The Jordan Desert

Most of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the north-western part of Jordan, where I spent most of my time, is part of the Ancient Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is considered the cradle of civilization, and is the birthplace of writing and the wheel. I only saw a small part of the history in Jordan and hope to return some day to explore the region more.

The population in Jordan is mostly Sunni Muslim. It is a Middle Eastern Arab country in Southwest Asia, bordered my Syria to the north, Iraq to the East, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel, to the west.

During my four months in Jordan I spent most of my time in the northern part of the country. I spent a lot of time in the city of Irbid, which is located north of Amman and is the third largest city in Jordan. It is also home to several colleges and universities. I was in Irbid about once a week and even had the privilege of staying at the Irbid hospital one night. It is a nice city and it had a track that I could run on!

My first three months I stayed with a host family in the small town of Hareema. Hareema is located north of Irbid in northwestern Jordan. It is a nice quiet village. After being in the country for only a few days and knowing very little Arabic, I was dropped off at my host family’s house. My host family didn’t speak English and I knew very little Arabic and very little about the Muslim culture. The first few weeks were challenging, but the Peace Corps provides excellent culture and language training and I was soon welcomed into their house as part of the family.

I also spent some time in Hartha, a small town near the boarder of Syria. During training I visited another Peace Corps volunteer in the town of Hartha. You could see Syria from her roof and we walked to the top of a canyon that looked out over Syria. It all looked like desert to me, but it was neat to be so close to the border.

Jerash was by far the neatest town I visited, but I also didn’t get a chance to see the southern part of Jordan. Jerash has one of the largest and most well preserved sites of Roman architecture in the World outside Italy. They have found the ruins of settlements dating back to the Neolithic Age, indicating that humans occupied this location for more than 6500 years. Jerash is a fascinating historical town with temples, theaters, public squares, fountains and gates that are still in excellent condition.

After training I was placed in a small town in northeastern Jordan called Salihiyya. I have to say that this may be the ugliest place I have ever been. It was very desolate, all I could see for miles were rocks, dirt and sheep, but my neighbors were very nice and I enjoyed teaching at the school.

I was in Salihiyya during Ramadan and decided to take part in this month long fasting. Ramadan is during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is the Islamic month of fasting. Participating Muslims refrain from eating and drinking anything from sunrise to sunset. Fasting is meant to teach patience, modesty, and spirituality. During this month work and school days are shorter because Ramadan is a time to offer more prayer than usual. During this time Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance, and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds. Ramadan was the month in which the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to Mohammed. It is a moving holiday depending on the moon. Because the fasting period is from sunrise to sunset people participating in Ramadan eat early in the morning before the sun comes up. I was not aware of this and was a little confused the first time my neighbor knocked on my door around four in the morning to bring me a plate of food. I would break fast with them every evening and she would bring me a plate of food every morning. The only part that was hard for me was not drinking water during the day. It was nice to participate in the full experience of Ramadan.

Northern Jordan is not the prettiest place I have ever been, but the people were very welcoming and kind. I wish I would have been able to see some of Jordan’s well known areas like Petra and the Dead Sea, but I will just have to visit the country again someday.