Global Crossroads Study Abroad Blog

We finally went on our 5 day trip to southern Jordan! Internet has been nearly impossible for the past week, and in any case I’ve kept myself so busy that I’ve had nearly no time on the computer at all. Hopefully I get some blog posts in before I start forgetting anything about our adventures!

I’ve said it before – one amazing thing about Jordan is how few physical restrictions the country has for its ruins and landmarks. In the Roman Theater in Amman, we were able to climb directly onto the theater seats and look over the edge to Downtown. At the Citadel, we could touch any of the pillars and walk into the old structures. Then there are the new ruins: the castle of Ajloun last weekend gave us so much opportunity to explore its nooks and crannies. I felt like I was climbing places no other tourist had been. Jerash, with its crumbling monuments, was so thrilling to look down on from the highest points I could find. Yesterday we went to Karak Castle, which was just as inviting as Ajloun.

Karak Castle – don’t be fooled, this picture is gracefully hiding the hundred foot drop on the other side of this wall.

But Petra… Petra shows how that is changing.

Here’s where I should provide some backstory. This week was our big trip to southern Jordan. Five days of sightseeing and cultural education, in all the most beautiful southern cities of the country: Dana, Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba! Our classes still go on, but at a much less intensive pace. It’s definitely the most touristy portion of this program, though our directors have designed it to still be an informative and integrative experience.

I love the idea of Petra. And now that I’ve been there, I know why! Dozens of ancient buildings, carved into the stone of the mountains. Such beauty everywhere you look.

But you can see the toll popularity has played on Petra’s appeal. Jordan’s government has invested a lot of energy into the tourism industry over the past half century, turning Petra from a rather unexplored ancient wonder into an easily trekable pathway of photo opportunities. The Bedouins of the area now depend on tourism as their main source of income, which means their daily lives are based on that interaction with foreigners. Men and women call to you from their shops, making you promise to buy from them on your way back to the entrance. Little kids follow you with bare feet attempting to sell you the same package of postcards as each other. I personally hate the feeling of tourism: the herding, the waiting, the pressure to buy gifts, the tense relationship with the natives. That’s why Petra was a little bittersweet for me. I would much rather be a student living in the heart of Amman for two months than a one-day Petra explorer from a foreign country.

Then again, I’m probably basing my opinion off of physical and emotional exhaustion, which certainly isn’t fair. I forgot a hat today, and yesterday as well. And I was wearing short sleeves, so you can imagine what the sun felt like after 5 hours of mild walking and hiking. Then there’s the long bus ride getting to the south, and being around the other students 24/7, and lack of sleep. So this negativity is certainly not coming from an unbiased traveler.

That’s why I’ll end this post with the positives about Petra instead. First off, the view from the top of those mountains was beautiful. I know I keep talking about the landscape here in Jordan, but how can I not? I’ve never lived near mountains, and certainly nothing like what I’ve seen here. What really gets me is when I’m at the very top, and I realize that what I’m on is as big and magnificent as the mountains I see in front of me as well. That’s the only way that I can fully grasp just where I am; when I think, “where I’m sitting looks just like that huge cliff in the distance.”

Lelabari taking a break from the Petra hike to sit and take in our surroundings.

During our hike up to the Monastery, the official last stop on the path leading from the entrance, I found myself getting completely exhausted from the hiking and heat. So, I paid 5 JD for a donkey and rode my way up the 800 stairs leading to the ruin. My guide was a Bedouin man about my age, and he made me really think about the lives of the people out here. Somewhat begrudgingly, he answered my questions about his daily life in Petra; he lives in the relocated Bedouin village close to Petra’s ruins, but he prefers to live in these mountains during the hot summer months. He speaks Jordanian Arabic, a little fusHa, and a lot of English, but has never gone to school. I wanted to ask him more, but I got the feeling he didn’t want to talk more about it. I just wish I knew more about the relocation process, and the Bedouin opinion about the surge of tourism in that city.

Finally, the hotel where we stayed that night was a lot of fun. Rachel and I treated ourselves to a drink at the bar, where the bartender and manager were incredibly welcoming and talkative. They kept us there long past when we were planning on leaving because they kept trying to ask us why we were here. Why Jordan? The schools are better in the US, they say, and less expensive. Why here? Our answers didn’t seem to satisfy them. We said that studying abroad makes us grow so much as a person, that it’s the only way we can truly understand the way other cultures work, that the Arabic spoken here is very useful. They didn’t like those answers, insisting that we were understanding their questions wrong and demanding new reasons. How could we convince them that we were willing to spend so much money for a place with a poorer education system? I really liked being able to hear what Jordanians thought of my choice to come here, even if they insisted we must be having some sort of miscommunication.

Our trip through southern Jordan has been pretty touristy so far, so I’m glad I was able to make some connections with the locals. In the end, I have to remember that that’s really what my trip is all about.

Stay tuned for more details about the nature reserve in Dana, the magnificent cliffs of Wadi Rum, and the snorkeling and relaxation of Aqaba’s clear waters!

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