Damascus has had beautiful weather this past week, and I'm really enjoying walking home from university everyday. Class is still going well. I love my teacher. We had our midterm two days ago, and it wasn't too bad. Two more weeks and then I have a rendezvous with my mama (I'm really excited to show you Damascus, Mom!).
Today was a beautiful day for wandering in the old city. After university I took a shower (I have to take showers in the afternoon now because the sun heats up the water... in the winter we would light the water heater, but now that it's warm out, we're saving the oil), hand-washed some clothes and hung them outside to dry, ate lunch (rice and meat rolled in grape leaves), and then packed my bag with my sketchbook and charcoals and took a service bus to the old city. I bought some mango juice behind the Omayyad Mosque, and then found a little side street, sat down, and started sketching the alley. People walking by would steal glances at my sketch before carrying on, and one man even gave me a packet of cookies. By the time I was done with my sketch, several neighborhood children surrounded me and tried to talk with me, though it was difficult for me to understand their dialect. Before I left I gave some of them charcoal pencils.
Yesterday I had to make a little visit to the immigration office... after going back and forth to the same people two or three times (each time to simply sign or stamp a different piece of paper) I finally got my residence pass (you have to get one after every time you leave and re-enter the country). Later last night I went to the theatre with some friends and had a great time watching Shakespeare's Twelfth Night performed by a group from Britain. I'm sure most of the audience couldn't understand a single word of the play. My friend, Johann, made the interesting observation that most of the audience appeared to be Christian, or at least did not wear a hijab. Tickets were quite expensive, and I don't know if that may be a factor.
On Monday I visited Zilal. I met her outside the mosque, and we walked together to her new apartment. I met all of her Turkish roommates, and we talked a little in Arabic and English. I enjoyed a delicious Turkish meal with them, with tea afterward. Side note: Turkish tea kettles have two pots, one stacked on top of the other. One of the pots has strong tea, and the other has hot water. You pour both into your tea cup.
One of Zilal's roommates asked me about the differences between Syrian and American cultures. I didn't know where to begin (everything!!). One thing: men in Syria loooove hair gel (hence the title of this post). Most men have their hair slicked back with gel. It's an interesting trend, though one that I don't quite fancy. One of my guy friends said that at the bathroom in his gym, there's no soap, but there is a large container of hair gel on the counter. On the topic of hair... there are three male barbershops on my street. They stay open really late (at least until midnight), and each time I walk by there are men getting their hair straightened, curled, cut, and gelled. It's interesting that in a culture where most women do not show their hair, men are so concerned about the appearance of theirs.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Aleppo
Before I get to Aleppo, I just want to say that I have an amazing family - both in the states and in Syria (and for anyone else reading this, I'm trying to persuade my mom in VA to visit me in Turkey and Syria, so help me sway her easterly). My family is Syria is really fun. My host sister, Judy (which is actually spelled in her passport with English letters as Djoudi, but I will continue to spell it Judy), has given me a colloquial name, as she calls it - Halhoola (kind of). I like it. I continue to french braid Judy's hair almost every night, and we all continue to watch this great Turkish TV show every night (the main character, Zowahr, just got married! finally...). The food is still delicious, and Muhajerin is a great neighborhood to live in. The guy at the internet cafe (who sees me practically every day) lent me some Arabic movies last week. Today as I was walking to this wireless internet cafe, I passed by the man who works at the little cold store, and we exchanged salaam alakom's (peace be with you). And today is a beautiful day in Damascus.
Alright, so Aleppo. Aleppo is a great city. It's in Northern Syria, somewhat close to the Turkey border. We took the midnight train from Damascus, arriving in Aleppo around 6:30am. We dropped our bags off at our hotel (with VERY pink rooms) and found some delicious breakfast (bread with stringy cheese and a dish with a sugary sauce with cinnamon and cheese). Aleppo is known for its rich food. After breakfast, we got ripped off by our taxi driver who drove us to the citadel, but mafi mushkila (no problem, a commonly heard phrase in the Middle East), the citadel was really interesting, with many ruins and great views of the city. The citadel sits on top of a green hill. After the citadel, we walked through empty souqs (everything was closed because it was Friday, the holy day) and came upon the Umayed Mosque. We paid for cloaks, took off our shoes, and walked inside. The mosque has a huge open courtyard with hallwalls and rooms for prayer. It was really peaceful, and it was fun to watch the little children running and playing in the courtyard. (I've just finished uploading pictures from Aleppo... send me an email if you'd like to see them). We then returned to our hotel for a nice afternoon nap (our sleep on the train the night before wasn't exactly the best).
