Harvest in Jordan

Jerash

Headed north from Amman this morning; quickly saw the Mediterranean bounty was available roadside- especially olives, figs & pomegranates.  Reminded me so very much of my youthful days in SoCal and the wonderful fresh fruits and veggies there that actually had flavor (like here: I had a pear that tasted like one, not just fibrous pulp). Our destination today was the Roman city of Gerasa (Jerash/Gerash/Jarash and about 6 different spellings) in the hills north of Philadelphia (Amman) on the road to Damascus. It is often credited with having the most intact Roman city “ruins” (since the roofs are no longer in place) outside Italy. The number of standing columns is very impressive (we didn’t count them), but its nickname is City of 1,000 Columns.



Artemis



Hadrians gate

Even though Emperor “Hadrian the Humble” (remember, he renamed Petra after himself) visited and has his gate here, I found the Sanctuary of Artemis most interesting. In 386 C.E. the Christian pogrom against pagans hit town, and this had much of its cultural connection re-diverted to more contemporary worship at that time. I personally hope we’re finally more tolerant and inclusive, but realize that our interest in keeping same must be continually protected and fought for.

Nymphium

               Another interesting feature (of many) is the nymphium, or public water works, dedicated to the daughters of Zeus. In so many places the sacred number 7 is found (yep, Mickey’s number), and here is no exception with niches and water pipes that would’ve delivered water from heads of lions. Kind of puts my kitchen remodel job to shame.

                

              

Some of you might wonder why I keep referring to that un-named country to the west as “that un-named country to the west.” There are certainly some ancient rivalries here pre-dating the Dodgers/Giants or Red Sox/Yankees… by say 2-3 thousand years. A quick glance of this official government map (to the right) should “give you a clue.” Similar maps can be found throughout the region; even the airlines having you flying over unidentified airspace. So, if I was an UFO this might be a good place to start with contact. That could be a potential interesting “First Contact.”

              

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerash

http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/jerash.html

BTW- scheduled to be headed home en la manana... ciao for now...

Earth: Wind, Water & Fire

above Visitor Center at Wadi Rum

Greetings from the Starbuck’s near the US Embassy in Amman.

It has probably been awhile since ice played a major role on the sculpting of what is now the landscape here at Wadi Rum Protected Area (WRPA), but the much more recent evidence of harsh-shaping factors is certainly evident. It is also easy to see why “Colonel Lawrence” came under the spell of this place (“another of those desert loving British”).

Wadi Rum landscape

The past couple of days have been spent working with Nasser Z. (the Acting Manager of WRPA), and his supervisor Dr. Salim Al Moghrabi (PhD. In Marine Biology from France [as in Cousteau]), Commissioner of Environment & Health Control – Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. The Chief Commissioner reports to the Prime Minister, of course they’re on their 3^rd one this year, and “Arab Spring” is foremost on their minds as we continue with our American brand of optimism for positive change schemes. WRPA was added by UNESCO to the World Heritage Site list earlier this year (25JUN11, the anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn) and none of us want to see it delisted due to environmental degradations. There are certainly pressures by the development for-our-pockets crowd, but this is a fragile area (off-road vehicles lead to erosion and desertification) and it is no place for: “Sky-Diver ATV Wilderness Adventures.”



unauthorized camp in wilderness area

There is interest in developing an eco-lodge, like the one we visited at Feynan in Dana Biosphere Reserve, near the enclosure for the reintroduced Arabian Oryx herd. Access into this special enclosure would be via camel or horse only. There are plans going forward with a Night Sky Station in another part of WRPA. You’ll find few better locations for same. Of course the economic drivers will be a priority consideration, but protection 1^st so that visitors will still come. Things the US National Park Service/Dept. of Interior Int’l Technical Assistance Program’s Jordon Parks Program team might be able to help with are: Planning, design and operational criteria for the EcoLodge development at the Oryx project; Assistance integrating programs/exhibits between existing museum at visitor center and the museum planned for the “Castle” in Rum Village; Assistance with limiting the off-road  “tracks” from the increased number of vehicles entering the reserve; Visitor service training for reserve staff; Training in emergency response.

