Thursday 18 August 2016

Mystery from Amman solved over Facebook


There are lots of things not to like about the social media age, but this is one of the things I love...
I took this photo of some Arabic writing painted onto a wall in Amman, Jordan and promised myself that I'd find out what it meant. Knowing my friend Natali has been learning the language, I asked for her help on Facebook. She enlisted the help of another Arabic speaker and within an hour of posting, I had a translation.

This is what it says:
The winds blow as our ship moves, we are the winds and we are the sea and the ships, he who goes after something with his will, finds it even if demons and constraints fight him, so aim at the highest of things and you get it, the wind blows the way the ships want it to.
- Translated by Lara El Mouallem

I'm so pleased to get the translation, as it's such a beautiful sentiment and expresses how I feel about travelling so perfectly. Amman was such a lovely, colourful and friendly city, which I would recommend to anyone wishing to explore a corner of the Middle East.

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