Ahlan wa sahlan! Greetings from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
I left the Gulf 3 weeks ago for the Levant. Suffice it to say that I am finding the Middle East richer (in wealth and contradictions), more complicated (magnified by the recent outbreak in Gaza and Israeli elections), and more layered (a place where so many peoples and ways co-exist) by the day. In a word, this place is packed.
I'm in over my head with history - both contemporary & ancient. Major historical landmarks for Jordan include: the Nabatean period, the Roman occupation, the Crusades, and the Ottoman administration. This is of course leaving aside prehistory, because that’s another matter altogether. Then there is ancient & contemporary migration: the Bedouins, the Circassians, the Chechens, the Palestinians (approx. 70% of the Jordanian population), the Armenians, the Egyptians, (more recently) the Iraqi people…heck, I've even come across some Eritreans and Sudanese. Add to this a variety of faiths (approx. 88% Sunni Islam, 2% Shia, 10% Christians – mainly Greek Orthodox but some Catholics as well); a heated political scene. And then there are matters of economic development. I want to begin this piece by saying that my humble, outsider understanding of all of this is still very much in its infancy; and frankly, it probably always will be. Nevertheless I am trying to sponge up as much as possible while here. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised to find numerous active research centers that boast robust libraries, populated by scholars from around the world (namely, the American Center of Oriental Research and the British Council).
Jordan is stable, sleepy, and well-intentioned; overall, a cozy little pocket. Its people are extremely hospitable, and curious too – they want to know who you are, where you're from, what you're doing (which is really quite natural). It seems there is still a sense of trust & community: for instance, I got a ride home yesterday from the guy who owns the laundry next to my office. Every day there’s a gas truck that drives by, playing its little song over loud speakers. I can buy vegetables from the back of a truck at any given time. This tranquility and stability is exceptional given the country’s location, which shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, Israel to the west, and Saudi Arabia to the east and south (it also shares control of the Dead Sea with Israel, and the coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt...click here for a map of the Middle East, in case I lost you there). I am inclined to say that this stability is in great part thanks to its monarchy (made up of members of the Hashemite royal family, direct descendants of the prophet Muhammed).
I am delighted to finally be hearing and learning Arabic, as opposed to the head-spinning mixture of Tagalog, Urdu, Farsi, English & occasional Arabic I was hearing in Dubai. The first challenge was learning Arabic numbers, as often receipts and street signs do not bear anything else. I’ve been trying to pepper my speech with space fillers and slang expressions – the Jordanian amiyah (dialect) of Arabic is different from the standard, written Arabic (Fusa). Personal favorites include: shu (what?), yalla (let's go), wallah (really?), keefak (how are you?), hallas (finito), yani (a general space-filler, similar to so/ummm/like), habibi (my beloved), minfudluk (please; I've gathered that the suffix -ik is for girls, -uk is for boys, and -kun is for plural/mixed audiences), shukran (thank you). Then there are: hamdallah (thanks be to God), bismilah (in the name of God), inshallah (God willing - while this one is so nice to hear/say sometimes, it can be really frustrating to hear when you want to get something done!). And finally: ma as-salaamah (peace out – I love that one).
It’s true that in the beginning, I felt slightly self conscious when in more conservative Muslim environments. But by now I’ve gotten over it and realized that 1) it’s not that big of a deal, as the people really aren’t judging, and 2) the adjustments aren’t that big (well, I have had to turn in my skanky wardrobe for clothes more appropriate…I kid, I kid). Jordanian “society” seems to be similar to that of Bolivia, in that all know (or know of) each other, and family names bring strong legacies/associations with them. After 3 weeks here, I can already play "connect the dots"! The wealthier young people are educated abroad at the higher level, and the student body at the American high school here is over 50% local. Basically, it’s the same suffocating social scene you get anywhere – so not surprisingly, those that can, opt for residence in the US or Europe (but of course miss home terribly – side note: this reminds me of my relationship with Bolivia). There is a great deal of talent and culture coming out of Jordan: next week for example, I’ll be attending a reading by Palestinian “urban poet”, ex-Brooklyn resident Suheir Hammad. I was able to go straight for the jugular of this talented, artsy community (photographers! urban planners! painters!) through Ali Maher - artist, professor and head of the Royal Film Commission - evidently, Amman's social it-man. I was lucky enough to bump into him while wandering the streets of downtown Jebel Amman (you know, because I wander around talking to strangers while in foreign cities). Ali has a magical parade, and has taken good care of me since meeting him that fateful afternoon.
