Weeks 8 and 9: Beirut, Tala Bay, the end of Safawi and Israel

I have become negligent on the blog front, but the last few weeks have been crazy busy. Sam, Yasir and I had a blast in Beirut for my birthday, with one of the best dinners that any of us have had. Apparently, I actually like foie gras. Who knew? Our hostel was spectacularly located a block from the Mediterranean and the Corniche, a walkway along the sea. The three of us got to explore the Archaeological Museum, the American University of Beirut's (AUB) campus, especially interesting to Sam, who will be there in the spring. We also spent time in Hamra and Gemmayze, as well as wondering downtown. As beautiful as Beirut was, it was always startling for me to come across shelled out buildings next to the new luxury high rises; a constant reminder of the region's tensions. All in all though, a great weekend.

The next week of work, my last week, was a whirlwind. Completing the grant application was cause for celebration, but a lot of work in the last few days. We made it though, and I finally left Safawi for the last time. A very odd feeling, as I had started to consider the Badia my home away from home. Luckily, my last weekend did not leave room for sadness, as Sam, Yasir, Aysha, Leen, Dana, Noor and I headed to resort Tala Bay for a long weekend. With pools every ten feet or so, sometimes literally, and the Red Sea at our feet, it was a great weekend. However, the fact that a rocket headed for Eilat, the Israeli version of Aqaba across the sea, landed in Aqaba the day after we left was yet another reminder of just where I have spent my summer.

Now, the last portent of my summer has begun. I made the border crossing into Israel, an experience I will not forget soon, and am now in Jerusalem. Words really cannot describe this city, and I am perfectly situated in the Old City at the cross roads of the Muslim and Christian Quarters. The next week, my last, proves to be a perfect way to say goodbye to my home for the summer, and will only increase my want to return to the Middle East as soon as possible.

Week 7: Petra, Yasir's Birthday, Noor's Return, Bedouin Field Excursion, and Independent Projects.

This weekend held the big kahuna of tourism in Jordan: Petra.Now, everyone recognizes The Treasury from Indiana Jones, and Petra had been dubbed on of the new seven wonders of the world. However, NOTHING can prepare you for the experience that is Petra. Not only is The Treasury only the very beginning of an entire complex that takes at least an entire day to explore, but the chasms that are the walkway to the city are incredible. It was most definitely my favorite part of Jordan thus far, as the upwards of 200 pictures I took attest to. The only downsides of the entire day was the very early bus (6:30 AM) and the fact that I was sunburned through my t-shirt. One of my "you know you're very pale when...." moments. The rest of the weekend proved fun too, as Noor FINALLY returned from her European tour (as I have decided to call it). Also, Yasir's 19th birthday was the 19th, so we duly celebrated with excellent Italian fare and red velvet cake. Coincidentally, the 16th was also Ravyn's 20th birthday, and we are now in that awkward five day stage where we are the same age. So, of course, I had to giver her a shout from the Middle East. Also, the evening following my day at Petra concluded with a party at Noor's friend Basil's house. Upon arrival, Sam and I were informed that Basil's next door neighbor is none other than Saddam Hussein's daughter. Interesting, and a bit weird. Now, our little troupe is planning out next weekend's activities, as it is my turn at a birthday weekend.

Upon arriving back in the desert, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was going to accompany Talal and the BRDC's newest researcher Kathryn, an ethno-musicologist from UCLA (who funnily enough taught at Pomona for a semester in 2005). I got to meet several Bedouin families, get up close and personal with a herd of camels and also share a watermelon in the shade of an oak tree next to an oasis in the Norther Badia Desert that stands alone, and legend has it was happened upon by the Prophet Muhammad and used as a meditation site.

Now, coming into my last weeks, I am beginning work on my independent project. I am considering writing a grant focusing on microfinancing in the Badia, kind of going along with the theme of using economic diversification and development as a way to help along sustainable rural development. We shall see how it goes in the weeks to come.

