picturingjordan.com/public/index.xml

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    <title>Picturing Jordan</title>
    <link>https://picturingjordan.com/index.xml</link>
    <description>Recent content on Picturing Jordan</description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2016 10:46:23 +0300</lastBuildDate>
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    <item>
      <title>Aqaba is Dirty and Disappointing</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/aqaba-dirty-disappointing/</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Oct 2016 10:46:23 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/aqaba-dirty-disappointing/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/IMG_20161002_131313.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;A pictureqsue view where you can&amp;#39;t see the trash on the beach&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;A pictureqsue view where you can&amp;#39;t see the trash on the beach&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;I&amp;rsquo;m struggling to find words to describe my trip to Jordan&amp;rsquo;s coastal city Aqaba. Initially, the contrast between dry desert, rocky mountains, and the turquoise water of the Red Sea is quite striking — imagine Matt Damon in &lt;em&gt;The Martian&lt;/em&gt;, but where he goes snorkeling on a coral reef instead of growing potatoes.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;If that sounds too good to be true, it is! Sadly, I found Aqaba to be dirty — used diapers on the beach, locals arrogantly throwing trash on the street, trash floating around the reef, etc — and full of obnoxious, poorly behaved tourists.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>King Hussein Mosque at Night</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/king-hussein-mosque-night/</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 29 Sep 2016 11:54:07 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/king-hussein-mosque-night/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/DSC_0010.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Amman&amp;#39;s King Hussein mosque at night&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Amman&amp;#39;s King Hussein mosque at night&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;The &lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Hussein_Mosque&#34;&gt;King Hussein mosque&lt;/a&gt; was built in 2005 and is the largest mosque in Jordan. I haven&amp;rsquo;t visited it yet, but I&amp;rsquo;ve spent quite a few evenings admiring it from a balcony in the &lt;em&gt;Khalda&lt;/em&gt; neighborhood of West Amman.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Technical: Nikon D3100, ten-second exposure time, post processed from RAW with &lt;a href=&#34;https://www.darktable.org/&#34;&gt;darktable&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Another Beautiful Hand-Painted Wood Ceiling</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/another-beautiful-hand-painted-ceiling/</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:28:23 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/another-beautiful-hand-painted-ceiling/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/DSC_0008.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;A hand-painted floral pattern on wooden panels on the ceiling&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;A colorful floral pattern pops out of the ceiling&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;Another day, another exquisite, hand-painted ceiling in Amman. Just like the &lt;a href=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/beautiful-hand-painted-woodwork/&#34;&gt;other hand-painted wood ceiling&lt;/a&gt; I posted about a few weeks ago, the work was done by an old Syrian man. This one is actually in my flat, and I may or may not have taken this picture while laying on my back on the living room floor.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Technical: Nikon D3100, post processed from RAW with &lt;a href=&#34;https://www.darktable.org/&#34;&gt;darktable&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Azraq Wetland, a Disappearing Oasis</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/azraq-wetland-disappearing-oasis/</link>
      <pubDate>Sat, 24 Sep 2016 21:28:31 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/azraq-wetland-disappearing-oasis/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/IMG_20160924_101454.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Small lake with bridge and vegetation in the Jordanian desert.&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;A one of a kind oasis is at risk of disappearing in the near future.&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;There&amp;rsquo;s an amazing wetland nature preserve an hour and a half from Amman — in thirty minutes of walking around, I saw birds, snakes, crabs, fish, and even water buffaloes! For thousands of years it was a massive, thriving oasis whose ecological diversity supported human settlements, but in the past few decades it has come dangerously close to drying up due to increased water usage from surrounding cities.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Learn more about the wetlands on a trip with &lt;a href=&#34;http://wildjordan.com/&#34;&gt;Wild Jordan&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href=&#34;http://experiencejordan.com/&#34;&gt;Experience Jordan&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;em&gt;turn off the water in your shower or sink when you don&amp;rsquo;t need it!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Buying Baklava in Amman</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/buying-baklava-amman/</link>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Sep 2016 11:15:16 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/buying-baklava-amman/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/IMG_20160810_160953.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Young child smiling and wrapping up baklava in a shop in Amman&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Everybody likes baklava!&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;There&amp;rsquo;s a shop in one of Amman&amp;rsquo;s downtown markets that sells traditional sweets. I&amp;rsquo;m not sure who was more excited about this half kilo of &lt;em&gt;baklawa&lt;/em&gt; — me, or the jovial young Jordanian selling it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Saint Thaddeus Church in Amman</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/saint-thaddeus-church-amman/</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 20 Sep 2016 14:58:34 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/saint-thaddeus-church-amman/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/IMG_20160919_141959.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Armenian church with pointy steeple&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Easily one of the most unique buildings in Amman&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;Even if the number number of mosques in Amman &lt;em&gt;didn&amp;rsquo;t&lt;/em&gt; outnumber churches by a factor of ten, the Saint Thaddeus Armenian Apostolic church would still stand out. It caught my eye once a few weeks ago and then I started seeing it every time I glanced at Jabal Al-Ashrafieh. After weeks of squinting and asking myself &amp;ldquo;&lt;em&gt;Is that an Armenian church?&lt;/em&gt;&amp;rdquo; I finally went on an epic scavenger hunt and found it.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Camping in the Dana Biosphere Reserve</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/camping-dana-biosphere-reserve/</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 19 Sep 2016 09:48:23 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/camping-dana-biosphere-reserve/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/DSC_0031.JPG&#34; alt=&#34;Just after sunrise at a camp in the Dana Biosphere&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Just after sunrise at a camp in the Dana Biosphere&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;A few weeks ago I slept in a tent on the cusp of Jordan&amp;rsquo;s Rift Valley. &lt;a href=&#34;http://wildjordan.com/&#34;&gt;Wild Jordan&lt;/a&gt; has regular hiking and camping trips to the reserve and they are very affordable. The staff are friendly and genuinely care about nature conservation. Trips to this and other national parks are part of an impressive &lt;a href=&#34;http://www.rscn.org.jo/&#34;&gt;government effort&lt;/a&gt; to preserve Jordan&amp;rsquo;s natural spaces.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
    </item>
    
