In August my Mom crossed the Atlantic to work at U.S. Embassy Amman. After a grueling finals period at Yale my twin and I hopped on a small commuter to plane to JFK and then set foot on a majestic Boeing Dreamliner operated by Royal Jordanian for an 11-hour direct flight to Queen Alia airport in Amman. Royal Jordanian rocks. Although we flew in economy, we couldn't help but admire the oak panel floors of business class and lounge bar. All of the flight attendants calm your nerves and are excessively generous. They also serve quality beer. I'm terrified of airplanes, but that flight was pretty sweet.
Here, in bullet points, are the highlights of my trip so far. But first I want to say one thing- 90% of Jodanians are really nice. Like really, really nice. On the flight to Amman I sat next to a Jordanian college student from UC San Diego. He noted that Jordanians know the difference between the American government and American people. In other words, they might be opposed to some facets of U.S. foreign policy, but they sure as hell aren't opposed to welcoming Westerners into their country. In fact, a few days ago I met up with the guy from the plane and his brother. They showed us around downtown Amman- we bought this delicious juice made out of Indian figs and ate salted melon seeds. Jordanian hospitality is second to none.
In any event, here are some highlights of our trip so far:
- Mt. Nebo and the Baptismal Site: Mt. Nebo is an elevated ridge in Jordan where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land. It's beautiful. You can spot Israel in the distance and marvel at the rolling hills and peaks dotting the landscape. The Baptismal Site, as the name suggests, is where John baptized Jesus Christ. It's fascinating. We walked down to the Jordanian river- literally toeing the line between Jordan and Israel. About 20 meters away stood Israeli soldiers and an Israeli couple dipping into the river to be sanctified by holy water.
A view of Mt. Nebo. You can spot Israel and Palestine in the distance.
- Call to Prayer: The various call to prayers have been an unexpected surprise. I totally forgot about how beautiful and distinctly Middle Eastern the call to prayer is. The last time I heard it was in Islamabad about 15 years ago. Since arriving in Jordan, I've set my alarm to 5 am to hear it being played out on a speaker 10 minutes later. I believe there are 6 call to prayers each day and a Muezzin administers it in a certain section of each city. The call to prayer, or Adhan, varies by Muslim sect. In Jerusalem we stayed at the beautiful American Colony Hotel; our room was perched right next to an emerald green minaret. A man and woman would take turns reciting verses of the Quran in song.
A sign with the six call to prayer times perched on a wall inside the Dome of the Rock. Before entering any mosque women must cover their hair and everyone must take off their shoes.
- Jerusalem: Jerusalem was all that we expected and more. We spent three days there and dedicated all of our time to touring the Old City, which is made up of four quarters: Armenian, Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. The cobblestone streets, ancient walls, and infinite number of holy sites throw you back to the crusades. My family was fortunate to tour the Dome of the Rock, and even step inside it. We talked to the religious leader of the Muslim quarter and stood right under the spot where the Prophet Muhammed supposedly ascended to heaven. At the end of our 3-day trip, I woke up at 4:00am due to jet lag. Little did I know that David Brooks, my favorite NYTimes columnist, was sitting right next to me in the lobby. A few hours later I managed to grab his autograph!
Dome of the Rock! The scarf around my neck was used to cover hair inside the mosques we toured.
- Bethlehem (Palestine): On our second day in Jerusalem our driver announced that we'd be driving to Bethlehem to tour two holy sites. I'm ignorant when it comes to religion, but I still could associate this place with a Christmas song and Jesus' birth (correct me if I'm wrong). I thought it'd take a long haul car drive to get there. I found out that Bethlehem was actually 15 minutes away from Jerusalem in a mysterious place called the "PA". Turns out the "PA" is an acronym for the Palestinian Authority. Yes, we entered Palestine. Like, the "Palestine" that is all across the news and is a critical agent in a more peaceful Middle East. Once again, I'm an ignorant American, so when we crossed into the PA a slew of ignorant questions ensued: "Is this dangerous?" "Where's the West Bank?" "The Gaza Strip?" (Don't get me started on the years I spent thinking Syria was a country in North Africa...) In any event, we toured the Church of the Nativity and visited a souvenir shop. Turns out the PA is safer than Jerusalem- according to our drivers, you could leave your car unlocked without consequence over there. I don't have any pictures of Palestine, but it was still amazing and surreal- like Jerusalem, I felt totally immersed in history (both present and past).
