Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Mansef
Yesterday our professor, Dr. Saad Abu Diyeh, took us to a party in a village near Ajloun (the Crusader castle from previous post). We arrived by bus around 5:30pm and were ushered into a building where the women were separated from the men and brought to sit down in a parlor. There we were offered coffee (from shared cups) and the music began! There was lots of dancing and the women taught us the Jordanian dabke. Dabke is a traditional dance done throughout the Arab world, but the steps are different from country to country. They took it easy on us, giving us the basic version, but a few times the women got so into the music they did it full out. It was something else. Will have to find someone here in Amman to teach it to me. Afterwards they brought out big dishes of rice and lamb meat with flat bread and a yogurt sauce. They were kind enough to bring us plates but they only seem to use them for the rice. Most of our hostesses reached right over the plates and picked off bits of the meat with their hands, often plopping chunks down onto our plates, encouraging us to eat more. By the way, it was delicious. Really good. Amazing. I only stopped eating because I literally had no room left. How they got the meat to fall right off the bone like that I don't know but YUM. Then it was time to go! How quickly it all went by. On the bus ride back, we stopped at the home of a friend of Dr. Saad's. He invited us onto his patio for cinnamon tea that tasted like rice pudding. Here is a picture of the whole group standing at the top of a dam outside of Amman, taking in the evening scenery:
July!
Oh my goodness, I've fallen behind...
Sorry for not posting in a while, I have fallen into my routine here and as the weekend trips begin to dwindle, I forget to write about the day to day.
I'll start with July 3 because, well, WHOA. Spent most of the day watching the news and waiting to see what would happen in Egypt. I was honestly shocked that the military ousted Morsi, mostly because he was the first democratically elected civilian leader in Egypt and just last year his people seemed to love him. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. It might have been better to wait out his term and do it the right way, the democratic way, if for no other reason than to ensure security and stability in the country. This op-ed in the Times a few days ago made some similar points that I'm inclined to agree with. Oh, well! All of this comes at a very interesting time for my office, the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, as we are in the process of putting together a new program that will include conferences and workshops on how to include Islamist political parties in democratic discourse here in Jordan.
July 4th! Independence Day, minus BBQs, beer, and fireworks. Instead we went to Books@Cafe for drinks and shisha.
Not a bad view... and there were a few fireworks out over the hills so we weren't completely deprived.
And that brings me to this past weekend, which was by far the most relaxing I've had since arriving in Amman. On Friday, Jocelyn, Bryn, and I hopped in a cab to downtown Amman to have lunch at Hashem, a famous hole in the wall/alley restaurant. There are no menus at Hashem. Hummus, hummus, and more hummus are your options. They also have great falafel, which they serve with raw onions, fresh tomatoes, and mint, and ful, a spicy white bean dip. All of these are eaten with fresh pita and a cup of hot mint tea. YUM!
We then climbed (Amman in a city of hills, big ones) up to Rainbow Street. Rainbow Street is the main drag for entertainment in Amman. It runs from the First Circle down to a set of steps leading to City Center (downtown). The streets are lined with restaurants, hookah lounges, and the occasional bar. It just so happens that on Fridays there is a souk (mentioned in a previous post) right off of Rainbow Street, so we walked through again to look at the jewelry and art.
By this time it was mid-afternoon and HOT. Jocelyn had a tea spot in mind she had been wanting to check out so we went to find Turtle Green Tea Bar. What a great spot! They had an amazing assortment of hot and cold teas, as well as coffee. Free wifi, comfy lounging areas, and air conditioning sealed the deal. We stayed there for an hour or two enjoying the ambiance and relaxing.
This was the jasmine green tea/mango puree/red herbal iced tea we tried. Delicious! Ended up ordering a second pitcher.
The tip jar at Turtle Green Tea Bar. Made me laugh.
From there we walked over to Books@Cafe (see above) for some shisha and a view. The bookstore on the first floor carries English and Arabic titles. The second floor, where the cafe is, has a few indoor seats but most chose to sit out on the patio overlooking the hills of downtown Amman.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, at around 6:30pm we set off for Taj Mall (the luxury mall in Abdoun) to meet the rest of the UB group for a movie. In honor of the 4th of July we picked White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jaime Foxx. For a few extra dinar we upgraded our seats to VIP, meaning instead of regular seats in the theater we each had our own oversized leather recliners with tables and cup holders. I ordered a blue slushy and a mixed medium popcorn. The mixed popcorn is half buttered and salted popcorn, half caramel corn. What a fun night!
