The North: Upper Jordan Valley, Roman Decapolis cities, & Ar-Rabad Castle ~ July 25

Our three weeks in Jordan end with a northern excursion to see two of the great Roman Decapolis cities, Gadara (modern Umm Qais) and Gerasa (Jarash), as well as one of the best examples of Islamic military architecture, Ar-Rabad Castle, built to counter the Crusader threat by one of Saladin’s generals in 1184. The north is a beautiful region. There are rugged mountains and 1,000s of olive trees. Since the area receives more rainfall than the south, citrus fruits and vegetables grow in the Yarmouk and Jordan River Valleys. From Umm Qais one can see Syria, Israel, the Golan Heights, and the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberius).

Gadera is interesting because of the less “restored” state of the ruins and the presence of an Ottoman era village built over part of the Roman city. On the other hand, although much restored, Gerasa, with its oval plaza, theatres and temples, is one of the largest provincial Roman towns (see photos). Although I have always wanted to visit Krak de Chevalier (Syria), Ar-Rabad in Ajloun, which held against the Crusaders, was destroyed by the Mongols prior to their defeat at Ayn Jalut, then was rebuilt by the Mamluks, finally becoming an Ottoman garrison, is remarkably well preserved and represents the most sophisticated examples of medieval military engineering. A very full day! - we tramped all over each of these sites, were entertained by a talented group of young boys performing local Arabic style dancing (we were invited to join in, fun!), and stopped to watch the sunset over Nahr az-Zarqa on the drive back to Amman.

Our journey has been incredible. Special thanks go to our AMIDEAST sponsors. Here and in Oman they guided our learning and provided a rich and varied schedule of events. Our Group Leader Cal Allen (see photo with AMIDEAST program director, Subi Abu Abbas at Gerasa) has been generous with his time and knowledge, answered our questions with patience and humor, and kept us focused.

I am signing off now. Tonight, July 26th, following our farewell banquet, we leave for Frankfurt travelling on to our respective cities. Enriched by our 5 week experience in Oman and Jordan we look forward to sharing photos and curriculum projects with colleagues and communities and infusing new perspectives and knowledge in the courses we teach.

Jordan, host nation to refugees & displaced people, July 23

Our final academic day in Amman ends on a somber note, refugees and displaced peoples. We were met at the Palestinian Baqa’a Refugee by one of the deputy director’s of UNRWA, Nattar Sager. His personal story illustrates one perspective. His parents were among the quarter million Palestinians made homeless by the creation of Israel. Born in a camp near Amman in 1951, Sager was told “get an education, you will deliver us.” He learned English (his father worked for the British Army prior to WW II and spoke English) went to college, and as many of his generation benefited from the 1970s oil boom by providing expertise to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States and sending remittances home. After serving as an officer in the Oman Royal Air Force he returned to Jordan to work with UNRWA and raise his children. We met in the Camp elementary school when one of the teachers told of the dedication of teachers who work for low wages and few supporting amenities, such as computers. She works with local women’s organizations to arrange for a play room where children might have toys since they have none at home. There are over 93,000 living in Baqa’a, which is not a city of tents, but a small town with schools, a heath clinic, and women’s Center (photos). The numerous camps in Jordan have existed for 60 years. Refugee status legitimizes the Palestinian determination to reclaim their land and country. UNRWA does not administer the camps, it provides services. Please visit the web site, http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/jordan/baqaa.html

In the afternoon, UNHCR (Refugee Agency) speakers discuss the Iraqi refugee situation in Jordan. The burden of these displaced people in addition to the hundred’s of thousands of Palestinians places additional stress on the Jordanian economy and social services. UNHRC had prepared and pre-positioned support for an anticipated refugee crisis when the war began, but it did not come as anticipated. The initial cohort of refugees had funds, built homes, and settled in urban centers causing property and food prices to soar. However, by 2007 savings diminished and funds ran out. The urban refugee crisis in Jordan - one conceptually quite different than previous since populations are scattered - “hit,” requiring a UN response. UN policy agreed to deal with individual cases, help with “durable” resettlement, and open rights for refugees, who now receive direct assistance. To ease the Iraqi fear of deportation the King announced that Jordan welcomes them. Over 10,000 a year elect resettlement. 91% of Iraqis say they do not want to return at this time. In 2007 the United States agreed to take refugees. Initially the question came up because of a sense of obligation to interpreters, but our speakers noted that “durable” settlement in the US has not been effective with many feeling isolated and electing to return. Normalization, the speaker stresses, is considered the only viable long term solution, and is a key concept for 2010-11. See:
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4a02db416.html

Jordanian life in Amman – Impressions

After three weeks in Jordan my impressions are many. People are hospitable, helpful, and children are quick to try their English with a bright “welcome to Jordan.” Lifestyles and incomes are diverse. Present are the ubiquitous Starbucks, Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonalds. One sees young women, dressed in Abaya and head-scarves, walking along the fashionable streets and sitting in cafes smoking the Argeileh (water pipe).

