking All the Shisha
As a high schooler who grew up in Metro Detroit, I smoked a lot of shisha. So I was excited to smoke “hubbly bubbly” as they say in Jordan, in the Middle East.
The first night we smoked shisha with our guides. I was pleased to find that our guide and I had the same favorite flavor, double apple. The other girls got lemon and mint.
We spent the next several hours failing to take cool pictures of each other and smoking shisha to the point of nausea. Also I gave the girls a smoke-ring blowing lesson, and they believed me when I said I could blow out a ship. (Gandalf reference- anyone?)
But this wasn’t our only shisha experience. On our last night in Jordan we all sipped Planter’s Punch and smoked shisha while watching the sun set over the Dead Sea. Needless to say it was a wonderful moment.
Buying Souvenirs
Why have an apartment if you’re not going to fill it with exotic souvenirs?
In Jordan I bought a ton of souvenirs: spices like sumac and za’atar, a traditional red-and-white Jordanian headscarf, salts from the Dead Sea, blue and white Palestinian pottery, kohl eyeliner and essential oils to wear as perfume: Jordanian rose, yellow musk, and camellia.
But my favorite souvenir (and most expensive) was this silver necklace that all four of us bought with our names in Arabic. Whenever I wear it everyone assumes I’m Middle Eastern.
Having Fun with My Girls
In Jordan I laughed more than I had in months, and it was so nice to spend the week with fellow travel addicts who understand my life.
Photo Credit – Sateless Suitcase
And it was so much fun to brainstorm and learn from each other. I learned a ton about social media and photography, and finally learned how to shoot manual and edit in RAW.
Whether we were playing poker with cigarettes and coins or coming up with puns for Instagram like “petra-fying” (Get it?) we were having a blast. And probably making fun of each other.
Visiting Petra at Night
This moment was so beautiful and surreal it deserves a post of its own, but walking to Petra under starlight was one of the most incredible moments of my life.
Have you ever visited Jordan? If not, would you want to?
I was a guest of the Jordan Tourism Board, but as always, all opinions are my own.
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I absolutely loved following all four Instagram accounts during your trip. This trip seems perfect. And I love how you personally got so much from the trip too. I read your month in review, and how you describe your feelings totally resonates with me. Can’t wait to read more about Jordan. :)
Aw glad to hear that Amanda! It’s always nice to hear that someone relates. I think all four of us are going to try to generate really unique, personal content. We already strategized our blog posts and definitely are going to make an effort NOT to have anything too similar!
Dear Ashley,
I am absolutely speechless! So exotic, and yet so real, and hearing
about the Dead Sea, something I have known about, but with not
the details you described it! I had heard that it was quite small, not a
big sea..WOW! how interesting you made it sound…And Jordan, and your photos of the camels. I recall riding a camel and getting the giggles so
badly that he said if I did not hush, the camel might spit on me!..
What a trip you girls had. It is very obvious that you totally enjoyed it
and observed much. Love, Gamma
Hi Gamma, I’m so glad you enjoyed reading about Jordan! I never knew you rode camels- was that in the Sahara? Also I got your email and will respond soon. Love, Ashley
The citadel was absolutely beautiful! I love that you put a little history fact in there, I always love to do that with my posts as well, I think it adds something special. ” I just looked like a straight up white girl with eyeliner.” that cracked me up, it would probably be the same case for me! It does look like you went a bit overboard with the dead sea scrub, but to each their own. All the photos look amazing and Petra at night looks beautiful. I throughly enjoyed reading this article.
I’m a total history nerd so I always try to squeeze a least a few facts in there. And I can’t wait to share a full post on Petra! Petra was seriously amazing, both at night and during the day.
This sounded amazing!! Loved the Gandalf reference too. ;)
Haha glad to hear I have at least one reader who is a fellow LOTR enthusiast :)
omgosh I love that last camel picture :)
Thanks! To be honest that’s probably one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. He was so cute!
Wow, who’s that girl in all your photos? She looks so cool.
The one with a nose ring? Such a gypsy.
That picture of you having your eyeliner done is so beautiful! Mad props to Julia, indeed. You’re making me all nostalgic for Jordan now. I need to get back there with the husband.
Thanks Sam! I’m sure Julika will be happy to hear that. She works as a wedding photographer so I think she shot that picture the same way she would a bride getting ready. It worked in both cases! :)
The camel photos might’ve been my favorite ;) That baby one though!!
