Rob's Travels

Leaving Jordan, Entering Jerusalem

2008-09-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

Constant movement and inconsistent internet prevented me from posting on the blog for the remainder of my trip. However, now that I am home with my good 'ol American internet connection, I'd like to finish the blog strong. I hope my readers remain interested.

After my Jordan University program came to an end, I was joined in Amman by my lovely, smart and talented girlfriend, Maggie, for two weeks of amazing travel. We began by visiting Petra (my 2nd trip there):

View from our hotel:

View of a Bedouin woman's pet goat (that acted like a dog):

...then passed south through Aqaba (where I was not allowed to leave the country until I played a song on my guitar for the Jordanian border guards), and we entered the State of Israel at the Eilat Yitzak Rabin Border Crossing. From there we took a bus (Egged 444) straight up to Jerusalem.

Our first stop in the holy city was the wonderful Mahane Yehuda market. While now slowly gentrifying, the market remains an incredible old-world outdoor bazaar filled with colors, sights, smells, people, and all you need to fill your kitchen. This place is as Jewish as gefilte fish.

I love these photos:

For those of you who have been to this market before, I know that you will share my pain that I forgot to photograph the famous Marzipan rugullah that can be found here. I probably had too much chocolate on my hands to handle the camera at the time.

And only in Israel:

...a box to discard irreversibly-soiled prayer books, scrolls, tefilin, talit, etc., for proper disposal (burial according to Jewish law).

(Next Post: The Old City. Its Called That for a Reason.)

a-Salt or السلط‎

2008-08-13T04:40:00.000-07:00

After a 25 minute bus ride, on a bus identical to this one...

...I found myself in the ancient town of Salt ( السلط‎ As-Salt — pronounced As-Sult or As-Sàlt).

Salt was the regional capital of Transjordan during the Ottoman period, and the only town of any size in this region on the east bank of the Jordan River. The town took its current form in the late 19th century when merchants from Nablus arrived to expand their trading base to both sides of the river. These merchants brought along with them skilled craftsman and architects who constructed the beautiful Ottoman-style buildings that remain in the town today. Emir Abdullah considered making Salt his capital, but it is rumored that he was not well received there so he chose Amman to stake his claim instead.

After the 1948 war, Salt was cut off from its original trade routes and it began to decline, while Amman began to grow. Therefore, the town has seen none of the modernization that Amman has. This is not necessarily a bad thing as Salt remains quiet and clean compared to its big brother to the southeast.

Ottoman architecture in this region is defined by the long arched doorways and windows:

The old market street:

The town is known for its friendliness. This was demonstrated to us first-hand when a nice man on the street invited us to his home for tea. He wanted to tell us about the town, his family history, and he wanted to find out why the heck we were walking around there. The town was so friendly, in fact, that the cats and dogs got along nicely:

The blogger in the old Ottoman town square:

So if you are in Jordan with time on your hands... don't pass the Salt.

Wasat al-Balad (Downtown Amman)

2008-08-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

Ask any cab in Amman to take you to "wasat al-balad", which literally means the "middle of the city" and it will drop you off here:

Downtown Amman is built in valleys and along the sides of the hills that flank them. It is full of small shops of all kinds, people, dust, cars, noise, and cigarette smoke. "No Smoking" signs in Amman only describe the few seconds it takes to light the next cigarette.

Some of the shops sell clothes, some sell pirated DVDs, some sell gold, and some sell nuts:

There is also a mosque or two... or one hundred. They come in different shapes, colors and sizes.

The Husseini Mosque (below), like almost every other building in Amman, is a recent construction (finished in 1924). It was built on the site of another mosque that was completed in 640 by Omar ibn Al-Khattab, the 2nd Caliph of Islam. Emir Abdullah ordered the previous site cleared for the construction of his new mosque for a reason unknown to me. Before 640, it is believed that the Cathedral of Philadelphia stood at this location.

A view of the inner courtyard:

Men relaxing before the late afternoon prayer:

The white structure contains a number of faucets used for ritual washing before entering the mosque:

More views of downtown:

Plates From the Arab States

2008-08-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Jordan is full of visitors.

This is especially true in the summer when thousands of Arabs (the ones that can afford it) flee their homes in the Gulf to avoid the incredibly hot temperatures. Amman, like Rome, is situated on 7 hills which allow a cooling breeze to fill the city. Instead of 140 degrees (F) in Riyadh, you can sit in the relative cool 90-degree air of Amman.

Wealthy Arabs also come to Jordan to utilize the country's modern private hospital system. Jordan is known to have the best private health care in the region outside of Israel. Many families move to Amman all-together when one of the family members has to spend a long time in a hospital. It is common for me to see entire families from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Dubai, etc., in my neighborhood because there are several high-end medical facilities located near the University of Jordan.

There are also still approximately 500,000 Iraqi refugees within Jordan's borders as a result of the United States' military action in Iraq (some relief agencies estimate the number to be as high as 750,000). There were well over a million Iraqis who fled to Jordan at the beginning of the war. Many have moved on to other countries and some have returned to Iraq. Last year, for the first time, Jordan officially pledged to allow Iraqi children to attend public schools regardless of their residency status. Of an estimated 200,000 school-age Iraqi children in Jordan, only 20,000 went to school in 2006, of whom only about 6,000 completed the school year. More information on Iraqi refugees in Jordan can be found here or you can Google it.

Anyway...

To entertain myself I have taken up a new hobby of collecting photos of all the different license plates that I've seen in Jordan from around the region. Of course, I've had to be very careful about it because the last thing I want to do is confront the owner of the vehicle who may assume, incorrectly, that I'm a spy. It brings me great pleasure to share my collection with you today!

Jordan:

Saudi Arabia:

Iraq (It says "Iraq Baghdad" on the plate. I'm going to take an educated guess that Saddam's intelligence apparatus decided to regionalize the license plates in order to spot cars that were driving in areas they shouldn't be driving):

Kuwait:

Qatar:

Lebanon:

Syria:

Dubai (I've seen, but haven't be able to capture, an Abu Dhabi. I haven't seen the other 5 Emirates - Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Quwain):

Bahrain:

I'm still trying to capture an Oman (seen it) and a Yemen (haven't seen it). Once I get those, I feel my time here will have been well spent.

From Amman to Netanya

2008-07-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

In Amman, my cab driver, Jihad, picked me up at 8am and drove me to the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge border crossing with the State of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This border crossing is in the center of the country, just north of the Dead Sea, and about 35 minutes from Amman. Jihad was not afraid to tell me, in Arabic, how much of a distaste he had for Israel and the Israelis. To avoid an awkward drive I told him that I was only going to East Jerusalem and not to Israel. This made him feel better about dropping me at the border.

Leaving Jordan, for me, was no problem what-so-ever. There was no security and no questions asked. I entered the border terminal, smiled and spoke in my best tourist English, payed my 5JD exit tax and was handed a Post-it note with my name written on it along with a red Jordanian border-tax stamp. Although the Israeli border is only 2km away, I was not allowed to walk and I was told to wait for the bus. After waiting for the bus to become full (it was filled with people holding black Jordanian passports, and the green Palestinian Authority passports, as well as some Palestinians with American passports, two dutch tourists, and a nice American guy who works in Saudi Arabia) we departed for the Israeli border.

