Mr. Hakel Goes to Market

NOTE: Our schedule hasn't allowed me much time so all grammatical/spelling/typos are intact. I think it lends to the authenticity of the recollections, don't you? You're right, I'm lazy. Anyway, sorry about that.


Blog 15 July 19, 2010
Hello from Amman, Jordan’s capital city. In about an hour our group will be heading to the United States for the morning. Technically, when you visit any country’s embassy you are legally in that country while on the grounds and in the building. So, for a few hours anyway, we’ll be back home. Sort of.
The sight-seeing portion of our trip has for the most part been completed. Two days ago, we drove up from Aqaba along the Jordanian-Israeli border to the south end of the Dead Sea. I was curious to see the differences between this shared border and the border to the North of the Dea Sea because the only difference would be the lack of the Jordan River, which flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. This country side while decidedly in a valley was amongst the most desolate I’ve ever seen. The road crossed several large dune fields. One area looked like stepping off the road meant instant death, but nevertheless the bus slowed to allow a shepherd to finish crossing the road with his flock of goats. I can’t imagine what the goats were grazing on. The only vegetation was the occasional bush the size a medium-sized pumpkin. I guess that’s what they ate then.
When we reached the south end of the Dead Sea we were able to see one of Jordan’s lone industrial pursuits. The Dead Sea on this end has dried to the point that it has become separated from the main body of “water”. It has been further segmented into what looks like large fields and the salt, along with other chemicals, is being harvested from the water.
At one point along the Sea we stopped for a close look at a pull out. Along the shore were large outcroppings of white salt. These were amazing to look at because of the crystalline structure that made it very interesting to see. I hope the pictures turn out, but we were a little far away.
A few minutes later, we were in familiar territory as we drove past the area we swam in last week.
Yesterday in Amman, we visited the Roman citadel that has been preserved and partially reconstructed. The most fascinating activity yesterday though was visiting the market area in the old city. There were plenty of tourists wondering in and around the streets, but this was by no means a tourist set up. This was discount stalls next to high fashion and a gold store next to a shop selling freshly crushed sugar cane juice. This stall had a line waiting for service. The vegetable and fruit market was piled high with items both familiar and exotic. From the largest watermelon I’ve ever seen to cactus fruit being sold in piles on the side walk. An old woman selling cigarettes from a blanket arranged on the ground. You could buy the pack or just one at a time. A butcher shop with half goats hanging in the windows and two severed cow heads complete with tongues hanging out. I was surprised the cows were able to maintain that contented look giving their current circumstances. Fresher meat was available as well. A cage full of relatively peaceful chickens sat next to a cage full of decidedly unhappy ducks. The people wore a mixture of western and eastern clothing. The greatest variety was amongst the women. A large minority wore western dress, most wore the full length robes, most black. Occasionally, robes of different colors appeared. The most variety was seen in the types of head covering. The women who stood out the most wore a black head-covering that exposed only their eyes. In Jordan I have not seen any women wearing a full face covering, or burka. Common in Amman are the white coverings that seem to make a women’s face look like a full moon. I did not see this covering much in the rest of the country. Finally a large segment of women use colorful scarves in a variety of styles to stay in tune with the customs of this country.
Most conspicuous of all in this cacophony of color, smells, and car horns was the 46 year old foreigner walking down the street with his camera in hand and fanny pack on his waist. I suppose I was stared at some, but I did feel very, very obvious. Sometimes that’s a good feeling, but here I wished I could have blended in a little better. The black shorts I was wearing were a dead give away. My ball cap and shirt were ok, but I didn’t see another man besides members of our group wearing shorts. I did make a couple purchases. I got a watch for 12 JD when he opened for 22. I bought a couple of books for school. One is about the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and it is written in Arabic, English and Spanish. The second is a Harry Potter, or as it would be pronounced in Arabic, “’arry Botter”, book in Arabic.
I also bought a traditional Bedouin Men’s robe that is bright white, long-sleeved and hangs to the ground. I’ll be purchasing some other items for my students that will have them dressing the part as well.
Finally today we visited three different museums. In one of them I was able to see, with my own eyes, several large fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We also visited the Jordan Musueum of Fine Art, which was interesting because art is not a part of Islam. Dinner was in an old, old residence that was built of stone vaults that gave us the feeling of being far underground in a cavern. It was a lavish buffet with maybe a hundred different items on it. We ate very well and the company was good. We also said “Good bye” to our friend, Ibrahim, who had been our in-bus guide for the last ten days. Ibrahim also brought two of his children to the meal, which made it more special.
Off to the Embassy.

Salaam,
Lane/Dad/The Sheikh;)