Week 6: Salt and Grant Proposals

This weekend was a bit less tourist-y than usual. Originally I was going to go with Talal to meet his family, but that fell through because of a last minute conference that Talal had to attend in Amman and prepare for. So, I trucked back to Amman without any plans, and a nonetheless eventful weekend ensued. My first stop was to satisfy my week long craving for a cheeseburger and fries (I know, I know), and so we (Yasir, Aysha, Leen and I) went to Whispers, a very good restaurant in Abdoun. The next day, Aysha invited us out to her family's farm in Salt for lunch, which was quite an impressive gathering. The food, as always, was delicious, and the view was spectacular. Unfortunately, as I did the time I went to the Haddad farm (also in Salt) I forgot my camera and was unable to document my surroundings. Rats. It was a great afternoon though. The rest of the evening was startling similar to my nights in Waverly, with Leen and I renting a movie and staying in. Then, the not so fun part of my weekend started. I have no idea how, but I came down with a slight case of food poisoning that lasted Saturday and Sunday. Now, compared to the food poisoning stories that I have heard I have NOTHING to complain about, I just remained in bed for a day and a half and was fine.

Now back at Safawi, the challenge has been to somehow evade the penetrating 115-120 degree heat. Not quite possible, but a noble goal all the same. Talal and I are finalizing our grant proposal surrounding gender equality in the Badia, with our final draft to be completed next week. A sure sign that time is slipping away from me, we have also begun discussing my travel arrangements for when I leave Safawi and head for Israel and Palestine. Only two weeks left!

The remaining weekends in Jordan are shaping up to be the most memorable. Noor is back in town (FINALLY), I am going to Petra this coming weekend, Beirut the next and Aqaba/Wadi Rum the following.

Week 5: Jerash, Azraq Wetlands and Women in Jordan Grant Proposal

It's July. Wow. As for work, Talal and I have moved on to an interesting new project, writing a proposal for a competitive grant that gives the recipient 30,000 JD ($45,000) for projects related to "The Learning Enhancement of Jordan's Women." As of right now, we are creating a proposal that incorporates the work already in place by the BCEE to include the local community of Umm il-Quattyn in the running of the ecological center, including a community workshop where traditional wears and handicrafts are created and then sold. We will see how it goes; the proposal is due at the end of the month. During the past week, a group of American students studying in Jordan through SIT for the summer visited Safawi, and I was lucky enough to accompany them to the Azraq Wetland Reserve. For centuries, the oasis has been a stopping point for travels moving between Africa, Asia and Europe, but unfortunately the water of the oasis has been irrigated away to the point that only 10% of the original wetlands remain. Now, they are protected but the damage has been done. Still, it was nice to see the remains of the area, and it was the largest amount of green I have seen in quite a while.

World Cup fever in Jordan has reached epic proportions. At the end of each game, the supporters of the victorious side will joy ride through Amman, honking and proudly waving the flag of their team. This is how I found out the results of both the Germany-Argentina game and the Holland-Brazil match. To make matters even more interesting, Sam left on Friday for South Africa to see a quarter-final, semi-final and the final game with his dad. Of course, this caused for due celebration (like we really needed another excuse to go out), and so Sam, Leen, Dana, Aysha and I went to dinner at a hotel that served food from the two restaurants found inside, one Japanese and one Italian. An interesting combination. My original plans for the next day were to go on a tour of Jerash, Umm Qais and Ajloun Castle, but unfortunately my tour was canceled due to lack of attendance. Luckily for me, Dana and Leen hadn't been to Jerash in quite some time, so we made plans to see the Roman ruins on Saturday. Having an entirely free Friday, Aysha, Leen, Sam and I tooled around Amman. Having my phone lost/stolen in a cab on the way to Leen's, I had to pick up a new one (luckily my number and credit transferred) and then the four of us cruised Amman in Aysha's convertible Peugeot. Tiniest. Car. Ever. But fun nonetheless. I also had the best sticky toffee pudding of my life, and saw Toy Story 3.