Once crossing over the Allenby Bridge...

...we reached the first Israeli border checkpoint. Here, we got off the bus, handed our passports to a young border guard behind a bunker-like window, and waited in the shade until they had determined that the bus' passengers were fit to move to the actual passport control/customs building. This took 5 minutes maximum. This was also my first opportunity to attempt to speak in Hebrew in a while. I think the young border guards were a little surprised to see me get off the bus and say: "Mahamtzav ach'sheli!?! Kol tov ha yom? Ken? Beseder?" They nodded in bewilderment. I followed up with, "Metzuyan." They responded in English, "You speak Hebrew?". And I responded, "Betach ach'sheli." They said, "Are you Jewish?" I said, "Na'am". (Readers: If you speak enough Arabic and Hebrew to understand that exchange, I hope it gave you giggle. If not, sorry that you had to sit through it. But trust me, its funny.)

Everyone got back on the bus and we drove for 1 minute to the main border terminal. Upon reaching the terminal everyone piled out of the bus, grabbed their bags and headed to drop them off to be x-rayed in the initial area of the building. I must report that this all happened relatively smoothly. The Israeli border employees all spoke Arabic or English with the people trying to cross, and treated the travelers respectfully. Of course, as regional custom dictates, nobody tried to stand in a proper line or wait their turn. There was a lot of pushing and shoving and jockeying for position although it wasn't necessary at all.

I stepped over to a young Ashkenazi border guard and told him, in Hebrew, how happy I was to be crossing the border to visit my friends in Israel. I also asked him if there was a special line for tourists with foreign passports that might expedite my passage through the next security phase of the border crossing. He then asked me, in Hebrew, "Ata Yehudi?" I responded, "Kol ha'chaiim sheli, gever." Then he said, "Hold on, let me check for you," and he inquired via his walkie-talky. He couldn't help me then, but once I waited with everyone (still pushing and shoving for no necessary reason what-so-ever) and made it through the metal detector, I begin my same Hebrew chit-chat with the border guard girl there. She was then the third person to ask me, "Ata Yehudi?". Again, I said, "Betach, kol ha'chaiim sheli, motek." This is where racial profiling worked in my advantage. She pulled me out of the line, which was then destined to walk through the explosives-detection machine, and walked me around everything and put me at the front of the passport control line that is set aside for foreign tourists.

In the passport control area I didn't see any Palestinians get rejected, or be disrespected by the passport agents. The lines seemed to be moving rather quickly. In the end, even though my Yehudi-ness moved me around the security line, I was one of the last ones to get through this area becauase the only two people in front of me in the passport line were a European (maybe Austrian) father/daughter combo who had some type of criminal record that was showing up on their passports records. It took a while for their problem to get resolved but once I made it to the window I was home free.

I jumped in a shared taxi with 11 other passengers (all Palestinian and Israeli Arab) and we headed into the West Bank. After a stop in Ramallah to drop off a passenger, we headed towards Jerusalem. This is where we had to pass one of the infamous West Bank checkpoints that puts you into Israel proper. This took no more than 10 seconds. The shared-cab pulled up to the window, the soldier looked in and we all held up our passports, the soldier got out, and we moved on. I was sitting towards the front of the taxi, so I didn't get a look at everyone's passport, but I think it went so easy for us is because all the Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the cab had Israel ID cards. I don't know if it would have gone so smoothly if green Palestinian Authority passports were held up.

Once in Jerusalem it was like being back home. We drove past my old university on Mt. Scopus, and down to the Old City where we were all dropped off at the Damascus Gate in East Jerusalem:

I walked through the Arab Quarter (below) where I changed some money and spoke some Arabic with the shop owners there. Everyone wanted to know the story behind the Oud that I was carrying from Amman for my friend in Israel.

Then I headed straight for the Western Wall (HaKotel):

From there I took a cab to Kikar Tzion, and walked up Ben Yahuda St:

I bought an Israel SIM card (I felt cool because I have permanent local phone numbers in 3 countries now), ate at my favorite schwarma stand in the world...

...and walked to Nachlaot for a quick visit with two of my oldest Israeli friends. It was wonderful to see them. Around 7pm I got a ride to Tel Aviv...

...I was dropped off at the train station in Tel Aviv, bought a ticket to Netanya, and wound up in Binyamina because I wasn't paying attention and I got on the wrong train. But no problem! My friend picked me up and brought me to his place in Netanya. Thats where I am now, preparing to go to the beach.

There is Starbucks in Jordan...

2008-07-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

...just in case you were wondering.

This Starbucks is located on a pedestrian street in a very upper-class Jordanian neighborhood. The area is so upper-class with a Western twinge that there was even an Apple store. The Jordanians that were walking around this area looked like the average people in the suburbs of Chicago, DC or Boston (the areas that I have vast experience observing average people). They wore designer clothes, carried designer bags, wore short skirts, were wearing sunglasses that cost the same amount as my rent, didn't cover their heads, etc. It was a little capitalist island in a sea of regional conservative tradition (and ample poverty).

When I sat down at Starbucks to begin my studies at around 5pm the place was half empty. But 30 minutes later, it was packed - with Jordanians. They had completely sold out of the 2JD cranberry muffins but they did have one blueberry muffin remaining. I ate it.

It was a funny situation because Starbucks couldn't survive in Israel. They had to shut down after the country basically boycotted it in favor of their local cafes. And the CEO of the Starbucks Corporation is a Jewish man who is an unabashed supporter of Israel. I love the contradictions of the Middle East. They are everywhere.

The view in one direction from my table:

I wish I could have taken more pictures of my people-watching, but I didn't think it would be appropriate. Plus I needed to study. Perhaps the most interesting observation was seeing several Saudi guys in their traditional clothing, fingering their prayer beads, sipping their Frappachinos, all while watching with great pleasure the young Jordanian women walking back and forth.

Outside of that neighborhood, back to the greater Jordanian reality, here are some scenes from the top of a pedestrian bridge where my friend and I stopped to eat fantastic hummus:

There is traffic in Amman (usually much heavier than this) 24 hours a day, 7-days a week. It is a non-stop, unorganized mess of machinery and constant honking. And more honking. Although it doesn't look like it in these pictures, lanes are usually taken as a suggestion, not the rule. I have no idea where all of these people are going, or how they survive not crashing into one another. Somehow it just works - although sometimes I have to close my eyes on my cab rides and just pray for the best.

And this place just made me smile (below). The sign reads: "Lebanon. Rest & Grilled Meat". Two of my favorite things. (See the sheep carcases waiting to be grilled in the window?)

Aqaba and U.S. Military Assistance to Jordan

2008-07-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a few pictures from beautiful Aqaba today and spare everyone the history lesson. After all, our purpose in going to Aqaba was simply to sit on the beach and swim with the fishes. Background information on Aqaba can be found here or here. And some basic information on Lawrence of Arabia's battle at Aqaba can be found here.

This was the view from our hotel - the Coral Bay Resort - which is part of the Royal Diving Club. It is located 10km north of the Saudi border:

The view of the mountains behind the hotel:

The sunset over Israel and the Red Sea:

I couldn't help it... a stunning picture of the world's tallest flagpole (that is a Hashemite Crown adorning the top):

Our hotel was located right next to the Jordanian naval base on the Red Sea. After we were waived through the checkpoint off of the main road, we passed the main gate of the naval base where I spotted two very white, very American-looking, very well armed, U.S. Marines standing in the burning sun along with several Jordanian soldiers who had sat themselves, wisely, down in the shade. My immediate reactions was, "what the heck are those guys doing there?".

