Visiting Jordan

For those of you who have heard about the shooting at the yeshiva in West Jerusalem and are curious about our security situation, we are currently on “lockdown” at the Jerusalem Center until further notice. Our security and administration will assess the situation on a day-by-day basis and let us know when they feel it is safe for us to once again roam the city by ourselves (in groups of at least three that is). However we are still allowed to go on approved outings. For example on Friday we went to Eilat to go snorkelling in the Red Sea (which was lovely) and tonight we are still going on our tour of the Cotel Tunnel (an archaeological tunnel underneath the Western Wall). So we are safe – and we have plenty of homework to keep us busy in the mean time – but we are praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

On a happier note, last week we went on a four day trip to Jordan and so now I can cross another country off my list of places to see before I die. As in Egypt there were many ancient sites to see and activities to do, so here is my list of highlights:

1. Touched the River Jordan. As usual my River Jordan experience would not have been complete had I not got my fingers wet. For some reason just looking in not satisfying enough – I could see as much by watching a documentary – but by actually touching the River Jordan or the rocks of the Great Pyramids my experience becomes tangible. Luckily my Ancient Near Eastern Studies professor feels the same way and he secretly encourages us to touch as much as we can, though today he told us that paintings were off limits. But to get back to the point, I did dip my fingers in the Jordan River and stand on its banks at the place where it is very likely that Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. Almost everywhere else in Jordan it was brown, but by the river it was green, which is somewhat symbolic I suppose.

2. Stood at the top of Mount Nebo. The view we had from the top of Mount Nebo was the same one Moses had when he had his first glimpse of the Promised Land. Unfortunately for Moses he was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan himself. From that point we could see straight across the Jordan River valley to Jericho and even to the mountains near Jerusalem. Overlooking the desert, the land didn’t exactly look like a land of milk and honey, but luckily I have also seen the green valleys of the Shephelah.

3. Followed the footsteps of Indiana Jones. Unfortunately this ancient Nabatean city carved into rock – one of the world wonders – is best known for its appearance in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Nevertheless it was exciting to walk through the ancient gorge and view the magnificent carvings, which showed Greco-Roman and Egyptian influence. One of my highlights of Petra – and maybe the whole trip – was my donkey ride up the mountain to view the monastery. That was five dollars well spent if you ask me. Donkeys are such sorry looking animals and at first I was scared I would break my donkey’s back but it carried me all the way to the top of the mountain. I walked back down and on the way I stopped to barter for jewellery and talk to the cute little Bedouin kids. And finally to end my Petra adventure, I got to ride a horse like good ol’ Indy himself.

4. Wrestled on the banks of the River Jabbock. This was where Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord and with the Lord’s help was able to prevail. Naturally we all had to take pictures wrestling on the banks of the same river. Unfortunately the photos will have to suffice because this time we were expressly warned not to even touch the polluted water.

5. Visited the ruins of Jerash. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really know what Jerash was until we got there, but I discovered it to be an old roman city in very good condition compared to others. We explored the ruins, which included temples to Zeus and Artemis and got to play in an old Roman theatre. We then paid eighteen dollars to watch a gladiator show in the old Hippodrome. They demonstrated army formations, staged a few gladiator battles, and rode chariots around the stadium. To be honest, it was a little over priced and I would have to say that watching Ben Hur is more exciting, BUT I was in Jordan and I had fun.

6. Bought some cheap DVDs. A strange thing to add to my list of highlights I know, but I think for many people this was definitely a highlight considering how many movies were purchased. Word got around the group that a little shop in Amman sold pirated movies (this is not illegal in Jordan by the way) and I think every body paid them at least one visit. Personally I only purchased five movies – others probably bought close to twenty. I would be interested to see how many we bought collectively. We gave them good business anyway and now we have something to do during lockdown!


Touching the River Jordan.


A little Bedouin kid trying to sell me a rock for a dollar at Petra.


I rode a donkey up a mountain to see this monastery at Petra.


At the Jabbock River we weren't allowed to touch the water so we re-enacted the Bible instead. But really Russell is beating me up because I'm wearing that silly blue pouch.


The rest of my class dancing in a Roman theater at Jerash. It almost looks like a pagan ritual.