Where do I start with my thoughts about Jordan

I must say for the first time in my life I am conflicted about a country, my preconceived thoughts about it and its leader and the current state of the country. When I was young, I used to watch King Hussein on t.v. and thought he was so charismatic and charming. Like most things when one starts to conjur things in ones mind, and when they become reality, they are not as sweet, the idea of it was much better.  I will start wit the positive, Jordan overall is a warm, funny and welcoming place to visit. Lauren and I felt safe wherever we went and we enjoyed all the places we went visit. Now here is the kicker, when "machismo" and religion mix and they are the so woven in to the fabric of society, that is a recipe for catastrophe. I believe in almost all of the pillars of the Quran and the Hadith. The problem is that society forget that people are beings of light and that they need to be respected for that above ALL else. When people have no respect for fellow human beings especially women) that is where the issues begin. The Jordanian Times had an article in the paper on the 26th of June  "Young Jordanians say "no" to sexual harassment, honour (the papers spelling) crimes. On Monday the young women of Amman held a demonstration against "honour crimes" and the practice of FORCING RAPE VICTIMS TO MARRY THEIR RAPISTS!  This is probably one of the most horrific things one can do to destroy the human spirit. Having been a child that was sexually abused and having had my spirit broken, I cannot think of anything more heinous! This is not about me, so lets get back to the subject. The same issues plague the world, maybe not to this extreme, but in the U.S. and everywhere when there are extremes in anything, that is when complications begin. I am not preaching "anti religion" but I do think that if people just believed in God without any name on it, the world would be so much easier. Just the same goes for "color" why do we judge people by the color of their skin? What truly baffles me is that technology can evolve at lightening speed, and yet civilization seems to regress. Well I think that is enough of my philosophical thoughts of the world and religion. I hope that Turkey, which is such a cosmopolitan city does not move "back" because of the religious majority taking over.
I hope the people of Turkey find the strength to fight and keep the vision of Ataturk.

Lauren and I had a great time hiking through the desert, riding horses and camels and taking our first balloon ride over Wadi Rum. I snorkeled while Lauren dove in Aqaba. After our great time together in Jordan, we flew Istanbul and saw all of the beautiful wonders of one of the most magical cities on the world.