I figured it could be one of two things. Either a U.S. military or political VIP was having meetings at the naval base, or a U.S. ship was docked at the Jordanian naval port. It turned out to be the latter. Check out the size of this U.S. military cargo ship (the pictures don't do it's size justice):

My guess is that it was unloading those green military cargo containers for transport to the western provinces of Iraq. Or, it could be military assistance to Jordan.

These were the Jordanian naval patrol boats that circled the ship 24-hours a day to protect it, I'm guessing, from experiencing a U.S.S. Cole type of attack:

According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS):

President Bush's FY2009 budget request includes $235 million for the Jordanian military, close to the same amount it has received over the past several fiscal years. U.S. military assistance is primarily directed toward upgrading Jordan's air force, as recent purchases include upgrades to U.S.-made F-16 fighters, air-to-air missiles, and radar systems. FMF grants also provide financing for Jordan's purchase of U.S. Blackhawk helicopters in order to enhance Jordan's border monitoring and counter-terror capability. Jordan is currently the single largest provider of civilian police personnel and fifth largest provider of military personnel to UN peacekeeping operations worldwide.

The United States is helping Jordan modernize its armed forces, which have been the traditional mainstay of the regime. The Jordanian military forces, though well trained and disciplined, are outnumbered and outgunned by each of Jordan's neighboring forces. In recent years, Jordan has used U.S. military assistance grants to purchase Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, upgrades for its fleet of F-16 fighters (approximately 70-80), and BlackHawk helicopters. The United States also delivered three Patriot anti-missile batteries to Jordan in early 2003 prior to the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq.

Joint Exercises and Training: A U.S.-Jordanian Joint Military Commission has functioned since 1974. More than 300 Jordanian military personnel study in the United States each year. Combined training exercises by U.S. and Jordanian military units continue to take place in Jordan (dubbed "Early Victor"), at least on an annual basis and sometimes more often. The above-mentioned courses conducted by Jordan for Iraqi military personnel are reportedly being funded by the United States under a program called the New Iraqi Army Training Project. In addition, the United States has supported the construction of the King Abdullah II Center for Special Operations Training. The Center, which has been partially financed by the United States, will serve as a regional headquarters for counter-terrorism training. In 2003, Jordan built a Special Operations Command and the Anti-Terrorism Center in order to boost counter-terrorism capabilities within the military.

Obama in Jordan

2008-07-22T22:28:00.001-07:00

I waited by my phone all day... but Sen. Obama never called. When will this campaign get its priorities in order?

Photo courtesy of the AP.

Here (http://video.yahoo.com/watch/3150549/8935718) is some cheesy video coverage from ABC. (Judging from Sam Donaldson's tone, it looks like ABC is worried about the "Right's" criticisms that the press is goo-goo-ga-ga'ing too much over Obama's foreign tour. I think Sen. Obama has been nothing short of spectacular and presidential.)

Here is what the BBC had to say.

And here is a bit from Maureen Dowd that made me smile:

The king of Jordan personally drove the prince of Chicago from the palace to the airport on Tuesday night to catch his flight to Israel, leading a motorcade in his slate Mercedes 600 across the tarmac and right up to O-Force One, as The Chicago Sun Times mockingly calls the candidate’s freshly branded 757, with the captain’s chair embroidered with “Obama-’08/President.” As the senator got out of the passenger seat, King Abdullah jumped out to chat some more, as though the two, who had only met in passing on the Hill, were old pals.

Obama finally found a Muslim with whom he’s willing to be photographed.

At moments, Obama was acting as though he were already “on a coin,” as Jon Stewart would say. But cocky or not, he needs to swoop up to conquer so Americans can picture him in the role.

The One left them swooning in Jordan. A member of the king’s inner circle who attended the chicken-and-rice dinner with King Abdullah and Queen Rania said that Obama had gone a long way toward assuaging their fears that he would be so eager to run away from his paternal family’s Muslim roots and to woo skeptical American Jews that he would not be “the honest broker” they long for after W.’s crazed missionary work in the Middle East.

“The guy gets it,” the Jordanian official said after dinner with Obama. “Sharp, aware and a very good listener. He doesn’t seem stuck in preconceived positions. He said he would get straight to the Palestinian issue as soon as he becomes president.”

And finally, a funny piece about the Obama staffers accompanying him to Amman.

Petra by Night and Day

2008-07-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

I just returned from visiting Petra, Aqaba, and Karak. It was an amazing trip with too many stories for just one post. So today I will begin with Petra.

There is only one word to describe Petra – incredible. Well, I guess I can also use: astonishing, amazing, extraordinary, staggering, unbelievable, remarkable, fantastic, huge, tremendous and wow. My words, nor my pictures, can do justice to Petra’s splendor.

I would like to begin by giving a brief (if possible) history of Petra and then I’ll share some pictures and give some Petra-travel advice.

This history of Petra goes back thousands of years. The Old Testament mentions Petra (Edom) as on the path of the Israelites’ march towards Israel after their escape from the Sinai. Legend notes that it was in the hills just above Petra that Moses struck a rock that then gushed water to quench the thirst of the parched Israelites. It was here that Moses’ brother Aaron died and he was buried on a mountain (Jebel Haroun) that overlooks Petra. Around the time of 1000 B.C., King David attempted to take control over Petra which had become rich from its success as a trading outpost between civilizations. King Solomon then controlled Petra for 50 years and profited from his control of the area. After the death of King Solomon and the collapse of the Israelite kingdom, the power vacuum in the area caused Petra to pass from Edomite, to Assyrian, to Babylonian, and to Persian hands.

After the Babylonians depopulated most of Palestine during their rule in the 6^th century B.C., the Nabateans migrated out of the Arabian Desert to the more moderate climate that was found in the Petra valley. While the previous occupants of Petra lived in the hills above the valley, the Nabateans found out that they could survive much more efficiently down in the canyons between the mountains. It was at this time that the Nabateans found out that they could prosper by setting up a trading colony at Petra, which lied on major trade routes and was protected by its geography.

Profits from the Nabateans' caravaning business allowed them to create a powerful kingdom that stretched from Damascus to parts of the Sinai desert. They fought and won wars and used diplomacy to secure their Kingdom from the Greeks (the great power at the time). By 106 A.D. the Roman Empire became too strong for the Nabateans to hold off and they soon became annexed by Rome. Even under Roman occupation Nabatean culture continued to survive for many more years until the source of their riches – mainly the frankincense trade – was depleted as Christianity replaced the regional pagan religions.

After reaching its historical peak between 100 B.C. – 300 A.D. (approx.), Petra was gradually abandoned after the 14^th century and completely lost to the “West”. It wasn’t until a Swiss researcher/adventurer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, “discovered” Petra in 1812 that it became known to the rest of the world. And I discovered it for myself this weekend.