Bait Ali Camp & Lodge

               Our nights at Wadi Rum were interesting too. Stayed at Bait Ali Lodge, that is a good staging area for journeys into WRPA and dive-trips to Aqaba (met a family from UK bringing their 3 lovely teenage daughters for open water certifications in the Red Sea- should be nice-n-warm after summer (and watch that buoyancy). I also couldn’t help early this morning from overhearing the very loud (so much for expectation of privacy) Yank on his phone as he explained to his girlfriend that he still saw them “as being together” and his next call to a friend explaining that he was traveling for the 1^st time in 12-years with his wife for their 20^th anniversary to "the Holy Land" (he sounded confused). Until next time (maybe tomorrow… inshallah)

British Fortress restoration (by French Company) at Rum Village.

Going… going…Gone… to the dogs

Tourism Police & Park Ranger

               Today was scheduled to be “our last patrol” of Petra. With temperatures peaking in mid-to-upper 70’s (F) and blue skies we said some good-byes to old & new friends. “When will you be back?” we heard many times; that is certainly a “who knows” question and the “inshallah” (“God willing”) factor. It sounds like things could be getting “very interesting” here as we heard that underage vendors were throwing rocks and firing sling-shots at park features today, then cursing the authorities. This appeared to be the busiest day with visitors this month. The Tourism Police & local authorities will likely be pro-active with them and the donkeys (running amok also on cultural resources) in the near future. Tomorrow we’re headed to Wadi Rum Nature Reserve tomorrow to see if our experiences, skills & talents can assist them in any way. We’ve heard that USAID is interested in helping the management of World Heritage Sites here in Jordan, so we’ve been brushing up on the Operations Guide for same (see below link).

You might recall, last spring we noted the cats of Petra were exalted and numerous (April 20^th post). This trip we’ve noticed a marked increase in the population of Canis lupus familiaris (dogs). Yesterday, Bill counted 14 running around, resting or lifting-their-leg (doing K9 things) between the location of the former Ranger Kiosk and shops at the stairway to the High Place of Sacrifice (ca. 1/4-mile). They seem to give visitors little regard (like their Feline friends [“the garbage can guards”] here), but that could easily change into “nuisance dog” status if they get habituated to, or dependent on, visitor attentions. As for now, they add to the historic scene, and of course future cultural deposits.

On the World Series front: as a longtime Ranger I say "Go Rangers!" As a lifelong National League fan (and admirer of the tradition of the guys from St. Louis) I say: "Go Cards!" At this point I'm hoping it'll go 7-games so I might be able to watch one (due to get home very late 29th of Oct., Inshallah).



dog using available shade (photo by Bill Wade)



http://whc.unesco.org/archive/opguide08-en.pdf

              

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saluki

A Sunday pilgrimage (and reflection)

Aaron's Tomb/Mosque

Today we finally paid our respects to Aaron (elder brother of Moses, “Peace Upon Them”) with our trip up Jabel Haroun. If your sojourn brings you to this area I recommend the excursion. The normal 5-mile horse ride (we got a lift from a Park 4x4) is followed by a 1 ¾ mile hike up to the mosque atop the mountain. There we were escorted by Ishmael the caretaker/guard around the area & inside the mosque. Good views of Ad-Deir (Monastery), Wadi Araba & Israel; today was a bit hazy or it would’ve just been breathtakingly incredible. Ishmael, and his donkey named “Jack ass,” came down the mountain with us and he sang much of the way (I nicknamed him Neil Diamond). For those of us whose world view is through the prism of the west the works of Aaron & Moses are renowned and worthy of our respect and adulation, but I’m glad the Park provided a ride or this senior Ranger would be one tuckered puppy right now. 

FYI, on the mesa just before the final-acension we found a fenced archaeoligical research area with a sign from the good folks at Helsinki. This struck a chord for us, as Mesa Verde National Park has been trying (unsuccessfully) to get a large collection back for decades. I hope that Finland's cultural property imperialism ends soon. Research is good, but only to support valid inquiry, not as a form of plundering or artifact mining.