I traveled to Aleppo with three friends from Arabesk. We were an interesting group. I am obviously very Caucasian, Haji is American as well, though her family comes from India, Melanie is French, though her family is from Rwanda, and Fatima is also French, though her family is from Morocco. So we were a very diverse group, and we had a lot of fun together. Haji has a friend in the states who has family in Aleppo, so we called this family to ask for suggestions of good restaurants, or fun things to do at night. The family invited us to their house for dinner. We met Mohammed in front of Aleppo's university, and he walked us to their home. It was a busy home with two parents, seven children, two of the children's husbands, and six grandchildren. The family was really really nice and welcoming and friendly. It was really fun talking with them (and the kebeh they served us was delicious! Kebeh - grilled dough with meat and liver inside). The whole time we ate dinner, drank tea, and drank soda, Mohammed was coming up with a "project" for the evening. So after dinner, Mohammed, Mohammed's friend - Hani, and Zeina (one of Mohammed's sisters - we convinced their mom to let Zeina join us, as females don't usually walk outside at night... it's not proper, and the neighbors all talk, though it was fine for Zeina because Mohammed was with us). We enjoyed some ice cream while Hani drove us to Al-Jedida (a neighborhood). We walked through narrow streets, visited a couple of churches (it was Mohammed and Zeina's first times inside a church), and shopped a little. We really had a great time together.
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast on the roof of our hotel before setting out to explore the souqs some more (this time with the hustle and bustle of an open souq). Lonely Planet describes Aleppo's souqs as the most vibrant Middle Eastern souqs, and it was really beautiful and fun to watch. We shopped some, and bought schwarmas off the street on our way to the soap factory (Aleppo is also famous for it's olive oil soaps). The factory was hidden away down a quiet street, and we had to ask for directions several times. I'm glad we eventually found it - we were shown where the soup was made, stored, and packaged. I bought some olive and mint soap before leaving. After the soap factory, we returned to our hotel, gathered our things, and took a taxi to the bus station, where we took a bus back to Damascus (about 20 minutes outside of Damascus, we started to smell a burning smell, and the bus pulled over to the side of the highway and changed one of the tires, which apparently solved the problem, mafi mushkila).
A quick note on bargaining. In the Middle East, you can bargain for practically everything: items in a store (even if there is a written price), taxi rides, bus rides... Sometimes it's fun to bat your eyelashes, take part in the culture, and tell the shop keeper that you're a poor student who doesn't have a lot of money. Other times it's really frustrating. For example: when we arrived at the bus station, we bargained from one bus company to another until we found a price we liked (eventually we got them down from 200 Syrian pounds to 110). And of course everyone charges foreigners a lot more (some restuarants even have separate foreign and local menus, with different prices on each). Bargaining is just something you have to get used to in the Middle East.
Alright, so Aleppo. Aleppo is a great city. It's in Northern Syria, somewhat close to the Turkey border. We took the midnight train from Damascus, arriving in Aleppo around 6:30am. We dropped our bags off at our hotel (with VERY pink rooms) and found some delicious breakfast (bread with stringy cheese and a dish with a sugary sauce with cinnamon and cheese). Aleppo is known for its rich food. After breakfast, we got ripped off by our taxi driver who drove us to the citadel, but mafi mushkila (no problem, a commonly heard phrase in the Middle East), the citadel was really interesting, with many ruins and great views of the city. The citadel sits on top of a green hill. After the citadel, we walked through empty souqs (everything was closed because it was Friday, the holy day) and came upon the Umayed Mosque. We paid for cloaks, took off our shoes, and walked inside. The mosque has a huge open courtyard with hallwalls and rooms for prayer. It was really peaceful, and it was fun to watch the little children running and playing in the courtyard. (I've just finished uploading pictures from Aleppo... send me an email if you'd like to see them). We then returned to our hotel for a nice afternoon nap (our sleep on the train the night before wasn't exactly the best).
