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<h4>Ruins of the octagonal sixth-century Byzantine martyrium</h4>
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<p>Nestled on a plateau in the northwestern corner of Jordan lay the ruins of the ancient city of <em>Gadara</em>. From this vantage point, just beyond the sleepy town of Umm Qays, you have a spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_the_Golan_Heights">Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights</a>. Like many other places in the region, Gadara appeared on the historical record after Alexander the Great&rsquo;s conquest of the Near East in 333 BCE.<sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote-ref" role="doc-noteref">1</a></sup> The city seems to have been mostly destroyed and subsequently abandoned after an earthquake in the eighth century.</p></description>
<p>Jordan&rsquo;s location in the geographical &ldquo;near east&rdquo; has exposed it to dozens of civilizations over the course of history. In the last three thousand years alone the region has invariably fallen under the Persian, Greek, Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman empires, the legacies of which are often still visible today.</p></description>
<h4>Reams of colorful Bedouin fabric on sale in downtown Amman</h4>
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<p>Anyone who has drank tea in Petra or ate <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansaf">mansaf</a> in Wadi Rum will quickly recognize the unique fabric adorning traditional Bedouin tents in Jordan. These colorful designs are commonly used across the Arabian Peninsula and beyond, from Syria and Iraq in the north to the United Arab Emirates and Oman in the southeast. American musician Cardi B even featured some in the 2017 music video for her song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEGccV-NOm8">Bodak Yellow</a>!</p></description>
<p>Shortly after moving to Amman <a href="https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/saint-thaddeus-church-amman/">I noticed this unique building</a> on a distant hill and I set out on a sort of scavenger hunt to find it. The walk from downtown to Jabal Al-Ashrafiyeh is packed with winding streets and steep staircases (some of which go nowhere). To this day the church is one of my favorite landmarks in Amman and I often make the trek there when I&rsquo;m feeling like getting some exercise and exploring the city. I like to think of it as a pilgrimage—it <em>is</em> a religious site after all!</p></description>
<p>These days there isn&rsquo;t much to see of the Greco–Roman city of Pella in northwestern Jordan. Sadly, the ancient ruins here suffer from being slightly smaller, slightly less well-preserved, and slightly less convenient to visit than the similar ruins at <a href="https://picturingjordan.com/2017/04/greco-roman-ruins-jerash/">Jerash</a>. With a bit of imagination and some historical background, however, they are equally enchanting and even have a unique character of their own.</p></description>
<p>There is a popular notion that cleanliness is an important part of the Islamic faith, though you wouldn&rsquo;t know it from walking around Jordan. I have never seen people throw coffee cups, half-eaten sandwiches, tissues, etc on the street so carelessly—and often times with such <!-- raw HTML omitted -->finesse<!-- raw HTML omitted -->—as here in Jordan.</p></description>
<p>There are apparently two arches built around 130 CE to honor Roman Emperor Hadrian—one in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_Hadrian_(Athens)">Athens</a> and one in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_Hadrian_(Jerash)">Jerash</a>. The former is undoubtedly more studied, but the latter is objectively more beautiful! Maybe it&rsquo;s the color of the stones in the afternoon light, the unconventional architectural features, or just the sheer size of it.</p></description>
<p>Jordan&rsquo;s location in the geographical &ldquo;near east&rdquo; has exposed the country to dozens of civilizations over the course of history. Over the last three thousand years alone this region has experienced the coming and going of the Persian, Greek, Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, and Ottoman—to name a few—empires, the legacies of which are often still visible today.</p></description>
<h4>Bedouin with camels in Wadi Rum</h4>
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<p>You could easily lose yourself—both literally and figuratively—in the endless red sand and towering rock skyscrapers of Wadi Rum. This majestic place, known to even the Greeks and the Romans, has been inhabited for thousands of years and is unlike any other place on Earth. The unique landscape has been featured in a handful of Hollywood movies, for example <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Arabia_(film)"><em>Lawrence of Arabia</em></a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film)"><em>The Martian</em></a>.</p></description>
<p>Jordan&rsquo;s Dead Sea coast is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Amman. If you&rsquo;re looking for something a little more wholesome and minimalistic—not to mention cheaper—than an elegant five-star resort, look no further than <a href="https://wildjordan.com/">Wild Jordan&rsquo;s</a> chalets at Wadi Mujib.</p></description>
<p>While not <em>technically</em> in Jordan, Jerusalem&rsquo;s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock">Dome of the Rock</a> is basically just a stone&rsquo;s throw away from Amman (pun intended). Not only is this shrine capped with a golden dome, covered in vibrant Ottoman-era tilework, and adorned with elegant Arabic calligraphy, it also boasts an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_Stone">impressive <em>résumé</em> of sacred claims to fame</a>.</p></description>
<h4>Petra&#39;s &#34;monastery&#34; basking in the golden light just before sunset</h4>
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<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabataeans">Nabataeans</a> were a tribe who became filthy rich on the trade of frankincense, myrrh, and spices in the Arabian peninsula around 2,000 years ago. They built Petra as the capital of their flourishing civilization. Hauntingly beautiful stone facades standing one hundred meters tall are amazingly intact and well preserved to this day.</p></description>
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<title>Kanafeh: the Classy Palestinian Dessert</title>
