Aqaba the Town

It is a strange town. Camels in full regalia stroll the sidewalks with their mounted owners yelling 'Taxi!' to tourists whilst the real cabs honk at every foreigner on the street and try to avoid hitting the skinny Berber horses pulling the gaudy carriages (some with loud sound systems installed on the back of the buggy). At the promenade a giant Jordanian flag (162 m high) can be seen from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The town of Eilat lies across the bay and I watched the fireworks at New Year's Eve happening there from an English pub here in Aqaba - It is that closely situated.
Liquor stores everywhere and giant Hummers pull up in front of them with Saudi men piling out and returning with plastic bags full of alcohol (fully understandable, those poor guys are a bit dry 30 miles south from here).

Snow and rain has plagued the northern locals and they tend to flock to Aqaba on the weekends, their only seaport city. Since it is a tax-free zone it is also the place for them to shop and many return back to Amman clutching cheap Chinese duvets with kitsch designs. I myself have inherited a worn blanket with Walt Disney's Aladdin decorating my bed, which goes remarkably well with my flannel Smurfs blanket that I brought with me from home.

Aqaba is known for...Bottles filled with sand (I know, it reminds me too of that period where housewives got crafty and thought it was a hip thing to do).
But let's face it, this is a desert country with sand in abundance so it only makes sense to sell it to the tourists. And it is a fun thing to watch, these men carefully filling bottles.