A grand day out was had by all, beginning with a rousing chorus of national songs on the bus, a visit to the Cave of the Seven Sleepers (the story of whom appears rather muddled and varied - but it involves some chaps who went to sleep for 3 years and awoke to find their currency out of date ...), a quick survey of the caves at Iraq al Amir, and then a very Jordanian picnic at the palace. Icecream on the way home. (Pictures are, as always, in the wrong order. We all had to cover for the Sleepers.)

Yesterday, I went to see my neighbour Lilli's son, Adam, playing his drum in a parade that was partly to mark Independence Day, which is later this week, and partly to invest the new little scouts. It was a marvellous occasion, especially the contrast between the monks in their cassocks, the church bells ringing, the minaret towering over the fence and the covered ladies. The little scouts were models of patience and perseverance - except for the poor little chap who wet his pants - while the speeches went on interminably, and the big scouts were dab hands at precision marching and bagpipe, brass and drum playing. That's Adam and Lilli in the first picture, and Adam in the middle of the drummers.

Bedouin hospitality

This morning on our walk we were invited to tea by a friendly Bedouin family. After they'd finished milking the sheep, we went into the tent for tea. It was cool and airy, and contained only the sleeping mattresses, two plastic chairs on which we were honored to sit, and a television. Afterwards we were joined by a man from Madaba and his little boy who came to buy the milk. Conversation, as you can imagine, was a bit stilted - mostly due to my continued failure at Arabic. There was much goodwill, though. Baed baed bukra - the day after the day after tomorrow - we have to return to give them the photos I took (including these).

Round and about in the early morning ...

... and still some more animals - but you have to look very hard for the hoopoe. Now there are many of them, and sometimes we're treated to a sort of hoopoe ballet, where a trio of them will swoop and dance and play. At other times they sit on the roof and utter a gorgeous and quite resounding oo-oo-oo. The morning light is beautiful, and the air cool and brisk, even though it gets quite hot during the day. We set out off walking about 5.30.

Animals

I just wish you could see all the lovely animals that live here. It must be Spring! You can tell when you belong: when you can walk right through a herd and the sheep don't turn a hair and the dogs don't bite your legs off.

and Summer's approaching

All the colours are being leeched out of the earth. Where there was vibrant green, there's now hazy gold. Some fields are already reaped and ploughed, and the dust is getting serious. The flowers have all but finished except for the giant purple thistles, and hungry herds are munching their way through drying grass.
There's nothing lovelier than the sound of sheep and goat bells clocking gently - unless it's the indescribable sound of 50 munching mouths. Or perhaps the monotoned 00-oo-oo of the fanciful hoopoe who's too clever and acrobatic to remain still while I take his photo.

Lovely pictures of a Spring walk

Because these entries are all out of order, it seems that the seasons are also in the wrong order. They're not!
This walk took place some time ago - a happy Saturday afternoon outside the walls.

Learning about water

I've been on some field trips with Friends of the Earth Middle East to learn about the horrible and dire condition of the Jordan and Yarmouk, and the consequences to the people who depend upon it. Grim indeed. The inequity and mismanagement are monstrous. We were not allowed access to the Talal Dam, and had to have a military escort to visit the reclaimed area.
Also attended a FOEME conference in Amman, where our students were made Water Champions!

Huda's farm ...

... is so lovely that I'm only putting pictures.