The Jordanian elite and members of middle class living in villas in Abdoun or urban apartments represent a very small minority of the population. Our group met with Ragda Bostros community organizers and children in the Jabal Al Qalaa to learn about their program. The low-income pre-WW II neighborhood is on a slope down from the Citadel. It is endangered by rising real estate prices and the expansion of tourism. There is talk of building a cable car to the Citadel with companion high end shops which will mean neighborhood clearance. The group was captivated by the children and the effort to save the community (see photos).

On a festive note, July is wedding month. Hotels in Amman all fully booked for lavish receptions. Our hotel has a nightly wedding gala. There is always stylish car (Lexus, Mercedes or BMW convertible) festooned with flowers for the bride and groom who dress in western attire. Security is very much in evidence. A band greets the couple, as friends and relatives in a variety of evening attire (western, traditional Arab or Bedouin dress) clap and dance, then proceed into the reception area for a major feast. Weddings cost around 10,000 JD ($15,000) and often more. The groom’s family pays most of the expenses and wedding contracts are elaborately crafted by the tribal families involved. Bedouin weddings are seven night affairs.

Shopping - there are several Mega-Malls in Amman and another under construction in the seventh circle area near AMIDEAST (see photo of site). Malls are filled with young people and have traditional anchor stores such as Carrefour, but they also have electronic security gates at entrances. I took a few photos before a security guard appeared and told me “no photos allowed.” Here you see an SUV demo.

I attended a concert at the Performing Arts Center (photo) with a colleague. Please note the name Iyad Sughayer, a 16 year old Jordanian pianist you will hear more of in the future. He, together with a very talented 17 year old violinist, gave a recital demonstrating rare skill, poise, and stage presence for such youth. Several other members of the group enjoyed watching films in the garden of Jordan’s new Royal Film Commission (photo). The Commission works to promote film (there are few movie theaters in the country outside of Amman) and attract film productions to Jordan (Transformers 2 was recently on location in Petra).

We also visit the royal car museum which houses the collection of the Hashemite Royal Family. The new museum is very popular with locals and tourists. Of special interest are not only the vast array of motorcycles – Harley-Davidson & BMW – and cars (both for State Occasions and the sports cars of which King Hussein was so fond), but the companion signage and photos explaining their context (photo). There is also a 15 min. film of King Abdullah taking a journalist around Jordan (Petra, hiking with Special Forces), talking about his life as King and the country he rules.

Preservation of the traditional Islamic arts and crafts presents a challenge. Our visit to Salt and the College of Traditional Islamic Arts and Architecture founded in 199 demonstrates the dedication and skill of those determined to do so. Among the colleges most significant initiative is the reconstruction of the Minbar, the pulpit of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (photos).

Wadi Rum & Aqaba~ July 18 & 19

What can complete with Petra’s man-made and natural landscape? Probably very little, although the natural beauty of Wadi Rum Protected Area’s towering sandstone mountains, dunes, and canyons, is rare and unique in a different way. T. E. Lawrence maintained a camp here and termed the Rum, “vast echoing and Godlike.” Four-wheel drive trucks transport us to our campsite then take us on a wild ride up the Wadi (including a flat tire, changed in less than 5 min!) to view walls decorated with ancient drawings, canyons, camel rides, and Lawrence’s 1917 camp with stone portraits. Afterwards, our dinner is cooked in coals underground in an elaborate series of racked iron pots and we eat under the stars. As there is no ground light you feel you might touch them. Watching the light change the landscape at sunset and sunrise is incredible.

Our final stop is Aqaba, a special economic free zone. After a formal presentation on the ambitious ASEZA Project, tasked to modernize and relocate the port facilities, supervise a tourist complex that will complete with Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel, and enhance the Jordanian economy, we visit the Marine Science Station, tour the aquarium, then have two hours at the Diving Center to enjoy the pool or snorkel. For me, snorkeling in the clear Gulf of Aqaba water among colorful coral reefs and watching a dazzling array of fish, eels, and other swirling marine life, is another highlight of our southern excursion (see aquarium photo).