I traveled to Aleppo with three friends from Arabesk. We were an interesting group. I am obviously very Caucasian, Haji is American as well, though her family comes from India, Melanie is French, though her family is from Rwanda, and Fatima is also French, though her family is from Morocco. So we were a very diverse group, and we had a lot of fun together. Haji has a friend in the states who has family in Aleppo, so we called this family to ask for suggestions of good restaurants, or fun things to do at night. The family invited us to their house for dinner. We met Mohammed in front of Aleppo's university, and he walked us to their home. It was a busy home with two parents, seven children, two of the children's husbands, and six grandchildren. The family was really really nice and welcoming and friendly. It was really fun talking with them (and the kebeh they served us was delicious! Kebeh - grilled dough with meat and liver inside). The whole time we ate dinner, drank tea, and drank soda, Mohammed was coming up with a "project" for the evening. So after dinner, Mohammed, Mohammed's friend - Hani, and Zeina (one of Mohammed's sisters - we convinced their mom to let Zeina join us, as females don't usually walk outside at night... it's not proper, and the neighbors all talk, though it was fine for Zeina because Mohammed was with us). We enjoyed some ice cream while Hani drove us to Al-Jedida (a neighborhood). We walked through narrow streets, visited a couple of churches (it was Mohammed and Zeina's first times inside a church), and shopped a little. We really had a great time together.
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast on the roof of our hotel before setting out to explore the souqs some more (this time with the hustle and bustle of an open souq). Lonely Planet describes Aleppo's souqs as the most vibrant Middle Eastern souqs, and it was really beautiful and fun to watch. We shopped some, and bought schwarmas off the street on our way to the soap factory (Aleppo is also famous for it's olive oil soaps). The factory was hidden away down a quiet street, and we had to ask for directions several times. I'm glad we eventually found it - we were shown where the soup was made, stored, and packaged. I bought some olive and mint soap before leaving. After the soap factory, we returned to our hotel, gathered our things, and took a taxi to the bus station, where we took a bus back to Damascus (about 20 minutes outside of Damascus, we started to smell a burning smell, and the bus pulled over to the side of the highway and changed one of the tires, which apparently solved the problem, mafi mushkila).
A quick note on bargaining. In the Middle East, you can bargain for practically everything: items in a store (even if there is a written price), taxi rides, bus rides... Sometimes it's fun to bat your eyelashes, take part in the culture, and tell the shop keeper that you're a poor student who doesn't have a lot of money. Other times it's really frustrating. For example: when we arrived at the bus station, we bargained from one bus company to another until we found a price we liked (eventually we got them down from 200 Syrian pounds to 110). And of course everyone charges foreigners a lot more (some restuarants even have separate foreign and local menus, with different prices on each). Bargaining is just something you have to get used to in the Middle East.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
weekly recap
I've been kind of slacking on my blog, but here's a weekly recap:
Saturday (13th) - went to the hammam, and felt nice and clean after returning from Jordan.
Sunday (14th) - first day of level four class at university (pre-intermediate). My teacher is great. He's funny, really good at explaining and reviewing things, and likes to talk about Syrian culture. After university, I visited my Syrian friend, Zilal, and helped her a little with her English studies.
Monday - After university, I went to Zilal's house again, and this time spent the night with her, which was an interesting experience. When I first arrived at her house, we talked and she helped me with my Arabic homework. In the evening we visited her friends' house. There are about twelve female students living in this house, and when I first arrived, we sat in a circle in the living room with all twelve of them just staring at me. They then proceed to tell me I'm beautiful, and they asked me to write what face wash and lotion I use. I enjoyed my tea while they all talked about me in colloquial. It was interesting to visit and see how they live, though I felt pretty uncomfortable. After leaving their house, Zilal took me to a famous restaurant where we enjoyed fruit salads. These fruit salads were delicious with strawberry, kiwi, pineapple, apple, banana, ice cream, whipped cream, sweet cheese, pistachio, and chocolate sprinkles. We then returned to Zilal's home and talked about religion and culture before heading to bed.
