September 14th, 2019 – Another amazing weekend in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan! My friends and I started off the weekend by attending the opening ceremonies for the 31st European Union Film Festival in Amman. This year’s festival included films from 21 European Union member states and 1 film from Turkey (which was immensely interesting politically, but I won’t bore you with those details). The EUFF is made possible through the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali (who attended the opening ceremonies). The opening ceremonies were elegant to say the least. I felt quite under-dressed in my khakis and and shirt standing in the same courtyard as EU member state ambassadors to Jordan in their suits and ties. The EUFF runs through this weekend and I hope to attend some of the films!
We stuck around for the first film, then the staff told us about the after-party near my homestay, so we went there for awhile before heading home. The next day I was up quite early for a weekend to meet up with my friends Sarah, Chris, Jack, and Ben to head all the way up north to Umm Qais. Umm Qais is an ancient city (then called Gadara) that was a member of the Decapolis (“Ten Cities”). Of the 10 cities, 8 of them reside in Jordan, 1 in Israel-Palestine (Bet She’an), and 1 in Syria (Damascus).
Fun fact for all my readers back home: Under the Greeks, Amman (also part of the Decapolis) was called Philadelphia!
Umm Qais has several thousand years of history in its ruins including the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Following the Umayyad conquest of the area, an earthquake destroyed the town, leaving it mostly uninhabited. The city’s unfortunate history doesn’t stop there. With its close location to the border with Israel-Palestine, Umm Qais was bombed heavily during the Six-Day War in 1967. Our guide, a former resident of Umm Qais, informed us that some people still lived in the old Roman homes until the late twentieth-century when the Jordanian government relocated them to make the place a historical site.
**Side note: Umm Qais (Gadara) is an important location for biblical scholars, as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke mention Jesus exorcising a demon in this region, but cite it in different cities: Matthew in Gadara, and Luke and Mark in Gerasa, a city closer to Amman. (See Mark 5:1-20, Matthew 8:28-34, and Luke 8:26-39, if interested).**
After seeing the city, our guide led us on the eco-hike to the overlook point. To get to the overlook, we hiked for about 2 and a half hours through groves of olive trees, high grass, and grazing fields.
Once I reached the overlook, the 2 1/2 hour hike in 90 degree heat was worth it. The mountain overlooks the Jordan Valley, from the Sea of Galilee, across the Golan Heights, and (on clear days in February) all the way Mount Hermon in Lebanon. At the overlook, we were only about 3 kilometers from the Syrian and Israeli border.
After the hike we enjoyed a lovely lunch and re-hydrated with lots of water. When I got home that night, I nearly fell asleep in the clothing I was wearing.
Another good part about the weekend in the Arab world is that it’s totally socially acceptable to sleep until 11 AM (I now expect this to acceptable at home too, mom). I spent today in my favorite cafe, Rumi Cafe in Weibdeh, doing my Arabic and Islam homework. Rumi has a wide selection of teas from all over the region: Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain, and, my favorite, Iran. Iranian tea is a caffeinated tea with an earthy taste and requires no sugar, so it’s perfect with a slice of carrot cake.
This weekend, CIEE will be taking us to Petra with an overnight stay with Bedouins in Wadi Rum! Stay tuned for more updates from Jordan!
-مات
P.S. – The above script is “Matt” in Arabic, but if you google translate it, it will translate as “Die”. This is because “Maat” means “he died” in Arabic.
Reports and Reflections from Life Abroad 