Ordinary Gente

The ancient ruins seem to embrace the modern aspects of 21st century Jordan, or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, this country is friendly and welcoming. On top of that Jordan is both Western and Middle Eastern. Amman easily blend modern banks, highrise hotels and and sweet shops, modern traffic and ancient ruins in the hilly city.

Getting here was tricky. Luis and I were delayed in New York by more then a day. Our flight out of LAX was super late so we missed the Royal Jordanian non-stop connection. Instead we were rebooked a whole day later on Qatar Air changing planes in Doha. I am so ignorant about countries and cities in the Middle East that I didn’t know where Doho is in relation to Amman. I learned real fast. Anyway, we were impressed with both the airline and the airport. My first impression was that many people behave like the rules such as staying seated in the plane until you reach the gate) don’t apply to them. It was fascinating to see the different versions of Arab men’s clothes and head scarves. I wanted to take pictures but felt it might be misinterpreted. Besides, I just wanted to get to Jordan as Luis and I were lacking sleep and our traveling time to Amman was a day and a half longer than expected.

Finally we met up with my brother Dionicio and my sister in law Stephanie and a family friend Wendle. We hit the ground running and went to gape at the old Roman theater. There was also a smaller theater. The big theater was is still used for concerts and had phenomenal views of the opposing hill which has the ruins of temples of the old citidel. The only things remaining of a gigantic sculpture were the hand and a little elbow. The rest of the marble must be repurposed for the Amman homes over the centuries.

The weather was cool and it sprinkled on us but not enough to hamper our scrambling up the steep stairs of the theater.

The next day in Jerash, a town to the north of Amman, was even more impressive. The city’s archeological finds cover an expansive area and there is so much. The city of Jerash flourished over many centuries, through different religions and styles and periods and it shows in the gorgeous ruins.

In Jerash as elsewhere, Dio would play a simple game of asking our Jordanian hosts to guess where we are from.

In the souvenier shop at Jerash, the clerk insisted Dio was Syrian, another thought he was Palestinian, yet another thought he was Lebanese.

If I didn’t betray my American accent, the same people thought I was any nationality from Italian to Brazilian. As soon as we put on the scarves to keep warm — by halfway through our day in Jerash it POURED cold rain — the local people were really perplexed about what our race and ethnicity is.

Back to seeing Jerash….

There were colonnades and streets straighter than modern engineers can make.

The remains of shop stalls, a hippodrome, Bizantium baths, Temples to Zeus from the Greeks, another two or three theaters, apartments complexes with mosaic floors.

Breath-taking! But cold and wet. Until the clouds scuttled across the sky leaving brilliant cyan blue skies and sparkling puddles reflecting the clean columns.

I can’t express how full I feel learning about the welcoming Jordanian people. Later I will post about my tea with Bedouin women in Petra. Until then… Rosana