Jordan in the past and today

It was Alexander the Great who started first campaigns in Jordan, some 23 centuries ago, on his way to conquer Egypt. The once nomadic natives had the control of trade routes and built the trading center of Petra to the south at the time the Romans more or less controlled the rest of the region. After the Seljuk and later Byzantines the Islamic armies took control of the country in the 7th century. At that time the country became subordinate to the capital of Damascus (today in Syria). After a devastating earthquake of 747 the Egyptian ruler Abbasid took control and four centuries later the Ottoman Turks. In the 11th century the pope called for the holy crusade and the Europeans took Jerusalem building many fortifications in the Middle East. In the 12th century the Arabian tribes were united and forced to crusaders to leave the territory they’ve occupied and in the 15th century the land fell under the rules of Ottomans remaining a part of their empire until the end of World War I. The Arabs have united under the leadership of Lawrence and with substantial British help became independent from the Turks, becoming the Trans-Jordan. After World War II, however, the United Nations declared a part of the Trans-Jordan (Palestine) had to be divided between the Arab and Jewish population.

Jordan got its independence – or better said, was freed from the overwhelming influence of the British – in 1946, when king Abdullah I, who reigned in Trans-Jordan (under the British protection), secured the country its sovereignty. Five years later he joined the holy service in Jerusalem at the Al-Aksa Mosque – the holiest of holy in Islamic religion - with his grandson. At the entrance both of them were shot at, with the king dead on the spot. His grandson prince Hussein was saved due to the medal he’s received shortly before the assassination from his grandfather. He reigned in Jordan from 1953 to 1999 when he’d died. During his reign he skillfully lead his nation between the millstone of political superpowers during the cold war era, avoiding becoming subordinate to either USA, Great Britain or the Soviet Union and managed to spare the nation from the endless conflict between the Israel and Palestinians.

Jordan is today mostly a tourist destination under the rule of Abdulah II, divided into three regions: the East Bank, the valley of Jordan and the desert. There are some 6 million people in the country, from which 60% are Palestinian, 35% Jordanian and the rest are the minorities of Chechens, Kurds and Armenians. 98% of population belongs to the Sunnite Muslims, the rest are mostly Greek orthodox Christians. Around 400.000 people are Bedouins, without a permanent settlement, travelling from one place to the other, representing the second largest group of people in the nation. I’ve spent a few nights with them, slept in their tents, and got to know their lives. Their women have tattoos on arms and faces and remain mostly in the home tent, where they care for the husband and children. Men are usually on pastures for several days in a row. The Bedouins are poor, but very hospitable people, always offering you warm tea or coffee. They have developed hand craft skills, so in the cold months the women weave carpets, using them as internal isolation of the tents as well as covers, for the temperatures can get pretty low at nights. The Bedouins are of Islamic religion, but unlike most people of Jordan, much more open minded. Thus the women do not cover their faces in public. Due to their open mindedness many people in Jordan associate them with Gypsy caravans and do not wish to have any contact with them. But in my opinion these travelling caravans house some of the most pleasant people in the country.

The capital of Jordan is Aman, a city that started developing only after the railway was built, connecting the old Roman trade route from Damask in Syria to Al Hijaz in Saudi Arabia. the city houses some 6 million people and is a tourist attraction due to its rich Ancients remains. It’s also near the Dead Sea, famous for its elevation – 400 meters below the sea level and extreme concentration of salt in the water. There’s around 30% concentration of salt, thus no life exists there. The water is so thick, you simply cannot sink and even the non-swimmers can safely take a bath in the deepest parts of it. Around the lake there are many spring of volcanic waters, natural spring you can wash the sea salt off of you. It’s also surrounded by many mountains, that are closely linked to Christian myths, for it is said it was here that Moses stood and watched the promised land along the river Jordan.

The biggest attraction of the entire Arabian Peninsula is undoubtedly Petra, the city carved in the tall narrow valley of As-siq, where the native Nabataeans set up a trading post and a caravan rest for the spices and silk routes connecting Egypt to Persia and beyond. The palaces, temples, tombs, treasuries and such were carved into the bedrock and the people have become the pioneers of hydraulic engineering. they’ve also produced iron, brass, numerous sculptures, mastered the art of carving and chiseling and all of that 300 years before our current year count. At the time Petra was the capital co the Nabataeans’ realm and later on the capital of the Roman province Arabia Petraea. It’s best to visit Petra in the early morning, at the sun rise, when there are almost no tourists about and hardly a local Bedouin offering a camel ride to earn a coin or two for the family. It’s not so long ago that Petra was discovered by a Swiss explorer who realized, from talking to the Bedouins, there’s a lost city in the nearby hills. An earthquake has damaged the city so much in the past, most of the people left it with only a few Bedouins remaining nearby. Hence the knowledge of Petra’s existence faded into oblivion.

If spices were the main trading article of the past, today there’s a big demand for machinery, food, livestock, oil and vehicles. The only natural resource Jordan has to offer in return are the phosphates, which have been excavated in larger quantities in the past few years. They also export meat products, fruit and tobacco. Due to the export import unbalance there’s a huge deficit of the foreign currencies, so the main source of foreign currency are tourism and workers working abroad – mostly in Saudi Arabia, sending money to relatives in Jordan. Unlikely but true, Jordan has no oil, making it the one of the extremely few Arabian countries without its own oil.

Aquaba, the only real Red Sea tourist town of Jordan, is the center of ship transport for phosphate export. It’s also the only tourist town with larger numbers of European tourists on the Jordanian Red Sea coast. Near it is the attractive Wadi Rum in the desert, known for many of its beauties. It’s a fascinating and unforgettable experience to spend a night under the clear sky watching the bright constellations. There’s also the famous well, from which Lawrence of Arabia drank during his campaign, the stone arch, giant paths... and to really feel the adventure enjoy a trip with the local Bedouins, who’ll take you exploring on camel back or in off road trucks, for you can’t make in on foot – the sand is to soft and wears you out too quickly. But like rest of Jordan, it’s expensive. The local currency is stronger than the US dollar, but you can’t buy much for it – and least of all what you want. the above mentioned attractions of Jordan are by far not all of them. there’s still the historical-archeological Jerash, Hamammat Main and Wadu Mujib.

And just a warning in the end, the people are very quick to cheat you out of your money. On every corner you’ll meet really dishonest cheats and extremely hospitable hosts. Somebody will gladly greet you on the street and invite you to his home for no reason, to introduce you to the family; somebody else, however, will course you right there in the middle of the street. One of them will fill you with human goodness, while the other one probably thinks you’re an American – I mean, you’re not a local now, are you?