Tuesday - I ate breakfast with Zilal before heading to university. Then university, internet cafes, lunch, and studying.
Wednesday - I woke up with an upset stomach, so did not make it to university. Am Anas took care of me, telling me I was only allowed to drink tea and eat Kake (long biscuits eaten with tea). Later in the evening Am Anas's two sisters, brother, daughter, grandson, aunt, and cousin all visited our house, and the room was loud with different conversations until everyone left around 10pm. As there isn't much privacy in the Middle East, everyone in the room knew I had been sick in the morning, and probably knew everything that had entered and left my body the entire day. I did feel well taken care of by Am Anas.
Thursday - Teacher's Holiday! No school. I met Astrid in the morning, and we walked around Damascus before parting ways and then meeting up again in the evening.
Friday - day trip to Palmyra, or the city of palms. Palmyra has an impressive amount of ruins, with a huge temple, and a long colonnaded street. I met some new students with Arabesk, and we had a great time exploring the old city.
Saturday - I met friends and we took a taxi to Jebel Quassioun (mountain) and watched the sunset over Damascus (or really, over the mountains in the west). Damascus is huge, and it was really cool to see the whole city spread out in front of us.
Sunday (today) - I went with my host dad to his cousin's house for breakfast. After breakfast, we sipped matte with special matte straws, which is really good. We then visited Mohammed's friend's house, and I had an interesting conversation about Palestine with his friend over lunch.
Saturday (13th) - went to the hammam, and felt nice and clean after returning from Jordan.
Sunday (14th) - first day of level four class at university (pre-intermediate). My teacher is great. He's funny, really good at explaining and reviewing things, and likes to talk about Syrian culture. After university, I visited my Syrian friend, Zilal, and helped her a little with her English studies.
Monday - After university, I went to Zilal's house again, and this time spent the night with her, which was an interesting experience. When I first arrived at her house, we talked and she helped me with my Arabic homework. In the evening we visited her friends' house. There are about twelve female students living in this house, and when I first arrived, we sat in a circle in the living room with all twelve of them just staring at me. They then proceed to tell me I'm beautiful, and they asked me to write what face wash and lotion I use. I enjoyed my tea while they all talked about me in colloquial. It was interesting to visit and see how they live, though I felt pretty uncomfortable. After leaving their house, Zilal took me to a famous restaurant where we enjoyed fruit salads. These fruit salads were delicious with strawberry, kiwi, pineapple, apple, banana, ice cream, whipped cream, sweet cheese, pistachio, and chocolate sprinkles. We then returned to Zilal's home and talked about religion and culture before heading to bed.
Tuesday - I ate breakfast with Zilal before heading to university. Then university, internet cafes, lunch, and studying.
Wednesday - I woke up with an upset stomach, so did not make it to university. Am Anas took care of me, telling me I was only allowed to drink tea and eat Kake (long biscuits eaten with tea). Later in the evening Am Anas's two sisters, brother, daughter, grandson, aunt, and cousin all visited our house, and the room was loud with different conversations until everyone left around 10pm. As there isn't much privacy in the Middle East, everyone in the room knew I had been sick in the morning, and probably knew everything that had entered and left my body the entire day. I did feel well taken care of by Am Anas.
Thursday - Teacher's Holiday! No school. I met Astrid in the morning, and we walked around Damascus before parting ways and then meeting up again in the evening.
Friday - day trip to Palmyra, or the city of palms. Palmyra has an impressive amount of ruins, with a huge temple, and a long colonnaded street. I met some new students with Arabesk, and we had a great time exploring the old city.
Saturday - I met friends and we took a taxi to Jebel Quassioun (mountain) and watched the sunset over Damascus (or really, over the mountains in the west). Damascus is huge, and it was really cool to see the whole city spread out in front of us.
