Problems with my passport

Did I mention that there is a problem with my passport too? After the Israelis put a huge stamp of “DENIED” in my passport, I examined the book and realized that this trip through Istanbul, Amman and now the Israeli Border used up my last pages in my book!

Finding myself staying 20 min from the American Embassy, and with plenty of empty days in front of me, I decided to live by “Heyam Dukam Anagatam” – the pains to come can and should be avoided.

The American Citizens Services Dept of the embassy is only open for 2 hours a day. Timing my call in just the right way, I picked up the phone and explained my situation to the nice lady on the phone.

H: I don’t have any more pages in my passport. Is this going to make my future travel difficult?

Nice Lady: Yes, it will.

H: Do you mean that if I fly to a country with this passport, they will not let me in? Would they send me back?

Nice lady: Yes. It depends on the country, but yes its possible.

H: (Gulp.) So what do I do?

Nice lady: Make an appointment online, follow the instructions carefully. There are no appointments this week though.

H: (Freaking out completely) Ok thank you, I will get online then.

Getting off the phone, it sinks in that I am literally stuck in Amman and Bashir is literally stuck in Bethlehem.

Luckily I was able to get an appointment fairly quickly and yesterday I was at the American embassy. What a place! It is, of course, an absolute fortress. But the most organized, efficient fortress I have ever seen.

To get admitted, I was ushered from point to point from various guards. Security was heavy – they confiscated my phone, headphones and USB drives and then let me in.

I had to enter and exit several buildings but then landed in the right one. It was a fancy DMV – I collected a number written in Arabic and English and awaited my turn. Mostly, the office served people seeking visas to visit the states.

Once it was my turn, the nice lady at the counter was very patient with all my questions. She helped me understand how to get extra pages in my passport, how to apply for a replacement passport that is stolen AND how to get a second passport.

I was hoping I could get a passport for him. No can do. Turns out if your passport is stolen, you need to apply IN PERSON and have a police report. The problem is, as a Palestinian Bashir isn’t allowed into Israel to apply in person. He will need a special permit to get to Tel Aviv or Jeursalem to apply for his American passport. And, if he wants to apply for it in Jordan, he needs his Palestinian passport to get out. I am not sure what he is gonna do. Stay tuned to this blog and find out. Inquiring minds want to know!

Why would I ask about a second passport? Well, if I am indeed stuck in Jordan and Bashir is stuck in Palestine, I will run out of tourist options fairly quickly because I need to be fairly stationary with a good internet connection. One options is I could hightail it to Lebanon, only an hour away by plane. I have close friends there, and I could go hang out till Bashir is ready to leave the region. But, to go I would need a fresh passport with no Israeli stamps. Lebanon doesn’t allow visitors with Israeli stamps.   That said, I will cross that bridge after I cross this bridge – the Allenby Bridge.

If you have read to this point in the post, you know that there are many stories within this story.  to finish with my Embassy story:  I was very happy with the Embassy adventure. I got my passport back this afternoon. Boy is it fat!

Before signing off I should mention how I get to the Embassy. My aunty took me in the morning. In the afternoon Uber took me. Yes that’s right there is Uber in Jordan! It has been here for 2 months and there are 4 drivers in the entire country!  Amman is the 200th country that Uber is in.

My uber experience was fantastic! I feel a lot safer than riding a regular taxi, and they are cleaner. There was water and good music too.

My friend made the arrangements for the ride. It was an hour drive because I had to wait at the Embassy, and the whole thing cost about $7. Thanks Uber!

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