Alistair Visits!

A dear friend of ours, Alistair, who worked at King’s for a brief period, recently came through Jordan a couple of times between trips to Iraq and the West Bank. Georgia, Eliza and I were fortunate enough to see him on each of his visits and hear all about his wild adventures in the hot bed of activity. He spent a few days traveling in Iraq- during which Obama was elected president- before retreating to Turkey for security reasons. It was really fascinating to hear about his impressions of the area- and troublesome to hear that his hope for the future has diminished. Coming from a pretty realistic, and sometimes cynical person I was surprised when he told us he had gone there with “too much optimism”.

It was really fun for me to speak with him about his trip to Israel/Palestine because I had just returned from the same places he visited. We were able to relate to each other’s border stories, observations and emotional responses to the divided territories. It is truly incredible to be in this region of the world where so many people are traveling to once seemingly distant and impossible places, and discovering parts of themselves along the way.

We took Alistair out to dinner at a famous dive restaurant downtown called Hashem. No plates, no utensils, no fuss- they just bring a pile of warm pita, a heap of falafel and bowls of ful and hummus to your table immediately upon arriving. We then went to one of our favorite spots, a traditionally decorated and cozy café, to sip on mint tea and listen to music. Jordan is truly a social hub where people take the time to relax and the priority is to enjoy the company of good friends and family.