Day 6 Jerusalem to Amman

Day Six Back to Amman

Arrgh, if there's a better way to get photos to display on blogspot, I certainly haven't figure it out. Oh well, you can probably puzzle out which is which.

In any event, Saturday saw us back to Amman. Friday was interesting; despite everyone sane saying don't be in the Old City when Friday noon prayers let out, there we were, near the Damascus Gate, wading through a veritable river of humanity. It was all totally peaceful, of course, if you can call all those people jostling about peaceful. As one local woman shouted out to us, "push and go!" That's what everyone else was doing, so when in Rome, or Jerusalem....

One interesting thing about that crowd though was what wasn't there: young men. Apparently, young (as in, under 35, or unmarried, or maybe it's under 35 and unmarried) men are not allowed to attend Friday prayers (or maybe it's all prayers) at Al Aqsa mosque near the Dome of the Rock. Something about the Intifadas starting after Friday prayers, and the desire to keep the level of rabble-rousing down. So the flood of people we saw was older and middle-aged men, and women.

Where were the young men? Well, that night in East Jerusalem it seemed they were--cruising. That's when the BMWs came out, and the groups of young men walking about, talking animatedly. While the family types were at home having hummus and lamb, the young bucks were out doing whatever young bucks do anywhere. It was also the Jewish shabbat, but hey, in East Jerusalem that didn't mean much. West Jerusalem might as well be on the other side of the moon.

Saturday morning we visited a Palestinian academic think-tank, and then headed for the border. Crossing back to Jordan was painless, and relatively quick. We had a brief respite, then a de-briefing session at the Regional Human Security Center, our CIEE host, and then supposedly a big fancy dinner that night. As I had a 3AM flight to Istanbul, however, I declined the dinner, as it didn't start until like 9PM, and I really needed sleep. I'm sure it was good though--at the upper levels, Jordanians definitely know how to eat. Hell, they know how to eat at all levels it seems.

I like Jordan, and the Jordanians. They're not a simple people, though. The relationship between the Hashemite monarchy, the bedouin, the Palestinians, Islam, the West, the other Arabs, and the Israelis is a complex mix and often things aren't what they seem to be. Jordan's single biggest attraction is its stability--it is an island of calm and predictability in a sea of chaos. That stability though isn't necessarily natural, or easy to maintain. There are fault lines particularly between Jordanians and Palestinians in Jordan, as well as between different Jordanian interests. During the wars with Israel, the security of Jordan was often determined by how well it and its military could balance between Israel and the confrontation states; two wars with Israel and one with the PLO left Jordan in decent shape, actually. The new challenges, however, can't really be so easily countered. Demographics threatens the traditional make up of the state in ways that no army or military aid package can defend against. The lack of water, and the lack of a sustainable economic plan (beyond lining the pockets of foreign investors), are also things that have no easy answers.

Pictures:
1. A nifty mosque somewhere south of Irbid in northern Jordan.
2. At the Bristol, even the housekeeping staff are artists.
3. A tractor dealer/fixer in a small town near Irbid.
4. The rooftops of Amman. In the beginning, God said, let there be satellite dishes.