Ramadan Drummer

Here's audio of al-misharaty, the drummer that wakes the neighborhood up before dawn so that they can eat the pre-fast meal of SuHuur during Ramadan.  It is a tradition that dates back to the Ottoman Empire.  The Syrian tradition is to blast a large cannon, but cities have grown too large for that.  Some would say that the cities also have outgrown the drummer, but I'm glad some of the old traditions still survive.

I believe he is saying the traditional chant of "Es ha ya nayem…Wahed el dayem...", or "awake, oh sleeper, and praise Allah".




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This post concludes my regular blogging from Amman, up next, The Credits, a little thank you to those who made my two months in Jordan so enriching.

More Ramadan Stuff

Post-Iftar evening prayers

Musical Trucks - Part Two

I got the vegetable truck!

Ramadan Stuff

So Ramadan has arrived.

Living with a Christian (مسيحي) (mesiiHii) family, not too much has changed at home. 

However, some things are different around the city.

• First of all, it is illegal to be seen eating or drinking in public during the hours when the Muslim population is fasting (i.e., between sunrise and sunset), and it is also illegal, or at least deeply disrespectful, to be openly carrying food around during those hours.  Generally, no booze, either (you should have seen the long lines at the duty-free shop on the last day before Ramadan when everyone tried to stock up), but there are limited exceptions.

• Tied into the above, most restaurants and bakeries, and many grocery stores, are closed during the day.  Those that are open may only carry a reduced inventory of items.  For example, only stocking tamar Hindi (tamarind drink) or qamar al-diin (apricot drink) and qataayef (Ramadan pancakes), rather than a full selection.  Some fast-food places allow carry-out or delivery after 2 pm (for example, we ordered Ramadonald's last week).

• The above has probably resulted in the biggest impact on Amideast students, in that going out for lunch or a post-class fruit cocktail is now out of the question, and that our intraday eating and water-drinking are now confined to the student lounge and home.

• Shops generally are open only for reduced hours (generally 10-3 or 10-4 during the workweek, and 2:30-4:30 and after 9:30 pm on Fridays).  My roommate Matt and I made the mistake of trying to go to Mecca Mall at noon on Saturday, only to find that the stores didn't open until 2:30, which led to us sleeping on the couches at the Starbucks (which remained closed even after 2:30).

• There is a little less traffic on the streets during the day (the morning commute to Amideast takes around five minutes less during Ramadan than before).  From 7 pm to 9 pm or so, there is almost no traffic, including taxis, on the streets because most people are at home preparing for and celebrating al-ifTar, the breaking of the Ramadan fast.

• In some neighborhoods, you can hear someone drumming and yelling/singing to wake people up for al-suHoor, the morning pre-dawn meal.  I could have sworn that I heard someone last Friday morning, but it could have been REM (the dream, not the band).  If I can catch someone doing it, I'll try to record and post it.

• There is supposedly special programming on TV, but I haven't seen much of it yet.

• Kids play fireworks at night.  From the sounds of things and my attempts to buy some off the streets, it seems that the main fireworks are small spark fountains and firecrackers, with some louder cherry-bomb-eqsue stuff mixed in.

• Some stores and homes are decorated with lanterns, and/or  crescent and accompanying star combinations, which are often lit up at night.  It seems that Ramadan decorations are increasing in popularity, although they are not nearly as ubiquitous as Christmas decorations in the US.

Some Ramadan decorations on the outside of a small restaurant in the neighborhood

قطايف (qaTaayif)

Qatayef, or "Ramadan Pancakes" - 

these are small pancakes that are filled with either a sweet white cheese and cinnamon, 

or with a mix of walnuts and other sweet things, 

and then fried or baked, 

and served with a sugar syrup that is used as a drip or drizzle

The Most Popular T-Shirt in Amman

John Cena...

Vince McMahon must be thrilled

Tamar Hindi

A drink made from tamarinds ("Indian dates") that is normally drank during Ramadan.  It is quite sweet and tastes vaguely like something between prunes and (palm) dates.

Ramadan Kariim, everyone!

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...

Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba - Continued

Continued...

Part Three: Riding off into the sunset on the back of a Daihatsu pickup truck

After leaving Petra, we headed to Wadi Rum and arrived late in the afternoon.  The bus dropped us off at a makeshift parking lot - a sand courtyard, and we waited for our ride to the camp.  A pickup truck.  We hopped in the back and off we went to the tourist camping grounds.

