Upupa epops/هدهد

Finally got out of the city yesterday and went to Umm Qais, in the northernmost part of Jordan. It is well-known for its Roman ruins (more amphitheaters, columns, etc.) but it was also formerly known as Gerasenes, the town where Jesus once exorcised demons from a possessed man and threw them to a herd of swine who ran madly into the sea (presumably the Sea of Galilee, which is near Umm Qais, beyond the Golan Heights).

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%205:1-20;&version=NIV

The beige, treeless mountains are the Golan Heights. Recognized and claimed as part of Syria, it is still controlled by Israel. It was clear that the dispute over the Golan Heights comes mainly from its strategic location between Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and Jordan. Beyond that is the Sea of Galilee and on either side and in the valley is Israel.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7483308,35.678157,11z

More Roman ruins...

One of the best parts of the trip was being somewhat near nature. Instead of only seeing pigeons and House Sparrows, I spotted Crested Larks, Kestrels, a Hoopoe, a Palestine Sunbird, and a gorgeous Woodchat Shrike that makes North American shrikes look dull in comparison. I was so happy to see the hoopoe. It is one of the most symbolic birds in the Arab world. It is also the national bird of Israel and is definitely in the running for being my favorite bird.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoopoe#Relationship_with_humans

The only bird I was able to photograph was the Crested Lark, looking over the Sea of Galilee:

Past all of the ruins was an Islamic graveyard with about 100 graves, all of which were quite recent. The headstones did not include any details about the deceased other than their name, date of death, and the phrase "We belong to God and to him we shall return." The graves themselves had flowers planted on top of them, and some of them were quite beautiful.

A few days ago a cat and her kitten have taken up residence on our front porch. They're completely feral and won't let us touch them, but we gave them some food anyways…

6/15

My overall hatred of spectator sports is being seriously compromised by how awesome the World Cup has been. I've actually only watched a couple of the matches (including the one between Holland and Spain), but it's been better than I could have expected. There's nothing like hanging out at a chill bar or cafe, smoking narghile, having a beer, and getting really into the game with everyone else in the room. I always pick the underdog team because, typically, everyone here roots for the same countries. When Holland slaughtered Spain, I was probably the only one happy about it. Unfortunately, a lot of the matches take place in the late afternoon in Brazil which is very late at night here, so I won't be able to watch most of them.

I had my first language partner meeting today-- a weekly 3-hour-long meeting. Luckily my language partner, Muhammad, seems really interesting and interested in everything. When I ask him if he's heard of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he tells me all the novels of his that he's read. When I tell him how much I love Salvador Dali, he shows me his favorite painting of his and has me explain the symbolism behind it. He's seemingly really interested in different religions, though he says he's not religious himself. He asked me all about different excerpts from the Bible, but he clearly knows more about Christianity than I do. Luckily, he likes pool, ping pong, and tennis, so those, along with watching the World Cup matches, will probably take up most of our meetings.

Tomorrow I plan on going to the American Embassy to apply for a second passport. I never thought it was possible to legally hold two valid American passports, but under special circumstances it is allowed. My 'special' circumstance is that I want to visit the West Bank as soon as possible. It's fairly simple going there by car or bus without entering Israel, but once you cross into the West Bank from Jordan, you get an Israeli stamp in your passport. Supposedly Israelis will stamp a separate page if you request it but I can't risk them stamping my actual passport. Once they do, that would eliminate the possibility of me traveling to Lebanon or, more importantly, Yemen, or any other Arab country aside from Egypt, Morocco, and, obviously, Jordan. Because of this situation, I should be eligible for a 2 year temporary passport, which would be reserved for travel to Israel and Palestine.

And finally, there's nothing like looking at kayak.com and seeing that a round trip flight to Beirut is only $250. Given my three day weekends, I'm sure this is something I'll take advantage of. My freedom and my proximity to all of these places where I've wanted to be for so long is overwhelming. It hasn't really sunk in yet that I'm in Amman and will likely be in this region for over a year.

'Lamp Spleen and Smocked Turkey'

I’m in the middle of my three day weekend now and even though I feel like I’m not really busy, I’m nowhere near being bored. Despite all the complaints I heard about Amman being a boring city, there seems to be endless activities here--movies, performances, art exhibits, everything. In the past few nights I’ve gone to a film festival, attended an incredible concert (المربع), visited the huge weekly souq in the city center, and hung out at a bar to watch the first game of the World Cup. 

As one can see, the souq is a complete sensory overload. It is in a square outside, covered with tarps and pretty much like a flea market. The majority of it is clothes, new and used. I think of it as a hipster's dream--there's everything from Korean military jackets to European scout uniforms, complete with all the badges, to absurd decorations and lots of '80's fashion apparel. 

While leaving the souq last night, I had one of the more unnerving experiences a foreigner can have in another country. When we crossed the street we heard a huge explosion a block or two away and felt the ground shaking beneath us. All the car alarms around us went off and we saw smoke billowing out from the highest buildings. Within seconds we were relieved to see colorful fireworks being shot off the roof of a tall building, possibly for a wedding. We ran to the highest area we could find to film and take pictures.

Classes have been great. My professors are really enthusiastic and the material is right at my level. My Modern Standard Arabic class is centered around discussions of controversial topics, meaning that the professor wants us to argue with each other, meaning that it’s pretty much the perfect class for me. He is also really intent on us learning common Arabic idioms, which also leads to interesting and abstract conversations around questions like, “Do the ends always justify the means?”. Using this type of language and having discussions like that is exactly what I need, so I can speak in Arabic about more abstract ideas. 

