'We used to plan for next year, now we feel lucky if we can survive until tomorrow'.
Those words from my tour partner in Jordan struck me like a blow and have stayed in my head since I got back a few days ago. Jordan is a land full of contrast because what Bader said is a reality for many Jordanians, but to meet them and stay with them- you wouldn't guess the hardship that lies behind the smiles and the hospitality. I spent almost a week doing a whistle-stop tour of the sites and sights that will be included in our Jordan give-back tour and I have to say the generosity of every single person I met was overwhelming.
Jordan is a relatively small, landlocked country in the Middle East surrounded by Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Iraq. It has no oil or natural resources so unlike its neighbours, Jordan has no abundance of wealth. In fact due to the population movements over the last years, the population has now increased to nearly 12 million with almost half of this being refugees.
Out on tour, people often remark to me that 'we don't know how lucky we are at home'. And despite everything in Jordan being so wonderful, their biggest issue is lack of water. It's just not a thing that I would think about especially given that it rains almost every day here in Ireland. But Jordan is a semi-arid country and water is not just scarce it's a very precious commodity. Tourism accounts for 25% of their country's income so the recent war has had a devastating effect on the people and the economy. But I have to emphasise again, other than that comment, you don't hear about hardship or difficulties from the Jordanians, they were unfailingly generous and hospitable to me.
And what a trip it was. I wasn't entirely prepared for the emotional hit I was going to experience in the North as I looked out over places I never dreamed I would get an opportunity to see for myself. Syria, Palestine, the Golan Heights, Nazareth just around that corner, Dead Sea, Red Sea, Sea of Galilee- it was like a stroll through the pages of the Bible. The views are spectacular and watching the sun set over the Sea of Galilee was just the experience of a lifetime.
Of course all of this was before we got to the highlight of the tour- Petra. I've been to 4 of the Wonders of the World now but in my book Petra goes straight to the top of the list. We went early in the morning before the real heat of the day and chose to take a golf cart down through the Siq. Our driver was amazing, stopping to point out particular features in the rock and rubbing 'blusher' into my cheeks. It's iron oxide and while my first thought was 'they could sell this as makeup', my second thought was 'ah right, it's possibly not safe'. The first thing you see on entry to the main site is the Treasury Building and there were so many stories associated with both its ancient and more recent past. After this, you walk through the site and it's beyond amazing! Everything carved into the rocks with pillars, decorative friezes, Palace ruins, an Amphitheatre and a lovely air conditioned restaurant- not dating to antiquity!
I had a notion of our give back projects before I went to Jordan, but as with so many of these things you need to really dig deep to assess the needs of the community. While helping with the olive harvest is still going to be done, I was taken to see the nursery that has been out of use for some time now. When it was operating, there were 100 children attending, aged between 2 and 6 years of age. However the roof was made of tin/iron and the place baked in the summer heat so the local authorities closed it down. But that meant the children have no place to go, to socialise or to gain any early learning before joining a primary school class. Fixing the school is a major project and not one that EVA is qualified to take on alone. Umm Hamza is the driving force here and has been working with various agencies and local groups to get the project off the ground. While it won't make it functional, I think that the EVA groups could definitely help with work in the front of the building- doing some basic repairs and painting. The structural work inside will need to be done by professionals but I believe if we start work on the front and back yards it will lift the morale and hopefully encourage other groups to get involved.
My other visit was to Amina who was just fascinating to talk to and learn from. She owns and runs a farm down the valley from Umm Hamza and has a large olive grove. What interested me most was her experience with her own 2 children- now grown- who suffered from severe eczema. She went all over to try and find solutions only to discover it was in her backyard. She started making organic soap from the olives and added natural ingredients grown in her garden. Both of them are now eczema free and Amina sells her soaps in Jordan, over the Middle East and on-line through Holland and Barrett. This is where I thought we would plant trees, but of course trees need water and that's something that Jordan doesn't have. Amina has been working with a Japanese horticulturist and together they are exploring regenerative ways to care for the land, conserve water and populate Jordan with native tree species. The tour will spend some time with Amina in her greenhouse and helping with transplanting the seedlings.
The tour in October will also include cooking lessons, ziplining in the Wadi Rum desert, a soak in the Dead Sea, snorkelling of the coral reef, sunset jeep rides and so much more. It's a really great trip and with Jordan now on the Foreign Office Green list, it's a good time to go. The EVA tours will be in October this year and April next year with enquiries already about later in 2027 and indeed in 2028. We have an extension tour now for Egypt so if you are travelling a distance you'll be able to visit 2 astounding countries while you're here and make this a trip of a lifetime. Don't hesitate to contact me for more details: Sheila@evatravel.org or arrange a call on +447918637750
