I’d only been in Saudi a few weeks when the holy month of Ramadam arrived. This changed the few things I had figured out. The shops don’t open until night, everything is dead in the day, the muslims work shortened hours and stay up all night praying and celebrating. Work is a different place, the locals are all grumpy because of the fasting, tied for being up all night, have no interest in work and we are supposed to carry on as normal, while fasting, and still get results from business. It is a long month. The only saving grace is that the roads are quiet and it’s a great time to set world speed records on the way to work, my best time yet for the 30 minute drive is 12 minutes.
At the end of Ramadam is Eide, a weeks holiday. I was excited about going to Jordan. Aman isn’t much but it is interesting walking around the shambles that is downtown. A day trip to Jerash has to be done, fantastic Roman site with a huge amount still intact. They have a jazz festival here annually, I am going to come back for that one day.
I was glad to hit the road for Petra, safe in the hands of my driver, Sam Speed! He arranged my hotel with much glee and confusion. It’s a long walk into Petra along the narrow high deep Siq (road) and then you get the glimpse, one of the most photographed sights in the world, the grand Treasury becomes visible, and then a few more metres and the whole grandeur unfolds, it’s incredible. I spent two days wandering around and that was when I first figured that the best photos are the traders, young, old and child....desperately carving out their income from this incredible rose colored place. Petra is incredible.