Wadi Araba & Ad-Deir

Every hour of every day there are Park Rangers on duty somewhere that are our “Thin Green Line” trying to protect and preserve our patrimony. I don’t know if you’ve been following RANGERS in the news, but a Park Ranger in Iran has received a death sentence for manslaughter in a shoot-out with a poacher in a rural and dangerous part of the Persian Empire. There is a history of Rangers being slain by poachers (and other miscreants) worldwide: western world, developing nations, etc. In just about all corners of the world the public servants guarding our heritage are being targeted. Unfortunately, it is an all-to-common scene: Ranger outnumbered and outgunned, with little-to-no-backup within hours of response. In some places Rangers are faced with “fire fights” to save their own lives in pursuit of protecting “the wild.” Iran has had several Rangers killed… yet in this strange twist of what we’d call a “good shoot” (defense) the family of the law-breaking poacher is calling for the Ranger’s death (blood-for-blood), and the courts agree. This happened in the Republic of Georgia too when a Ranger was attacked by someone with a knife and he used his gun to protect himself: courts there found it was excessive force (sorry “Indy” you brought a gun to a sword fight) and sentenced him to death (fortunately that was reduced, but he still served prison time for self-defense). So, to ALL you Rangers out there that do what you do I just want to say: THANK YOU!

Aaron's Tomb & Mosque

 

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/content/3299

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Green_Line

http://www.thingreenline.info/

http://www.visitjordan.com/

“Who Dung It?” (Al Webster)…and other things learned: A REVISIT

donkey riders - Lower Basin

               Today being 22 October 2011 means our time at Petra is getting short. Let me see… I know I have enough fingers to figure this out… counting today we have 3-days left before we head to Wadi Rum for a couple of days work there, then onto Amman for meeting with USAID & DOI’s Jordan Parks Project before flying back home (inshallah).

             



Columbarium



  So, what have we learned this time at Petra? Bringing travel coffee French press: good; renting car from a local guy: not-so-good. Actually there has been a lot, of course the learning curve was fuller the previous months here, but some revelations take longer before self-illumination or that BFO moment (“blinding flash of the obscure” or sometimes even the obvious). One aspect or work here that I’ve noted this time is it is hard to get your hands on research materials. With 12-16 institutions doing research in a “normal year” you’d think that more would pop-up on Internet searches. You can find research on big-ticket items, like sandstone weathering or Brown University’s excavations at The Great Temple (linked below), but try to find some good basic analysis of coprolite studies and you’re in a world of… hurt. Even the PAP staff has difficulty putting their hands on it. So, onward we plod.

Game board, trail to High Place

               Last night at dinner (Supervisory Ranger Sameer’s home) we again were afforded wonderful hospitality and opportunity to talk football (soccer to folks in US of A). It got me wondering about the games that the Nabataens would’ve been indulging in 2,000 years ago. During the Hellenistic and Roman periods there would’ve been the Olympic game events (and their harsh training methods [like whippings with a switch] that we’d find intolerable), but few would participate in those endeavors. There are several board-type game locations incised into horizontal surfaces around Petra. We saw one being used by vendor girls our 3^rd day here in March. It involves the throwing of sticks and placing pebbles around stations that immediately reminded me of cribbage movements. Of course Mancala is an ancient past-time well pre-dating baseball and “The X-Games” (by some 3,000 years: see the link below).

another game board alonside trail to High Place of Sacrifice (photos by Bruce McKeeman)

http://downloads.arcbv.nl:7780/downloads/aswa/aswa5/aswa5-02.pdf

http://specialpapers.gsapubs.org/content/390/39.abstract

http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/Petra/

http://www.wadirum.jo/Protected_Areas_Jordan.htm

http://nabataea.net/gameskids.html

http://www.jacobberkowitz.com/kids-zone/books/jurassic-poop/amazing-coprolite-fossil-feces-facts/

