The Ever Present Television

Here in Jordan, a television always seems to be turned on somewhere, tuned to the same Arabic news station, projecting images of death and destruction from Lebanon. From the largest department store in the more Western area of Amman, to the closet sized shops and falafel stands that are dotted all throughout the city, to the males only barber shop down the street from our apartment, televisions are on hand, set seemingly all day to coverage of crying parents, dead children and craters where neighborhoods once stood.

As an American living here, these televisions serve as uncomfortable, ever present reminders of the role that America is seen as having in yet another conflict in the region in which Arabs and Muslims suffer. America has already been viewed for years as being far too pro-Israel in the continuing struggle with the Palestinians, and then came the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now there is the war in Lebanon, where nearly one million people have been displaced, about 900 civilians have been killed as of today, and where large portions of the country have been devastated by bombing. Because of the close relationship between Israel and America, many Jordanians probably see America as being nearly just as guilty as Israel is for this new destruction. Whenever people here are thinking of Israel, thoughts of America are never too far behind.

And so when we pass a shop in which the man behind the cash register is watching a recap of the battles of the day, we wonder what he is thinking about America, and as a result, us. When we stop at the barber shop to ask for directions to a certain part of town--as Israeli bombs are creating clouds of smoke on the television behind us--we wonder what the people inside the shop are thinking. When we ask a man in the aforementioned large department store intently watching the latest news on the war on a bank of television sets if there was anything new--and receive a barely audible answer--we wonder what he is thinking. And when we pass by a restaurant not far from our home, and all inside are turned towards one wall, with their heads tilted upwards, eyes wide open and attentive--seemingly transfixed--we wonder. Is there a TV on that wall? Are they tuned in to the war too?

The War in Lebanon from Jordan

The war taking place in Lebanon and northern Israel is of course big news around the world. However, it is all the news here. In the past five days, the Jordan Times has published 53 stories on the war, with 14 of those coming yesterday. Every little shop or store with a television is turned on to war coverage almost continually. Homes probably are too. Annamarie was visiting a Jordanian friend the other night, and most of the visit was spent talking about Lebanon and watching the television for news footage. Also, television stations from around the region are broadcasting footage of the carnage in Lebanon set to Islamic and patriotic music--think MTV on a totally different level.

Other signs attest to the importance of the story in the region. For example, cedar tree decals--the cedar tree is the national symbol of Lebanon--are starting to appear on car windows as a show of support for the country. Also, a local cultural festival held for 25 years in the spectacularly preserved ruins of the 2000 year old Roman city of Jerash was recently postponed because of the war. With the Lebanese flag sharing space with the Jordanian flag at the top of the online announcement, the website for the month long event pronounced it was being held off "due to the current circumstances in the region."

During this time, many people have expressed their concern for our safety, with war waging not far from where we live. This is a common concern people have whenever a new explosion of violence occurs in our region. We are in no danger as far as our physical safety is concerned, however. Just as with the war in Iraq, though, we experience the impact that the war in Lebanon has on others through our day to day experiences here in Jordan.

For instance, we have an Arab Christian friend here whose family owns and operates a company that produces tissue and toilet paper, among other products. Several days ago their factory in Beirut was bombed by the Israelis and completely destroyed. Also, while standing outside of a travel agency a few days ago we overheard an American sounding man on a mobile phone telling someone that "bombs were falling all around" his car as he tried to escape to the Syrian border, on his way to Jordan. Inside, a travel agent told us she had been inundated all day with people who had fled Lebanon. A friend returning from a trip to Syria told us that it took her four hours to cross the border into Jordan because of the many Lebanese coming into Jordan through Syria. Finally, a recent article in the Jordan Times discussed the rising hotel occupancy rate in Jordan due to the influx of people fleeing the fighting in Lebanon. It reported that Five Star hotels here are now 90 percent full. Of course these hotel occupants represent just a small fraction of the people running from the fighting, as current estimates put the number of people displaced by the war at 500,000.

For our own part, we have been to Beirut, as well as some of the other areas in Lebanon being bombed, so it is a shock to us to imagine places and people we have visited being reduced to rubble. Two days ago came the news that an upscale Christian area of Beirut was unexpectedly bombed. We visited that area in 2000, and we went to a Starbucks there, which was a special treat after being in Jordan for a year and a half or so. I ordered a mocha, but they were out of mocha. Annamarie successfully argued for a free refill on coffee by saying that such refills were standard policy in America. Lebanon was a wonderful place to vacation, and we have good memories of our time there. There are long, beautiful beaches, snow-capped mountains, ancient ruins and modern pleasures and amenities, all wrapped into one, tiny country. It saddens us to think that some parts of that country are now modern ruins.

We are heartbroken to see the people of Lebanon suffer and we ask that everyone pray for this conflict to come to a peaceful end for all involved. We pray for those who have lost loved ones--both Lebanese and Israelis--and for those who are now refugees fleeing their homes.

Syrian Travels II

Here are some pictures from the Damascus portion of our trip.

Damascus is the capital of Syria and it's largest city, with a population of around five million. Like Aleppo, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with settlement in the area going back 5000 years. The old city is surrounded by walls like in the picture above. Originally built in Roman times, the walls have been destroyed and reconstructed a number of times throughout the centuries.

