Staying at the Ammarin Bedouin Camp within the Petra Archaeological Reserve helps the traveler enter into the atmosphere of ancient Petra. How jarring it is, then, when they pull up to the front gate and feel like they’ve walked up to the Disneyland gift shops.
My preferred way to enter Petra […]
Coming off the ten year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, fear and distrust between Americans and Arabs remains high. The biggest contributing factor to this, in my opinion, is that we still don’t know each other.
I’ll admit, getting to know each other isn’t easy. In the […]
Walking down the old Roman road that leads into and out of Petra will never get old. I’ve been there four times now, and landing a job with Engaging Cultures means I’ll see the place twice more this summer. But something special happened last trip, something that […]
A few photos from our recent trip where local Jordanian students traveled with our guests. Our guest booked a customized version of our ‘Engage Jordan’ Tour. They were able to experience Mt. Nebo, Umm Qais, Jerash, and other sites on their tour with local Jordanian students.
Our guests were able to interact with the local […]
I know interacting and participating with the local host community can enhance a person’s travel experience. But, can actually traveling with locals (same van, same hot sun) add to the discovery and understanding of a travel destination and its people? Could it even benefit all parties […]
Rumor has it Prince William may be taking his soon to be bride, Kate Middleton, on a Middle Eastern honeymoon. We in Jordan think this would be a perfect destination.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, here are a few reasons why you should come to Jordan:
10. […]
This past weekend I joined twenty eight Tunisian friends from the country’s north to bring food, clothing and medical supplies to a village in the south whose main source of income – tourism – has almost completely disappeared following the Jasmine Revolution.
For […]
It takes face to face encounters to rediscover the humanity of people. Negative news images and blanket stereotypes can make us Westerners forget that Arabs are real people, with hopes and hurts much like our own. Below are a few more of our experiences we had while […]
The more we get to know Jordan and her people, the more excited we are about the experiences groups traveling with Engaging Cultures will have as they see the beautiful sites of Jordan and engage with the local communities. Below are a few more experiences we had on the […]
Is Jordan safe? To find out, we hitchhiked from the border of Syria to the Red Sea. We went to cities off the tourist grid, to see how they would react to foreigners. We relied only on local communities to take care of us and guide us. Our journey began at 7:30 am from the […]