The weekend adventure didn't end there. The next morning we were picked up and taken to the Dead Sea. The first stop was the Jordan River and the Baptism site (pictures forthcoming). What an amazing experience. It was really amazing to be there and see where these famous, important religious events took place and realizing that you're walking on the same ground as Jesus, John, and all of these other people did thousands of years ago. The significance of it all was something else. My favorite part of that stop, however, was sitting at the bank of the Jordan River and cooling my legs in the water. The reason this was so interesting to me was because just ten feet across the river from where I sat there were groups of people doing the same thing... in Israel/Palestine. Wow!
The Dead Sea was only fifteen or so minutes away from the Baptism site. We paid 10JD each to enter a private beach with pools, snacks, drinks, shisha, and Dead Sea access. Floating in the Dead Sea was... awkward. It's an unusual sensation. A few friends of mine were unfortunate enough to get the water in their eyes. It is, apparently, beyond painful. After taking a dip in the sea at the lowest point on earth, I headed straight for the pool where I relaxed, ate fruit, swam, read... Just like a day at Seaside. It felt more like summer should.
Here I am at the Dead Sea! Spent most of the time there in the shade avoiding the sun but I still managed to get a bit of color.
After leaving the pool we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that looked out over the Dead Sea.
The group! Notice all the new faces? Those are the Belgians. They arrived about a week ago. They are staying in Amman for three weeks and studying business and economics at Princess Sumaya (the university where we take Arabic).
Sorry for not posting in a while, I have fallen into my routine here and as the weekend trips begin to dwindle, I forget to write about the day to day.
I'll start with July 3 because, well, WHOA. Spent most of the day watching the news and waiting to see what would happen in Egypt. I was honestly shocked that the military ousted Morsi, mostly because he was the first democratically elected civilian leader in Egypt and just last year his people seemed to love him. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. It might have been better to wait out his term and do it the right way, the democratic way, if for no other reason than to ensure security and stability in the country. This op-ed in the Times a few days ago made some similar points that I'm inclined to agree with. Oh, well! All of this comes at a very interesting time for my office, the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, as we are in the process of putting together a new program that will include conferences and workshops on how to include Islamist political parties in democratic discourse here in Jordan.
July 4th! Independence Day, minus BBQs, beer, and fireworks. Instead we went to Books@Cafe for drinks and shisha.
And that brings me to this past weekend, which was by far the most relaxing I've had since arriving in Amman. On Friday, Jocelyn, Bryn, and I hopped in a cab to downtown Amman to have lunch at Hashem, a famous hole in the wall/alley restaurant. There are no menus at Hashem. Hummus, hummus, and more hummus are your options. They also have great falafel, which they serve with raw onions, fresh tomatoes, and mint, and ful, a spicy white bean dip. All of these are eaten with fresh pita and a cup of hot mint tea. YUM!
We then climbed (Amman in a city of hills, big ones) up to Rainbow Street. Rainbow Street is the main drag for entertainment in Amman. It runs from the First Circle down to a set of steps leading to City Center (downtown). The streets are lined with restaurants, hookah lounges, and the occasional bar. It just so happens that on Fridays there is a souk (mentioned in a previous post) right off of Rainbow Street, so we walked through again to look at the jewelry and art.
By this time it was mid-afternoon and HOT. Jocelyn had a tea spot in mind she had been wanting to check out so we went to find Turtle Green Tea Bar. What a great spot! They had an amazing assortment of hot and cold teas, as well as coffee. Free wifi, comfy lounging areas, and air conditioning sealed the deal. We stayed there for an hour or two enjoying the ambiance and relaxing.
From there we walked over to Books@Cafe (see above) for some shisha and a view. The bookstore on the first floor carries English and Arabic titles. The second floor, where the cafe is, has a few indoor seats but most chose to sit out on the patio overlooking the hills of downtown Amman.