Jordan seems to be well-positioned to capture the business coming into the region. It is young (approx. 60% of the population is under the age of 30) and educated – thus its competitive edge is its human capital (it relies heavily on neighbors for natural resources). It is extremely progressive: I have never seen so many government ministries in my life (I've heard it joked about that these ministries essentially “mask unemployment”...I’m not sure how true that is, but I thought I would just throw that out there). I have never, for that matter, come across so many action committees or acronyms, either. In a meeting yesterday, a ministry representative joked that: "forming a committee is another way of saying, 'let's do nothing about it, but pretend like we are'". Which makes me wonder a lot about the level of bureaucracy and inefficiency here.
Which brings me to development initiatives: there’s an incredible amount of foreign aid & funding on offer, with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) being a main contributor. This funding brings with it many American/European “career consultants”, who seemingly get initial experience here and then get directed back here time & time again, thanks to their expertise and familiarity. One such consultant joked to me that Jordan was “the vortex” (funny, as I’ve referred to Bolivia as the vortex, too). Re: the development consultancy thing, I'm going to be jaded here and say that: while everyone wants to help the poor and destitute, so few are willing to live like them (and so, you become a consultant...). The local NGO network is also quite strong. I’ve been keeping busy with a project at the YEA (the Young Entrepreneur’s Association), which lobbies for structural change to improve the business environment for start-ups and SMEs. It’s given me excellent perspective on just how much grassroots development initiative is taking place here (and just how much these guys compete for resources).
Now onto one of my favorite topics: FOOD! So, I think I was spoiled in Dubai, where there were many cheap & cheerful establishments with enjoyable, sit-down environments. It seems that in Amman, what you pay for is atmosphere. You’re also pretty much limited to generic European cuisine and Arabic food, save a few exceptions. There still aren’t many places where you can get alcohol with your food though (Islamic religious law, sharia, prohibits the consumption of alcohol), unless it's a pricey place, or a franchise (and there are alot of those: Schlotsky's, Houston's, Popeye's, Bennigan’s...I could go on). In liquor stores, alcohol is quite expensive due to heavy taxation. Jordanians have a serious sweet-tooth: copious amounts of sugar are used in everything. For example: in baklava, in kanafeh (delicious but intense – first-timers should try this at the infamous downtown “Habibah's”), in the tea (standard black, or sage) and Turkish coffee (on offer practically anywhere). One of the first things I learned in Arabic was to say schwei, which means “only a little”, when I ordered my hot beverages. Actually, I don’t know if it’s that they overuse sugar here, or that the Western world has demonized refined sugar so much that I feel I’m doing something seriously bad by consuming sugar at all. But there you have it. Contrary to what I would have thought, falafel & hummus are a morning thing (first-timers should try this at the infamous downtown “Hashem’s”, but you can also get a falafel & hummus smeared sandwich on the street anytime between the hours of 9 am -2 pm. The same goes for zaatar-smeared pastry). The ubiquitous shawarma (meat wraps) are particularly tasty in Jordan, as they make use of a stretchy flat bread (called sha'rak), instead of boring old pita (first-timers should try this at “Reem’s” shawarma stand, on the 2nd circle near downtown Amman). The national dish, called Mansaf, is quite the feast: it consists of this same stretchy flat bread, topped with yogurt-stewed rice (mixed with almonds and pine nuts), topped with tender chunks of lamb, drizzled with more hot, curdled yogurt. You eat this with your hands, rolling it into small balls; then you flick it into your mouth with your thumb (see the photo below - where Hala & Dawn show Nick & I how Jordan rolls...ha, see what I did there?). Note: Mansaf should really only be consumed when homemade, as it’s a family thing and most of the joy comes from the sharing. Then there is arak, the local alcohol (ironic?), which is similar to Greek ouzo – it’s a digestive that tastes like anise seed, and turns white when you mix it with water. Last, but not least, I’ve found that any local dukan (corner shop) boasts all the Jordanian staples: pulses (nuts, seeds, dried & snack-able beans), dried fruit, pickles, and chili paste. And of course, I shouldn’t omit the incredibly delicious, nutritious labaneh - strained yoghurt (I am currently obsessed with this – it’s just so versatile...).
