Salaam from Aqaba, Jordan....

Sent: Dec 9, 2008 8:17 AM

It is 4:30pm here. The sun is slowly sliding into oblivion but its intensity continues to be felt on my affected skin. 

I am sitting by the beach, in a ramshackled "canteen". My second cup of Turkish coffee sits on the table unattended before me, its contents emptied. The waves of the Red Sea crash gently against the rocks where I sit. I can see kids frollicking in the waters from a distance. The occassional stillness and quietude is suddenly shattered by speeding boats spilling out Arabic music. A pair of camels stroll on the beach. A dusty mist envelopes the distant mountains around us. Further away in the waters are ships and boats, seemingly motionless but deceptively purposeful. Seagulls are dancing over the calm sea waters. The sun continues to slide behind the mountains while I quell the desire to jump into the water and swim into the sunset. 

So many civilizations have been here before me. History has been written and re-written repeatedly, right here by the shores of the Red Sea. I can almost see Saudi Arabia from here. Israel is next door. I just arrived from there. This part of the world is rife with conflict, none of which is evident in the atmosphere I inhabit at this moment. Humanity mills around me, lazily. It is so peaceful here.

This is a world so apart from the one I will return to next week, affording an experience so unusual and once more, filed away in my album of cherished memories. A group of denim and Nike clad teenage boys sit in the distance, engaged in lazy confabulations, both over and away from their cell phones. At another table I see a woman with a headscarf and dark glasses staring into the sunset but enjoying a sheesha (the "hookah"). At every turn I witness an awkward yet peaceful marriage of tradition with the contemporary. The middle-east continues to fascinate and engage me. In a couple of days I will depart from here with a promise to return to the rocking cradle of humanity. 

The sea breeze has turned more determined to catch my attention. This time it brings a little chill with it as the sun settles behind the quiet but imposing mountains. I must return to the hotel. 

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