The camp was made up of maybe 30 dark camel-hair tents, each housing 3 people, a bathroom hut, a small coffee stand.  In the middle of the camp, there was an open area filled with dining tables surrounded by long open tents with cushioned benches, and a raised circular platform for dancing/entertainment, in the middle of which was what looked somewhat like a May pole.

Scoping out the tent

After dropping off our belongings, we were back in the pickup for a joyride across the desert.

A full tank of gas, no shocks, it's getting late, and we're wearing sunglasses -

what could be better?

We stopped at a maybe 40-50 foot high red sand dune and climbed up for a better view.

The view from above - I wonder who did the donuts?

Wadi Rum

After running down the sand dune, we drove to a rock formation for a good view of the sunset.  Consistent with my obsession for sunset photos, I hereby present the following photo and video dump:

The way up.

Local wildlife

After sunset, we ran back to our Daihatsu and had an impromptu race across the desert back to camp versus the other pickups.  We were in 2nd place around the midway point back, but the truck in front of us suffered an untimely incident (the benches in the back of the truck got loose).  We spent too long basking in their misfortune, as the truck behind us jumped on our driver's momentary lapse in attention and passed both us and the benchless truck.  That's when our driver, in response to our exhortations of "yalla!", gunned it down the homestretch.  After catching air several times while zooming across a few small hills, we passed the our rivals with maybe a half kilometer to go, and rubbed it in their dusty faces with chants of "USA!".  Upon arriving back in camp, we victors rewarded our driver with hearty congratulations (and a small tip).

Next came dinner, and...

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Part Four:  Creeping with a Kweffiyeh

The middle of the camp had a small raised platform for dancing.  We were invited onstage by our tour guide, and began dancing it up with the members of the local Bedouin tribe and a few other tourists.

Some members of our crew were wearing kwefiyyehs they had bought to help keep out the sun and sand (and to play the part of tourist to an Arab country).

A 20-something white wifebeater-wearing Bedu started dancing with us onstage.  He asked one of us for their kweffiyehs, which was duly provided.  Then the fun began.

The Bedu held each end of the kwifiyyeh in a separate hand and twirled it around, as if he was planning to flick it at someone as if it was a towel.  Then, as his hips gyrated, he raised the kwefiyyeh "rope" higher and higher, until it was over his head, then draped it around the back of the waist of someone (usually a guy), capturing them and forcing them to swing within the kwefiyyeh circle with him to the beat of the music until he found another dance partner.  

In some cases, the Bedu lothario would tie the kwefiyyeh around someone's waist, thereby completing the ancient marriage rite.

(I'm joking about the marriage part, I think).

Should've signed a prenup...

After a couple of hours of dinner and dancing, we were pooped and hit the tents.

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Part Five:  Chinatowns are the same everywhere

The next morning, we had a quick breakfast of fuul (boiled bean stew) and boiled eggs with shells that wouldn't come off, and then hit the road to Aqaba.  

In Aqaba, we stopped at a public beach a few km south of the city and beyond the port for a quick swim at a public beach on the Red Sea.  The water was nice and it was good to wash off some of the sweat and sand that were stuck to our bodies.  As I didn't bring a pair of swim trunks, I was forced to buy a pair of black short shorts from the gift shop (the photos of which will be released if I run for political office).

At the beach, we used the bathrooms there.  The old man outside attempted to charge us a 15 cent fee for maintaining the toilets:

We then spent a few hours in Aqaba, eating lunch at a pizza place and taking an excursion to the local Doubletree Hotel.  We had heard that there were nice bathrooms there...and there were.  No charge either.

After that, the bus dropped us off at the "Chinatown" shopping center just outside of town.  As a lot of Jordanians were with us on the tour, there was some shopping time built in (Aqaba is a special low-tax zone where prices are cheaper than in the rest of the country).

The Chinatown consisted of a somewhat reputable store upstairs that was a combination of a TJ Maxx and a Bed, Bath and Beyond - 

• Quick price check:  $60 suits, $10 pairs of business shoes, $2 for 3 dish towels.

And a plaza downstairs made up of a few small shops where old Chinese men were selling knockoff goods, for rock-bottom prices.  

I guess Chinatowns are the same everywhere.

A small juice bar/restaurant was also in the plaza.  While stopping to get a quick drink for the road, guess who we ran into?  Kwefiyyeh Guy!

Time to hit the road and head back to Amman.

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Part Six:  Party Bus!

About 1/3 of the way back, some of us decided to start dancing in the middle of the bus to the songs that were being played.  Soon, everyone was joining in - dancing, singing, and/or clapping.  About two hours of pure fun ensued:

I think the highlight was either "Stayin' Alive" or the impromptu version of the Backstreet Boys.