Other random things I’ve noticed include: the Middle East loves tissues. I swear, boxes of tissues are absolutely everywhere. People take out 5, 6, 7, 8 sheets whenever there's a drip or a spot or...whenever they feel like they should be holding tissue. Jordanians will, and do, smoke anywhere/anytime (my coworker just told me there are even ashtrays at his local gym), and are especially fond of narghile (aka sheesha). In fact, you can even order narghile to your doorstep for a whopping JD6 (roughly USD $10)- a guy brings it to you, with lit coals and all, only to return in the morning to pick up the borrowed equipment. There are a lot of foreigners studying Arabic in Jordan, most of which are on formal exchange schemes; but apparently there are even more of them studying in neighboring Syria. I don’t feel that Jordan boasts the most considerate or strategic of drivers...being a pedestrian has never been so amusing and indeed frustrating. And like Bolivia (yep, again), there is music blaring everywhere, starting with your taxi ride. On that, nearly all the taxi drivers I’ve encountered 1) actually know where Bolivia is (!!!), and 2) are all big fans of Evo Morales, for his recent display of solidarity with the so-called Arab world (when he booted out the Israeli Ambassador). Also, I feel like the UAE, Bahrain and Lebanon are universally recognized as the region’s “playpens”: economically they are more liberal, and I guess just generally more up to date with the times (on that, Lebanon seems to be the “sophisticate” of the gang, the bringer of cool and class). Amman's original name was Philadelphia (Greek for "brotherly love"). All the cool social/media events seem to be sponsored by Zain telecom (owned by Kuwait-based Vodafone), similar to what happens in Bolivia with Tigo (owned by Luxembourg-based Millicom). The mosques are lit with neon green lights. The fragrance of choice here is oudh oil, which is very smokey and potent, and incredibly expensive too. And lastly…can I just ask, could Queen Rania be any more perfect? I mean, I want to be like her when I grow up.
Ma as-salaamah, my friends. I leave you with a list of some must-see tourist stuff.
The Crusades: Ajlun, Karak, and Shobak castles.
Nature & wildlife: the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature protects numerous national parks, including the one at Dana (which gets a lot of buzz). Then there's Wadi Rum (amazing desert landscape from the classic movie "Lawrence of Arabia"; on the border with Saudi, still populated by the Bedouins), and Aqaba (Red Sea – some of the world’s best diving, this city is warm year round & much more laid back than Jordan's capital, Amman).
Roman ruins: Jerash (aka the Decapolis)
Religious pilgrimage: Madaba (oldest known Byzantine mosaics), Mt. Nebo (Moses’ place of burial, and stunning lookout point over all of the holy land) and Jesus’ Baptism site.
Ancient history: Petra (home to the Nabateans, Romans, Byzantine period, the Ottomans…only to then die out and be rediscovered in the 1800s by a lucky Swiss traveler)
Holistic experience: head for the Dead Sea (slather yourself in allegedly therapeutic mud and let your feet bob up next to your head - it’s so salty that you can’t even get your head beneath the water).
