Chapter 1: Wherein the author details the start of her adventure in Jordan

Saturday, May 9, 2009

We were on the bus by 7am and made our way to the Allenby crossing. We made it out of Israel and into Jordan with minimal trouble, met our guide and Jordanian tourist policeman and made our way east and south to the top of Wadi Dana (pronounced like Donna). They have the second largest nature preserve in Jordan and are working hard to be eco-friendly. They have a collection of all the plants and animals that live on the reserve (like bug collections and a herbarium and all). That was really cool. I wish I could have seen everything, but there were too many people and we didn't spend much time there. It was a very exciting day for me, though. It's pretty much the only field study I've been on where any attention was paid to science of any sort (except some geology), so the biological factor of this day was especially fun. After that we drove to the camp, moved into our tents, and ate a rather odd lunch. It contained more "typical" food like flat bread with spices, goat's cheese, cucumbers, and a tomato, but it also had a juice box and a snack cake. Oh, Jordan. I think, though, that it was the first time I've ever eaten a whole tomato. I still wouldn't say they're my favorite food, but I've grown accustomed to them over the last year.

After lunch we took a nature walk - more science, yay! Our guide had grown up hunting in this area, but is now determined to protect the animals. He told us about the medicinal uses of various plants and found a couple scorpions for us to see. Very exciting. It kind of reminded me of the nature walks I used to do with campers, except the most exciting thing I showed them was how to eat ants. No scorpions at camp.

We threw my frisbee around for a while before dinner. It will be a widely travelled frisbee. Dinner was outside after dark. They had a bit of a shelter and a few lamps, but it was nearly impossible to see what we were eating. Oh well, it was pretty tasty and I suffered no ill effects. After dinner we hung out in the bedouin tent, drinking gallons of bedouin tea, talking, and playing games.

It was a fairly chilly night, but our tents were well provisioned with blankets, so I slept quite well.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

The next morning we breakfasted and rode back to the bus and then back to Dana village to begin our decent down Wadi Dana. I would estimate it was probably 6-8 miles. A nice walk, but not too strenuous, especially because it was downhill. However, if it were in the heat of summer, uphill, in full battle regalia (like Judah and Israel in 2 Kings 3), well, it would be a bit exhausting, and frightening.

It was, however, a beautiful walk. The sandstone/granite formations were beautiful and the oleander were blooming, what more could you want? I spent much of the walk listening to people more knowledgeable than I converse about various issues involving Israel, Palestine, the eastern church, and various related theological questions. It was quite enjoyable.

We arrived at the Feynan Eco-Lodge around 3, got our rooms, and were amazed by their luxury. However, we didn't take the time to relax just then. Instead we hoped on some "jeeps" and drove to the copper mines of Tom Levy's excavation. (Note: they seem to call every small 4-wheel-drive type vehicle a jeep. These were actually Toyata trucks, and we got to ride in back. Best day ever.) Many of these mines date back to around the 10th century BC. Copper mines. Perhaps they are the famed copper mines of King Solomon? They were fun to visit anyway. We also paused at the site of Feynan castle. Fun story about that place...ask me sometime. :)

The rest of the day was spent at the lodge, enjoying hot showers, playing mafia, eating amazing food by candle-light, and watching the stars. So far, so good.

Out of the wilderness

Just a quick update to all my faithful readers...actually...does anyone read this?  If you're out there, you're sure a silent bunch.  It's no fair that you get to read all about me and I never hear from you.  Drop a comment and say hi or something, ok?  :)

So anyway, assuming anyone reads this, here's my quick update.

I'm back in Jerusalem after 6 amazing, spectacular, beautiful, wonderous, and epic days in Jordan.  Here's some highlights:

~ Every night but one was spent in a tent or out under the stars.  

~ One shower the entire time...which was quite a luxury, really.

~ Lots of bugs - scorpions, spiders, ants, butterflies, and beetles.  I love bugs.  

~ Lots of rocks.  Mostly sandstone, but also some limestone and granite, and a few other odds and ends.  I love rocks.

~ Lots of plants, everything from one that cures diarhea to one that causes diarhea.  I love plants.

~ Lots of hiking: down Wadi Dana, up random rock formations in Wadi Rum.  Up sand dunes.  

     *Note 1: Hiking up sand dunes is not as easy as it looks.  Pretty sure that sand dune was the most exhausting part of the trip.

     *Note 2: I hear that part of the new Transformers movie was filmed at Wadi Rum.  I may have to see it just for that reason.

~ Lots of bedouin tea.  Hot and sweet.  Yum!

~ Lots of flat bread, lots of practice eating with our hands.

~ Very little electricity or running water.  Especially the last two days.

~ Lots of bus time, 4 times riding in the backs of trucks.  One trip by camel back. 

~ Lots of time to get to know everyone just a little better...before saying good-bye today and tomorrow.  

~ Lots of adventures, both big and small.  

