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Final day in Jordan
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On Saturday, we spent the morning looking at the beautiful mosaics that Madaba is known for - the most famous being a 6th century map of the various holy places for pilgrimage. We then spent the afternoon in Jerash, the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Antioch that was founded under Alexander the Great. It is always amazing to me to see Roman cities as they never fail to impress with their grandeur and ingenuity. In the theater, we each stood in the very center of the stage where the narrator would talk and the acoustics were amazing, it sounded as though there was surround sound system. After walking around the ruins, we went to the Roman Army and Chariot Experience that is done in the actual hippodrome of Jerash. All of the costumes are made using the same techniques of the time down to the leather shoes. They showed various military formations of the time, had some gladiators fight it out and ended with a chariot race. It was fun, but the best part about it was that I got to do a turn around the hippodrome in one of the chariots. It was a bit scary (making sure I stayed in it when we turned the corner), intense, and a blast! It was a great way to end the trip.
On Sunday, we flew home - it was quite an ordeal to get on the flight as when we arrived at the airport we were told our flight to Heathrow was delayed 1.5 hrs which would mean we would miss our connection to Chicago and have to stay overnight in London to get the next flight. So, they said that they had a direct flight to Chicago leaving in an hour and that they were put us on that. Well, 20 minutes later they came back and told us that because we used miles for our trip that American would not allow them to put us on the direct flight. What? Well after almost an hour of arguing with them, trying to get them to call American so I could talk to them, and us resigning to the fact that we would have to stay overnight in the UK they finally put us on the direct flight. I don't know how it happened or why they finally did it at the very last possible minute (10 minutes before the flight was to take off), but we were quite happy about it. So, we flew 13 hours direct to Chicago and got in 3 hours earlier than we were originally scheduled to arrive. Unfortunately, I got sick towards the end of the flight - but at least I avoided it during the trip and can be much more comfortable at home. Here are some final thoughts on the trip:
Thoughts on Jordan:
Jordan is a mixture of old and new. It is very modern/westernized with cell phones everywhere, kids wearing jeans, western hairstyles, a good many speak English, etc. But, it also still has the side of it that is from the old ways. Migrant Bedouins that roam the area tending to their sheep and goats, living in tents, following their traditions. Even with the government giving them housing, they still choose to follow the old ways. One of our drivers explained that there are three types of Bedouins, traditional Bedouins, half/half Bedouins (that live in tents for part of the year and then live in buildings in winter), and then Modern Bedouins that still cling to tradition but have embraced modern technology and comforts. It was quite interesting to hear him talk about it. He also talked about the difference between Jordan Jordanians and Palestinian Jordanians that now make up 53% of the population. He said that they keep them "under control" as according to him, Palestinians often make problems wherever they go. We also asked him what the Jordanian viewpoint is about Iraq. He said that Saddam was a bad man but that hundreds of thousands Iraqis have been killed or displaced and does not believe it was worth it. Additionally, he does not understand why the US is still there even now that Saddam is gone. His thoughts was that it was about "Petrol." Amen. He also said something that was curious - he told us that he knows the Iraqi people better than anyone in our car (I believe that to be true) and that they are strong-willed and need a stronger leader to keep them in check. He said that Saddam did that even though his methods were not good and until they get another leader that is stronger than the Iraqi people they will continue to fight and kill each other. It was very interesting to hear him talk about it all whether you agree with his perspective or not. He also mentioned that Bin Laden is not a good Muslim as the Koran prohibits killing of innocents and that he was sorry for what happened on 9/11.
General thoughts:
One of the big takeaways for us is just how warm and friendly the people of Egypt and Jordan are. The stereotypes that the US has about the Middle East and specifically Muslims of the Middle East are way off the mark. We felt safer there than we do in many parts of Chicago and the US. There was always someone there to help us if we needed directions and what not. Americans are treated well and with some curiosity. As one Egyptian man put it, I like America just not American politics. Our sentiments exactly. It's such a shame that our govt uses fear to paint the region. We would not think twice about going back and encourage anyone that is thinking of going to do so as you will not be disappointed. We are so glad that we went. What a trip!
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