Sunday (today) - I went with my host dad to his cousin's house for breakfast. After breakfast, we sipped matte with special matte straws, which is really good. We then visited Mohammed's friend's house, and I had an interesting conversation about Palestine with his friend over lunch.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
More Jordan: Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba
As I wrote before, our first two nights in Jordan were spent in the quaint little town of Madaba. Madaba was a welcome respite from busy Damascus, and an easy day trip to the Dead Sea. Astrid and I hired a driver to take us from Madaba to Petra via the Kings Highway. On this taxi ride we met Doug, who joined us in Petra the following day. The Kings Highway takes you from green fields colored with spring flowers, past rocky mountains, through huge canyons, and by dusty deserts. We stopped for about an hour in Karak and toured an old crusader castle. The old cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were supposedly nearby, and we could see the Dead Sea in the distance. We also stopped for tea alongside the canyon, and frequently stopped for pictures.
After about a six hour car ride, we arrived in the hilly town of Wadi Musa, right next to Petra (Musa, meaning Moses... supposedly this is where Moses struck the rock from which water flowed). The next day we bought a very expensive two-day pass to Petra (only a little more than the one day pass, but if you are thinking about visiting Petra, do it now. The prices will keep rising to a ridiculous amount by this November.) and explored the old Nabatean city. Walking through the Siq (the narrow canyon with beautiful red, pink, and tan rocks) and catching the first glimpse of the treasury (the building made famous by Indiana Jones) was really amazing. The city is quite large. There were over 800 stairs to the monastery, which was even bigger than the treasury, but the "view of the end of the world" was definitely worth the hike (the Bedouin tea in the tent overlooking this view was also nice.). We decided to take a different hike out of Petra in the afternoon. (We = me, Astrid, Doug, and two students from Damascus we met along the way) This hike was a little difficult to find, but we finally came to the narrow canyon, thanks to the help of several local Bedouins. It was one of the most intense hikes I have ever been on, wading through puddles of water, pulling and pushing each other over huge boulders (and huge piles of trash). We were lucky to make it out of the canyon with ten minutes to spare before it grew dark.
That night at the hotel (with Indiana Jones playing in the background) we met some new friends from a nearby country, and decided to join them to Wadi Rum the next day. So we caught the 6:20am bus and headed to the desert made famous by Lawrence of Arabia (which is an excellent film, by the way.). We shared the back of a jeep with seven other people, and bounced through the desert. We stopped to climb a rocky mountain to see a spring and up to a natural arch, to hike through a narrow canyon and also up a sand dune, and to see old Nabatean rock carvings and Lawrence's house. The desert in Wadi Rum is gorgeous as well. Rocky mountains rise out of the sands and fade into the background. There's not a mountain change, just single, solitary rock mountains (see my pictures for a better idea).
After an afternoon in the desert, we headed south (with our new friends) to Aqaba. Aqaba is right on the Red Sea, and the next day we were able to go swimming off the coast and see some beautiful blue, purple, and white coral. From the Jordanian coast, we were less than 10km from Saudi Arabia and could see Israel and Egypt across the sea. After a nice day at the beach we took a bus up to Amman and spent the night in the country's capital before heading back to Damascus the following day.
I'm now back in Syria, safe and sound (tomorrow I start level four class at Damascus University.). Jordan is a gorgeous country, with the landscape changing from green, fertile farmlands to harsh, dry desert. We met some great people along the way and had flexible travel plans, which I loved. I highly recommend a trip to Jordan to anyone reading this.
After about a six hour car ride, we arrived in the hilly town of Wadi Musa, right next to Petra (Musa, meaning Moses... supposedly this is where Moses struck the rock from which water flowed). The next day we bought a very expensive two-day pass to Petra (only a little more than the one day pass, but if you are thinking about visiting Petra, do it now. The prices will keep rising to a ridiculous amount by this November.) and explored the old Nabatean city. Walking through the Siq (the narrow canyon with beautiful red, pink, and tan rocks) and catching the first glimpse of the treasury (the building made famous by Indiana Jones) was really amazing. The city is quite large. There were over 800 stairs to the monastery, which was even bigger than the treasury, but the "view of the end of the world" was definitely worth the hike (the Bedouin tea in the tent overlooking this view was also nice.). We decided to take a different hike out of Petra in the afternoon. (We = me, Astrid, Doug, and two students from Damascus we met along the way) This hike was a little difficult to find, but we finally came to the narrow canyon, thanks to the help of several local Bedouins. It was one of the most intense hikes I have ever been on, wading through puddles of water, pulling and pushing each other over huge boulders (and huge piles of trash). We were lucky to make it out of the canyon with ten minutes to spare before it grew dark.