As if that wasn't enough for one day, at around 6:30pm we set off for Taj Mall (the luxury mall in Abdoun) to meet the rest of the UB group for a movie. In honor of the 4th of July we picked White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jaime Foxx. For a few extra dinar we upgraded our seats to VIP, meaning instead of regular seats in the theater we each had our own oversized leather recliners with tables and cup holders. I ordered a blue slushy and a mixed medium popcorn. The mixed popcorn is half buttered and salted popcorn, half caramel corn. What a fun night!
The weekend adventure didn't end there. The next morning we were picked up and taken to the Dead Sea. The first stop was the Jordan River and the Baptism site (pictures forthcoming). What an amazing experience. It was really amazing to be there and see where these famous, important religious events took place and realizing that you're walking on the same ground as Jesus, John, and all of these other people did thousands of years ago. The significance of it all was something else. My favorite part of that stop, however, was sitting at the bank of the Jordan River and cooling my legs in the water. The reason this was so interesting to me was because just ten feet across the river from where I sat there were groups of people doing the same thing... in Israel/Palestine. Wow!
The Dead Sea was only fifteen or so minutes away from the Baptism site. We paid 10JD each to enter a private beach with pools, snacks, drinks, shisha, and Dead Sea access. Floating in the Dead Sea was... awkward. It's an unusual sensation. A few friends of mine were unfortunate enough to get the water in their eyes. It is, apparently, beyond painful. After taking a dip in the sea at the lowest point on earth, I headed straight for the pool where I relaxed, ate fruit, swam, read... Just like a day at Seaside. It felt more like summer should.
After leaving the pool we stopped for dinner at a restaurant that looked out over the Dead Sea.
Paparazzi caught me off guard!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Summer Reading
The last few weeks haven't been ALL fun and games...
I put together my thesis proposal and submit it to my advisor (who will be overseeing the process this fall) and ISA-NE. May submit to another fall conference if that doesn't work out. I'm hoping to have the chance to share a chapter of my thesis and get feedback before finishing it! It's starting to sink in that my entire fall will be dedicated to this project (along with preparing for comprehensive oral and written exams), any good tips on how to stay focused and on track with research and writing? Please, share!
Thank goodness, I have also found time for leisure reading.
I finally finished A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #5) and have moved on to We, the Drowned. Who "wastes" valuable luggage pounds on reading material? This girl.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Minimal excitement, maximum relaxation
It's been a pretty low-key week here in Jordan. Most of us barely noticed Secretary of State John Kerry's stop by Amman, but have been following Nelson Mandela's decline with heavy hearts, placing bets on who will grant Snowden asylum, etc...
No big trips were planned, so yesterday (Friday) we went down to a souk on Rainbow Street that is only held on Thursdays and Fridays with two students from the university. There were dozens of stands lining a small alleyway and even more people clamoring to get through. Afterwards we went to Triangle Cafe for cold drinks and argeeleh/shisa. From there we moved on to Buffalo Wings and Rings (a Buffalo Wild Wings knock off) for hot wings and cold beers (hard to come by in Amman). It was a relaxing day just hanging out in the city. Still not sure what's on the agenda for today... Mall? Movies? Back to school/work tomorrow (Sunday).
Looking forward to visiting the Dead Sea next Saturday!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Umm Qais/Castle Ajloun/Jerash
On Friday we took a trip up north to Umm Qais, Castle Ajloun, and Jerash. Here is a map of Jordan for reference:
Golan Heights, looking out over Syria from Umm Qais
Umm Qais
Paparazzi caught me trying to cool off in the shade
The group at Umm Qais
Looking over towards Palestine and Kineret Lake (Sea of Galilee)
***
***
Castle Ajloun
***
Entrance to Jerash
Amphitheater
Having a dance party in the amphitheater at Jerash!
When we walked into the amphitheater, a group of musicians (man to my left included) started playing Amazing Grace and then Yankee Doodle on the bagpipes/drum. It ended up morphing into a full on dance party with more arabic tunes and our new friends teaching us how to dance like Jordanians! What a blast!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Petra
On Saturday I checked "visit Petra" off my bucket list! Here are some pictures from our long day at Petra and evening in Wadi Rum:
Walking to the Siq
The Siq, the entry way to the city
Almost there!
The Treasury
Camels (Yes, I rode a camel)
Amphitheater
Death march to the Monastery
A nice view
Bedouin boy reppin' NYU at Petra!
Wadi Rum
Watching the sun set from a ridge in the desert
Desert transportation
The group! We're all exhausted but what a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)