First piece of advice – Do “Petra by Night”. Petra by Night is an after-dark guided tour through the Petra valley that leads you by candlelight to the Treasury plaza. Guides set out 1500 candles to lead the way. You walk in silence (cameras and cell phones are supposed to be turned off) through the darkness and try to imagine what it was like to live here 2000 years ago. Once you reach the plaza, which is flickering with hundreds of candles, a Bedouin musician plays music on a stringed Bedouin instrument and another plays on a small wooden flute. You are served tea and you listen to a story from the guide. We were lucky enough to have a full moon that night which added to the excitement. I only wish my camera could have captured more of the beauty of the darkness on film.

Second piece of advice – If you visit in the summer, start Petra by day when the area opens at 7am. This is for two reasons: 1. Even in the off-season (which is now) Petra is flooded with hundreds and hundreds of visitors. Getting there early allowed us to wonder nearly alone through the area which made the hike very special; 2. By 2 p.m. my thermometer had maxed out at 50 degrees C. That means it was at least 132 degrees F. Bring a LOT of water.

Now for a short tour. I recommend checking out my Petra photo album slide show here as well. It is worth a look.

The Siq - This is the ancient main entrance to Petra. It is 1200m long and the cliffs rise 80m high. The colors are beautiful, changing from beige to rose to black to white and all kinds of shades in between.

The first view of the Treasury.

The Treasury. The unique archaeological style of this building was inspired by Hellenistic and Alexandrian-Hellenistic influences. It is huge 30m x 40m and breathtaking. I can't really describe it beyond that - you have to see it for yourself. The name "Treasury" is not Nabatean... the local Bedouin could not figure out how or why someone would build such a monument. So they came up with a legend that while the Pharaoh was chasing the Israelites after the Exodus, he was slowed down by all his treasure. So he stopped to have this monument carved out of the rock to store the loot. People have taken this legend to heart because as you can see at the top of the photo, the urn at the top center has been shot at dozens of times to see if there was any gold hidden inside of the rock sculpture.

Insert Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade theme music here.

The Street of Facades.

One of dozens of tombs carved into the solid rock.

The Theater. This theater looks Roman but it was created by the Nabateans in the 1st century A.D.. (Clearly it was built with Roman influence.) It is carved into the solid rock. Initially it could seat 3000 people but it was expanded to finally hold about 7000.

The colonnaded street. This led through the city center. It was flanked by temples, public buildings and shops. The marble pavement is still visible today.

With the temperature now over 100 degrees (F) we decided to hire donkeys from the Bedouin to ride to the top of the mountain where the Monastery is located. Pictured along with myself and my donkey Steve-O is my roommate Holli and her donkey Michael Jackson.

The beginning of the path up the mountain to the Monastery.

Nearing the top.

It was worth the shlep.

The Monastery. At the top of Ad-Deir mountain lies Petra's second most famous attraction - the Monastery. It is huge. The Monastery was certainly a place of worship used for large religious ceremonies. The plaza in front of the Monastery was not naturally flat. It was carved out of the mountain by the Nabateans to serve as an area for large numbers of worshipers to congregate.

The blogger having tea with his Bedouin friends.

I could go on and on about how amazing Petra was and about all of the things we experienced there. And I just may do that in additional posts. But as I said earlier... just go see it for yourself. And bring the SPF 55.

Correction: World's Tallest Flagpole

2008-07-16T01:22:00.001-07:00

I find it necessary to send out a correction regarding an earlier post. (This Post)

While doing research for my upcoming trips to Petra and Aqaba I discovered that the world's tallest free-standing flagpole is actually located in Aqaba, Jordan.

The prime contractor of the flagpole, Trident Support Corp., is responsible for erecting the world's 3 tallest free-standing flagpoles. The pole in Aqaba is 426 ft. (130 m) tall. The second tallest free-standing flagpole is the one in Amman (126 m) and the third is in Abu Dhabi (123.1 m).

The flagpole in Aqaba can be seen from 4 countries: Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Here is a picture from Wikipedia.

I hope you will accept my apology.

It's Good to Be the King Vol. I - The King's Cars

2008-07-14T03:47:00.000-07:00

King Hussein was an avid car enthusiast, racer, and collector. Cars played a major role in his life, and one of them in particular - a 1968 Mercedes-Benz SEL 6.3 - is where he survived two assassination attempts. After King Hussein's death in 1999, King Abdullah II established the Royal Automobile Museum in honor of his father. Housed within the massive building are dozens of rare and beautiful cars and motorcycles.

This museum was a sight to see. I left with mixed feelings. On one hand, the collection was incredible and so was the history that went along with it. The place was simply "cool". On the other hand, in a country where nearly 15% of the people are living below the poverty line, and many many more are living just above it, it was a bit hard to see millions of dollars of beautiful cars just sitting under a museum roof. My friend described the museum as: "Hey poor Jordanians... In your face!". But then again, its good to be the king.

If you like cars I recommend checking out the slide-show (HERE).

And here are just a few of my favorites:

1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Sedanca de Ville

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC Roadster

1948 Packard Super Eight Convertible Victoria

1940 Packard Super Eight Convertible Coupe

Holy Moses! - Mt. Nebo

2008-07-12T06:51:00.001-07:00

“Get thee up into this mountain (range) of Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession ; and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people.”

--Deuteronomy (Devarim) 32:49-50

I have floated down the Nile River. I have wondered through the Sinai Desert and climbed atop the Holy Mountain there. Now, finally, I have completed my Moses tour with an ascent of Mt. Nebo. And unlike Moses, I live to tell about it.

Mt. Nebo is the single most important religious site in Jordan for Muslims, Christians and Jews. After leading the Israelites on a punishing journey of the Sinai Desert for 40 years, it was from Mt. Nebo that Moses finally viewed the holy land that G-d had set aside for his chosen people. Moses was also commanded to die here at the age of 120. Joshua would complete the Israelites march into Israel.

Christian and Jewish tradition proclaims that Moses was buried in an undisclosed location atop the mountain. However, Muslims who also regard Moses as a prophet, believe that he was carried across the Jordan River and buried in a tomb outside of the city Jericho.

On a clear day you can see as far as Jerusalem. I think the desert winds kicked up enough dust today to prevent me from achieving that view. The Dead Sea and Jordan Valley were certainly easy to see. It was sad for me to see just how much the Dead Sea has receded since I first saw it 12 years ago. It is, unfortunately, starting to look more like the Dead Puddle.

Here is a short video of the panorama. (Click Here)

Unfortunately, the Moses Memorial Church was closed to visitors. This church, which by the year 394 A.D. had become a triapsidal structure floored with mosaics, was visited by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000. Although the church was closed, some of its ancient mosaics were moved temporarily to the exterior for viewing. These particular mosaics date to the year 587 A.D..

Maybe it was the 104 degree heat, but it was really hard not be caught up in the history and spirituality of the place. I was flooded with memories of my religious studies, and I said the mourner's prayer for my mother. It was amazing to see what Moses had been commanded to see from this vantage point – The Promised Land.

Turkish Bath - Amman Style

2008-07-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

I have never been this clean in my life.

The guys and I decided to treat ourself to spa-day today, and oh-boy, was it worth it.

Welcome to Al-Pasha: http://www.pashaturkishbath.com/index.htm

This was my first Turkish bath experience and because a genuine Turk went with me, I have validation that it was genuine. I wouldn't dare bring a camera into the "bathing" area so I hope you will trust my description of the event. Allow me to break it down into phases.

