Jordan Part I

Choosing to study abroad this semester in Cairo this semester was luck – both good and bad. Bad because AUC decided to move its entire campus to a new location when no one was ready including the new campus itself, and good because Ramadan was in the month of September, meaning that we got a lot of days off for the two Eids. For the first Eid, I decided to take a nine-day trip to Jordan to meet my cousins for the first time. Jordan was beautiful, and my family was amazing. I met all of my aunts’ children, their children, and I believe I saw every ancient rock in Jordan and then some.

My last name is Qaqish. Qaqish is a Christian family that has a long history that has thankfully been well documented. The Qaqish family has been in Jordan for the past 400 years. Before, we were a tribe based in Syria, and before that, we inhabited the gulf region. Our family is a Christian family, one of the few in Jordan. We come from the village of Salt, a small city in picturesque mountains close to Palestine west of Amman.

In a nutshell, we went to Petra, As Salt, Madaba, Mount Nebo, the Dead Sea, and Jerash. I also experienced Jordanian home cooked meals at their finest including Maqlooba, Malfouf, Kufta, and of course Mensaf!

The country of Jordan is cleaner than Egypt. In Cairo alone, there are 28 million people living in the city. Jordan’s population for the whole country is under 10 million. While Jordan is much smaller, it is also much less crowded than Egypt. The people of Jordan are very prideful and calm, and all are very patriotic and very proud of their King Abdullah and the late King Hussein. Amman is very different from the sentiments of the crowded and rushed cities of Cairo. Even the call to prayer seemed more musical and beautiful compared to what I hear in Egypt.

As Salt

My cousin Amer and his wife Joanna (and their 1.5 year old Faris!) took me to Salt to see the church where my dad and his 7 brothers and sisters were baptized. The church itself was about 450 years old, and we were there for a while so I could take photos of everything there. Before we left, I lit a candle to make a prayer. After wards in the twilight before the sunset, we drove around the countryside, up and down the mountains and hills that made As Salt. When it became dark, we stopped off the side of the road and I saw the outline of Palestine in lights.

More to come about the trip!