Gail Visits Jordan

Gail’s Visit To Jordan

I never thought I’d see the day that a member of my very own family would actually travel across the Atlantic to visit us here in Jordan. I reckon if I had been pressed to make a guess who might be “most likely to visit” it would’ve been Gail. We’ve been close like brother and sister all our lives. We've shared adventures, joys and tragedies. We have the battle scars to prove it, but the spirit is indomitable. We have argued, fought, disagreed, made up, apologized, and everything in between. We've shared secrets, dreams and plans. Much time was spent together and much time apart, but through it all, the familial love never ebbed or waned.

A couple of months ago Gail contacted me to say she wanted to visit. From that moment the excitement began to build. Zeek and I made plans and plans within plans to ensure she had a good visit. The morning she arrived (01:55) we were all smiles! Almost every day we planned the things she "absolutely must" see as well as the things we wanted her to see.

Three days after her arrival, we celebrated Gail’s birthday with a gorgeous strawberry mousse cake. A couple of days later the family came with a chocolate birthday cake to celebrate again. Gail allowed that was the best cake she’d ever had in her mouth! Zeek's Mother brought gifts and Gail gave her a dress.

The day after Gail's birthday was mine and we went to Fuddrucker’s for dinner and of course Herself and Zeek conspired with the wait staff to bring me a dessert and sing “Happy Birthday” to me. I promised to kick both their asses, but haven’t gotten round to that yet.

Our first real excursion with Gail was to the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ. She wanted to be baptised in the very same place that Jesus was baptised.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him... And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (St Matthew 3.13-17 KJV)

 

Zeek and I were a little worried about the trip to Petra. The temperature topped out at around 115F or so, but you can see from the photographs that Gail was a trooper! I ran ahead of the two of them as I wanted to capture her reaction when she got her first glimpse of Petra at the end of the Siq. It was classic! Her mouth dropped open, her hand flew to her bosom and she gasped in pure awe. It was a beautiful moment. No matter how many times you visit Petra, that first sight of Kazhneh is always breathtaking.

Our Cousin’s first camel ride was another beautiful experience. After inspecting the camel, Gail climbed aboard with the able assistance of the camel-handler. Her expression as the camel rose was priceless!

I had been warned prior to her arrival that Gail was olympic-class in the art of shopping. Nothing could have adequately prepared me for her shopping prowess! She can (and does) haggle with the best of them. She has declared several times that she may need a ship just to take her purchases back to America! She just may be right... Here are a few shots of her shopping at Wadi Mousa.

Wadi Mousa is the place where Allah instructed Prophet Moses to command the rock to give water. Moses struck the rock with his stick and water burst forth. To this very day Moses’ Spring flows from that rock, giving pure, sweet, cold water.

And here endeth the Chronicles of an Alabama Girl in Jordan's Holy Land, but stay tuned for the further adventures of our intrepid tourist as she walks where the Holy Men and Women walked, lived, performed their miracles and left their marks on humanity.