Seeing Petra for the First Time: Day 2
December 14, 2017
When I was home for Eid al Fitr (the Muslim festival after Ramadan) last summer, I prayed next to one of my father’s best friends who was Jordanian. After Eid prayer, I was talking with him about his upcoming trip home to Jordan. I told him how much I have always wanted to go to Jordan and, more specifically, see Petra, a world heritage site containing the ruins of an ancient city carved into the cliffs. I could not have predicted then that only six months later I would be in Jordan to see it for myself.
Today was the big day that I finally visited Petra for the first time. My colleagues and I ventured three hours south of Amman to Petra. On our way, we stopped at cafes where we enjoyed Arabic coffee and Zataar, a common Jordanian snack of bread with ground thyme and sesame seeds. On our drive to Petra, our driver told us that he lives in a community with many Syrian refugees. The driver informed us that rents have gone up by almost 300% in some cities due to the influx of refugees. Despite this, the driver and other Jordanians viewed the refugees as friends.
Our conversation with the cab driver adds to the conversation Tamara had with the woman on the plane on our first day. The woman echoed that Jordan has experienced a huge increase in its refugee population and she’s witnessed the effects in the more crowded streets. However, she expressed that Jordanians generally feel empathy for the Syrians such that they least they can do for their vulnerable neighbors is to provide them a safe place away from the Syrian conflict. She also mentioned that she was happy to see young Syrian women beginning to take on new industries. For example, she’s noticed that mostly Syrian women are occupying the beauty care salons, which were previously occupied by other minorities in the country. The conversation with the woman on the plane and the cab driver shows that some Jordanians feel a sense of compassion towards the Syrian refugees, a compassion that main stream narratives in the United States lack.
When we finally entered the picturesque Petra historical park, it was absolutely incredible. We passed through a stone alleyway (al-Siq) and came out to the Treasury, the sight frequently seen in pictures of Petra. We then walked up to the tomb cut out in the stone, to the ruins of a Byzantine church. As we were leaving, two members of our group fulfilled their dreams by riding a camel back to the Petra entrance. One of the members of our group expressed an interest in going to Wadi Rum. When one of Jordan’s national parks in the desert north of Saudi Arabia, famous for its beautiful scenery and the many movies that were filmed there, our driver suggested making it a day trip.
We took him up on the offer to take a guided tour of Wadi Rum followed by a night in the camp at the park. I was the most apprehensive because I have never been much of a camper. Much to my surprise, the camp had indoor accommodations and the main camp area was completed with plush couches, fire pits, and a dance floor. We were treated to a magnificent feast of Jordanian cuisine.
The feast included expected Arab staples like rice, hummus, tahini, and pita bread. It also included an unexpected twist. Lamb that was cooked in a put which the chefs covered in sand. After dinner we partook in traditional dancing on the dance floor. We finished the night around a large campfire reminiscing about the incredible day we had. I wish more than anything that I could tell my dad’s Jordanian friend all about it. Unfortunately, while he was visiting Jordan a week after I saw him, he unexpectedly passed away.
What I thought the day I talked to him is just as true today. Jordan is an incredible place with incredible things to offer, whether culinary, historical, or cultural. It is disappointing that negative stereotypes of Arabs and Middle East culture affect some Americans’ views of an entire region. As a result, they deny themselves the opportunity to have the enriching experience we had today.
— Omar Rana, Rutgers Law School, Class of 2019