“The children, the children, I’ll not forget the children”…





Tourism Police & vendors at Treasury

Whenever my sister Chris and I get together for very long we usually find ourselves breaking into a chorus of the above title of this post (from “The King & I”).  There are many children in the neighborhood. The other night I went out to pick up some chicken and there were about 3-dozen under 10 playing in the street on our block (or the adjacent dirt soccer field). One of the primary issues that concerns managers at Petra Archaeological Park (PAP, or the Park), the Region Authority, Tourism Police, UNESCO and many others is underage vendors. Many start coming to the Park before they can walk, and drop-out of school in order to sell rocks chiseled from the resource PAP is setup to protect. They can make a JD (Jordanian Dinar) or two and help with the family’s finances. They start by selling rocks, postcards, and smiles. As they mature it is jewelry (often said to be Bedouin in origin, but from India or Pakistan), “donkey operator” or wife. None of them are authorized to operate in the Park, but laws also protect minors from most legal actions. We watch them have their wares confiscated by Rangers, but returned within 15-minutes. They are usually outgoing and friendly, but will point out that this is their country (yes, and one that has determined this activity is not in your best interest or that of the country: eco & heritage visitors don’t like being harassed and sadly we’ve watched some that were until they bought something). About 30% of them are members of families receiving social assistance payments (another 30% are families of park staff), so there is leverage to gain compliance to keep them in school. The “will” to do so is growing. In fact a military school was discussed this spring, and seems to be gaining traction: it could be a combo of those sincerely wanting the opportunities afforded by it, and those that might be walking-the-line of miscreant behavior and directed there by authorities.

New PM

As some of you may have been reading, Jordan has a new Prime Minister: Awn al-Khasawneh. The previous one resigned after ca. 8-months amidst allegations of foot-dragging re: change, conflicts-of-interest and corruption (“go figure”). The new PM, a former international jurist, is a longtime friend of King Abdullah's family (“go figure”) and has said he’ll have an open-door policy and talk with everyone: I’ve got my request in-the-Q. Shall we start a pool for when-it-happens?     http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/10/17/172308.html

www.deseretnews.com/article/700188865/Jordans-king-names-judge-as-new-prime-minister.html

Khazneh today

               When here earlier this year, “Arab Spring” sprung with youthful vigor and the assistance of social media led by Facebook. Of course that can have its disadvantages too; some of the reports coming out of this region were not witnessed 1^st-hand, but often 3^rd or 4^th. Many of us remember the communication exercise where a group of a dozen plus people sit in a circle and the lead whispers something like “Moses was a prophet”  and by the time we all took turns passing it on (whispering what we’d heard) we ended up with something like “bankers profit by child molestation.” Anyway, speaking of children…

Congress - A Group Of Baboons

By Frosty Wooldridge    8-22-11

The English language features an anthropomorphic collection of nouns for the various groups of animals. We call a bunch of cows a "herd." We call a group of geese a "gaggle." We call a bunch of fish a "school." We call a group of sheep a "flock."

However, less widely known is a "pride" of lions, a "murder" of crows, an "exaltation" of doves and, because they look so wise, a "parliament" of owls.

Finally, let's consider a group of baboons They are the loudest, most dangerous, most obnoxious, most viciously aggressive and least intelligent of all primates. What is the proper collective noun for a group of baboons? Answer: a congress!

Now you understand why our country continues its descent into the abyss of a failing civilization.

(as noted by one observer: the above is an affront to all self-respecting baboons)    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baboon

A light in the desert… what is burning in Wadi Musa?

We were scheduled to go to Haroun’s (Aaron’s) Tomb today, but the Inshallah-factor stepped-in. Last night, being Wednesday, was the special program Petra at Night that features Khazneh (Treasury) by candlelight, flute music, singing & poetry. Petra had some other nocturnal experiences last night too. These were in addition to the types that happen when western ladies meet Bedouin (aka. “Bad-ouin) eyes at night: sometimes it leads to marriage or another lesson in life’s twists & turns.

This morning when Rangers reported for duty the question asked was: “What happened to the Ranger Kiosk?” The wooden kiosk was burned down, and removed, last night. In addition, a real “cover up” ensued as the location was cleansed of metal, glass, etc. and fresh earth was spread on top of the site. Now, it is true that the kiosk was unappealing to the eye, and not a favorite of UNESCO, this team of Rangers, or many others. However, someone apparently torched it and arson will get you 3-years in jail here we’ve been told.  The last time I saw the Ranger Kiosk I took a photo because two Tourism Police Officers (TPO) were standing outside it (1^st time I’d seen that). Today, no TPO and no Ranger Kiosk.

