I kicked off the vacation months in late May with a quick 4 day trip to Malaysia to sell 2 motorcycles that had been sitting there, unused, for a year. Luckily, the bikes were still in excellent riding shape (after a bit of tlc) and incredibly, I was able to sell them both in the span of the 4 day trip. In addition to the crazy timetable I had sillily set for myself to complete the task, I was also battling a wicked illness that, little did I know at the time, would get much, much worse in the weeks to follow.
With pockets bulging with ringgit, I boarded a flight in Kuala Lumpur bound for Kuwait, where I would spend a few days with family in preparation for a long road trip to Jordan. Once my brother and I arrived safely in Amman, we immediately began our Arabic classes that would last for 5 weeks. As previously mentioned, I was battling some crazy illness that by this point had severely worsened and was creating some serious concern as to whether I would complete my 5 week course or not. Thankfully, I found some excellent physicians who helped me get back to full strength within a few weeks and the latter part of our Jordan trip was really stellar.
From Jordan we hopped a taxi to the Israeli border, then bused in to the country. 3 hours and some mild 'interrogation' later, we were in the Holy City of Jerusalem. We spent a week in Israel, covering most of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and even a short trip up the coast to the historical coastal town of Akko, where we chucked ourselves off a seawall into the Mediterranean - highlight of our trip.
From Israel we headed back to Jordan to collect our things and pick up the car so we could head for Riyadh, KSA. After yet another 15 hour journey, we were back at my pad in Riyadh for a few more days of rest, only to hit the road again for Kuwait to catch our flights to Turkey, where we would spend the next 3 weeks with more studies.
Turkey is a beautiful country full of scrumptious foods and colorful people, not to mention the stunning mosques all over the cities and countryside. The military coup attempt actually happened about 2 hours after we arrived in Samsun from Istanbul. Had we booked a slightly later flight from Istanbul, we would have been stuck in the Ataturk airport for a minimum of 24 hours, likely more. We said our prayers of thanks for having bypassed that whole racquet.
We studied Islam, Ihsan, and Iman, devotional practice, devotional perfection, and faith, at what is aptly called the 'Rihla', which means Journey in Arabic. Along the way we were blessed to meet revered scholars, energetic volunteers, and interesting classmates and colleagues. The experience of the Rihla was truly one of a kind and deserves its own analysis and reflection, perhaps in a future post.
Finally, we left Turkey for Kuwait and spent the last few weeks of summer vacation enjoying the desert heat between Riyadh and Kuwait city. With the new school year vastly approaching, its nice to look back at this summer's accomplishments, challenges, struggles, and lessons with a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude for all of the incredible opportunities both past and present. Life in the Gulf region can be, at times, somewhat challenging for expatriates, but it's always nice to come back to a place that is increasingly beginning to feel more like home.
Journey to Jordan from EZ Clips on Vimeo.
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