Heading for the Hills

  Last Saturday, we decided to leave the hustle and bustle of Amman behind and take to the hills. Our destination: Wadi Seer, a suburb of Amman where the donkeys still roam freely (actually, donkeys are reasonably common in Amman, too, although they have to dodge the taxis and autobeeses). We took a public bus out of town--I enjoyed every minute of the ride out--relative to Amman, the hills outside the city were incredibly green and beautiful. Jordan is not really known for its natural beauty, but the fig, olive, and pomegranate trees  and rolling hills where people still practice the terraced farming that has been their livelihood for centuries is a real treat.
       We stopped to explore an ancient palace with Hellenistic leanings. Biblically speaking, we were in the land given to the tribe of Reuben. The palace itself was built by the same family who opposed the return of the Jews to Jerusalem in the book of Ezra. The palace has been partially reconstructed, and it was quite impressive. The pictures do not do it justice--there is a whole family of lions/panthers carved into the sides, and in its glory days there were fountains with water pouring out of the cats' mouths.
  We took a short hike up to some ancient caves (there were even some Hebrew inscriptions on the walls), but along the way, we met some lovely small-town Arab women. I am really coming to respect Arab hospitality--these kind women wasted no time before greeting us warmly then handing us figs from their tree and even the candy bars they had been eating!
   Next, we visited Iraq Al-Amir, which is a center where rural women were taught how to handmake paper, rugs, pottery etc and it has now become a self-sustaining business so that these women can support themselves. It was all quite interesting, and I bought a beautiful purple rug that they assured me had been handwoven from local sheep (although I did not see any purple sheep during the hike, so I have a few doubts about the authenticity of all their materials).
    That night, we had a "barbeque" at the church building. All of the senior missionaries and students attended, and we had a half American/half Jordanian potluck dinner. I even made fool medames. My roommate and I braved our frightening gas stove to try and cook the dish.
    Like everything in Jordan, it was an adventure. But I am so glad I did it.