Sunday, March 23, 2014

Authorized Access Only

I had an amazing opportunity yesterday. Due to a cancellation of a previous day-trip I had signed up for, I was offered to go with another group of Americans (not the ones in my program) on their trip. This went from an Eco-Park, to two restricted military zones, to UnQais. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I'm grateful that I took it! First, we stopped at the Sharhabil Bin Hasna Eco-Park. This is one of many parks run by Friends of the Earth: Middle East (http://www.foeme.org/), an organization that attempts to bring awareness and cooperation between Jordan, Palestine, and Israel in environmental matters.
The park is absolutely beautiful! It is located in the Jordan Valley, which is very, very lush. This area is in the ninth year of drought - imagine it after there is a rainy season! After that, we headed to the Peace Island (Baqourah), which is basically a place where the Jordan River meanders and leaves a small peninsula into Israeli territory. This is part of the land that was returned back to Jordan during the "land for peace" efforts. These areas aren't places that can be visited by the public - we were escorted and welcomed by the Jordanian military.
These are abandoned houses from what used to be an Israeli worker housing unit. Not too far beyond this is the "old" border, marked by degrading and rusting barbed wire fences. Surprisingly, the "new" border looks less intimidating than the "old" one, thanks to the Jordan River being the dividing line, we were in a restricted military zone, and modern technology not making big fences or constant patrols necessary. We visited another base and were able to view the Sea of Galilee. It was absolutely beautiful! It is completely within Israel-proper, so not quite easy to visit. The General was pointing out to us the difference between Palestinian towns and Israeli towns, as well as which areas are occupied Palestine/Syria instead of Israel-proper. After the bases, we went to UmQais - a popular tourist destination. It is in the North-West corner of Jordan, close to the borders of Syria and Israel/Palestine. It's an ancient Greek city, around 3rd C. BCE, on top of a very steep hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. Around 30 BCE, the Romans took over the city, and by the 2nd C. AD Um Qais boasted the longest aqueduct in the world (which you can still see remnants from). During the 8th C. AD, a large earthquake ruined the city and it was abandoned.
Fun fact: Historical accounts suggest that this is the city that was mentioned in the Gospels where Jesus drove the demons out of the men, into a herd of swine, and into the sea.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Mohammad Abdo at the Gym.

Well, I've been wanting to write a note about the gym for a few weeks, but the women this morning definitely gave me a reason. First of all, I would advise anyone who studies in Jordan to get a gym membership. It's not that expensive, ask for a student discount, and you get to take hot showers with excellent water pressure whenever you want. I mean, still be considerate of how much water you use, but it's definitely worth it. Second, I go to a women's only gym. It looks like a typical gym, and upstairs there is a salon. After a little bit of time, I began to notice some differences. For example, some of the older women bring a thermos of tea to work out instead of a water bottle. Also, every American athlete's nightmare: nobody stretches. Not before they work out, and not after. I've become friends with a couple of the women who always work at the same time as me. The gym is almost more like a social club than a typical gym - there is constant conversation on the machines, especially the treadmills. Which brings me to today. I hop on the treadmill and start running - the lady that is normally next to me isn't there, so I was reading while I ran. Two women came in - talking about wanting to marry Mohammad Abdo. He's kinda sorta like the Paul McCartney of Arabic music (especially in the Gulf). "I would marry Mohammad Abdo" "In Jannah habibi" "Turn on Mohammad Abdo!" *Mohammad Abdo song comes on* *halfway through gets turned off* "Whyyy? Why habibiti? Come here, I'll sing it to you!" *Starts singing loudly* *another Mohammad Abdo song comes on* "Thank you, thank you habibiti!" Moral of the story: Mohammad Abdo is not good workout music. In the end, it's all about having fun I guess