a Geographer's Place

Ruins. One word that always seems to make me giddy. I’ve always liked ruins – especially the ones you can climb on/around/over/under/in and explore. That’s how it’s been ever since I was a little kid and my parents took my brother and me to Mesa Verde’s Anasazi ruins. Jordan has lots of ruins. Like a lot a lot. People have been inhabiting this region of the world for a long time, so the ruins span millennia. Yes, there are the well-known ruins like Petra and Jerash , and lesser-known places like Kerak and Umm Quaiys. But the Kingdom also hosts numerous others, some of which barely have a name, and others that are literally in the middle of nowhere. These forgotten fortresses have been a big component of my research here. Qasr az-Zahib . As I was taking pictures, a little Bedouin kid who was out herding sheep and goats came over with tea. We chatted a bit. He showed me a nearby cemetery, a still-functioning well, and another set of presumed Crusader ruins that I can't fin...

After returning from Europe for the first time, I made a self-pact; a goal, really. I told myself I was going to visit at least one country per year of my life. If that meant I had a few years where I had to miss, that was okay. It could be made-up by traveling to more than one country in the following years. The only thing I wanted to avoid was being 85 and having only visited 60 countries (try visiting 25 countries when you’re 85—you’ve probably already visited all the “comfortable” countries!) I’ve been pretty good with this goal since then. As of today, I’m five countries short of my goal. But the only reason why I’ve missed the goal the past few years is that I’ve visited some countries more than once (and some several times). I view travel as a way to destroy stereotypes. It’s also a terrific way to learn, grow, and expand the mind. Especially if you really get into the place (like, avoid staying at five-star places the entire time because it removes you from everyday fol...

My favorite thing to do when Traveling? Get lost. Travel is fine. Getting lost when Traveling, well…that's fantastic! Now, to me, "getting lost" while Traveling means wandering without any specific agenda. Sure you should have a guidebook and know about the place you're visiting, but by getting lost, amazing experiences occur. Imagine this… You've just finished an incredible lunch of gnocchi and are wandering down a small side-street in the Tuscan city of Siena, Italy. You could take the "main" street back to your hotel, but instead, you decide to wander down a small corridor lined with interesting shops very dissimilar from the "main" street. You're "lost"—perhaps more in thought than on the ground—although you know your hotel is somewhere in that general direction. But this is Travel after all, and you relish the chance to be Traveling. Coming out of a small shop that specializes in silversmithing, you see an odd sight: a blu...