Nighttime in Souq al-Hamidiyya, the main souq in the old city. It was constructed in the mid 18th century.

A vendor in the souq selling juice in colorful style.

At the end of Souq al-Hamidiyya stand the remains of the 3rd century Roman Temple of Jupiter, an area now lined with juice vendors.

Two women in the large square just outside the souq.

Inside the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque, located on the other side of the square from the souq. The mosque was built in 705 AD, on the site of a church, which was built on the site of the Temple of Jupiter. According to Islamic tradition, it is here where the second coming of Jesus will take place.

A close-up of the main entrance to the inside of the Umayyad Mosque.

Inside the Umayyad Mosque.

The minaret, lit up at night.

Syrian Travels

Last week we returned from a trip to Syria, spending several nights in both Aleppo and Damascus. Damascus is about four hours from Amman, and Aleppo about five hours north of Damascus. We had been to Syria before, but this time we tried more purposefully to think about what it might be like to live there and what we might do if we moved there after language school. Here are some pictures from the Aleppo portion of our trip.

Inside the market--souq--of Aleppo. With a population of around 4 million, the city is Syria's second largest, and is one of the oldest inhabited cities on earth, with settlement in the area dating back at least 4000 years. Parts of the souq area--which is surrounded by walls inside the old city--date back to the 13th century.

Another part of the souq.

Inside the souq, Matt with the remains of a camel carcass.

Throughout the souq there are specific areas for buying such products as meat, textiles and spices. This is a spice pyramid in the spice souq.

Aleppo is famous for their soap, with soaps made from olive oil, honey, cinnamon and almond oil, for example. This is just a sampling of the different varieties that can be found in the souq.

This boy had just finished taking a picture of Matt with his mobile phone. Matt had several pictures taken of him on the trip.

The Great Mosque, just outside the city walls of old Aleppo. It was built in the early 8th century.

Right at the entrance to the old city was a video/DVD store, which played a locally produced movie of the Battle of Fallujah from the war in Iraq every day, and nearly all day. There was always a crowd of people watching--usually more than what is shown here--with great interest.

A cherry vendor on the busy street just outside the old city walls.

The entrance to the citadel, which is a fortified structure built on a man-made hill overlooking the city. It was built in the 10th century, and renovated in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Village Traditions

Jordan is a traditional society. Or, perhaps more specifically, Jordan is a country of traditions. For instance, just in the area of language, there are specific words and phrases it is appropriate to say when greeting people, when welcoming someone who has arrived safely after a long trip and when serving or receiving food. There is even a phrase that is used after a person receives a haircut. Also--as discussed in the previous post--there is the tradition of serving tea or coffee, which is part of a larger tradition of showing hospitality.

Although these traditions--along with many others--are of course evident in Amman, nowhere are they more visible than in the smaller towns and villages that dot the countryside. Annamarie and I have had the opportunity to experience this during our first three months in Jordan by visiting a small village of a few hundred people about an hour north of Amman several times with some friends. Some of the traditions in evidence there are:

THE GREETING
Exchanging kisses on the cheek--with those of the same sex--is an important part of most greetings in Jordan. However, in this particular village the greeting consists specifically of one kiss on each cheek followed by two kisses on the cheek on which the kissing began.

THE WATER
Upon arrival at someone's home in this village, a single glass of water is immediately brought out for the guests. This single glass is passed around and refilled until everyone has had their fill.

THE BEVERAGES
Soon after arrival, a beverage is brought out. As mentioned in the previous post, most times this is either tea or coffee. However, in hot weather, Pepsi, Coke or 7-UP is sometimes served instead. Soft drinks are also, though, sometimes served before coffee. In the village, we usually go around and visit many different families, and this means drinking a lot of tea and coffee. One day--which included visits to three wedding parties as well as visits to various homes--I drank a total of 11 beverages, all caffeinated except for one. This included four cups of Arabic coffee, three cups of tea, two Pepsi's, one Coke and one 7-UP. In case you're wondering, refusal to drink would be considered impolite.

THE PARLOR
All of this greeting, visiting and drinking usually takes place in a specific room of the house or apartment set aside for such activities called the parlor. In this village, this typically is a large, rectangular shaped room with cushioned pads for seating set around the entire perimeter, with cushioned armrests in between each pad. Perhaps if the family has a little more money, this room will instead be filled--and I do mean filled--with furniture. The picture below is an example of a parlor with furniture. The couches and chairs are arranged in the same manner that the cushioned pads would be.

THE MAIN MEAL
Jordan's national dish is called Mansaf. Served on a large tray, it consists of a huge bed of rice, on top of which is either boiled chicken or lamb, topped with roasted almonds or pinenuts, and a tart, watery yogurt. Although probably not common in Amman, traditionally people eat Mansaf by rolling the rice and chicken into a ball with their hands. The family we first met from this village has this meal every Friday. Below is a picture of Mansaf, as well as one of us and this family digging in with our hands.

These are just a few of the traditions of this village that we have come to know. Below is a picture looking out towards the Jordan Valley, taken on an excursion with the family above.