Omar

We met Omar on our second midnight round tour of Kerak – that is to say when we were dead lost with a hotel reservation in a town two hours away.

Not only did this smiling, laughing man guide us to the right highway, but also invited us to eat at his place. Funny, but after ten minutes of broken English with him, we knew he was the kind of guy we could trust.

Anyway, on our way back North the next evening, we called him up. He was on his way to the mosque (prayers 5 times a day!), but came to get us right after.

We were welcomed into this exquisite appartment: lush carpets, fluffy sofa, columns – seriously beautiful. Little children – his brothers from his father’s second wife (you can have up to 4) – came to greet us. A friend arrived, who spoke English, and we sat down on the carpet to eat.

The food was absolutely delicious and the conversation went in interesting directions; Omar holds a PhD in religious studies (the Koran) and studied in Baghdad in1995, when it was still the cultural/artist center of the Arabic World – think Paris, Rome…

He works as a teacher and runs the family business in gold on the side. He told us he has problems with the government because he “likes the poor too much.” Two weeks ago he led a rally of teachers demanding higher pay – right now they get about 300 dollars a month. Hopefully the reaction of the government won’t be too harsh.

The conversation often went to religion, to family, what life is like in France and Canada. At one point I was invited to the second half of the house to meet his mother and sister, who had cooked the meal we were eating. (The house was doubled with 2 living rooms – one for guests and one for the women and family.) They both were kind and funny. Neither work. His father’s wife greeted me veiled but promptly removed it to reveal a t-shirt. We had nice broken-english/sign-language conversations over Turkish coffee.

On reflection, what I feel most is a stunned gratitude to be so quickly and warmly welcomed into someone’s home. As Omar would say Alhamdulillah

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5 comments

  1. Stomy’s avatar

    Hi!

    It is a good thing you have plenty of time to get lost and meet local people. Jordanians seem to be really welcoming, and I experienced it a few times. They don’t let you down.
    I also had the feeling that their culture is totally different from ours, but they try to learn from others more than we do. I didn’t know about the 4 wifes (where are they? Hard to see them on the streets…).
    So, You lost your way in the small town of Kerak ? Did you bring a compass? It was very useful for me last month!

    May the best happen to you two ! Enjoy your big journey. I think the bedouins from Wadi Rum will also welcome you well. I’m following your blogs
    Stomy

  2. markus’s avatar

    hello therre!
    wie geht’s?
    bon j’vois que les aventures commencent pour de vrai, c’est cool.
    de mon cote bah j’travaille mon allemand :) et je commence a connaitre assez de compagnies aeriennes pour ouvrir une agence de voyage specialisee dans le low cost…
    ah oui au fait j’avais oublie de vous dire : chuis papa !
    bon vous avez pas encore assez voyage pour connaitre les details :p
    bonne route jusqu’a la prochaine etape

  3. jenn’s avatar

    It is so great to follow your blog and know what you are up to! Sounds like you are having a great time and lots of adventures. I can’t believe how desolate the Wadi Canyon seems. looking forward to your next post.

  4. ThomTom’s avatar

    Hello Nire, Bonjour Megan,

    Content de voir que même au fin fond des wadi vous trouvez un peu de Wifi pour partagez votre voyage… ça doit pas être simple tous les jours !

    Bravo Markus pour avoir attendu que Nire soit au bout du monde pour lui annoncer ta nouvelle :) J’en profite pour t’envoyer mes félicitations !

    Profitez bien du voyage,
    Thom

  5. Jo’s avatar

    Megan! Nico! I’m so jealous of your travels so far (being stuck revising for exams makes them all the more exciting). Glad to hear you’re safe, and that your travels have been exciting so far. Most especially, it’s great to hear how many amazing people there are out there in the world that you get to meet. Omar and his family sound like the kind of people the world should be populated with.

    Take care!
    Jo xxx

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