~ Lots of sunrises, sunsets, wind, and sun.

~ Thousands of pictures.  Quite literally.  I will try to post some later.

Okay, I think that's enough highlights for now.  There's more, but I'll have to save some for future posts.  I'll be travelling on and off for the next few days, so it might take me a while, but I will try to post some stories and thoughts from this latest adventure.  Meanwhile, though, I should pack, hang out with people for the last time (*sniff*) and get some sleep. :)

Recent Events

Just a quick update on my life for the past week...and the future week...

This last week was finals week.  I guess that compared to some peoples' it really wasn't bad.  I had 2 take home finals, 1 paper, and 2 regular finals...so it kept me busy.  Let's see...  I probably wrote around 35 or 40 pages, double spaced, for all of those.  Not bad, I guess.   Today was my Archaeology exam - another 2 hours to answer (in detail) 7 questions on the Archaeology of the Holy Land from the Persian to Byzantine period.  Entire grade for the semester.  Just a little stressful.  Went as well as could be expected, I guess.  

Tomorrow....well, actually, today, in about 5.5 more hourse, I'm leaving for 6 day adventure in Jordan.  We get to sleep in tents and live with Bedouin.  It should be fun.  I'm sure I'll have a lot to report when I get back.  Until then... :)

Jordan, Day 3

November 15, 2008
Morning came early! But that was ok, because we were going to Petra! Have I mentioned that I have wanted to go to Petra for the longest time? And now I can say, having been there, “Petra Rocks!” I just wish all my students from Petra Academy could have been there with me.

Oh, and it was just amazing. I’m afraid I rather abandoned the guide. I’m sure he would have been very informative, but with the limited time, I really wanted to sort of experience it on my own. So some of us broke off and walked ahead – together, yet alone with our thoughts. It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring and the fulfillment of so many dreams, I almost even cried a couple times. It was hard to believe that I was actually there. And when finally the treasury came into sight and I was able to see in real life the image that is portrayed in so many pictures and movies…it was amazing.

There’s too much to recount, so I’ll try to summarize my favorite parts. After the treasury, Claire and I ended up together, looking for a bathroom. Once we found that we looked at the theatre and then headed off to the side to look at a tomb. On the way up there we saw Laura and Steven sitting with a couple Bedouin women and their beautiful children.
We went over and had tea with them. It was really delicious (I wish I know how they made it) and the wood smoke from their small fire reminded me of camp. (As a side note, it’s been chilly enough on this trip that I’ve been comfortable in long sleeves almost the whole time).
Next, we headed in the direction of the monastery. Of course, all along the way there were people offering us postcards, jewelry, and donkey rides, all for rather outrageous prices. Claire asked one man how much for a donkey ride, and ended up talking him down to 5 dinar (about $7.50, I think) for the two of us, which I think was a fairly decent price. It sure saved our legs a lot. He took us almost all the way up to the monastery, and it was really fun. Kind of like riding a short horse. With horses, my legs never hang past their belly, so kicking them isn’t a problem; with donkeys, I couldn't quite figure out where or how to kick. Not that I really needed to - a couple guys were following on foot keeping them going and making sure they behaved (we also didn’t have reigns). I’ve ridden horses in some pretty sketchy places, but it was still pretty intense to ride donkeys up stairs along cliffs (especially when the tried to race each other). It was really fun. (And my inner thighs -Sorry, Kimberlee, I mean, um, inner upper leg muscles - are going to be sore tomorrow!)
Once at the top we looked around in the monastery, Claire sang, and then we headed up to find a view. We didn't go to the highest point, but a guy who had apparently been all over pointed a different way that he said had the best view (and that Claire thought looked safer) so we went there. It was an amazing view. It kind of made me feel like I was on top of Monument again. We celebrated by eating apples and reading some scripture before heading back down.
We took our time on the downward journey, making a few stops along the way, continually admiring the geology and the architecture, and how well they worked together.

Eventually we said good-bye to Petra (*sigh*), ate a yummy lunch in town (they had salsa with jalapenos!), and then headed up into the heartland of Edom. Our first stop was at the Wadi Dana. It was quite a view, and not something I would like to have to climb up in decked out for battle.
It was really quite impressive. Next we went to the capital of Edom: Bozrah. It was interesting to read about Edom in the Bible. When you're there, its easy to see why the Edomites thought they were so safe. With the deep valleys surrounding thier fortress it would have been virtually impregnable.

Finally we headed to Karak (of Karak Castle fame, formerly Kir of Moab) for the night. We are in a small “rest house” on top of a cliff, right next to the castle. Oh, and we had bananas at dinner tonight, along with some amazing fried fish. Wow.

Back from Jordan!

And indeed, what a trip it was! We covered a huge area in only 4 days, a feat that was made slightly easier by the fact that they Jordanians apparently have no interest in excavating or keeping up Biblical sites and therefore not enough is known about them to keep us there for long periods of time. Rather a mixed blessing, I guess.

