Liz and Jim Patton

October 24, 25, 26

Except for reading Queen Noor’s book a few years ago, I never knew anything about Jordan. Turns out, it’s action central in the Middle East, and has been critical to events here for the last hundred years. I’m sitting at a resort in Aqaba, on the Red Sea.  Israel and Egypt are clearly visible across the narrow water. The border of Saudi Arabia is 5 km from our front door. Jordan also borders Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, far up in the Northwest.

The Arab independence movement, led by Emir Faisal, his brother Abdullah and helped by TE Lawrence (as documented in Lawrence of Arabia) drove from Aqaba to Damascus during WWI, driving out the Ottoman Empire from the region. Their expectation from this effort, which helped the British in the War since the Ottomans were allied with Germany, was a free Arab nation “an Arab war, waged and led by Arabs for an Arab aim in Arabia” (Lawrence.) But there were many conflicting interests. Some land went to  Abdullah, but France and Britain became protectors of the rest of the Middle East, and the Balfour Declaration (1917) announced Britain’s support  for the eventual formation of a Jewish Homeland in Palestine.

Abdullah became king of Jordan when it was declared independent  in 1948. He was assassinated in 1951, then  succeeded after two years by his grandson King Hussein, who ruled until 1999. Hussein was a remarkable leader, who managed to stay neutral between the US and Russia, and who looked for compromises for the Palestine-Israeli situation during his rule.  In the 50’s, he suggested that the Muslim countries accept the Israel borders and declare peace. the other countries accused him of being an agent of Britain and refused. He allowed Palestinians to become full citizens of Jordan – the only Muslim country in the Middle East to do that.

Hussein was succeeded by his son Abdullah when he died in 1999. There are large pictures of the two of them everywhere.

Sites

There are a couple of really interesting things here. Jerash is the best example of a Roman city in the Middle East – preserved by the desert climate. The most fun, by far, was the Dead Sea. We stayed at a resort and were able to swim – or maybe float is a better word.  The Dead Sea is the lowest level body of water in the world. It’s salinity is nine times that of the ocean, so nothing can live in it, but everything floats in it! As you walk out, you can feel the buoyancy.  It’s important to float on your back, and not splash, to make sure no water gets in your eyes or mouth. But then, when its time to stop and go back in it’s virtually impossible to stand up. Like a turtle on its back, you keep struggling to get upright, then just roll back into position.

Petra is an amazing site – a canyon that snakes downhill for 4 km, its walls studded with amazing carvings of columns, animals and ancient religious icons. It’s heyday was the last 500 years BC, when the Nabateans used it as a burial site for their upper class, building the carvings and clever tunnels to divert and store water. The walls are striated with red, black and beige, and light plays dramatically down the narrow canyon. Fabulous!

Comments from Jordanians

–       [On Syria]  Over the years, Syrians were not to be trusted. There was a huge change when Fayez Assad died. He was only interested in the military, so technically they were way behind.  Bashir wants to build infrastructure, and has done much to bring the country up to date. Ten years ago, if a Jordanian went to Syria, sometimes he would never come back. You don’t hear about that anymore.

–       [On the First Gulf War] Saddam Hussein was in a difficult situation. There had    been an agreement among the Arab states on the cost of oil and Kuwait had undercut that. Saddam Hussein called the prince of Kuwait and asked him to stop underselling; the prince said no. Within 6 hours Iraqi troops occupied Kuwait. King Hussein of Jordan was trying to convince Saddam to withdraw, but Saudi Arabia convinced the US to come in. Kuwait gave money to Gorbachev/USSR to prevent them from getting involved, or from putting pressure on the US.

–       [What does Jordan want for Iraq today] They want peace. In general, Saddam Hussein was not popular in Jordan, but it is generally agreed that Iraqis need a strong leader. Hussein was such a person. It is not a country that would do well in a democracy.

–       [On women covering] The issue is not whether to wear a head covering or not. Covering the hair is a must for an Islamic woman.  The issue is whether the face and hands should be covered.  About 70 % of the imams interpret the Koran to say that only the hair need be covered.