Random Bits from our trip to Jordan

I'm still working through our 1000+ pictures and getting them uploaded to the blog, but in the mean time I wanted to share some things I learned while in Jordan that don't require pictures. Our driver was very nice and willingly answered all sorts of questions for us. Two things we learned were that Muslim men do not wear gold as it is not allowed in the Khoran.

The other thing we learned was why dogs are not pets in Middle Eastern countries. Apparently dogs are unclean animals since they "sweat from their mouths." This was the phrase our driver used, which I'm assuming is a euphamism for panting, since both indead are ways of keeping cool, rather than the issue being the amount of spit that dogs have since I believe camels are far worse. As we drove around we would see Bedouin having dogs with their sheeps and goats. Apparently it is acceptable to have a dog for work purposes, such as guarding or herding, but not for pet purposes. Cats on the other hand are perfectly acceptable. Having learned this fact, I realized that neither Aaron nor I could ever be Muslim.