Amman, Jordan

Read the top sign right to left. Read the bottom sign left to right. That's the difference between Arabic and English. And, that's why the colors are reversed. The Arabic alphabet is relatively easy to learn because it is a phonetic alphabet: Letters stand for specific sounds. The two blue dots and two orange dots (top) sound like the e/E in FedEx. [2001]

Amman, Jordan

Remember: Read right to left. It's Arabic. This global company's logo has changed, but do you recognize it? If so, you can read Arabic. It shares a letter with one we learned last month when we looked at Coca-Cola in Tunis. It begins the second word of the company's name, transliterated (but not translated!) into Arabic. Here's a hint. [2001]

Amman, Jordan

Jordan is an Arabic-speaking country. So, what happens when a product from the Anglophone world is introduced? The name is often translated into Arabic. That seems to be the case with Pepsi. But wait? There is no p sound in Levantine Arabic. Pepsi, therefore, gets transliterated as Beebsi because there is a b sound. Remember: Read right to left. [1997]

Fuheis, Jordan

Markets in the Euro-American world don't typically offer hens for sale. Yet, only a century ago even town dwellers had a few chickens in the back yard so they could have fresh eggs in large quantities and chicken soup now and then. For Americans, seeing what's available in Middle Eastern suqs is a bit like turning the clock back a hundred years. [2001]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 12th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2022: Amazing how few pictures of Jordan have been posted on Geographically Yours! Amazing because I lived there for three months in 2001 (still looking for the pictures I took). I was a visiting scholar at the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman. My project was on the Christian population of Jordan. Every day, I would return to the library at ACOR and type up my field notes for the day. These are from March 16, 2001: “Passed up the Friends of Archaeology Tour to go to Fuheis. The mini-bus there costs only 150 fils. Fuheis is not far, just on the other side of the ridge from Suweillah. It is a Christian village. From several sources I have now heard that Muslims do not own property in Fuheis, although they live there. There seems to be a ‘conspiracy’ among the Christians to keep the town totally Christian. I am told there is a mosque, but I did not see it. You arrive in the square (a roundabout with a statue of St. George) in the middle of the village. There is a toy/trinket store, a grocery, a lunch take-away (where they gave me a free bottle of Coke), and a liquor store (yes, it sells arak along with many other liquors; you can tell it is a Christian place; and it’s not the only one in town). In the trinket store, I met the owner, Riad Jreisat and his two sons, both of whom were born in the United States. I took a picture of him and his son Ali (a Christian name?) and promised to send him a copy. The Christians in town are of three churches: Latine [essentially Roman Catholic], Roum Orthodox [Greek Orthodox], and Roum Catholic [Greek Catholic]. The medinah churches are the Latine and Orthodox churches. I took a look inside the Orthodox church, splendidly colorful icons and usual iconostasis; cruciform in shape. There must have been choir practice at the Latine Church; I could hear singing when I went by. The Greek Catholic Church is apparently upslope; I did not see it. Took a picture of the wadi, fed by a powerful, gushing spring, now channeled in concrete. Flat bottom with a small trickle of water along the side, but it must fill up in wetter weather. Trees were planted on the flat bottom land. There was a wire mesh over the stream but I could not find out why. Along the watercourse, you could see the remains of the Ottoman buildings, many of which were no longer being used. There are new houses on every vantage point all around town: suburban sprawl. I met a young man from Iraq, a village near Mosul. He was Chaldean Christian and his home village was all Christian. I think that is why he took up residence in Fuheis. The Iraqi Christians are trying to get to the US, Canada, Australia, or Denmark. They do not see themselves as permanent residents of Fuheis. The Chaldeans worship in the Latine Church – because they are catholic.  He pointed out some passing young woman who he said would be going to Canada. They need money to get into these countries though, or a sponsor. Someone told me that Jordan would only have them for 6 months. There are 50-60 Iraqi Christians in Fuheis.” D.J.Z.

Amman, Jordan

From the T alone, we know that he is an Assyrian not an Arab, that he is a Christian not a Muslim, and that he is a refugee in Jordan not a citizen. Jordan's job in the Middle East is to absorb refugees: first the Palestinians, then the Iraqis, now the Syrians. In fact, the fourth largest 'city' in Jordan is now a Syrian refugee camp. [1998]

Amman, Jordan

If you pour watered-down honey and melted mozzarella over shredded wheat, then sprinkle with pistachios, you have something like kanafeh, a favorite dessert in the Arab world. Little boys are never too 'young' to peddle kanafeh, and push carts allow them to keep beat with the changing rhythms of the day. [1997]

Petra, Jordan

Petra means rock. And out of the rock, the ancient city was cut. Today, it is Jordan's pride and joy, the linchpin of international tourism, made known to the world by Indiana Jones. There is no reason to believe this 'building' was a treasury, but that is what it's called. It's the first thing you see when you emerge from the rock-walled siq. [1995]

Amman, Jordan

Amman has been a safe haven for international chains for decades. But some firms localize when they try to penetrate a foreign market. That's part of 'glocalization.' From atop Al Abdali station, Subway speaks the global lingua franca, but it also speaks Arabic (which is read right to left, remember). [1998]