Despite the incredible heat at Jerash, we felt like we were cooking, the Roman ruins were ridiculously impressive. After taking in a reenactment of Roman battle formations, gladiator battles and a chariot race, Leen, Dana and I walked among the endless rows of pillars, incidentally patterned much like the scene from Hercules in which Hercules destroys the ancient Greek town (yes that's my point of reference). We eventually reached a Roman amphitheater used by the local Roman Senate that has acoustics that magnify all that is spoken on the stage. Pretty amazing. Later that day, I was able to attend Mass at St. Mary's and then interview Father Kevin, who gave me quite an interesting insight into life as a Catholic in Amman. Then, in my final hours in Amman I was treated to the best shawarma in the city, and boy was it delicious. Now, back at Safawi, I find myself planning my coming week once again. I think that I will try and attend church at the Anglican parish that is active in Amman to get another perspective of life as a Christian in Amman. We shall see.

Week 4: Madaba, Mt. Bebo, The Baptism Site, St. Mary's Church and website alterations/field experience

June is coming to a close, and with it my first month in Jordan. In Safawi, work remains mostly the same. Talal and I will continue to work on updating/revamping the website, as well as some other small projects. Apparently, I work much quicker than was expected, and so I will be able to start working on my independent project researching ecotourism techniques, much sooner than expected. Also, because we are working on such a good time schedule there is talk that this week Dr. Mustafa will take Talal and I with him on a "field excursion" out in the Badia. I really hope this happens, as I would love to see the ruins and water projects that I have been researching and hearing about. In particular, there is a lone oak tree that stands in the middle of the Badia known as the Bqeaweyah Tree, where supposedly Muhammad sat and meditated during the time in which Islam was being formed. Very cool.

This past weekend got off to a bit of a bumpy start, but then ended up working out fine. I once again stayed in Balad, which was great, except for when the hostel lost my booking request for a tour of Madaba, Mt. Nebo and the Baptism Site and of course the tour was full. Luckily, I met Muhammad, a tour guide from another hotel who was able to take me to the sites. First we went to Madaba, which I would guess is about 30-40km outside of Amman, and is famous for the mosaics that are collected there. St. George's Church and the Archaeological Park were both incredible, and many of the mosaics are in pristine condition. One mosaic at the Archaeological Park was the oldest in all of Jordan. After exploring the town, Muhammad and I continued on to Mt. Nebo, which with its panoramic view and connection to Moses was quite an experience. It is possible to look out on the Jordan Valley, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Amman's 6th Circle, and the mountains of the West Bank. Finally, we went to the Baptism Site, which I believe was my favorite part of the day. I met up with some other Americans, including a student my year studying at Columbia and spending the summer working in Amman because his father lives here. First, with the tour group, we went to what is believed to be the Baptism Site of Jesus. Now, the Israelis maintain that the Baptism Site is on their side of the Jordan River, but historical evidence gives more support to the Jordanian side. Right beside the Site are the remnants of three churches that were built to commemorate the site. Next, it was off to the actual river. Again, this was quite an experience, and it took a while to digest that the small, green line of water in front of me was the river so important to so many believers, and the land directly across the way was the West Bank. After the river, our part of the group snuck off on the advice of an American couple who had visited before, and because we separated from the group we got to see John the Baptist's Spring, and the caves where monks would stay as they made their pilgrimage to the Jordan River.

Finally, on Saturday Sam and I partook in some necessary grooming (we both needed haircuts) and later in the day went to Dubliners to watch the U.S./Ghana game with some of Noor and Sam's friends from ABS, Aysha and Leen (Yasir missed out as he is currently in Turkey on a family vacation). While a good game, Sam and I walked away disappointed, especially Sam who leaves on Friday night for South Africa and was hoping that he would get to see Team U.S.A. play.Also, in between the haircuts and the game, I finally got to meet with Father Kevin, the priest at St. Mary's Church in Swefieh. It was very interesting to attend Mass at St. Mary's. I witnessed a baptism, and noted that quite an interesting agglomeration of Arab Christians, expats and Filipinos. All in all though, it was another great week of work and travel. Next week I think that I am going to skip going to Amman and instead take Talal up on his offer and go with him to his hometown that is less than a kilometer from the Syrian border in Northern Jordan. We shall see.

