Jordan June 21, 2008

After a quick breakfast, we piled on to the bus at 8:30 with about half of the Jordanian youth. As we headed north to Jarash we watched the beautiful, fleeting scenery pass by. Upon our arrival at Jarash, we met up with Father Nabil and headed into the visitor building to begin our guided tour. I soon discovered that Jarash is a modern city built around the ruins of an ancient roman city. This ancient city included a market place, temples (that were later converted to churches), roads, and my favorite, an amphitheatre. The marketplace was a large circular area surrounded by decorated columns. The temple consisted of partial walls and stairs in addition to columns. The amphitheatre, open to the sky, housed a large stage and backstage separated by arches and walls. Facing the stage is a huge seating area of stone steps and benches, set on a steep incline and reaching great heights. From the top of the seating area, I could see the gorgeous view of modern Jordon in the background of the ancient roman buildings. This juxtaposition of old and new creates a really interesting and uncommon visual. One could stand at a certain spot in the very center of the theatre, between the stage and the seating area, and create an echo. While visiting the theatre, a group of musicians played while some of us joined the Jordanians in a simple circle dance. The spectacular design of the amphitheatre conveyed to me how much appreciation and respect this ancient culture had for the performing arts.  The tour guide shows us that one of the columns was moving by sticking a metal key in its crevice. We watched as the key moved seemingly of its own accord.  I found Jarash fascinating because of the way its elaborate architecture, built so well that some of it is still standing, as well as the functional layout of the city, revealed how intricate the ancient Roman city was. 

After walking outside in the heat at Jarash, we were relieved that our next stop was an air-conditioned school auditorium. It was there that we met the Minister of Education. He along with two of his assistants, Father Nabil, and Janet sat in a panel style seating on the raised area. The Minister of Education first discussed the recent establishment of a compulsory school system for children fifteen years of age and younger. He went on to discuss, with much pride, the Jordanian royal family and the role of Jordan as a peaceful country in the Middle East. As the minister spoke in Arabic, Father Nabil translated it. This sometimes made the speech difficult to understand, but it made me recognize the importance of understanding that translation is not an exact science. While listening to the minister, his audience was offered hot chai tea. This was one of the many examples of Jordanian hospitality I have experienced since my arrival in Jordan. After the minister finished his speech, father Nabil asked Nazeela and Andrew to speak about their experience in Jordan thus far. They both spoke eloquently about their positive experiences here. After taking a group photo with the minister we proceeded to tour the Girls School next door.
We piled back onto the bus and soon stopped in a shady spot on the side of the road for a picnic lunch. Following our delicious lunch we headed to a medieval castle. The castle was architecturally beautiful and thee rooftop provided a fantastic view of all of Jordan. By the time we were done at the castle, we were all exhausted, and fell asleep on the bus on the way back to the hotel. It just so happened that one of the Jordanian girls had her birthday that day, and another would be having hers’ soon. We threw them a little party in our hotel lobby and gave them each a cake. This birthday party provided us with a learning experience about Jordanian culture. It is a tradition in Jordan to cut out the center of the cake for the birthday girl for her to wish on. The surrounding pieces are cut out for the other guests. It was a lovely celebration to end an exciting day of site seeing.