Phase I: After changing into your bathing suit (locker room nudity does not occur in Jordan - privacy during this phase of the event is of utmost importance) you enter the lavish bathing complex. First you enter a steam room. This room is all stone and the ceiling is embedded with colorful globular-glass lights. There is a steam mist that fills the room and it is hot. Very hot. Once seated on the stone benches inside you are brought a glass of water and prune juice. Both are consumed immediately. After 15 minutes you move out of this room, and after a quick shower you move into Phase II.

Phase II: Hot tub. Nothing out of the ordinary here. 15 minutes of soaking and Phase III begins.

Phase III: You now lay face down on a large stone tablet, and in my case, a 250 pound Syrian man rubs your entire body with a rough glove for a full-body exfoliation. And I mean full body. The large Syrian man then shows you the skin he has removed from your body. Soon he changes to a somewhat softer glove and rubs you again with a warm soapy mixture. You are then asked to stand and bowls of water are poured over your head until the soap is no more. Another shower and onto Phase IV.

Phase IV: This was my favorite. Another large Arab man lays you down on another stone tablet. You are then rubbed, thoroughly...

Lets pause and explain "thoroughly" - Every part of your body where skin meets skin, is separated with a hand, and you are slathered with olive oil from head to toe. Then you are massaged and stretched.

Phase V: This phase is what makes the Turkish bath "Jordanian Style". This is where you get a full body mud-masque with mud from the Dead Sea. After the mud is applied to your entire body you sit on a stone chair for 10 minutes while you rub the mud into your skin.

Phase VI: Now covered in mud, you return to the first 250-pound Syrian man who pours more bowls of water over your head to wash most of the mud off. This is followed by yet another shower.

Phase VII: Sauna. Hot Sauna. Followed by shower. Followed by application of huge towel tied toga-style around your body.

Phase VIII: Change, tea, complete relaxation...

Ramallah Underground

2008-07-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

How did you spend your 4th of July?

I spent mine at a Palestinian quasi-militant hip-hop concert in Amman, Jordan. No fireworks, apple pie, and hamburgers for me this year.

The concert featured Ramallah Underground, an electronica hip-hop collaborative that is based in Ramallah (West Bank, aka Palestine, aka the Occupied Palestinian Territories). According to the band, their group "was born from the immediacy of musical experimentation and the need to give voice to a generation of Palestinians and Arabs who face a turbulent and uncertain political landscape."

Their lyrics and music are "an expression of anguish and defiance, ultimately remaining a defiant voice of the colonized against the colonizer. They continue to play a big role in the Arab Underground cultural scene while slowly gaining wide global and local popularity."

This was the first concert that I've been to where the artist was introduced as, "the group that waited for 6 hours behind a checkpoint to get here...". This fact is true, sad, and a reality of the security situation faced by Israel. And while I do not subscribe to the band's politics, I am really happy that I had this experience. Musically, I found the group to be very talented.

I would like to briefly describe the scene at the concert. I estimate that there were about 200 people in attendance, maybe more. The venue was Books@Cafe, one of my favorite places that I have found so far in Amman. It is a bookstore located in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. It has a bar/cafe roof deck that has a beautiful view overlooking the southern end of the city.

I believe the crowd was about 60% Jordanian and 40% foreigner. There were a number of Europeans and a lot of students from Jordan University. The Jordanians at the concert were not the Palestinian-militant type. They were instead the upper middle class "hip" type. I imagine that the 10 JD ticket charge is not in the budget of the average displaced Palestinian-Jordanian. The Arabs that were there where very excited, and many knew the band's lyrics. I counted about 30 Yassir Arafat-style black and white checkered kaffiyahs.

There was also a group of six not-too-undercover Mukhabarrat (Jordanian Secret Police). I assume that they were there to monitor the show to make sure there wasn't too much anti-Jordanian government rabble rousing, or instigation of violence.

I am choosing not to blog my personal feelings about the songs, or my impressions of how the other "Westerners" in the audience reacted to the band's message. I'm happy to discuss this off-line if anyone is interested. Here is another blogger's recent interview with the band if you'd like to read more (click here).

I am happy, however, to share some pictures and a video from the concert.

Here is a video I took on my little camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEMZGXvUVyE

UPDATE: This article was recently posted in the Jordanian Times regarding the group and their Amman concert - http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=9221

Jebel al-Qal'a, Philadelphia, and the Martyr's Memorial

2008-07-05T04:28:00.000-07:00

In about 1800 B.C., the hill known as Jebel al-Qal'a was fortified for the first time.

According to Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament, not the band fronted by Phil Collins) Jebel al-Qal'a was a hill inhabited by the near-mythical Ammonites, the descendants of the "drunken seduction" of Lot by his two daughters. By 1200 B.C., the Citadel on top of this hill was renamed Rabbath Amman, which was the capital of the region.

Later, in the year 1000 B.C., the book of Samuel reports that that the Israelite King David sent messengers to Rabbath with condolences for the death of the Ammonite king. These messengers, believed by the Ammonites to be Israelite spies, were sent back to Jerusalem minus their beards and fine clothing. Later, David would send his army to defeat the troublesome Ammonites. David himself joined the battle at its end and soon returned home to marry the widowed Bat-Sheba. Soon after this, the future King Solomon was born.

After Alexander the Great conquered the region in 332 B.C., his successor Ptolemy II Philadelphus rebuilt Rabbath and named it Philadelphia - the "City of Brotherly Love." After a series of wars and turmoil, the Romans rebuilt Philadelphia in 114 A.D.. They built impressive public buildings, among them a theater:

(click on the pictures to enlarge)

And a temple to Hercules:

In 635 A.D., Philadelphia was conquered by the Arabs and city's name was changed to Amman. The city was ruled by the Damascus-based Umayyad dynasty. Amman became the capital of the area and the Umayyads quickly expanded on the Roman-developed city by building an expansive palatial complex which was quickly destroyed by an earthquake in 749. The remains of this city remain in the same place where they fell today.

This is the partially-reconstructed Umayyad Palace:

And some additional views of the ruins:

When the Abbasids took power away from the Ummayds, the center of power in the region shifted from Amman to Baghdad. Over the next centuries Amman became desolate - it was mearly a stop-over area for pilgrims to Mecca. The town barely changed until the Ottomans settled Circassian refugees in the area in the 1870s. Still, it remained nothing more than a farming villiage with some impressive Roman/Ummayd ruins until Emir Abdullah chose Amman as his capital after the fall of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I.

Of course, the next important milestone was Robert Marcus' visit to Jebel al-Qal'a this morning.

Today I also visited the Jordanian War Martyr's Memorial.

Like the Egyptian, Israeli, and American military museums I have visited, this one contained its fair share of propaganda. Of course, Jordan has never lost a war. Much of the museum is dedicated to the Great Arab Revolt. The rest is dedicated to Jordan's wars against Israel, its current-day peace keeping missions as part of the United Nations, and the late King Hussein's military paraphernalia.

And I will leave you with another panorama of Amman taken from atop Jebel al-Qal'a (note the return to the blog of the world's tallest flagpole on the far right):

Israel – Wiped Off the Map

2008-07-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

King Abdullah of Jordan is as progressive a Middle East leader as you can find. He is working hard to modernize Jordan, and outside of President Mubarak of Egypt, he is the only regional Arab leader to publicly strive towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Ok, the Saudis and the Arab League have made bold gestures, but I have my qualms about their sincerity. [Note: Queen Rania of Jordan is also very active in Israeli-Palestinian peace projects.]