Week 3: Desert Castles, Balad and Website Revisions

I knew coming into this summer that the time would fly by, but the pace is still quite alarming for me. I am entering my third week and am already starting to panic a little that I will be gone before I know it! The past week Talal and I completed out presentation for the website, and also dug up some information on an ancient Nabatean city that was also used by the Romans and still partially stands today. Umm il-Kutten was an ancient Christian community, containing at least four churches and a monastery. I am still surprised daily when I keep realizing that the earliest Christian civilizations are from the Middle East, and then I kick myself for not putting two and two together. This week, Talal and I are looking for ways to improve the portents of the BCEE that have not been updated in a while, so we are looking to update the information about the animals held at the ecological center, as well as the history and information for potential school groups or researchers interested in coming to the BCEE. Most of the staff here is on vacation, so camp is relatively empty. Tonight, Talal took me on a tour through the camp now that the sun has gone down and it is no longer 100+ outside. The stars here are amazingly clear, but as I am on the other side of the world the constellations seem to have moved on me.

This past weekend, I stayed at a hotel in Balad, the City Center of Amman. Much different than Abdoun, Balad was quite a fun experience. The hotel was perfectly located, and I could walk to the Roman Amphitheater and the Citadel, both of which I did. I also took part in a desert castle tour through the hotel, and along with three other travelers we visited Qasr al-Hallabat, Qasr al-Harrana, Qasr al-Azraq and Qasr Amra. Lukas and the two other guys, I never did catch their names, were from Germany, Holland and Poland. I was intrigued to find out that they had taken a gap year between high school and university to volunteer in Northern Israel. Like me, they had been spending there weekends traveling the Middle East, and gave some great travel advice. The castles themselves were quite amazing, and also quite remote. The oldest were some 1,500 years old. I also took some time to watch the France-Mexico (go Mexico!) game with Sam, Yasir, and Sam's friend Chris who was visiting for the week. Then on Saturday, Yasir took us to the Dunes Club in West Amman and we hung around the pool all afternoon for a lazy day. The funniest, and least politically correct, moment of the day was when we went to dinner at Houstons (we wanted burgers) and stumbled upon a new addition to the menu: Obama's Favorite Fried Chicken. Oops. Then it was back to the hotel, after yet another interesting cab ride in which the cabbie was a Palestinian man who spoke impeccable English that he had taught himself from watching tv. We discussed politics, and I he told me that he has been unable to return to see his family in Palestine for 20 years as he cannot get a visa. Another reminder of the reality of life for so many in the Middle East. Now, I'm back in Safawi looking forward to another week.

Week 2: The Dead Sea and BCEE website presentation

Now that I have been in Jordan for ten days, I have really started to feel like I have settled in. The second week of work has begun, and I can now say that I successfully navigated the bus system from Safawi to Amman through Mafraq, and I have been on my first real Jordanian weekend excursion: the Dead Sea. The lowest point on earth was a great way to spend a Saturday. As you can tell from the pictures, Noor, Sam and Yasir made sure that I had an authentic first Dead Sea experience, mud and all. Of course I had heard about the Dead Sea's unique capability of making swimmers float, but I did not anticipate having to fight the copious amount of salt just to keep from floating. All and all, the day we got to spend at the Mövenpick Hotel, Noor's suggestion and a great idea, was interesting and entertaining. To be able to look out across the Sea and see Jericho, possibly the world's oldest city, and the West Bank was unreal. The only complaint I think that any of us can harbor is that we had to make mad dashes from our beach chairs to the water in order to avoid second degree burns on the bottoms of our feet, but it was most definitely worth it. It was the end to a great weekend that included Books@cafe, Amman's version of Barnes and Noble but with a killer view of the city, and the World Cup (GO USA!). The weekend was also a send-off of sorts for Noor, who now leaves for an extended European vacation. She has promised Sam and I that she will not forget "her foreigners," and that we still have Aqaba, Petra, and Wadi Rum to investigate together before the summer is out. Back at Safawi, Talal and I are completing our presentation for the BCEE website, and are anticipating designing posters, pamphlets and possibly 3-D models of the animals at the ecological center. Also, our field station will add two researchers to our ranks this week, an American and an Australian. The coming week and weekend are set up to be just as entertaining as the last.