- Hookah/Shisha/Argileh: Whatever you want to call it, "hubbly bubbly" is a staple of Middle Eastern culture. My beginner's Arabic textbook, Alif Baa, even dedicates a whole page to shisha/hookah (it's called "argileh" in Jordan). The first time I smoked it was with my family in Egypt, next to the Sinai peninsula. I think I was 12 at the time...Fast forward to last night, New Year's Eve, when my family (read: my sisters and I) was inhaling hookah again. It's quickly becoming an Amend (sister) tradition. In the Middle East, or Jordan at least, "hubbly bubbly" is relatively cheap- it should cost no more than 5JD for one hour, which is approximately 7USD. Stateside it's around 20 USD. My favorite favorite flavors are mint, lemon, and grape.
"Hubbly bubbly" on New Year's Eve. The family celebrated at a Bedouin camp in the desert just 20 minutes away from Petra.
- Middle Eastern Food: Where do I begin...since boarding a Royal Jordanian jet we've had delicious food. Mansaf is Jordanian's national platter- it's made of rice, some kind of meat (usually beef), and dotted with pine nuts. About 50% of our meals have been "mezza", meaning a collection of different platters that the family shares around one table. This style of eating is much more communal (downside: having to share food heightens tensions among siblings). If you come to Jordan, get ready for a lot of dates, eggplants, kabob, and pita/hummus. It's delicious.
Our first authentic meal in Jordan was in downtown Amman at a restaurant called "Hashem's" that is a favorite among the locals. Above is a typical workman's meal. After being seated we were served falafel, baba ganoush, hummus, pita bread, fries, and assorted vegetables within 5 minutes. And copious amounts of tea, of course.
- Jerache: Jerache was a surprise. My mom woke me up in the middle of a jet-lag induced nap and forced me into a 45 minute car ride outside of Amman. We arrived to a beautiful countryside landscape with a site full of Roman ruins. I felt like I was back at the Colosseum. Amman has similar Roman ruins (amphiteatre, citadel) but Jerache upstages Amman both in quantity and quality.
The Roman ruins at Jerache. We saw a bunch of internationals- Japanese, Russians, as well as local families on a weekend excursion.
- Amman: I would be committing a major offense by omitting Amman from this post. Home to 3 million people, Amman is Jordan's capital and most populated city. It has a booming infrastructure but at some point in its development a bunch of city planners must have underestimated the sheer quantity of humans that would use cars since traffic is a ubiquitous nightmare. Besides that, Amman has a lot to offer. It's built on 7 hilltops which makes for some spectacular views. The embassy is located in Abdoun, which is a wealthy neighborhood home to rich Iraqi immigrants and Westerners. The embassy itself looks like a medium security prison from the outside (and for good reason) but its interior is more aesthetically pleasing. Abdoun is in West Amman- the more wealthy and modernized section of the city. East Amman is the authentic side. It's where you can see real life pass by. I have yet to step into this section of the city but look forward to the day I do.
The ritziest Starbucks in all of Jordan located in West Amman, just a 2 minute drive from the embassy. Amman is a relatively modern and progressive city with heterogenous population of Christians, Palestinians, expats, and others.
- Petra/Wadi Rum: Petra is stunning. This was my second time to this Wonder of the World and I loved it just as much as the first time I set foot in the ancient city engraved out of rock. What was great about this trip is that we didn't adhere to a stereotypical touristy route that would take us straight to the famous treasury through a well trodden siq. Instead, we circumvented the most popular visitor's area through a back way that involved walking into thorny bushes and ascending tall rocky cliffs. The most memorable hike of our Petra stay came on the second day, where we hiked for 5 hours to an intricately carved monastery. It still blows my mind how the Nabataeans built such sturdy and beautiful structures in rock. After Petra, we drove about an hour south to Wadi Rum (wadi means "valley" in Arabic), which essentially is a sand desert with ginormous rock formations protruding out of the ground. It's widely acknowledged that Wadi Rum is one of the few places in the world where total silence can still occur. There are not enough plants to stir any sound, no airplanes overhead, no animals, and no people. Spending a night there under the stars wrapped in a sleeping bag is definitely on my bucket list.
The famous treasury at Petra from a nearby cliff. Hiking a lesser known trail was grueling but definitely worth the sweat!
