Three Weddings

Okay, so I've owed y'all this post for awhile.

My host family was invited to three weddings on the same evening, which, as it turns out, was the same day that we made our trip to Jerash and Ajloun in Northern Jordan.

What was our plan?  Triage.  Hala and Grandma would head to one of the weddings while Sahel, Chris and I hit the second, then Chris and I would join Hala for the last wedding located in Al-Fuhays, a western suburb of Amman.

So around 4:30 pm, we set out.  Wedding #2 was located in the ritzy residential section of Sweifiyeh, somewhere behind Fifth Circle.  We got there in the middle of the ceremony.

From what I can tell, an Arabic Orthodox Christian wedding consists of a full Mass (sans Eucharist), followed by the actual wedding.  

The Mass seemed to be standard fare, although in Arabic.  There seemed to be more of a binding aspect to it, based on the amount of آمين ("aaamiin"s - amens) that I picked up.  They do do the Lord's Prayer.  Also, there are two cantors, either two priests, or a priest and a deacon, that conduct the service in Arabic Gregorian chant.

At the end of the Mass, the wedding party circled around the altar while the women in the wedding party, and in particular the bride's mother, wailed.  It was chilling and exhilarating.  One could almost feel as if God himself was watching the ceremony.  

No reading of self-written vows, "I dos" or exchanging of rings.  Unlike an American wedding, which often seems to be a celebration of the participants and their foibles (the flowers, the party favors), this ceremony was centered on the rite of marriage itself.  The holy marriage contract was being signed by the bride, groom, their respective families and God.  Happy, yes, but serious business too.

After the wedding, I took a photo of the church (told you it was in a ritzy part of town):

No time to rest - Hala quickly picked Chris and I up for Wedding #3.

Twilight in the western suburbs

Artwork near entrance of the Orthodox church that hosted Wedding #3

Wedding car

We actually arrived just after the ceremony ended.  Oh well, off to the reception at النادي ("al-naadii" - the private club, in this case for Orthodox Christians, that was down the road).

Now, Chris and I weren't officially invited to the reception.  Hala had brought us along hoping that we would be let in.  Well, in short order, we were kicked out.

We decided to take a walk around town to see if there was a cafe or restaurant where we could spend our time.  When we asked the old man outside of the liquor store if he had any ideas, he laughed and said "بالسيارة؟" ("bi-ssayaara?" - by car?).  We took this as a bad sign...

It turned out that we were in a suburb of the main suburb about a mile up the road, and as a result, there were no restaurants or cafes.  Instead, we found a small deli where an old gentlemen microwaved some falafel sandwiches, and a convenience store where we brought water, and also in my case, what looked to be  tomato-flavored Funyuns (which turned out to be ketchup-flavored...an acquired taste).

Then, we sat out on the side of the main road and watched the cars go by as fireworks burst over the Nadi and celebratory gunshots rang out in the night.  

We enjoyed watching the people drive by.  Every woman driver would turn her head 90 degrees and gawk at us (still dressed to the nines).  About half of the men drivers did the same.  The other half looked straight ahead and kept driving, as if they refused to acknowledge that anything was out of the ordinary.  I admire their stoicism.

Eventually, Hala called.  There was some extra space at the reception and we could attend after all.  We went back to the Nadi and more fun ensued over food, drinks and dancing.

Why yes, that IS the wedding cake being towed across the pool.

Hala, Chris and I

The reception wrapped up with dinner (the opposite from a US wedding reception, where dinner precedes the dancing), and we headed home after a long day.

The next day would be our trip to Madaba, Mount Nebo, and the Dead Sea...