Head over heels

I have fallen in love. Again. This time it's a whole country - Jordan. I really did not know anything about the place. Had never met a Jordanian. Just about knew it was in the Middle East. Remembered King Hussein with affection. Knew it was the Hashemite Kingdom, whatever that might mean.
And then, last week and the week before, we were there.

It is dramatic alright. Mountains almost everywhere, mainly bare. Some fertile valleys, places where flowers are grown in profusion and courful roadside vendors have almost vertical racks of pomegranates or lemons or bananas for sale on the roadside.

Camels and donkeys park side by side with 4 x 4s. Traffic is either non-existent or chaotic with no apparent rules for who has the right of way.

But it is the people who are so delightful. Unlike most of us in the West, they seem to be programmed to be helpful, charming, generous and hospitable to all around them. Bedouin hospitality is renowned (and many Jordanians are Bedouins) and it is said that if you appear outside a Bedouin tent, not only wil you be invited in to share tea and food but it wilk be three days before you are asked why you happen to be there.

Of course, they try to sell you things but there's no hassle. You say no and they will smile and say "Perhaps another day". And they love to show you their country, to explain its chequered history - Nabuteans, Romans, Greeks, Byzantines, not forgetting Lawrence of Arabia, Glubb Pasha and losing a large chunk of their country for the creation of Israel.

They have over 2 .5 million refugees on top of their own small population of 6.5 million. And their attitude to the refugees? "Of course, we must help them and look after them. They are our brothers."

Wow! Could we learn something?