The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is one of more moderate Arab nations. Led by King Abdullah, the royal house is distinctly Western looking, and the nation is almost entirely Muslim. The crazily-shaped kingdom was created by European imperialist powers, who carved up the the old Ottoman Empire in the Middle East after World War I, to serve Western interests. The two largest groups of people who inhabit the desert nation are the Bedouins and the Palestinians, whose stories I won't delve into here. I only spent three nights in the country, crossing from Elat, Israel, to al Aqabah, Jordan, by the Red Sea. In February 2004, such land crossings for U.S. citizens were possible, but that situation may have changed due to continuing violence in the Occupied Territories and U.S-occupied Iraq. In April 2004, King Abdullah snubbed President George W. Bush by canceling a planned visit to the White House, after the Bush administration announced it supported Israel's claims to make permanent many Israeli settlements in the West Bank. However, I had very positive interactions with nearly all Jordanians. When I told people I was an American, the universal reply was, "Welcome to Jordan." I visited the amazing Nabatean ruins of Petra, near Wadi Musa, and the Wadi Rum, a region of rock cliff faces that rise like mighty islands in the desert. The area was the scene of Arab uprising in World War I,involving "Lawrence of Arabia" and Bedouin tribesmen. It ranks as one of the most breathtaking landscapes I have seen on the planet.

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