I finally managed to get myself out of Nuweiba this morning… really, really early this morning. I joined up with a tour group from one of the expensive resorts along the coast. I paid just for the ferry transport from Taba to Aqaba and then sweet-talked my way into a free ride to Petra. I probably could have stayed with the group of the entire day and the guide probably wouldn’t have cared. But, I was exhausted and really wanted to crash for a couple of hours.

Jordan has been a nice change compared to Egypt. The society seems a bit more liberal (I still get harassed when I walk down the streets, but it is less often than when I was in Egypt). I get the feeling that if I spent some time in Amman I would really like it.

I went to bed early and slept peacefully, with the exception of the calls to prayer. The late night and early morning calls have woken me up almost every day during my time in the Middle East. Sometimes the calls aggravate me (usually when the guy doing the call can’t work the sound system or is tone deaf) but usually I enjoy the calls. I have begun to mark my days by them.