Aqaba: Mexico of the Middle East

In Aqaba you can't walk twenty feet without being invited to come into a shop or have a ride on a camel or buy some perfume or have a seat at a restaurant. Whatever it is they're selling, they do it enthusiastically. Walking down one street there were two shwerma places side by side each with a young Arab man telling us (simultaneously) all the things inside: "juices!" "we have meats" "falafel" "come in, I bring you tea!"

Favorite sound-bite... coming down an alley lined with street vendors selling shoes and souvenirs Angela says "Wow. That's a lot of shoes." A tired Jordian youth on a stool says "Welcome to shoes." Imagine the way a 16-year old American at Pizza Hut would greet a family of ten at the end of his shift. Same tone. Classic.

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