<p>I&rsquo;m ashamed to say that it took me almost one month to discover this sweet, cheesy dessert after moving to Jordan. Originally from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nablus">Nablus</a>, a Palestinian city apparently known for &ldquo;high cuisine,&rdquo; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanafeh">kanafeh</a> is one of those things that they just can&rsquo;t make fast enough. At one famous shop called Habibah in downtown Amman there is always a line, and it&rsquo;s even a bit stressful ordering there unless you know what you&rsquo;re doing!</p></description>
<p>You haven&rsquo;t lived until you and your friends have eaten seventeen different colors of rice, meat, and sauces while sitting on the floor at the <em>Bab al-Yemen</em> restaurant in Amman. If my experience is anything to go by, every item on the menu is downright delicious—including the humongous, flame-kissed flatbread that would be almost as fascinating to see being made as it was to eat.</p></description>
<p><a href="https://wildjordan.com/">Wild Jordan</a> has an ingenious day trip where you pay <em>them</em> to take <em>you</em> to pick olives on a farm in Ajloun—the family who owns the farm even comes out to watch you and give you tips!Like I said: genius. Jokes aside, it was actually a lot of fun, and the point is to educate you about the olive harvest and its importance to people in the region.</p></description>
<p>The <a href="https://jordanriver.jo">Jordan River Foundation</a> has a showroom on Rainbow Street where they <em>brilliantly</em> showcase traditional, everyday objects from the region in a fresh, modern way. It&rsquo;s like someone went and replaced all the things in your grandma&rsquo;s rural kitchen with newer, brightly accented ones. All of the wood, cloth, and clay work here is produced by people in local communities, and, as far as I know, the proceeds from sales go back to supporting them.</p></description>
<p>The best way to describe the Sheikh Zayed mosque would be &ldquo;the pearl of Aqaba.&rdquo; There is a lot to love about this picturesque mosque by the Jordanian seaside, but its crown jewel—to continue the analogy—is the impeccable Arabic calligraphy inlaid in its façade. Sadly, Aqaba itself <a href="https://picturingjordan.com/2016/10/aqaba-dirty-disappointing/">isn&rsquo;t much to write home about</a>.</p></description>
<p>I&rsquo;m struggling to find words to describe my trip to Jordan&rsquo;s southern city by the sea. Initially, the contrast between dry desert, rocky mountains, and the turquoise water of the Red Sea is visually striking—imagine Matt Damon in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film)"><em>The Martian</em></a>, but where he goes snorkeling on a coral reef instead of growing potatoes.</p></description>
<p>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Hussein_Mosque">King Hussein mosque</a> was built in 2005 and is the largest mosque in Jordan. I haven&rsquo;t visited it yet, but I&rsquo;ve spent quite a few evenings admiring it from a balcony in the <em>Khalda</em> neighborhood of West Amman.</p></description>
<p>Another day, another exquisite, hand-painted ceiling in Amman. Just like the <a href="https://picturingjordan.com/2016/09/beautiful-hand-painted-woodwork/">other hand-painted wood ceiling</a> I posted about two weeks ago, the work was done by an old Syrian man. This one is actually in my flat, and I may or may not have taken this picture while laying on my back on the living room floor.</p></description>
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<title>Azraq Wetland, a Disappearing Oasis</title>
<p>There&rsquo;s a unique wetland nature preserve an hour and a half from Amman. In just thirty minutes of walking around, I saw birds, snakes, crabs, fish, and even water buffaloes! For thousands of years Azraq was a massive, thriving oasis whose ecological diversity supported human settlements, but in recent decades it has come dangerously close to drying up due to increased water usage from surrounding cities.</p></description>
<p>There&rsquo;s a shop in Amman&rsquo;s main market downtown that sells traditional Arabic sweets. I&rsquo;m not sure who was more excited about this half-kilogram of baklava (which is called &ldquo;<em>baklawa</em>&rdquo; in Arabic)—me, or the jovial young Jordanian selling it.</p></description>
<p>Even if the number of mosques in Amman <em>didn&rsquo;t</em> outnumber churches by a factor of ten, the Saint Thaddeus Armenian Apostolic church would still stand out. The unique architecture caught my eye once and then I started seeing it every time I glanced at Jabal Al-Ashrafiyeh. After weeks of squinting and asking myself &ldquo;<em>Is that an Armenian church?</em>&rdquo; I finally went on an scavenger hunt and found it.</p></description>
<p>A few weeks ago I slept in a tent on the cusp of Jordan&rsquo;s Rift Valley. <a href="https://wildjordan.com/">Wild Jordan</a> has regular hiking and camping trips to the reserve and they are very affordable. The staff are friendly and genuinely care about nature conservation. Trips to this and other national parks are part of an impressive <a href="http://www.rscn.org.jo/">government effort</a> to preserve Jordan&rsquo;s natural spaces.</p></description>
<p>There&rsquo;s an old Syrian man who does this fantastic hand painting on wood panels in Amman. Three flats in our building have them installed on the ceiling, but this one takes the cake. I&rsquo;m not sure if it&rsquo;s typical for the region or not—the man was referencing pictures from a Russian art book—but they are exquisite.</p></description>
<p>I can&rsquo;t even read Arabic but I&rsquo;m pretty sure that billboard is telling people to <em>put their fucking phones down while driving</em>. It&rsquo;s like an epidemic here. I&rsquo;ve never seen people look less at the road while driving than here in Amman.</p></description>
<h4>Sheep carcass lazily discarded in neighborhood dumpster</h4>
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<p>As Muslims around the world are busy wishing each other a blessed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha">Eid al-Adha</a>, some poor bastard has to clean up this lazily discarded sheep carcass from my local dumpster (note the entrails spilled below). Keep it classy, Jordan.</p></description>
<p>The irony is rich with this one, because this mosque has a sound system from another planet. If I wasn&rsquo;t worried about my personal safety I&rsquo;d put up a sign right next to it saying: <em>Please mute your mosque, there is a sleeping Alan 50m away</em>.</p></description>
