Azraq

On Sunday we got up at 4.00am to go to Mount Nebo (where Moses looked across to the 'Promised Land') for a sun-rise Easter service (all the churches in Jordan use date of the Orthodox Easter). This was the start of a few days break from our Arabic studies.

We wanted to escape from our fellow 2 million Ammanians and decided to venture east into the desert. We took the road to Iraq and Saudi Arabia but decided to stop at Azraq a few miles before the border. Azraq is Arabic for blue, and it got its name because of the oasis that is there - unfortunately many of the springs have been drained to supply water for Amman, which has had a huge effect on the wildlife. It was an important place for migrating birds from Africa, Asia and Europe. The RSCN (Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature) has adopted the area as one of its projects in Jordan and is attempting to replenish the oasis and reintroduce the birds and animals. We stayed in a lodge owned by the RSCN - it is a former British Field Hospital in the middle of the Jordanian desert. I've decided that desert life is not for me, it was dusty, hot and dry - every 2 hours during the night I woke because I had to drink some water. But it was an unique place to celebrate our wedding anniversary - no family or friends just a cactus. P