    <item>
      <title>Beautiful Hand-Painted Woodwork</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/beautiful-hand-painted-woodwork/</link>
      <pubDate>Sat, 17 Sep 2016 15:48:23 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/beautiful-hand-painted-woodwork/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/IMG_20160916_174409.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Beautiful hand-painted wood panels on the ceiling&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Beautiful hand-painted wood panels on the ceiling&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;There&amp;rsquo;s an old Syrian man who does this fantastic hand painting on wood panels in Amman. A few flats in our building have them installed on the ceiling, but this one takes the cake. I&amp;rsquo;m not sure if it&amp;rsquo;s typical for the region or not — the man was referencing pictures from a Russian art book — but they are exquisite.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>Don&#39;t WhatsApp and Drive</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/dont-whatsapp-and-drive/</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 15 Sep 2016 14:10:48 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/dont-whatsapp-and-drive/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/IMG_20160810_162505.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Billboard in Amman cautions against using your phone while driving&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Billboard in Amman cautions against using your phone while driving&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;I can&amp;rsquo;t even read Arabic but I&amp;rsquo;m pretty sure that billboard is telling people to &lt;em&gt;put their fucking phones down while driving&lt;/em&gt;. It&amp;rsquo;s like an epidemic here. I&amp;rsquo;ve never seen people look less at the road while driving than here in Amman.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
    </item>
    
    <item>
      <title>About</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/about/</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2016 16:33:27 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/about/</guid>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Alan lived and worked in Kenya for eight years, first as a volunteer teaching computer science at a rural college, and later as a Linux systems administrator at a &lt;a href=&#34;https://www.ilri.org&#34;&gt;livestock research institute in Nairobi&lt;/a&gt;. During his time in Kenya he traveled extensively around East Africa and &lt;a href=&#34;https://alaninkenya.org&#34;&gt;blogged about his experiences&lt;/a&gt;. He is passionate about open-source software, information security, and the freedom of information — naturally, he &lt;a href=&#34;https://mjanja.ch&#34;&gt;blogs about that too&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;After spending some time living in (and &lt;a href=&#34;https://englishbulgaria.net&#34;&gt;blogging about&lt;/a&gt;) Bulgaria, he finds himself living in Jordan. These are his stories.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
    </item>
    
    <item>
      <title>Eid Mubarak in Your Neighborhood Dumpster</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/eid-mubarak-neighborhood-dumpster/</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 14 Sep 2016 09:36:00 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/eid-mubarak-neighborhood-dumpster/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/sheep-dumpster-eid-al-adha.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Sheep carcass lazily discarded in neighborhood dumpster&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Sheep carcass lazily discarded in neighborhood dumpster&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;As Muslims around the world are busy wishing each other a blessed &lt;a href=&#34;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha&#34;&gt;Eid al-Adha&lt;/a&gt;, some poor bastard has to clean up this lazily discarded sheep carcass from my local dumpster (note the entrails spilled below). Keep it classy, Jordan.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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    <item>
      <title>No Noise Near the Noisy Mosque</title>
      <link>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/no-noise-near-noisy-mosque/</link>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Sep 2016 19:32:36 +0300</pubDate>
      
      <guid>https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/no-noise-near-noisy-mosque/</guid>
      <description>&lt;figure &gt;
    
        &lt;img src=&#34;https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/no-noise-near-mosque.jpg&#34; alt=&#34;Sign forbidding sound near mosque on Rainbow Street, Amman&#34; /&gt;
    
    
    &lt;figcaption&gt;
        &lt;h4&gt;Sign forbidding sound near mosque on Rainbow Street, Amman&lt;/h4&gt;
        
    &lt;/figcaption&gt;
    
&lt;/figure&gt;


&lt;p&gt;The irony is rich with this one, because this mosque has a sound system from another planet. If I wasn&amp;rsquo;t worried about my personal safety I&amp;rsquo;d put up a sign right next to it saying: &lt;em&gt;Please mute your mosque, there is a sleeping Alan 50m away&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
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