Let me bore you with my holiday pics

[Shakermaker]

I have been backpacking in Jordan and Israel for the last two weeks. Massive load of pics incoming.

The mosque on Amman's citadel

The best looking street cat ever

Made me think of Xzibit

Church at Bethany on the Jordan

Mosaic in the St. George church in Madaba, Jordan

Happy rooster

The Crusader castle at Kerak, Jordan

Obligatory pic of the Treasury in Petra, Jordan

Detail of a palace in Petra, Jordan

Aqaba, Jordan as seen from Eilat, Israel

The church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

Side-street in Jerusalem

Crow on the walls of Jerusalem

Jewish Israeli with an M1 Garand in a Jerusalem fast food restaurant

The main thoroughfare in Old Jerusalem at night

The Dome on the Rock

All is well in Ramallah on the Westbank

The mausoleum of Yassir Arafat in Ramallah

\
The Palestinian side of the wall between Israel and the Westbank.

The Israeli side

Entrance of the checkpoint (which wasn't too bad really tbh)

Peace man

The best looking army in the world

Under these meadows lie the ruins of the Roman city of Gerasa, now called Jerash, Jordan

Old and new in Jerash

More Jerash

Butcher shop in Amman, Jordan

 

[DigiQ8]

Awesome pics Thijs! Glad you had fun.

Next time you travel you better take me with you!

Edit: In the last picture, the second word from the right says testicles, did you eat them Shaker?

 

[CptStern]

I expected more pics of you and or jewbs

great pics btw

 

[Shakermaker]

Next time you travel you better take me with you!

No more traveling in the Middle East for me as long as I have my current passport. Damn Israeli stamp.

 

[AKIRA]

I circled the part on the wall where it looks like a side profile of a nun(Mother Theresa?)

 

[VirusType2]

Great pictures, I enjoyed them

 

[Krynn72]

How much for a cow head?

 

[Shakermaker]

How much for a cow head?

Maybe Digi can answer that one. He told me that that the second word from the right on that pic means testicles btw.

 

[CptStern]

he probably doesnt know because they only had goat heads

make goat head soup!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8E01aZDpc

 

[DigiQ8]

That's a sheep head noobs!

 

[<RJMC>]

you didnt try to reharse some indiana jones scene at petra?

 

[morgs]

Cool pics! I'd love to go to Petra.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Amazing pics dude. Jelly as ****.

 

[Shamrock]

Those are all awesome. How was that experience?

 

[Shakermaker]

How was that experience?

It was very interesting. The unrest in Egypt kinda set the atmosphere everywhere I went. In Jordan the coffeehouses were buzzing with talk of the revolution and people were quite ready to give their opinion about it. They couldn't be as open about the political situation in their own country though, because Jordan -while relatively free compared to other countries in the region- is still very much an absolute monarchy. Critique of the king is unheard of and only reaches the surface in private conversations. The Israelis on the other hand approach the Egyptian situation with a sense of foreboding. The Israeli military seemed to have stepped up its activity along the Egyptian border and most people were anxious about the consequences of Mubarak's eventual fall from power. It was also very interesting to see the Israelis and Palestinians interact with each other. As always the real situation isn't as black-and-white as the media make you believe, and I was especially surprised at the state of the Westbank. I was expecting to see all kinds of signs of a humanitarian crisis, but in reality this part of the Palestinian territories is quite prosperous. Ramallah for example is like any other Arab city: a bustling city center, a farmer market and suburbs with quite some upmarket houses that had BMWs parked in front. I saw one 'refugee camp' but that was just another neighborhood of the city really with three and four story flats.

As for the traveling itself: Jordan isn't backpack Disneyland like for example South East Asia. While the country has lots of interesting sites to visit, it isn't really geared towards tourists, backpackers especially. Some parts aren't very welcoming to Western visitors, so you have to be a little careful with what you say and do. I have witnessed the proverbial Arab hospitality in one or two occasions, but in general people see you as a walking ATM. Israel on the other hand is basically a Western country with an oriental flair to it. Traveling is super easy and communicating with the locals is helped by the fact that almost all of them speak fluent English. The Israelis basically ignore tourists and let you go about your business without bothering you.

 

[Unfocused]

Nice photos Shaker Could use some better shots of the "best looking army in the world".

Must've been a great trip. I don't really like being "geared towards" - when traveling somewhere I like to blend in. Of course I'm visiting places of interest and have my camera with me, but I like to try to get a taste of how it is to live in the place I'm visiting, not to get the tourist treatment.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I like the aminals.

 

[Shakermaker]

I like the aminals.

More animals for you then.

 

[Shakermaker]

Two videos made with my photo camera so quite crappy quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBJyKT_S1Fk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpoODjXgaj0

 

[Barnz]

brown doves! they look lovely.

 

[Shakermaker]

The last one: