The Shebab Embark on a Seaside Retreat

 on the bus (4 hours!)

 Abe writing on the terrace of our incredible hostel

 View of the water from the hostel

 That's either Israel/Palestine or Egypt across the way -- we were a little unclear where the border was, and apparently we weren't the only ones (har har)

 Abe takes the first dip

 A couple camels also enjoy the warm beach

 Some of the clearest water I've ever seen

 A GORGEOUS mosque in downtown Aqaba -- I wish I'd gotten a picture of the amazing gardens and shaded walkways on the other side

 They have parks here!

 Back to the beach for sunset

 Sunrise on our last day

 Since we had a week off for Eid, we decided to finally leave Amman and do some traveling.  There is still so much of Jordan to be seen (not least of all Petra and Wadi Rum), but this time we headed far south to Jordan's only coastal city, Aqaba.  The sight of the Red Sea as our bus pulled in was truly shocking -- how long had it been since we'd seen water!?  Almost as shocking was Aqaba, a strange little oasis overflowing with palm trees and 5-star Western-owned hotels.  There were tourists EVERYWHERE, and I was trying to figure out if Europeans and Americans would really travel all the way to Jordan just for vacation, or if most of the people we saw were expats like us taking a break from Amman.  Yet expats in Amman are few and far between, whereas they seemed to be half the population of Aqaba.  Go figure.

The sea itself is gorgeous, though the beach left something to be desired (oh look honey, sea glass!  Wait, ACTUAL GLASS.  Watch out for that camel turd!).  The water was insanely clear, and actually a bit cold.  The narrowness of the sea was also surprising.  Looking out over the water you see (very, very close) the stark rocky hills of the Sinai and the twinkling skyscrapers of Eilat, Israel.  Looking South along the coast you see the thick black smoke pouring out of Saudi Arabia's oil refineries.  A very strange site/sight indeed.  The people on the beach were just as randomly assorted: white, bikini-clad Westerners; local men swimming or smoking argeela on the shore; groups of giggling, hijab-wearing teenage girls splashing in the water, wetting their jeans up to the knee; whole families having tea and elaborate meals inside tents or blanket forts.  It seemed like all of Jordan was on the beach for the holiday.  After taking a walk down the shore, we realized much of Syria was, too.  UN-issued refugee tents had been set up all over the beach, the floors lined with stones, the insides decorated -- made into semi-permanent homes.  As usual, that's about all I want to say on that matter.

All-in-all it was a highly relaxing respite from city-life.  We swam, we lounged, we read, we enjoyed the availability of public outdoor space which is unheard-of in Amman, we ate the best meal we've had so far at a Syrian restaurant across from that glorious mosque, we played with the hostel kittens, and we did a lot of wistful gazing.  Now we're recharged for more Arabic!