Speculations have been flying about regarding who might be responsible (many motives & suspects): angry displaced unauthorized vendors, UNESCO, Rangers/former Rangers, donkey-boys, Park Management, etc. The kiosk was to be a check-point for Rangers to stop donkey operators from proceeding further up towards the Khazneh, but they didn’t pay any attention to the Rangers (or TPO) anyway: they just waved and said go ahead and take my name. It is hard to enforce Park rules when you have no authority or regulations. As for this retired Regional Special Agent, I think it was Professor Plum in the Kiosk with a Candlestick.

As for the questions we heard the most often before “Who done did it?” were:

·        Where are you from?

·        Where is Fred?

Another Good day in PETRA (“is there any other kind?”)…

Me & mensaf-on-the-hoof at Ad-Deir (by Bruce McKeeman)

Saba al-heir (Good morning). Today was a good day (of course after a 24-hour flu-like bug anything would be better). Today was a nice jaunt up the 822 stairs to Ad-Deir (The Monastery) which dates roughly 65 BCE (Before Common Era) to 110 CE (Common Era). Of course during that time frame it had a nice enclosed courtyard out front - supplied by Nabataen waterworks. The views of the un-named country to the west that is responsible for the world’s ills are still spectacular on non-windy & clear days: pretty much sums up what it has been like since we’ve been here. (Plus, the vendors up there love to see me coming because they have such nice jewelry; just between us I picked up some things for Meme... the anniversary of her b-day is next month… shhhh- don’t tell her and it’ll be a surprise).

We also learned that UNESCO is actively pursuing their “conditions & risk assessment” project in PAP; plus the testing of grids along the proposed road project for shuttle buses from the Lower Basin to Um Sayhoun & Wadi Mousa is underway. I looked for Federal Highway (FHWA) rep., but none on-scene.

In addition, it looks like we’re “a-go” for some Jordan Parks Project work at Wadi Rum next week. You might recall we visited there a couple of times last spring, and it certainly is a not-to-be-missed World Heritage Site made famous by its landscapes in the film “Lawrence of Arabia.” Of course, I have a fondness for the nearby gulf-side city of Aqaba too and I’ve heard that the government has cleared out the Chinese Massage parlors that previously lined beach access spots.

               Tomorrow we intend to journey up to Jabal Haroun (Aaron’s Mt.) and pay homage to Moses’ brother and his final resting place (inshallah).

Congratulations to traveling compadre Bruce McKeeman; he submitted photos of Grand Canyon & Petra to this year’s photo contest at Ranger Rendezvous held in Colonial Williamsburg, VA while we were working here in Jordan. They took second & third place respectively. Here is a similar shot that he took of Khazneh (The Treasury).

Taking a day-off…



Wild Goose Pagoda Xi'an



A long standing army



I’m not thinking about the nuts-n-bolts of Petra Archaeological Park today. It wasn’t too long ago that one-winter evening Meme asked me where I’d like to travel to later that year and I replied: “China.” As an undergrad student I’d studied Asian History, and as grad was pursuing Chinese archeology when I started my NPS career. I still remember Dr. Darlena Blucher’s words of advice to me at the Society for American Archaeology Conference in Dallas (1975): “Stay out of the Southwest, there are too damn many archeologists there already.” She was a Meso-Americanist (Teotihuacan), and I was “thinking dirt” at Bandelier, but still very much interested in China. After all, it was just the year before that 3 farmers were putting in a well outside Xi’an and had rediscovered the burial army of China’s unifier and 1^st Emperor Qin (Chin) Shi Huang ti. It is now a World Heritage Site, like Petra, and I didn’t balk at the thought of finally seeing it.  Xi'an is the beginning of The Silk Road: commerce & trade that brought our most important commodity (ideas) in both directions.