I know right? I wonder if he was just a white camel or if camels are often white when they’re little and then turn golden brown. I’m honestly not sure!
looks like you girls had a blast!! I want to see the finished look with the eyeliner.
I don’t think we ever got a final photo- bummer! But we did have an awesome time :)
Your trip looks like it was MAGICAL! I am now officially obsessed with Jordan! And your necklace! I LOVE IT! What a cool souvenir to have and it’s so beautiful!
It seriously was magical! And glad you like the necklace- when we walked into the shop we all thought they were a bit huge and glitzy but soon came to really love them :)
Okay, so you should totally become a camel photography professional as it is clearly your calling. That baby camel!!
Haha well from you that’s a huge compliment! He was such a cutie it was hard to take a bad photo :)
Looks like you had a lot of fun. I look forward to reading more posts about your trip.
Thanks Stef! Glad to have you following along :)
This just looks like the most amazing trip! Can’t wait to see more.
Thanks, Kaelene! I’ve been loving following your Instagram recently- life in Iceland looks amazing.
I loved this post. What an incredible adventure all of you had! I was laughing so hard when you were describing your Dead Sea experience. The getting the salt in your eyes and almost drowning is totally something I would do ;)
It was actually funny because the girls asked the guides, “Who do you think almost drowned today?” And they were immediately like, “Fatima.” (A.k.a. my Arabic name when I was in Jordan, haha.)
Jordan sounds so amazing, I can’t wait to visit. I’m glad you bought lots of souvenirs, I always regret not buying enough.
Love the camel portrait photography, you have a talent! :)
Me too! Or I buy really generic souvenirs you could buy anywhere. Buying souvenirs is honestly kind of a skill :)
You totally missed your calling as camel photographer! Those are stunning photos. And I’m totally surprised you just learned how to shoot manual. Your photos are always so good so I assumed you had the entire time! I can’t wait to read more about your adventures. The trip sounds amazing and just want you need. And P.S. some of your photos are leaking over to your sidebar…
Ugh, I’ll have to fix that! I kind of knew how to shoot manual but this was the first time I shot manual for an entire week straight. It was hard at first but it’s amazing how much it really does improve your photography!
Ashley I love this post! It honestly looks like you girls had the best time in Jordan and your photos are beautiful. I would absolutely go there especially because obviously I also totally want to try my hand at camel portraits. There’s gotta be a market for that somewhere, right? ;)
Haha indeed! I might be a bit behind the times but I love your new site redesign, very pretty!
Just started reading these adventures and love it! Found your blog through Jessicas’. Really awesome read! Can’t wait to read more :-)
Glad to have you reading, Rebecca! :)
While I’ve always wanted to visit Petra, I had no idea on all of the other amazing sights & experiences to be had in Jordan! It’s definitely such an underrated country it seems. I can only imagine how excited I’d be about all of the exotic souvenirs to purchase. I have an obsession with pottery from other countries :)
P.S. As a Philadelphia native, how cool about that once being Amman’s name! I had no idea.
Jordan is really underrated! Everyone goes to Egypt and Israel but miss Jordan, such a shame. And can you imagine two Phillys? :)
I love Jordan! I had the chance to visit it last summer, sadly only for two days. I had an amazing time and plan to go back. I went to Amman and Petra. I took a two day trip there with Abraham Tours, while I was travelling around Palestine and Israel.
http://abookofmaps.blogspot.ca/
Wow that sounds amazing- I would love to see Israel at some point!
I absolutely love, love, love this post. You girls had such an amazing trip and look like you’re having so much fun. The photos are lovely, the baby camel is just such a cutie, you met some really interesting people on your trip, and you did all of this with your girlfriends. How marvellous is that? I haven’t yet been to Jordan but I so want to do so.
p.s. It was such a nice write-up that I’m following some of the other girls as well. What a win-win. :)
That’s great to hear! They all have wonderful blogs that I love following as well :). And of course I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
In your article you wrote “it was conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and Muslims.”
Big mistake to combine the names of nations with a religion… You could have said Arabian Peninsula because you cant just Muslims…
Please accept my note, it was done for a good reason… many people doing the same causing all problems for Muslims for generalizing this term.
I am Jordanian and Muslim, you could be American and Muslim, Christian or Jew, but to the world you are American…
Hi Hanin, thank you for letting me know. I actually struggled with which word to use but ended up using “Muslim” as that’s how our guides referred to it. I do appreciate the feedback though!