Last Friday, myself and six other AMIDEASTers decided to take a day trip to Umm Qais and the ruins of the ancient town of Gadara. Umm Qais is in the absolute northwest corner of Jordan and from the ruins of Gadara we looked north at the Golan Heights, east at Lake Tiberius, and northwest, but beyond our view, towards Damascus.
The weather in Amman on Friday morning was cloudless, with negligible breeze, and mild, but with no clouds, the temperature will not remain mild for long. The visibility is incredible with no haze in Amman at around 9:30 and we hoped for good visibility from Gadara.
Amman in the early morning weekend hours, especially Friday morning (which is like Sunday morning in America), is deserted. Which is quite the opposite to weekday mornings which are exceptionally busy. The city is empty except for a few taxis and early risers as everybody sleeps late.
The silence in Amman on a Friday mornings is quite mindboggling as how could a city like Amman have every person on the same sleep schedule?
Not coincidentally, I am on the same sleep schedule. I normally don’t get out of bed until the mid-day call to prayer or around 12:40. (But only because of my attempt to further immerse myself in Jordanian cultural.) Normally Friday is when our host grandmother has made fresh hummus and I eat a plateful with bread and tea before lounging for the remainder of the afternoon. This is an aspect of Jordanian culture that I had very little difficulty embracing.
I am always blown away by drives out of Amman, especially when going north. We pass a group of twenty or so bikers in fancy biker uniforms zoom down the opposite side of the street, with a red pickup truck carrying a horse standing on the bed in chase.
After three cars in front of us get close together and the driver of the van we’ve hired honks the horn and gets a sliver of space in the left lane he puts the hammer down and we rumble down the road. I remind myself that I enjoy these drives more when I look out my window and not toward the road in front of us.
The north is hilly, which is not unlike Amman, but is completely different in the sparse population of much of the hills and the amount of open farmland. The north has the empty space that is scarce in Amman, a city of over two million and represents over a third of Jordan’s population.
The north is like Amman and unlike Amman. Houses dot the hills with minarets adding architectural flare to the simple stone houses that seemed to be the only approved design of northern Jordan.
The houses are two or three story stone squat houses. Devoid of originality they are all seemingly carbon copies of one another and the only thing different is the color some gray, some a sand type red, and others a boring brown.
They are very different from anything in American, but not different than most buildings in Amman. A touch smaller, but here they jut out from the landscape so aggressively and unlike the hills that you can see every one of them
When passing through towns, markets have trucks with produce overflowing and people walking around buying falafel and daily goods. The cars don’t park in organized spots and overcrowd the streets much like Amman. Pictures of King Abdullah are also prominent. His same smiling face is on signs everywhere, the only thing changing his outfit: military uniform, suit, or traditional clothing.
But unlike Amman while walking through the smaller towns and cities of the north the claustrophobia that characterizes Amman is not apparent. The air seems fresher and the sky even more blue.
Twenty or so minutes outside of Amman we pass trucks packed together in the grass on the side of the road. Set up in what looks like a trading spot for herders and farmers, sheep pack the beds of the pick up trucks. We bear right, away from the sheep, at a sign that says “Syrian Border.”
As we drive north, we chat about registering for classes for next semester, jobs and internships for the summer, and figuring out financial aid and paying for school. I find it incredible the number of hoops we all have had to jump through in order to get internships for the summer and the amount of competition for these internships, none of which offer any payment. (I should note that this isn’t a complaint about the unpaid internship position I accepted this week, but a comment on the struggles of young people.)
We arrive at the ancient ruins and part ways with our driver who is going to meet us in the parking lot after a few hours and after he attends afternoon prayers.
The ruins are quite interesting, as every ruin in all of the former Greek and Roman territories around the globe. Complete with columns, a well-constructed road, a theatre, and overlooking a beautiful landscape. It is your usual setup.
The main attraction today however is not the ruins, but the massive bloom of flowers that have come with magnificent spring weather. On top of that the view of the Golan Heights and Lake Tiberius and it is no wonder an ancient civilization chose this spot.
We explore the ruins and take pictures, but nothing at too much of a breakneck pace. The sun has gone overhead and despite our efforts to remain hydrated, it is another hot spring Jordan day.
After two hours under the sun, we reunited with our driver and head south. Dozing off from time to time as we head south. We pass more shepherds with their flocks of sheep, including one large flock with scores of sheep, a donkey, and a large camel slowly sauntering behind them all.
Once Amman comes closer into our view I am again amazed by the extent of the sprawl. Every hill is crammed with houses. There seems to be no end to how far the hills and Amman go. The city is now awake in the early afternoon. I already miss the openness and fresh air of Umm Qais, but am glad to be back home in Shmesani.
Three weeks left in Jordan.
Shawarma for Breakfast 