At any rate, here are my thoughts from the first day:


November 13, 2008, Amman, Jordan.

Hooray! My first time in Jordan! I don’t think I really learned or saw anything earth-shattering today, but it has been an interesting day, though not so much in terms of history or geography. Probably the most interesting thing to me has just been to observe the country – the towns, the people, and to see similarities and differences between Jordan, Israel, and home.

The day started out at the border crossing near Jericho. It had poured rain in Jerusalem shortly before we left, and apparently had even rained some in the rift valley. It was fun to see puddles still sitting and wadis flowing with small amounts of muddy water. I think it’s one of my goals to see a flash wadi flood (from a safe distance, of course), but for now I enjoyed actually seeing water in these wadis. Crossing the border went as smoothly as could be expected. I was amused by the mobile x-ray machine for our baggage as we entered Jordan. Security is definitely not as tight as at the airports back home. At any rate, we made it through, both the Israeli side and the Jordanian side.

Our first “real” stop of the day was as Deir Alla (not sure of the spelling?) which is thought to be ancient Succoth. It was supposedly in this area that Solomon molded metals in clay to furnish his house. Strangely enough, there is evidence of smelting here, dating to the 10th century. Not proof, but interesting. It is also the place where an inscription mentioning Balaam son of Beor was found. From there we could see the Alexandrium and the Wadi Faria. I personally was favoribly impressed with the vaious colored rocks they had. I've gotten a little tired of similarly colored limestones.


It turns out that the archaeologist of that region lives or works right across the street from the tell, and he was very impressed a) that we visited and b) that we stayed so long. I wouldn’t necessarily say that archaeological interest is thriving in that area of the country. I’m sure there’s some, but probably very few tourists.

After that we stopped at the window place (Pella). No, they don’t really have windows, that’s just my lame attempt at a joke. They did have some spiffy columns, though, as well as a huge, steep tell. Pella was one of the Decapolis cities, right across the rift valley from Beth Shean. This probably would have been the most important Jordan crossing in ancient times. From transjordan all the way to the coast there is very minimal elevation changes.


The next stop was Gadera (another spot of the commemoration of the demonized pigs). This place is special for a couple reasons. It’s a Decapolis city which, of course, means a cardo, columns, a couple theaters, temples, etc. However, it just so happens that it is built in a small region with basalt rock. So it has Corinthian capitals made of basalt (instead of limestone or marble or granite).
How cool is that? It also has some very hot springs nearby that I believe were used in/as a Roman bath. This site was also special because we finally got to eat here. At 3pm. Actually, we ate on the bus on our way to our next site.

The final stop of the day was Ramoth Gilead. It was indeed remote. This is the place that Ahab with Jehoshephat of Judah tried to take and ended up dying. It’s quite a ways (and climb) from Samaria. It’s a much easier trip (flatter) from Damascus. What he was attempting would have been quite a feat if he had pulled it off. There wasn’t much on the tell. They had apparently found a small fort from about the right time, but all I saw of it was a small corner. There was a Bedouin tent, though, a few bones, a beautiful sunset, and a lovely full moon. The land there is a bit like eastern Montana in its feel. Its partly the openness (fairly dry too) and partly the smell of animals, I think. We even used Montana for an analogy – how does someone who’s grown up in the hills (of Western Montana or Ephriam) feel when they get to the open areas (of eastern Montana or Gilead)?


Turning back from that site we came as close to Iraq as we will on this trip…not very close, really, though we did see a sign for an Iraqi border.

That was about all the geographical and historical information we covered. I had a few other impressions, though. In general the people seemed friendly. Many of the kids we passed would smile and wave…or sometimes throw fruit at us. It’s a colorful place – I’m not quite sure what the point of the multi-colored trucks is, but they’re fun.

Our bus driver apparently got lost while finding our hotel in Amman, Jordan. The hotel is pretty nice, though we’re not to drink the water. It’s lovely to use elevators – I’m so tired. It’s odd – the elevators are pretty nice, but the stairs are pretty sketchy. Some of use went out wandering after dinner. I thought we were just going to wander a bit, and I suppose we did, but somehow we still ended up at Starbucks (where everyone else had gone, but by taxi.) I think that may be the first “real” Starbucks (not counting B&N) that I’ve been in. And I didn’t even buy anything. Driving through Amman (a city of about 2.6 million) it was odd to see so many American places – McDonald's (who apparently delivers here),
Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut, even Hardee's. Our outing ended up being about 2 hours. I was exhausted when we started. But I enjoyed seeing a bit of Jordan. Crossing streets was interesting. I’m not sure how it happened, but a boy fell right in front of a car while we were walking. That was a little scary. I felt sorry for him. Walking home, a man in a car kept talking to us. “Welcome to Jordan! I love Americans! Me, I am Turkish!” It was kind of funny.

I’m sure I could write more, but I need sleep! Bon Nuit.