And finally, here are some pictures of my neighborhood and view from my porch:

Orientation

No one seems to be amused by the same things I am. I could feel the other students cringe when I laughed and whipped out my camera to photograph the creepy lingerie mannequins. I don’t want to be one of ‘those’ people, but I just can’t help it when something as perfect as niqab lingerie is in front of me.

We had another interesting, lengthy conversation with Abu Barakah tonight. We, or really he, talked about everything--from how the Yemeni dialect is the most pure form of spoken Arabic (the first time I’ve heard a non-Yemeni claim this) to how Shi’a Islam is “not really Islam.” It struck me how Sunni criticism of Shiism is so similar to Western criticism of Islam is general, or really any culture’s criticism of the ‘other’: ‘They’ don’t practice a legitimate religion, they don’t treat their women well, they are terrorists, they are savages, and above all they are nothing like us. To clarify, he and many Sunnis, do not consider Shiism to be a part of Islam. Judaism and Christianity are much more similar and acceptable according to them. As Abu Barakah said, “the only difference between Christians and Muslims is that Christians believe their prophet is the son of God. That’s it.”

We had our orientation today. It was short and simple. There was practically no mention of the situation in Cairo or the likelihood of some students moving there. I have a feeling it won’t happen and the more I hear about Cairo, the more unsure I am if I even care. There is no way I could turn down the chance to live in Cairo, but Amman is just so easy and comfortable. I was walking alone around my neighborhood and along some busy streets and I barely got a whistle and a couple stares. The only catcall I got, if you could even call it that, was one guy who looked at me and yelled, “Fuck you, black man!” (In English. I have no idea what he thought he was saying).

I’m finding it hard to photograph a lot of things in Amman. Even though some streets have struck me as really pretty, the atmosphere can’t be captured. A lot of the houses and apartment complexes look fancy and modern in some ways but also resemble compounds. Because of all the hills, one can often get peeks of the other side of the city on the horizon, but it’s nothing worth taking a picture of. Hopefully when I go to the citadel, I will get some good views. In the meantime, the best thing about walking around the residential neighborhoods are the strange and fragrant flowers all along the sidewalk.

Jabal Amman and Wast al-balad

I arrived in Amman less than 48 hours ago and it already feels like home. I was fortunate enough to find a large apartment in Dahiyat Al-Rashid, close to the institute, and move in less than a day after arriving.  My bedroom is huge with a bunch of closet space and a vanity/dresser. It has a large window that opens onto the garden. The main downside to our place is that it is dark. Even though there are windows, the awnings outside keep much light from getting in. But the lack of sun exposure is necessary since we have no A/C. The apartment is a very comfortable temperature. The first night I spent in a hostel in the center of town and paid 7 dinars for a barebones room with a window facing a mosque that was blaring incomprehensible sermons for hours on end. I went to Hashem's Restaurant, one of the most famous in Amman, and had the best hummus and falafel in my life. I wandered around downtown, saw the Roman amphitheater in the dark and many street cats rifling through all the trash.

I feel so fortunate to have the landlords that I do. They are a lovely Palestinian family that lives next door with two boys and two girls. They repeatedly tell us that they are there for anything that we need-- and they clearly mean it. Yesterday evening my two roommates and I sat with them in their picturesque garden, smoking hookah, drinking tea, and explaining the difference between Mormons and the Amish.  The father, Abu Barakah, lived in Germany for 46 years and is fascinated with religious diversity in different western countries. It is clear that he and his wife, Umm Yahya, have so many interesting stories and I look forward to getting to know them.

My roommates and I explored a few neighborhoods today: Jabal Amman and central Amman. The two areas couldn't be more different. Jabal Amman is very stylish-- full of swanky cafes and shops with quiet streets lined with trees. It is the more Christian part of town, as we saw a few 'Bible Societies' there. We walked to the center of the city that is more bustling, has the fruit and vegetable souqs, and the historic sights.

Amman is more hilly than I expected, which allows a lot of opportunities to see across the city. 

And to give everyone an idea of the scenes left out of most pictures, here are the slopes at the foot of the panoramic views, packed with trash:

The highlight of my day was making my first real purchase in Amman. While my roommates were buying cooking supplies and practical household goods, I managed to nab some snake oil for one and half dinars! The same store was selling ostrich ointment to help cure rheumatism.

I'm 99% sure no animals were harmed in the making of either of these products. If actual cobras were used to make all the red oil I bought, it probably would have been much more expensive.

Here are some more pictures from the souqs:

Billboard of the king and his heir:

 And finally the Roman Amphitheater which was built in the 2nd century AD. It's huge and well preserved. Visitors are allowed to climb up the very steep stairs to the top. There is another, smaller amphitheater nearby, and many other Roman ruins including a Nymphaeum, which was a large bathing area, and many Roman walls and columns.

The entrance fee for foreigners in one dinar. For Jordanians, it's about 10 or 15 cents, making it a common spot to hang out with friends and family. There is a museum attached to the amphitheater than has a lot of Arab and Roman artifacts, including many beautiful, but poorly-lit, mosaics of plants and animals.

Here is the smaller amphitheater. I'm not sure how this was used differently than the large one. Presumably for more private performances. The larger amphitheater seats at least 6,000 people. The smaller one is probably around 1,000.

My orientation for the Qasid Institute is tomorrow morning, Monday is oral tests, and Tuesday will be my first day of classes. That is probably when my touring around will come to an end. 

So far I'm really impressed with Amman. I have encountered very few rude people so far (most are extremely welcoming and curious), and there has been minimal sexual harassment. The weather has been unbelievably nice-- warm and sunny during the day and a little chilly at night. I'm really looking forward to meeting my professors and the rest of the other students tomorrow.