That night at the hotel (with Indiana Jones playing in the background) we met some new friends from a nearby country, and decided to join them to Wadi Rum the next day. So we caught the 6:20am bus and headed to the desert made famous by Lawrence of Arabia (which is an excellent film, by the way.). We shared the back of a jeep with seven other people, and bounced through the desert. We stopped to climb a rocky mountain to see a spring and up to a natural arch, to hike through a narrow canyon and also up a sand dune, and to see old Nabatean rock carvings and Lawrence's house. The desert in Wadi Rum is gorgeous as well. Rocky mountains rise out of the sands and fade into the background. There's not a mountain change, just single, solitary rock mountains (see my pictures for a better idea).
After an afternoon in the desert, we headed south (with our new friends) to Aqaba. Aqaba is right on the Red Sea, and the next day we were able to go swimming off the coast and see some beautiful blue, purple, and white coral. From the Jordanian coast, we were less than 10km from Saudi Arabia and could see Israel and Egypt across the sea. After a nice day at the beach we took a bus up to Amman and spent the night in the country's capital before heading back to Damascus the following day.
I'm now back in Syria, safe and sound (tomorrow I start level four class at Damascus University.). Jordan is a gorgeous country, with the landscape changing from green, fertile farmlands to harsh, dry desert. We met some great people along the way and had flexible travel plans, which I loved. I highly recommend a trip to Jordan to anyone reading this.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Jordan! Madaba, Mt. Nebo, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, and the Dead Sea
(yesterday's email to my lovely parents:) I've made it to Jordan! I'm sitting at an internet cafe in Madaba, about an hour outside of Amman, the capital. We took a taxi across the border (only $10 from Damascus to Amman!) and didnt have any trouble, once we paid money both to leave Syria and then to enter Jordan. Also, they thoroughly checked the cars before we entered Jordan. And when I say thoroughly, I mean we actually drove over a guard (slowly) who patted the underside of the car. I have never seen/heard of that before. Madaba is a quaint little town. Astrid and I walked around for quite some time. We visited St. George's Church, which has the oldest map of Palestine in the world (as a mosaic on the floor of the church.) Apparently in 1979 there was a miracle at the church as well - in one of the paintings Mary's eyes started glowing, and a third hand appeared, which means Mary was saying her hand is over the church, providing for it and protecting it. Tomorrow we're going to hire a driver to take us to the Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, and Bethany (spending the night in Madaba again).
Today: Today has been a great day seeing the country. As I wrote above, Astrid and I hired a private taxi to take us around for the day. We first drove to Mt. Nebo, the place where God showed the promised land to Moses (I believe also the place Moses died?). It had amazing views of Jordan (and Israel in the distance). We could see rocky mountains with different shades of pink and tan as well as green fields and rows of olive trees.
After Mt. Nebo, we drove to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The Jordan River is quite muddy and minimal now - Israel has built a dam further upstream (which has also affected the amount of water in the Dead Sea). We walked along the river for about an hour, first stopping at the site where Jesus was baptized, then walking to the ruins of three old churches (built practically on top of one another), and finally arriving to the river itself. Astrid and I were able to put our hands in the muddy water. It was amazing to see Israel right across the water. It literally would have taken only a minute to walk across from where we were. From a nearby church (in Jordan, built in the last 10 years) we could see Jericho in the distance and could faintly make out the mountain with Jerusalem. It was hard to believe that we were so close to Israel.