City Wall - Xi'an

                It wasn’t going to be like a previous trip where I just stumbled upon Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia) and ended up talking to the Superintendent about a Chief Ranger job (I can still see Meme & Justin’s face when I told them that Kakadu is home to over 1,000 species of flies). This time Meme & I were going on-tour that would include planned stops at World Heritage locales. Many of the primary features at PAP date to the same time-frame as Qin. The “palace intrigue” that surrounded and followed him were also similar to those employed throughout the Roman Empire for millennia to come (still).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Army

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakadu_National_Park#Aboriginal_rock_art_sites





So, ya wanna see Petra? Now is good…

               Met this morning with Dr. Emad, Director of Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) and Commissioner for Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority, Lt. Col. Moh’d Attal (CO, Tourism Police) and some members of PAP’s management team:

Rangers & TPO at Kiosk

               From Day 1 of this assignment (actually even before I left home), we’ve been asked to work with Supervisory Park Rangers and Tourism Police (TP). However, we rarely saw them working together (either last spring or this go-around). Today at 0600 local time “Operation Petra Storm” was initiated with PAP Rangers & TP Officers taking a joint/unified command venture: illegal vendor stands were dismantled and items seized. Last week’s visit by the Regional Authority (Governor) was part of a briefing tour and buy-in. UNESCO and other organizations have been troubled for some time about some of the issues here: proliferation of illegal & underage vendors and shops, impacts of animals on cultural resources, treatment of animals, etc. Today marked another visible step in plans to address those issues; following after having Fred Woehl (aka “Cowboy Fred”) several times working with the horse program (usually the 1^st impression visitors have of Petra proper inside the park).

donkey staging area - Lower Basin

               In addition, other activities adding to the busy week of PAP managers include: the beginning of a UNESCO mapping project (remember PAP is 164 sq. km./101 sq. mi.), continuing efforts/meetings developing a General Management Plan, upgrading the park’s uniform program, and Transportation Plan trip to UNESCO in Paris next month (all that tuckers me out, and makes me want to take a siesta - see below).

The Park Ranger and TP Officers are busy with visitor services and resource management issues, and this is a very good time to plan your visit to Jordan’s park and nature reserves. Visitation is way down from previous years due to regional unrest, but Jordan is relatively safe & secure. Here is hoping that it stays that way, and Jordan has a successful eco & heritage tourism future (inshallah)…


http://www.thebrooke.org/support-us/responsible-tourism 

Going Green… back to the future…

*

Our trip to the Feynan Eco-lodge at Dana Biosphere Reserve was a worthwhile adventure. The excursion started with the rental car company owner (Osama) telling us that we shouldn’t take the car over the mountain to Wadi Araba because “the road is broken.” In actuality, the road is rough in spots for about a half-hour of the less than 2-hour drive from Wadi Mousa, but in better condition than some roads we’ve all been on out there (even in Nuevo Mexico: gee, the road atop La Cieneguilla petroglyphs pops into mind).

*

The Eco-lodge features solar powered electricity (and candlelight nights), totally vegetarian menus, spring water, a sunset hike, roof-top star gazing uncluttered by lights, half & full day tours to various destinations, breath-taking desert landscapes (that reminded me of Death Valley in spots), and locally made handicrafts. I know you’re all wondering who’ll win the lottery for the goat-skin wallet I picked up (I hear you: “Me, me… make it me”).

We got to meet some interesting really interesting people too: the Legal Attaché (aka: LEGAT) for Jordan, Lebanon & Syria (talk about a challenge) from the embassy and his charming spouse; Suliman our young tour guide (with a degree in accounting from Karak, he prefers living at home with his parents 6 brothers/4 sisters and working in eco-tourism). The Eco-lodge at Feynan is a glimpse of the past and the future for many destinations. Well worth the effort to get there and experience.  During the sunset hike I found an area with an unauthorized excavation (looter’s hole) that had a still in place bowl protruding from its wall, which I of course photo-documented in place and reported. Yes, SiteWatch archaeology abroad.