In fact, last week the King reiterated his positions in a thorough interview with the Washington Post. Sadly, the King’s “progressiveness” is not shared by the majority of Jordanians from my experience. After all, it is estimated that between 60-70% of the Jordanian population consists of Palestinian "refugees". I put refugees in quotes because this is a very controversial issue. Of course, the vast vast vast majority of those classified as refugees were not born in Israel or the West Bank - they were born in Jordan. More on that issue in future posts.

Still, I was a bit surprised today when I took a closer look at the map of the world that hangs on the wall outside of my classroom.

The title of the map is “The World (Political)”. Here it is:

And now a closer look at the Middle East region (sorry about the poor quality of the photo):

Because the photo is poor, and I assume that the majority of my readers cannot translate the Arabic, let me point something out - Israel is not on the map. First of all, this map was published in 2005. Secondly, the purple country that is the State of Israel is labeled “Palestine”. The Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights are not pictured or labeled as unique territories, and while the West Bank is painted a different color, it is not labeled as a separate territory.

Of course, despite the peace treaty with Israel, I know that the Jordanian monarchy feels in its heart of hearts that the West Bank will always be part of Jordan.

Please note, the University of Jordan is the most modern university in this country. And the government is not shy about bragging about this fact. That is why I am intrigued by this map. I guess today I felt the need to dish up some some food-for-thought that wasn't hummus.

Jerash and Um Qais

2008-06-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

On Friday I had the opportunity to visit the ancient cities of Jerash and Um Qais. I looked at my thermometer/compass at 11am and it read 110 degrees. The day was "hot" in both a historical and temperature sense.

The sites were huge and amazing. I have posted all of the pictures from my tour here:[http://picasaweb.google.com/RobertNMarcus/JerashAndUmQais], but I will describe a few of the sites below.

Jerash is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. To this day, its colonnaded streets, baths, theaters, plazas and arches remain in exceptional condition. Within the remaining city walls, archaeologists have found the ruins of settlements dating back to the Neolithic Age, indicating human occupation at this location for more than 6500 years. This is not surprising, as the area is ideally suited for human habitation. Jerash is fed year-round with water and it has a relatively moderate climate.

When you first enter the ancient city of Jerash you are confronted with Hadrian's Arch (below). This 11m high, triple arched gateway was built in honer of the visit of the Roman emperor Hadrian to Jerash in 129-130 AD.

Walking past the Hippodrome (which was used for chariot races) you enter the amazing Oval Plaza (below). This plaza comprises a large central paved area enclosed by two curving colonnades. From here you can see the Temple of Zeus to the north (not pictured) and the Cardo to the south.

Next comes the South Theater which is perhaps the most impressive of all of Jerash's monuments. This 3000 seat theater, which is still used today, rivals the acoustics of even the most modern performance center. I stood at the center of the stage and spoke in an "inside voice" and I was heard by my friends perched in the top row.

The most important edifice in the ancient city was the Temple of Artemis. If you lean against the pillars, or insert a stick between their joints, you can cause them to sway. This brilliant piece of Roman engineering allowed the huge temple to remain standing even after multiple earthquakes.

Here is the blogger on the Jerash Cardo:

Here are Ottoman ruins (formerly shops) in Um Qais:

The view towards Israel from Um Qais:

The West Theater:

The King's Hummus

2008-06-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight I ate the King's hummus.

Located in a narrow alley in the oldest part of Amman is Hashem - an outdoor diner that was founded by Hashem al-Turk in 1920. There are only three dishes to choose from: falafel, hummus, and fuul. (For those of you who read Arabic you can see the menu on the picture below)

There are three kinds of fuul that are available. The first, Jordanian-style pictured below, contains a dollop of chili. But if you ask for fuul Egyptian-style, you will get it minus the chili but with a lump of tahini. There is also fuul Jerusalem-style, which is fuul with a blob of hummus in it. Everything is freshly made and its costs only pennies. It is brought to your table within seconds of ordering. A full meal ranges between 1-2 Jordanian Dinars, that is around 2$ US.

Pita, chopped onion, hot sauce, salt, and fresh mint are free. I learned from my travel book that the restaurant goes through 50 kg of onions a day.

This restaurant feeds the royal family and is where the King enjoys the best hummus (arguably) in town. The smile on the King and his father's face that adorn the pictures on the wall say it all. I plan on enjoying Hashem's food several more times before I depart.

Freedom of the Press in Jordan

2008-06-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

There are many newspapers published in Jordan. I became interested in learning more about their publishers after I noticed that most of the papers ran the same pictures and stories at the same time on the same day. It was also 100 degrees in Amman today, therefore a good day to sit inside and think about something serious.

The following information (below) comes from the Freedom House. First take a look at Jordan's "Freedom of the Press Score" compared to that of the United States. (The lower the number the better)

Jordan
Status: Not Free
Legal Environment: 21
Political Environment: 24
Economic Environment: 18
Total Score: 63

United States
Status: Free
Legal Environment: 5
Political Environment: 8
Economic Environment: 4
Total Score: 17

Jordan’s media suffers from oppressive media legislation, informal pressure from the intelligence services, and cautious advertisers and printers afraid of running afoul of the government. In addition to constitutional guarantees of the right to freedom of expression and of the press, the Parliament approved a new Press and Publications Law on March 21 that explicitly prohibits “detention as a result of the enunciation of an opinion in speech, writing, or through other means.” Nevertheless, the new law drastically increased fines to up to 28,000 dinars (USD$40,000) for speech that offends religious beliefs, offends the prophets, or slanders the government. Journalists may also still be prosecuted under the penal code that allows for imprisonment up to three years for defaming the king or royal family. Although, in practice, limited criticism of the government and its allies is often tolerated, as is speech in favor of Islamist movements. Journalists must be members of the Jordan Press Association (JPA) to work legally. In the past, critical journalists have been excluded from the JPA and prevented from practicing their profession.

Intelligence agencies watch journalists closely, and the government of former Prime Minister Ma’ruf al-Bakhit, whom Nadir al-Dahabi replaced on November 25, gave free rein to intelligence officials, the police, and prosecutors to clamp down on legitimate speech. As a result of government threats of fines or prosecution, many journalists practiced self-censorship. Editors and journalists claim to have received official warnings to refrain from publishing certain articles and avoid certain topics, and security officials have pressured printers to delay publications until editors agree to remove sensitive stories. On April 18, security officers confiscated videotapes from an Al-Jazeera journalist containing an interview with former Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal in which he criticized Saudi and U.S. policies in the Middle East.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), security agents banned the April 30 edition of the weekly Al-Majd because of a front-page story about a “secret American plan” to topple the Hamas government in the occupied Palestinian territories with the connivance of “unnamed Arab parties.” Fahd al-Rimawi, the paper’s editor, told CPJ he reached an agreement with the security services whereby he ran the story in the paper’s next edition, but off the front page. In both cases of censorship, the government claimed to be acting out of fear of harming relations with neighboring countries.