Our taxi driver then took us to the Dead Sea. We arrived at Amman Beach (the most expensive part of the day) a public beach for tourists. We were able to change into bathing suits before heading down to the sea. Thankfully, there were other tourists here (though it wasn't crowded, which was nice), so we didn't feel too uncomfortable in our bathing suits. There were other women in hijabs and jeans walking in the water. Swimming in the Dead Sea was so an amazing experience. The water was gorgeous and blue, and felt oily, if that makes any sense. It is extremely salty, especially if it gets in your mouth, and when you walk out of the sea, you are coated in a chalky layer of salt. Astrid and I had a lot of fun sitting on the water. It's really amazing. You just bounce along, and can't even force yourself to sink (we tried). We were able to rinse off in the shower and pool before meeting up with our driver again.
We walked around Madaba some more once we returned this afternoon. Tomorrow it's off to Petra.
ps. I am currently listening to a song by Elissa at the internet cafe. This song is alllll over Jordan and Syria. Everyone has it for their ring tone, it plays at all the restaurants and cafes and taxis and buses and anywhere else. Look her up on youtube. I don't know the name of the song, but in typical Arabic music style, she says "habibi" A LOT. (update: Astrid is sending the youtube video to my facebook wall, so check it out.) Yay Jordan - we can get on fb and youtube, and I can also view my blog - all of this is blocked in Syria. I can post new blogs, but I cannot view the main page with all of my blogs. Weird, I know.
Today: Today has been a great day seeing the country. As I wrote above, Astrid and I hired a private taxi to take us around for the day. We first drove to Mt. Nebo, the place where God showed the promised land to Moses (I believe also the place Moses died?). It had amazing views of Jordan (and Israel in the distance). We could see rocky mountains with different shades of pink and tan as well as green fields and rows of olive trees.
After Mt. Nebo, we drove to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The Jordan River is quite muddy and minimal now - Israel has built a dam further upstream (which has also affected the amount of water in the Dead Sea). We walked along the river for about an hour, first stopping at the site where Jesus was baptized, then walking to the ruins of three old churches (built practically on top of one another), and finally arriving to the river itself. Astrid and I were able to put our hands in the muddy water. It was amazing to see Israel right across the water. It literally would have taken only a minute to walk across from where we were. From a nearby church (in Jordan, built in the last 10 years) we could see Jericho in the distance and could faintly make out the mountain with Jerusalem. It was hard to believe that we were so close to Israel.
Our taxi driver then took us to the Dead Sea. We arrived at Amman Beach (the most expensive part of the day) a public beach for tourists. We were able to change into bathing suits before heading down to the sea. Thankfully, there were other tourists here (though it wasn't crowded, which was nice), so we didn't feel too uncomfortable in our bathing suits. There were other women in hijabs and jeans walking in the water. Swimming in the Dead Sea was so an amazing experience. The water was gorgeous and blue, and felt oily, if that makes any sense. It is extremely salty, especially if it gets in your mouth, and when you walk out of the sea, you are coated in a chalky layer of salt. Astrid and I had a lot of fun sitting on the water. It's really amazing. You just bounce along, and can't even force yourself to sink (we tried). We were able to rinse off in the shower and pool before meeting up with our driver again.
We walked around Madaba some more once we returned this afternoon. Tomorrow it's off to Petra.
ps. I am currently listening to a song by Elissa at the internet cafe. This song is alllll over Jordan and Syria. Everyone has it for their ring tone, it plays at all the restaurants and cafes and taxis and buses and anywhere else. Look her up on youtube. I don't know the name of the song, but in typical Arabic music style, she says "habibi" A LOT. (update: Astrid is sending the youtube video to my facebook wall, so check it out.) Yay Jordan - we can get on fb and youtube, and I can also view my blog - all of this is blocked in Syria. I can post new blogs, but I cannot view the main page with all of my blogs. Weird, I know.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
food (as requested by my dear mother)
Before I get to food... today was my last day of class!! At least the level three class. I have a little rahla (vacation) for a week in Jordan, and then I will return to university for level four. Yesterday we were interviewed (for the final) , and today we took the written final. Both parts weren't too bad. Just long. And of course I was last on the list for the interview yesterday, though I was one of the first to complete the exam today.