Anyway, it was a great weekend.

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***Technical note*** - I don't think we were actually in the official Wadi Rum Protected Area, but instead stayed just north of it.  Tribal politics were the cause - there are three tribes in the area - one that controls one half of the protected area, the other that controls the other half, and the tribe that we stayed with, that controlled the area immediately north and west of the protected area.  No complaints, though - we had a great time, paid half the price, and got a better view of the sunset.

Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba

Last weekend, some classmates and I did a whirlwind tour through Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba.  

Highlights include:

• Rest stops are the same everywhere;
• Petra - It's Hot;
• Riding off into the sunset in the back of a Daihatsu pickup truck;
• Creeping with a Kwefiyyeh;
• Chinatowns are the same everywhere; and
• Party Bus!

So, without further ado, نبدا (let's begin)!

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Part One:  The Beginning - Rest stops are the same everywhere

We awoke bright and early on Friday morning (5:15 am!) and إجتمعنا (ijtamaehranaa - we gathered) at the bus pickup site next to the Royal Jordanian office in the Abdali neighborhood.

We boarded a bus full of Jordanian families and a group of teenagers, and after some unintelligible introductions by our tour guide (made unintelligible by virtue of the terrible bus speaker system more than the language), we were on our way south.

About 90 minutes into the trip, we stopped for a health and safety (bathroom) break, at what looked to be a rest stop:

Maybe there's a Sbarro's here

It was indeed, a rest stop, albeit with architecture bought from the liquidation sale of the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.  Inside was a small self-service (in Arabic, "خدمة ذاتية) snack stand, a convenience store, several tables for eating, and bathrooms.  I had at least expected a shwarma stand.

I generally slept throughout the bus ride, when I wasn't awoken by the group of teenage boys sitting in the rows in front of me that clapped to every Arabic song played on the bus.

About an hour after reaching the rest stop, we reached the town of 'Ayn Musa, home of a minor tourist attraction - a small spring that was used by the Nabateans hundreds of years ago.  I noticed many passengers from our bus as well as others filling up bottles and jugs from the spring.

'Ayn Musa led to Wadi Musa, the town just outside of Petra, and finally, Petra itself.

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Part 2:  Petra - It's Hot!


We got to Petra around 11 am or so, and had until 2:30 pm to explore.  (Tourist note - the admission fee is a hefty 50 JD ($70) for tourists that are not Jordanian citizens or who do not hold a Jordanian visa for at least one year).

We walked along the Siq, a winding dry streambed that is the only entrance into the hidden city of Petra.  The Siq forms a long (around 1.5-2 miles?) and narrow passage between tall rock formations.

Ruins on the way into the Siq

The Siq

After a long quest...

We hit the motherlode...

The great treasury of Petra

Government employees are the same everywhere

The crew climbing for a better view - 

I stayed on the ground and went into some of the ancient homes.  

What's the lasting artifact of a society without indoor plumbing?  

Stank.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to fully explore the city.  For example, we did not see the High Place of Sacrifice or the Monastery due to time constraints, although I did find the time to be slobbered on by a camel.  You need a full day, or maybe two, to more fully see the main sights in Petra.

Although the beauty of Petra soothed and energized the spirit, it did not do so for the body.  So we had to suffer the hour-long uphill trek in 100-degree heat back to the bus.

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Wadi Rum in the next installment!

Trip to Northern Jordan - Part III

***Continued from Parts One and Two (see below)***

We ate a light snack of cucumbers and plums under a rock-domed roof towards the north end of the ruins and then headed back to the car. The next stop was Ajloun Castle, located around 30 minutes further to the north.

On the way there, we stopped by a village grocery shop (دكان) for some water.

Soon, the castle was visible in the distance:

The entry fee was 1 JD (=$1.40) for non-Jordanians and free for Jordanians.  Here are some photos from the castle and its surroundings:

Northern countryside, including forests and olive farms

The view from above -
we were blessed with a steady cool breeze.

As we were driving through Ajloun village on the way back to Amman, we saw a man tossing batter on a hot oiled griddle and pulling a thin, hot bread off of it a few seconds later.  We absolutely had to get some for lunch.

Sahel at the baker's stand

Lunchtime! 

The bread was soft and tasted slightly sweet, kind of like pancakes, except it was thinner and without buttermilk.

Smiles, sunburn, and full stomachs all around.

We got home around 3:30 pm, just in time for a bit of rest before the evening and its three weddings.  More on that later.