{"id":752,"date":"2020-04-08T14:36:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T14:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/?p=752"},"modified":"2020-04-09T08:49:42","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T08:49:42","slug":"escaping-jordan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/escaping-jordan\/","title":{"rendered":"Escaping Jordan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dennis Walder<\/span>, Emeritus Professor in English<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Amman airport, 2.30 am<\/p><\/div>\n

Last week my wife and I were in an SUV heading down the King\u2019s Highway through the Jordan desert.\u00a0 We had glimpsed the Promised Land<\/span>,<\/span> and were on our way to <\/span>Petra, forty-five kilometres<\/span> ahead<\/span> in the deepening dusk<\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Our holiday was an add-on to a visit to Amman arranged by the OU for me to chair the revalidation of the Arab OU\u2019s MA in English<\/span> Literature<\/span>.\u00a0 This <\/span>was<\/span> switched at the last minute to Walton Hall because of the impending C-virus crisis<\/span>.\u00a0 We g<\/span>athered <\/span>to interview<\/span> our Arab colleagues by videolink<\/span>, with a successful result<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But<\/span> I could not<\/span> cancel our holiday without losing the entire cost.\u00a0 S<\/span>o off we flew to Amman on Royal Jordanian a <\/span>day<\/span> after the revalidation to start our tour<\/span>.<\/span> Alas, it was not to last long.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Suddenly our driver\u2019s <\/span>mobile <\/span>phone rang.\u00a0 <\/span>He had just been told that <\/span>Petra was closed, and so too all other tourist sites in the country.\u00a0 The airport was <\/span>shortly <\/span>going to close too.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>In something of a panic, we got him to turn and head back to the capital as fast as possible, while I tried to rearrange hotel bookings and a flight home on my mobile.\u00a0 <\/span>As we drove on, our driver tried to reassure us. \u2018It\u2019s OK. You stay with me.\u00a0 Learn Arabic.\u2019\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>We stopped at a roadside refreshment centre for mint tea.\u00a0 A busload of Germans were milling about.\u00a0 One of them held out finger and thumb to me: \u2018We missed it by so much.\u2019\u00a0 I nodded.\u00a0 \u2018Us too.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For some time I<\/span> could not get through to <\/span>either the Embassy <\/span>or our travel agency.\u00a0 <\/span>Eventually<\/span> the Embassy responded<\/span>,<\/span> No, they did not repatriate under these conditions, best for us to keep on trying our travel agent \u2013 who, after saying all direct flights were full, found <\/span>us a flight<\/span> via Istanbul departing at 2.35<\/span> a.m. a few hours before<\/span> the airport was <\/span>to close<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The next night w<\/span>e gathered in the hotel lobby with a handful of other guests, and our packed suitcases, ready to <\/span>depart<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>Our<\/span> driver <\/span>messaged<\/span> in a panic<\/span> – he was outside, but not<\/span> allowed to pick us up, there were police everywhere.\u00a0 A<\/span>s he spoke, we saw the hotel doors being sealed<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After<\/span> further <\/span>exchanges between us, the driver, <\/span>the <\/span>police, hotel staff<\/span> and<\/span> other guests, it emerged that a <\/span>woman<\/span> at the hotel a week or two earlier was <\/span>a C-virus suspect<\/span>. It was unclear whether anyone was thought to have it more recently, though we saw an ambulance arrive and leave.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>For\u00a0 moment chaos reigned,<\/span> as people rush<\/span>ed<\/span> to and fro across the lobby<\/span> trying<\/span> to get agreement for <\/span>our group of guests<\/span> to leave the hotel. <\/span>Time was<\/span> passing at an alarming rate<\/span>,<\/span> and no one <\/span>appeared to be in charge<\/span> or clear about wha<\/span>t was happening. A young Kenyan <\/span>worker from a Dead Sea hotel <\/span>grinned at me:<\/span> \u2018It\u2019s okay, man, it\u2019s just life<\/span>. <\/span>We take it easy<\/span>, huh?<\/span>\u2019\u00a0 His flight was due to depart in less time it than <\/span>it <\/span>would <\/span>now <\/span>take to reach the airport.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>As the minutes ticked by, <\/span>we became<\/span> desperate at the thought of being trapped in the country for weeks<\/span>.\u00a0 We<\/span> sought information from a <\/span>new arrival<\/span> who looked official. Could we leave?\u00a0 No, we had first to be tested for the virus.\u00a0 <\/span>And then<\/span>? We had to wait for the results.\u00a0 How long would that be?\u00a0 Four to six hours.\u00a0 Too late!\u00a0 Don\u2019t you think it would be best to just get rid of us?\u00a0 We asked.\u00a0 <\/span>This seemed <\/span>amusing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Then suddenly we were herded down to the hotel basement where, beside the pot plants and Spa signs, tables were hurriedly set up, and a group of medics in white protective gear and floppy blue socks appeared.\u00a0 They gestured us to approach and sit down one by one in front of a doctor<\/span>, who stuck thin <\/span>sticks up our noses<\/span>, saying <\/span>\u2018if you must sne<\/span>eze or cough, please sideways\u2019<\/span> and then <\/span>told<\/span> us to <\/span>be gloved and masked, and go.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>We were guided through a side exit<\/span>,<\/span> only to be halted by a stern figure in military uniform talking on <\/span>a<\/span> mobile.\u00a0 No, you cannot leave.\u00a0 Back to the lobby, <\/span>more uncertainty as more minutes passed, <\/span>until at last the doctor\u2019s word was accepted<\/span>,<\/span> we were hustled out and into a waiting ambulance, which screeched off, siren blaring, our luggage (sprayed with disinfectant) with our driver<\/span>, who raced<\/span> behind us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>fter dashing through the <\/span>airport<\/span> terminal to check in and pass security, we were stopped in our tracks. O<\/span>ur conspicuous arrival <\/span>meant further questioning, and our passports held while <\/span>a<\/span>nother<\/span> doctor was called<\/span>.\u00a0 He had<\/span> to be satisfied that we seemed healthy enough to be let loose. <\/span>Our temperatures were taken and at last w<\/span>e <\/span>ran aboard our Turkish Airlines flight with seconds to spare.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The next day we learnt that our <\/span>tests were negative<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dennis Walder, Emeritus Professor in English Last week my wife and I were in an SUV heading down the King\u2019s Highway through the Jordan desert.\u00a0 We had glimpsed the Promised Land, and were on our way to Petra, forty-five kilometres … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=752"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":760,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/752\/revisions\/760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}