The media was also subject to physical violence and harassment at the hands of state security officials. In January, Khaled al-Khawaja, a journalist with the pro-government daily al-Ra’i, filed a criminal complaint against a public security officer alleging that the officer assaulted him while he was trying to cover the disbursement of government meat rations. The officer responded by filing a counter-complaint, and in February, Khawaja was arrested and charged with assaulting a public security officer. State security officers also assaulted a journalist and a cameraman from the Al-Ghad TV station, Aubaida Dammur and Fady Ramhy, in April as they attempted to cover a bus strike in Amman.

The government owns substantial shares in Jordan’s two leading daily newspapers, and all publications must obtain licenses from the state. There are high taxes on the media industry and tariffs on paper, and the government has been criticized for advertising primarily in newspapers in which it owns a stake. In 2003, the government officially gave up its monopoly on domestic television and radio broadcasting by creating the Audiovisual Licensing Authority, which in 2004 began to license and regulate private radio and television outlets. While the first privately-owned television station ATV was licensed two years ago, it is still in its pilot stage and has not been allowed to start broadcasting. The country’s state-run Jordan Television and Radio serves mostly as a mouthpiece for the government. The new Press and Publications Law requires the licensing of publications and provides the courts with the right to withhold publication of any printed material, as well as the power to withdraw licenses. However, the new law does limit the government’s ability to shut down printing presses. No restrictions are placed on satellite broadcasts, and satellite dishes continue to proliferate.

The Jordanian government is actively seeking to promote access to the Internet and claims to place no restrictions on the roughly 13 percent of the population who access it. However, online publications became subject to press law on September 25, and on October 9, former MP and head of the Jordan National Movement, Ahmad Oweidi Abbadi, was sentenced to two years in prison by a state security court for posting material on his party’s website. Abbadi had been detained in May on charges of “slandering a public official” and spreading false news abroad that “would impair the prestige of the state,” based on a complaint from the interior minister who took offense to a letter Abbadi openly posted on the Internet to U.S. Senator Harry Reid accusing the minister and other government officials of corruption.

Visa Extension Part I

2008-06-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Before departing for Jordan, I mailed my passport to the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, DC, in order to obtain a 6-month multiple entry visa. This cost me about $40 and a lot of time at the post office. I did this in order to not come across any visa problems during my stay in the Hashemite Kingdom.

When I arrived at Queen Alia Airport, I confidently handed my passport to the border patrol agent with the page open that contained my beautiful visa. This border patrol agent looked at my picture, and my nationality, quietly reached into a drawer below his desk, and swiftly stamped my passport in purple ink with a stamp that reads: "CONTACT THE NEAREST POLICE STATION WITHIN ONE MONTH". (Thank you, can I have my $40 back now please?)

Apparently, the University knows that this is often a problem, so they explained during our orientation how to renew our visa at the police station. Doing this is important so I took notes. I clearly remember the program director saying, "First you need proof of enrollment at the University. Go to the building where you payed your tuition, go to the second floor, and go to office number 3." So, with two friends, I went to said building.

The first problem that I encountered was that building floors in Jordan are labeled differently then in the United States. The ground floor is 0, the second floor 1, etc. After getting lost on the wrong floor (everything is labeled in Arabic) we were kindly directed to the correct floor where we found a nice man who was willing to help us. He invited us to sit down. This is when I found out that he was the director of the engineering program. We had been told to go to the wrong building. This kind man then advised us that we needed to visit the administration building near the main gate where human resources is located. I snapped a photo of that building:

After climbing up to the "2nd" floor, we found human resources. A woman in the hallway asked us, in Arabic, if we needed help. Quickly realizing that we couldn't easily understand her, she asked in broken English, "Where are you from? Spain? Turkey?" (I'm constantly asked if I'm Spanish or Turkish. It must be my lovely desert suntan.) I never say that I am from America, because then I'm immediately associated with President Bush, so I told her that I'm from Chicago. This softens the blow. The woman continued, "Oh, you are from America (rolling her eyes). Hamburger!" Well, I'd much rather be known as the guy from the "Hamburger" country than the guy from the 'we started the Iraq War' country so I smiled and said, "Yes." She then told us that we were in the wrong building (again) and directed us to the Deanship of Student Affairs building across campus. There I took another picture:

We climbed up to the "2nd" floor again and managed to find a kind man who spoke enough English to understand what we were looking for. He asked around his office to find out if we were in the right place. We were not. He then told us to go the the Registration Building.

Fortunately, this building was next door so we quickly made it to the next "2nd" floor. We even found office number 3. Upon entering the room, the woman who was working at the desk made eye contact with us and quickly looked back down at the stack of papers in front of her. We stepped in closer and explained that we were looking for our proof of registration. She said, "give me your I.D.'s and come back in 10 minutes. " We looked at each other and handed over our I.D.'s to the woman. Not knowing if this woman meant 10 minutes in real time or Jordanian time, we waited for 25 minutes outside and then went back. The woman handed us our I.D.'s and a piece of paper and told us to go to room 1 to get a stamp. We walked down the hall, past a gaggle of Jordanian students and into room 1. We pushed through the crowd of maybe 25 people in the small office and approached the desk to ask for our piece of paper to be stamped. The woman there said that we were in the wrong office. We needed to go down the hall and find the OTHER office number 1. I snapped a photo outside of that office, I wish I could have shown you the scene inside:

Down the hall we found the other office number 1 and asked for a stamp. Surprise! This too was the wrong office, but we were in luck, this WAS the office where we needed to get a signature on the back of our registration paper before getting THE stamp. Good thing we found our way there by accident because I didn't know a signature was required. The man laughed at us, put down his cigarette for a minute, and signed the back of our forms. Better yet, he actually pointed in the direction of the correct office where we could get our stamp. More than an hour after we started, our mission was accomplished. I can't wait to go to the police station. Something tells me I'll have something else to report about.

On the way out from campus after my stamp adventure I snapped a quick picture of some students who were graduating from the university:

In order not to be rude I covertly attempted to take this interesting picture (you may need to enlarge it to see why its interesting to me as a Westerner):

Finally, to follow up on my last post, I took one more picture of 2 of the restaurants across the street from the main campus gate:

Ma'asalaama.

First Day of Class and Fried Chicken

2008-06-22T03:48:00.000-07:00

I consider my first day of class a success. My professor, Doctor Muthanna, seems experienced and enthusiastic. For now, I have a class size of ten, which is perfect. There are four Americans (including myself), a Scotsman, Italian, Aussie, a woman from France and a gentleman from Taiwan. There is also a woman who looks like she has 10 cats at home and I'm uncertain of her nationality.

English is allowed to be spoken, very sparingly, only for the first two weeks. I'm pleased about that because I'm not going to learn this language unless I'm speaking it constantly. Our textbook contains no English. The first class was simply an introduction and we will begin moving through the book tomorrow.

In addition to learning Arabic a major goal of mine this summer is to be immersed in Arab culture. I want to eat what they eat, live where they live, dress how they dress, etc.. This will allow me to make more informed policy decisions in the future. However, its hard to be 100% immersed in Arab culture when in every neighborhood in Amman there is a McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Subway, and Pizza Hut. I promised myself that I would do all that I could to avoid American influences.

