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?