by Valerie | Jul 31, 2014 | art, General interest, history, travel
Rain from a grey Italian sky has brought me inside from gardening; it has put me in mind of what we humans do to the earth’s surface. Or non-humans, for that matter. A few years ago I was a ‘hanger-on’ at a conference in Paris. It was on the 18th-century architect... by Valerie | Apr 20, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people, theatre, travel
We couldn’t complain that on our last day in Jordan we experienced a sand and rain storm. In these strange and ancient lands, stony plains spread out east of Amman, yet by the Dead Sea, at Wadi Rum and Petra there were rocky mountains and hills, all of... by Valerie | Apr 1, 2014 | art, General interest, history, travel
Canny, these tour operators! To keep the headline cost down and lure the would-be travellers, so many crucial visits are termed ‘an optional extra’. How could one visit Jordan without seeing Little Petra, the ancient settlement nearby and not tread the earth where... by Valerie | Mar 25, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people
Tell your friends that you are going to Jordan, and they’ll respond, ‘Petra!’ either with gleeful satisfaction or longing. So would it match up to expectation? Our guide was fully aware of this. He explained that we would start at 8.30, not at 8 as on our programme.... by Valerie | Mar 14, 2014 | art, General interest, history, museums, people, travel
In just under an hour we’ll touchdown in Amman. Why Jordan, bordering Israel to the west on the other side of the Jordan River, and the tragic war zone of Syria to the north? It’s precisely because of this, because of my fascination with the ancient civilisations of...
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