Watch out: Dutch students crossing on camels!

That morning a small part of the group, including me, woke up very early to enjoy the sunrise. After breakfast, we went on an amazing jeep tour through the desert. We had some stops at Bedouin tents and at the second stop part of the group continued their tour on a camel, a magnificent experience! After finishing our jeep tour, we went to Aqaba for a luxurious lunch and some free time there. With well stuffed stomachs we went back to ACOR for, sadly enough, our last night.  The next morning we took the flight at 12:00 to Amsterdam, where we arrived at 16:00. In the airplane I was sitting next to a lovely Dutch woman with Jordanian roots. That woman represents the Jordanian population to me. She asked me very interested about my trip and told me more about other unknown beauties of Jordan. She gave me (again) that warm, interested and welcoming feeling. Reflecting on Doxey’s model¹ I felt really welcomed to Jordan, although it is a really well-developed country. When I asked locals about their opinion about the tourists they would always say: you are welcome here! That warm welcome perhaps also made that I never felt unsafe in Jordan. After a week in Jordan, I can totally agree with the words of the Dutch ambassador:

“You do not see the security but trust me they are everywhere, you are safe here!”

During the five hour flight I had also time to reflect on the socio-culturally framed eye of John Urry.²  This was especially visible on religious sites: where some people enjoyed the Jordan River because its cold and refreshing water, others saw this as a special place and took some water with them. Also, I noticed that at different times, different people were interested in what our tour guide had to say. History students liked listening to stories of Jordans history and medical students liked listening to stories about its healthcare system. While I was reviewing all these kind of memories, we were landing on Schiphol and before I knew it, I saw my sister waiting for me at the arrivals: I’m back! 

¹ Williams S. (2009) Chapter 6: socio-cultural relations in tourism (p.134-156). In Tourism Geography A new synthesis. Routledge

² John Urry (2011) The tourist gaze, Chapter 1. SAGE Publications

Jeep tour through the desert

Roading on camels

Reunited with my sister!