Some reflections on the tastes of Syria... food in Syria, for the most part, is latheth jdn, or very delicious. My host mom is an excellent cook, and my host dad has showed me how to cook caraway, a special dessert that I will try to recreate upon my return to the states. My typical, weekday breakfast is served on round silver platter that I place on the table that usually rests folded against my bedroom wall (my room is very small, though fits me well). On this silver platter are small plates of hummus (with olive oil and chickpeas on top), labneh with olive oil, makdoush (im not sure if its eggplant, or a pepper, stuffed with red peppers and lots of olive oil), fresh cheese, and sweet (really sweet) figs. All of this is accompanied by pita bread and a nice cup of tea.
On the weekend, we all eat together (on the table that usually rests folded against the wall) in front of the TV. Some memorable breakfasts include a dish of freshly made, thick hummus with tomatoes, garlic, and lots of olive oil, eaten with pita bread and followed by tea. Another breakfast dish is a creamy soup with potatoes, served over torn pieces of pita bread.
Am Anas usually has lunch ready when I return home from university. I've had Algerian couscous with a meat and vegetable soup poured on top, a Syrian spinach soup with garlic and fresh lemon juice (the lemon juice is characteristic of Syrian cuisine), rice (with a little bit of spaghetti mixed in) served with either a meat (usually lamb or beef) soup or an okra soup (yesterday's meal).
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Dinner is usually leftovers from lunch, if you're hungry (lunch can be served at 2, 3, or 4pm). If you're still full from lunch (which is usually my case) then I eat either fresh fruit (the oranges are from the tree in our garden), or rice pudding, or fruit jello, or (last night) caraway served with generous amounts of coconut flakes, pistachios, almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts on top.
Needless to say, I am fed quite well in Syria. My host family doesn't understand why I don't eat more. I tell them that if I ate anymore, I would be huge when I return to America (at which Mohammed says, "like Judy", who isn't really huge, just slightly bigger than me). If you would like to see any of my photos, just send me an email, and I'll invite you to view my web album, though I still need to upload pictures of food.
And now I'm off to the land of Moses, Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones, and numerous tourists. Yullah, bye!
Some reflections on the tastes of Syria... food in Syria, for the most part, is latheth jdn, or very delicious. My host mom is an excellent cook, and my host dad has showed me how to cook caraway, a special dessert that I will try to recreate upon my return to the states. My typical, weekday breakfast is served on round silver platter that I place on the table that usually rests folded against my bedroom wall (my room is very small, though fits me well). On this silver platter are small plates of hummus (with olive oil and chickpeas on top), labneh with olive oil, makdoush (im not sure if its eggplant, or a pepper, stuffed with red peppers and lots of olive oil), fresh cheese, and sweet (really sweet) figs. All of this is accompanied by pita bread and a nice cup of tea.
On the weekend, we all eat together (on the table that usually rests folded against the wall) in front of the TV. Some memorable breakfasts include a dish of freshly made, thick hummus with tomatoes, garlic, and lots of olive oil, eaten with pita bread and followed by tea. Another breakfast dish is a creamy soup with potatoes, served over torn pieces of pita bread.
Am Anas usually has lunch ready when I return home from university. I've had Algerian couscous with a meat and vegetable soup poured on top, a Syrian spinach soup with garlic and fresh lemon juice (the lemon juice is characteristic of Syrian cuisine), rice (with a little bit of spaghetti mixed in) served with either a meat (usually lamb or beef) soup or an okra soup (yesterday's meal).
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Dinner is usually leftovers from lunch, if you're hungry (lunch can be served at 2, 3, or 4pm). If you're still full from lunch (which is usually my case) then I eat either fresh fruit (the oranges are from the tree in our garden), or rice pudding, or fruit jello, or (last night) caraway served with generous amounts of coconut flakes, pistachios, almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts on top.
Needless to say, I am fed quite well in Syria. My host family doesn't understand why I don't eat more. I tell them that if I ate anymore, I would be huge when I return to America (at which Mohammed says, "like Judy", who isn't really huge, just slightly bigger than me). If you would like to see any of my photos, just send me an email, and I'll invite you to view my web album, though I still need to upload pictures of food.
And now I'm off to the land of Moses, Lawrence of Arabia, Indiana Jones, and numerous tourists. Yullah, bye!
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