However, today I couldn't help myself, and I slipped. After class I had to return to ACOR where I had been staying before moving into my apartment in order to pay my bill and say thank you and goodbye. On the way back to my apartment I made a quick stop...

Love that chicken. (My roommate assures me that I don't look this red in person)

I was reminded of a bit that a Palestinian-American comedian did during the "Axis of Evil Comedy Tour" when he tells a story about visiting a cousin in Amman and listening to his Jordanian relative rant about America's world dominance. "United States, you think you are so big and strong and powerful!" (mimicking his cousin's thick accent). "You are a paper tiger! You will fold!" Without missing a beat, his cousin asks: "You hungry? We got Burger King, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Appleby's. . . . You look tired. You want coffee? We got Starbuckus! You like Starbuckus?"

I think the view of America from the Arab world can be summed up like this: "America: Hate Your Politics, Love Your Fried Chicken."

No Longer Homeless, Done with Orientation, Water on Sundays

2008-06-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Things work differently in Jordan's academic institutions than they do in the United States. For example, during today's orientation, they read everyone's placement test score results out-loud to the entire group of incoming students. I'm very proud of my advanced-beginner placement thank you very much!

Later I'll post some pictures that show what the University of Jordan campus looks like. But today I would just like to share the details concerning my new apartment.

My new landlord, Abu Anas, is a Palestinian who grew up in Tulkarm. His wife's family currently resides in East Jerusalem. He is a dual US/Jordanian citizen and he lived in the U.S. for 15 years as the head of Saudi Arabian Airlines' business office in Manhattan. He is now retired and he splits his time between Amman and New York. He owns the building that he lives in, and rents out the other eight apartments predominantly to students who attend the university.

The apartment is located just off the north west corner of the university campus near the university mosque. It is a two-bedroom with a kitchen, bathroom, living room and patio. Our water is delivered by the city on Sundays, so that is when we can do our laundry. Sometimes the water runs out during the week. But when that happens, Abu Anas can pump water into our tank from his auxiliary tank that feeds his personal apartment. The other tenets said that it wasn't a problem. For now I trust them. We also have internet! This consists of a ethernet cable that runs from Abu Anas' apartment, out of his window, and into our apartment through another window. He said that whenever the internet isn't working we should call him, and he will reset the router in his office. The other tenets said that this too wasn't a problem. I hope they are not all on his payroll.

Let's go on a tour:

The building. To the left of the pole in the center of the photo.

The building.
The front gate.
Living room view #1.
Living room view #2. (I get all the Arabic satellite channels for free!)

Bedroom #1
Bathroom
Bedroom #2
Kitchen (roaches not pictured)

Porch
View down the hill.
University mosque.
The blogger - red like his camera. (I found out the hard way that you must wear sunscreen all day.)

Apartment Hunting Is Not Fun in this City. Can't A-mman Catch a Break?

2008-06-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

There is no Craig's List in Amman. Nor is there a city paper. Apartment hunting in Amman consists of word-of-mouth advice and walking into any shop that is open and asking the employees if they know of any available rooms. It turns out, there aren't ANY available apartments in the better parts of the city. (Except for one in a so-so neighborhood near the university that we may settle on tomorrow. Check back for updates.)

Right now, Amman is flush with Iraqi refugees, wealthy tourists from the Gulf, and Jordanians that have come home from abroad for the summer. Me and my future roommate, Holli, as well as my new friend Tobias (who comes from a small town outside of Munich Germany where Audi's headquarters are located), visited three neighborhoods today and hit the pavement. We asked for apartment leads in nearly 20 shops, from people on the street, from cab drivers and from friends of friends of friends. We also wondered around looking for postings that people have taped to their walls, or nailed to their trees. Everything had been filled, or was targeted to the tourists from Dubai who can afford to pay $2000 a month in rent. However, all of this searching was not a waste of time as we got to see new parts of Amman.

The first neighborhood that we visited, Shmeisani, is an upper middle class neighborhood that is home to Amman's business community. It was beautiful and not for us. The only available accommodation we could find in the area was a 3 bedroom villa with gardens that was going for nearly 50 thousand dollars for the year. It was out of our price range. But we did get to wonder in to Shmeisani's mall (to sit in the air conditioning for 10 minutes) where I snapped this picture:

I have eaten street pigeon in Cairo, freshly killed lamb with the Bedouin in Sinai, all kinds of goat products in Israel and the West Bank... but I'm not going to eat at the Schwerma Wok.

The next neighborhood we visited, while far from the University, is where I would like to live for the summer. However, that is not looking like it is going to happen. It is called "Jebel Amman" which means Amman Hill. It is quiet and beautiful. The people in that neighborhood were very nice to us and went out of their way to try to find a vacant apartment. The only one we could find was unfurnished, and it didn't have a shower or a kitchen. Other than that it was perfect.

Here are some photos from the neighborhood (none of which are great and I apologize):

At least I now know where I can go for all of my dental and oral surgery needs in the city.

I think I'm going to call it quits on this post for today. I'm jet-lagged and dehydrated. I think its time for some bottled water and a falafel.

More on the apartment search tomorrow, and on the University of Jordan orientation that takes place at 10am in this building:

Salaam.

The World's Tallest Flagpole

2008-06-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

[See see my correction re: world's tallest flagpole HERE.]

While (very unsuccessfully) searching for apartments today, I witnessed a number of very interesting things. I'll share two of them with you.

First, let me present to you, the world's tallest flagpole. (Click on the photo to enlarge)

Do you see it there on the left-hand side skyline next to the tv antenna?

My Lonely Plant book describes it as such: "From most places in the city you can spot the huge Jordanian flag of the Raghadan palace compound, which at 127m high is said to be the world's largest free-standing flag pole. (A smaller but similarly impressive flag flies in Aqaba.) The award for the tallest flag pole in the world actually goes to those crazy North Koreans on the border with South Korea but that one is supported by cables, which as everyone knows is cheating."

Second, I was able to sneak a great photo of "East-Meets-West"...

For some reason I found this hip-looking Jordanian man, who was working on his Dell laptop, drinking a strawberry milkshake and smoking a hookah (nargila), extremely interesting.

While I remain without a permanent residence in Jordan, I am now officially registered at the University. I take my placement test at 9am tomorrow. Insha'allah I will be placed in the right class!

Arrival

2008-06-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have safely arrived in Amman!

This week I will be staying at the American Center for Oriental Research (ACOR) which is conveniently located about three blocks from the main gate of the University of Jordan. ACOR is "a private, non-profit academic institution dedicated to promoting research and publication in the fields of archeology, anthropology, history, languages, biblical studies, Arabic, Islamic studies and other aspects of Near Eastern Studies." ACOR was kind enough to rent me a room for the week while I search for an apartment.

Here is a picture of ACOR that I borrowed from the internet (because I arrived in the dark):

Even though I have been in Amman for less than 4 hours, I have accomplished the following things:

1. I ate my first Jordanian schwarma at a schwarma stand at the 7th circle. Delicious!
2. I visited my first Jordanian cafe where I had a Turkish coffee. Also Delicious!
3. I have obtained my Jordanian cell phone, a Nokia, that has its letters written in Arabic. How appropriate!

I am happy to be here and I'm ready for the real adventure of registering for school, finding an apartment, and finding my way around the city that begins tomorrow. Until then - ma'asalaama.