*

BTW, we opted for the half-day walk to the copper mines that were utilized from late Neolithic/early-Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and through Roman & Byzantine periods. Working the mines was not pleasant duty. In fact, it was usually reserved for a prisoners & slave’s last stop before their entrance to the other side with the spirit world. One rock-lined shaft dropped down about 40’ and then went laterally close to 150’ (of course without ventilation). I don’t imagine it was a much sought after billet for Roman soldiers or guards either. The return to the Lodge and a cool lemonade was a nice modern respite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age

* - photo by Bruce McKeeman

“Off to see the Lizard…”

Jujube tree

Today (14OCT2011) me-n-the-mates are off for a walk-about in the lower part of the Dana Biosphere Reserve. Managed by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), we’ll be staying at the Feynan Ecolodge, which is solar powered by day and candlelight at night. We visited the upper part of Dana on the 2^nd of April (see April 3^rd blog post), but this time we’ll be approaching from the Wadi Araba side (home to the Jujube: Ziziphus spinas-christi; my teeth ache from even thinking about youthful encounters with the candy).

Dana Reserve

               The area is considered second only to Petra for the density of archaeological sites & resources, with field work continuing to ask those troubling research questions pertaining to: “who are we?” – “where did we come from?” – “have we been here (figuratively) before?”







              

FYI, potential researchers still flock to Petra Archaeological Park (PAP): there are 16 institutions this year doing or proposing work. Projects are vetted by the staff at PAP, Jordon’s Dept. of Antiquities and UNESCO. A major university, from a country that will remain un-named (but they were allies of the Ottoman Empire in WW I), have constructed scaffolds in front of monument facades in pursuit of their desire to take core samples of sandstone from facades to measure salinity, humidity, etc. impacts on the cultural resources. They asked officials to be able to take 25cm cores, but were told to limit it to 5cm; this was approved by the legal Jordanian authorities, but apparently UNESCO has said “no” and failed to attend meetings or consult on the issue. One wonders why they need to take cores directly from the facades instead of the adjacent stone, but I’m sure they have their reasons. So, as I do some yoga this morning I’ll be chanting: “non-intrusive protection-in-place.”

Ciao for now…

http://www.rscn.org.jo/

http://www.feynan.com/index.html

“I feel like I’m fixing to die…” (and other “Country Joe & the Fish” rags)

Royal Tombs

I received a quick and unexpected reminder of being a semi-high profile public servant in a foreign land this afternoon. Though here strictly in an advisory capacity (vice operational), I couldn’t help but think of the many travelers that came here and ended up calling Petra home for their final worldly act. An older visitor from Poland died at her hotel the other night; I hope she got to see Petra earlier in the day

Haroon's Tomb

Early funerary traditions practiced by locals during their transition from Neolithic hunter-gather to seasonal occupants of what became villages were burials beneath the floors of their circular pit-houses (so familiar in various locales). Later they evolved to rectangular above-ground rooms and blocks (ditto). One of the more famous burials here is Haroon’s, or Aaron’s tomb. As the older brother of Moses (“The Prophet Brothers”) he is often credited with being his younger brother’s mouthpiece (unlike Charlton Heston  it has been rumored that the younger was slow-of-speech: I bet after the “Burning Bush Incident” anyone would need prolonged critical incident stress counseling). Both brother’s final resting place is in Jordan, though not available for archaeological research.

Nabataen burial cave

Later the Nabataens became famous for their elaborate burial practices. It appears that the Romans adopted the local custom as several Roman tombs dot the landscape (vice ashes being sent back to Rome).  There are about 1,000 Nabataen tombs in PAP, and some believe that in addition to it being on a major trade caravan route, Petra was a religious destination for many Nabataen. In fact, it may have been a highly prestigious burial city. Of course, there is evidence of local treatment of human remains.

funerary prep area

Being along a vital trade route from Africa, myrrh was a commodity available for treatment of the deceased. The body would be wrapped, treated and placed in exposed pits excavated from rock benches in high places. Here the bodies would be dehydrated & mummified at an accelerated rate (it would also help mitigate certain odors from public areas). Later the human remains would be placed in burial vaults/chambers often having highly stylized facades that we see in the monuments around PAP today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron

http://nabataea.net/burial.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrrh

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/deathafterlife/a/RomanBurial.htm

Roman Soldier tomb

Add’l Note: I asked an archaeologist on the staff here for information on coprolite research that has been done here. He said that it indicates many interesting factors: eating fish from Red Sea, etc. He’ll be getting me a copy sometime (Inshallah).