Ancient sites the attraction of modern Amman

Text and photos by T. Sima Gunawan

AMMAN (JP): It was four minutes past 10 in the morning when the Royal Jordanian aircraft landed at Queen Alia International Airport of Amman, the capital of Jordan. I was on my way from Jakarta to Istanbul to cover the second UN Conference of Human Settlements (Habitat II) from June 3 to June 14. Like all Royal Jordanian airplanes flying from Jakarta, my aircraft made a one- day stop in Amman.

The immigration service was fast and there was no visa requirement for Indonesians. A shuttle bus took me to the Airport Hotel, which was free for transit passengers.

After breakfasting on a bowl of red beans, a boiled egg and toast, I started thinking about how to spend the rest of the day. I was in no hurry since my flight to Istanbul was scheduled for 12:45 a.m. I was about to take a guided tour when I overheard the hotel receptionist telling a guest that there was a public bus across the road.

I decided to take a bus to the city, which is about 30 kilometers from the hotel. At the bus stop, I accidentally ran into an Indonesian student. He said there were 60 Indonesian students in Amman and later introduced me to two of his cohorts, who gladly became my guides.

Jordan was once called Transjordan because it lies across the River Jordan which runs from Palestine. It covers an area of 95,800 square kilometers. The majority of its 3.7 million population are Moslems. Amman is home to 1.25 million people.

The area Jordan occupies includes some of the oldest settlement sites in the world, as in Jericho and Petra. It is recorded that the Semitic nomads entered the region around 2000 B.C. In 900 B.C., kings David and Solomon of Israel conquered the region. The Moabites, led by King Mesha, controlled the area in 850 B.C., but it later came under the rule of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Persians.

The Nabatean came in 400 B.C. and ruled from Petra, a unique city carved out of rose-colored stones. Alexander the Great conquered the area in 331 B.C., but after his death, the area split. Selecuids ruled the northern part and the Nabatean the southern part, according to the World Book of Encyclopedia.

The Romans ruled Jordan from 60 B.C. until the Roman Empire split apart in late 300 A.D. Jordan then became part of the Byzantine Empire and was also called the East Roman Empire.

Islam was first spread in the region in the 7th century, when Arab Moslems ruled Jordan. From the 16th century to the end of World War I, Jordan was under the control of the Ottoman Empire.

Jordan is home to great archeological sites, with each of the world's great people who once ruled there leaving their imprints.

One of the best things to see in Jordan is the ancient Nabatean city of Petra. Located 200 kilometers away from Amman, it takes at least two-and-a-half hours to reach from the capital.

Due to the time constraint, I decided to go to Jerash instead, which is considered the finest Roman provincial city in Asia, and the famous Dead Sea.

We rented a car. The fee was US$50 a day but if we drove further than 200 kilometers, we had to pay an additional but reasonable fee.

Jerash is less than an hour drive north of Amman. It is known as the Pompeii of the East for its extraordinary state of preservation. A triple arched gate to this ancient city was built to honor the Emperor Hadiran's arrival in Jerash in 129 A.D..

Behind the gate is a breathtaking view of magnificent temples, theaters and plazas. The remains of Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad and Abbasaid settlements have all been found within the walls, indicating that humans have occupied the location for more than 2,500 years.

The most distinguished building is the South Theater, which is well maintained and hosts the annual moonlit Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts in July.

"At night, there are often music concerts held in this place," my guide said.

We did not have to wait until the sun went down to see a performance in the open theater.

A group of tourists from Germany spontaneously formed a choir and sang. There was no microphone or other modern equipment, but amazingly, the sound was heard clearly from all over the arena.

There were not many visitors when we were there. A Jordanian tourist official had said that tourism in Jordan was not mass tourism. He added that most of the tourists were well educated people who came to the country for its archaeology.

The tourism ministry recorded that 696,760 tourists came to Jordan in 1994, spending 443 million dinars ($633 million), up on 390 million dinars ($557 million) in 1993.

Dead Sea

From Jerash, we continued to the Dead Sea, which is located southwest of Amman, so we had to pass through the city. We stopped in the city to change money. It was 2 p.m. and all banks were closed but my guide was able to locate a money changer in a small alley in the heart of the city. Later, I learned that in summer, business hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and then from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

An American dollar was equivalent to about 0.7 Jordanian dinar.

About two hours later, as we approached the Dead Sea, we were stopped twice by the military for a routine inspection. This was explained by the fact that we were getting really close to Israel. The officers were friendly, even though some carried automatic rifles.

"They like us, Indonesians, and also Malaysians because like Jordan, Indonesia and Malaysia are predominantly Moslem countries," my guide said.

The Dead Sea, which is more like a lake than a sea, is famous for its magic. Many local people believe that the mud from the sea can make the skin smooth and heal diseases.

The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest lakes in the world. On the surface there is 250 grams of salt per liter of water and it can reach 325 grams per liter at a depth of 110 meters. Because of the high salt content, people can float in the water.

Not being prepared to swim or float, I just watched the blue water and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

I returned to the hotel exhausted and slept well that night.