Call to Prayer

I thought it would be too cliché to write about the Call to Prayer while in Amman. The Call to Prayer, or Adhan, happens five times each day and is audible from almost any spot while in Amman. I thought it was cliché, then I heard it.

I didn’t notice the Adhan until I moved in with my host family in Shmeisani. There are two mosques within walking distance of our apartment and one is only about a block away.

The Call to Prayer echoes through the house. It is one of the most captivating sounds I have heard. The recording of the call reverberates with some feedback on some of the words. In short bursts, some high notes sometimes carry longer than others. The Allah hu-Akbar is carried very long, with the l pronounced longest.

Aaaalllllllllllahhhh hu-Akkbaar

The call lasts for just around five minutes. And then minutes later, the closing call is made and the Adhan is over. The Call to Prayer calls Muslims to prayer and is a summary of the Shahada (the statement of faith): There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.

Each morning I have been woken up by the various pre-dawn calls to prayer. Usually between 5:30 and 6, before I roll over and fall back to sleep for a few more hours.

I am so happy I can hear the call from our house. Hearing reaffirms my belief in why I came to Amman.

The Most Dangerous Activity in Jordan: Driving

One of the rules in the student handbook from AMIDEAST is that students are not allowed to drive while in Jordan.

I didn’t give this rule much thought. I’ve gone to GW for five semesters and still haven’t driven a car in DC, so I didn’t think I would need to drive in Amman.

About a week before I left for Jordan, while driving with my Mom (shout-out to Mom!!!!) I said I sort of wanted to drive while living in Amman. I didn’t mean it with much seriousness, just the idea that it would be cool to say I drove in another country once.

After two weeks in Amman, I can say this with absolute confidence: I no longer want to drive in Amman.

And it only took a 25-minute drive from the airport to the hotel where we stayed during our orientation for me to reach the conclusion that driving in a car will be the most dangerous thing I do in Jordan.

The driver was aware and I never felt like I was in immediate danger, but after five minutes I noticed that we were driving in the middle of two lanes. The lines on the road seemed to be a mere suggestion for where to drive, not the rule of the road. Cars in front of us would shift from the middle of the road to the right lane to make room.

But do not worry. I will not be taking too many risks. I will only be taking a taxi at least twice a day for the next four months. The danger lies not due to the lack of skill of the taxi drivers, but the overall disregard to the rules of driving by everyone in Amman.

Now, this may be too harsh on Jordanian drivers. In my limited exposure, it seems the rules aren’t so much disregarded as nonexistent, specifically the concept of right of way. If you are not occupying that space with your car, anybody is free to cut in front.

This is most apparent at the many traffic circles in Amman. For readers familiar with Towson, the circles are about the size as the Towson Traffic circle, and cars are 50-1,000 times more likely to get into accidents. The drivers are constantly inching out into the circle with no concept of yield cars come within inches contact.

(The only rule that seems to be followed is the red light camera at one intersection near where I am living. Yesterday I learned from a taxi driver that running a red light at the intersection carries a 100 JD fine, about 140 USD.)

The reason I say that driving will be the most dangerous thing I do in Jordan is 13 days ago I almost died.

I was with three peers in a taxi coming back from a scavenger hunt around the city. I was sitting in the front seat. (In Jordan, if you are traveling alone you sit in the front seat of the taxi, unless you are a woman and you sit in the back. It is not suggested that women sit in the front seat of a taxi and only should do so if they are traveling four to a taxi.)

(One other side note on taxi’s: Street names in Jordan are not commonly known. And by that I mean nobody knows the names of streets not even the taxi drivers. So in order to go anywhere, you have to describe where you are going with a landmark and then give the driver turn-by-turn navigation to your destination. To go home I say, “Shmeisani 7/11.” Because the only 7/11 in Amman (even a knock-off 7/11)  is known by every taxi driver.)

Traffic was slow and it was rush hour on a Wednesday afternoon. Scores of cars in the four-lane road were stopped at the red light. Suddenly the taxi driver, with an annoyed look on his face, looked behind him and swung the car from the left lane to the wrong side of the road.

He floored the accelerator and shifted into 3^rd gear as we passed about 50 cars and covered 250 feet while I remained (on the service) extremely calm. On the inside, I was screaming like a little girl. Then like nothing was out of the ordinary, he cut back onto the right side of the road before the oncoming traffic’s light turned green.

I was out of breath, I was sweating, and I was trying to remain calm.  I didn’t say a word to him. Afterward while he apologized I said (without thinking) “Nah, do what you gotta do bro.”

Since that incursion into possible mortal danger, the rides have been much less eventful. (Well, aside from one on Monday in which the driver was exceptionally skilled at driving while talking on the phone, drinking tea, shifting gears, and changing lanes, while steering the car with the inside of his left thigh. But I did not fear for my life because I had my eyes closed.) The drivers have been nice, courteous and are very willing to chat.