Petra ~ July 17 & 18

Al-Batra, the Red Rose city carved out of living rock, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Petra is truly one of the world’s great archaeological treasures. Built on the edge of Wadi Araba by the Nabateans – Arabs who controlled the strategic trade routes linking the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean – more than 2200 years ago, the city continued to flourish through the Roman and Byzantine Era but passed into obscurity (except for local Bedouin living there) by the 12 th century and was not “rediscovered” by the West until 1812. Students are quick to associate Petra with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a pop culture icon. We arrive mid-morning and along with 100s of others enter through the impressive 1200 m Siq gorge to experience the anticipated chills on first sighting the “Treasury.” Over the course of the afternoon I explore the Royal Tombs, stroll past the Theater, walk along the Colonnaded Street to the Roman Forum recently excavated by Brown University, visit the ACOR project Byzantine Church site, and climb 900 steps to Ad-Dier - the Monastery, and its spectacular views of the Wadi. By the time several of us drift back to the Treasury in the evening we have the place to ourselves and can truly experience the stunning beauty of the now shadowy and mysterious Siq and its carved votive niches and water channels. When the site reopens the next morning a few of us are there to climb to the High Place of Sacrifice returning by the more magisterial western route processional stairways sliced into the rock-faces to provide access to the ritual center to the Colonnaded Street below. As the photos illustrate, my Petra experience exceeded all expectations.

Crusader Castles & DANA Nature Reserve

We are heading south on the modern desert highway paralleling the Hejaz RR built by the Ottoman’s in 1910 to take pilgrims to Mecca, and targeted by T. E. Lawrence’s raids during WW I. First stop, Karak Castle. Built in 1142 by the Crusaders and taken by Saladin in, 1188, the Castle is strategically situated on the ancient north south trade route to the Levant. Although damaged by a series of earthquakes, quarried for local buildings, and partly demolished by settlement advance, the current castle occupies much of the ridge and has a new museum. Contemporary Karak continues to have a high population of Christina Arabs. Shobak Castle, further south, occupies an equally strategic location, but was built earlier than Karak, and remains only partially restored (a romantic ruin).

DANA Nature Reserve (308 sq. kms) is Jordan’s premier eco-tourism project. We are fortunate to have Dr. Zuhair, a professor of Zoology and early Reserve advocate, planner and consultant, on our southern excursion. Zuhair proves to be an amazing resource for our group, patiently answering questions and telling great stories. We arrive in the evening to stay in the old village overlooking Wadi Dana in the shadow of towering sandstone cliffs and spectacular vistas of the desert beyond the Reserve - many members of our group sleep in roof top “tents.” Modern Dana Wadi villagers have relocated to a new housing complex as the old village is the home of the DANA Reserve complex and village houses are converted to hotels and backpacker hostels. Trekking is popular in the Reserve, home to rare species and animals, plants, trees (the 2000 year old Phoenician Cedars), and birds - although I saw few as migrations are seasonal. The villagers keep orchards of black walnuts, grapes, plums, pomegranates, apricots, and raspberries and sell jams in the Reserve gift shop. An early riser, I drink sweet mint tea seated on the rooftop and watch the sun rise as a covey of Mt. Quail move across a bolder covered slope – tranquility and peace after the hectic pace of Amman.

Leaving Amman for 4 days – Headed South! ~ 16 July

Today we head for Southern Jordan stopping first at the Crusader Castle of Karak and Dana Nature Preserve where we spend the night. On Friday we leave early for Petra visiting Shobak Castle in route. We will have the afternoon in Petra, spend the evening then return in the morning before departing at noon for Wadi Rum (“the largest and most magnificent of Jordan’s desert landscapes,” & where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed). Here we will stay at a Bedouin camp. The next day we go to Aqaba on the Red Sea where we will visit sites and have a bit of time to snorkel before returning to Amman on Sunday. A blog update of these events will come after my return.

Yesterday, during our visit at the University of Jordan, we met with the Vice Chancellor and six Academic Deans. The University, founded in 1962, currently has 38,000 students (65% are women, who also represent 80% of the applications received this year) and 1300 faculty members. After our meeting and Q & A with the Deans, we toured the Library, learned about their extensive access to e-books, online databases and automated check-out system, then visited the Heritage Museum and TASOL (Arabic as a second language) Institute. After lunch at Wild Jordan (a USAID funded NGO), we visited Columbia University’s new Global Center for Mideast Scholars and the Queen Rania Teaching Academy. At the Academy we learned about their strategic plan to reform teacher education, classroom instruction, and methodology. Currently much of elementary and secondary education is by rote, classes are large - 60 or more students, segregated by sex - and teachers, although they have university degrees, have no training in teaching their subjects.

Stay tuned for next week's report from southern Jordan and more adventures.