20 September 2011
Arjan- Amman Jordan
9:40 PM
Greetings,
Last weekend we took an SIT trip to As-Salt (fun fact: in Arabic it is spelled AL-Salt, but due to a random grammar rule you don't pronounce the 'L' and pronounce the 'S' twice instead, so in English transcription is is spelled As-Salt).
Salt is a cool little town outside of Amman that is not frequented by tourists. It was the first capital of Trans Jordan after the Arabs and British defeated the Turks and the Ottoman Empire. We started the day with coffee at the oldest cafe in Salt. After that we went to the archeological museum. I had already had about enough of archeological museums, but it was still nice to walk through. I like archeology and learning about ancient history in the area.
From the roof of the Archeology Museam. I just thought it was a cool shot.
After the museum we went to the downtown area to walk through the souk. Unlike the open-air markets in Amman, which are targeted at least in part toward tourists, this market was just for the locals. There were women haggling over the price of fresh produce, shoe makers and repairers, tailors, peddlers selling hard ware on carts, soap salesmen- all the things that local people need for their day to day living. It was nice to be so close to a place that was really used by everyday people.
A typical market stall
At the end of the street that holds the market was a shady park where groups of men were playing mangala, I remember my mom teaching me to play mangala one year on a family vacation in Minnesota. They were really friendly and offered to teach the boys how to play. I didn't know that the game was so old, or that it had originated in the region. Learn something new everyday.
Mangala in the park
After the market we went to St. Gorge's church. The church was built in the 5th century AD and is a religious landmark because St. George is said to have appeared there. The Saint's footprint is embedded in the rock inside the church (I took a picture, but it didn't turn out). The church was started in a cave and then added on. It was really neat, and the pictures do not do it justice. There were floor mosaics and beautiful icons, but because I wasn't allowed to use my flash not all of the pictures turned out.
Notice the cave like structure of the church.
When we left the church we walked down a steep hill (all of As-Salt is steep hills) which I ended up slipping and falling down and we went to the Jabar house and historical museum. This was one of the highlights for me. The house was designed in the last days of the Ottoman empire by a well known German architect, and King Abdullah the first used it as his headquarters during the Arab revolt and during the first few days of the Trans-Jordan mandate. The curator of the museum was really knowledgeable and spoke pretty good English. I pretty much followed him around like a puppy, because I was interested in the historical aspects of the house, and because I was afraid I would get lost in a group of 30 people. I think he really appreciated having someone who was so interested in history- asking questions and listening to his stories- not all college students are as nerdy as I am. I was so busy listening and learning that I didn't even remember to take pictures. Sorry.
We had lunch at a little restaurant next door where the owners borrowed a few members of our group to re-enact part of a marriage tradition that is specific to the area. The bride wears a dress that is made of 18 yards of fabric (holding the record for the worlds largest traditional dress) all sewn into one piece and then folded so that she can walk. My friend and neighbor Alexandra was lucky enough to get to play the part of the bride. (God help me if she finds out that I put this picture online).
Things got a little un-organized after lunch because we ended up at a boy's secondary school (men and women attend separate high schools in Jordan) that was the first school built after Jordan was established as a country. No one seemed to know why we were there, but one of the girls in my group had the idea to have the senior class practice their English on us, and we would practice our Arabic on them. We only had simple conversations about our names, where we were from, and what we studied, but it was interesting all the same.
We had afternoon tea at an outdoor cafe, and then pulled over on the way home to watch the sunset over the mountains, with a view of the Jordan River valley. It was a beautiful and peaceful way to end the day.
I loved getting out of Amman for a little bit, and wandering around a different city, but one of the highlights for me was getting to talk to my Arabic teachers- Rima and Noor- outside of a classroom setting. I'm less scared of Noor now, and they are both real cool chicks. Also, it turns out that they are cousins and best friends. Who would have guessed?
Mas-Sallama!
B
No comments:
Post a Comment