More stones

After having to hurry to be on time for the bus, I was on my way to Umm ar-Rasas, a site with remains of military camps and several churches from the Byzantine era. The sun was already high on the clear blue sky when we arrived. Our day was packed, so we hurried along the paths of the site. It was clearly visible that not much excavations had taken place; there were many structures still buried half. The only place that was restored and preserved well were the ruins of the church of St. Stephen. A large roof has been built to shield the mosaic floor from the elements.

Figure 1: View of Umm ar-Rasas, the roof over the mosaic floor clearly visible

The floor itself was amazing. The large area of the floor was completely covered with mosaics that were still in a good state. What was interesting to see were the traces Iconoclasm left. Iconoclasm opposed the depiction of humans and animals. On the image below you can see what is left of a some persons. The tiles making up the original persons have been rearranged in a random way, making the persons unrecognisable.

Figure 2: The results of iconoclasm

Like the day before in Jerash, there were, except for our group, two tourists. Omar, our guide, explained that this was because Jordan is not seen by tourists as a destination on its own. Most tourists travel to Jordan as part of a journey through the whole region, i.e. Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, but the strife in some of these countries has made this kind of journey impossible.

I briefly mentioned the demonstration effect in the introduction where I said that the host culture takes over aspects of the culture of the visiting tourists.[1] The opposite also happens, as can be seen in our group. Jordan is a conservative country, where people are expected to dress modestly, which everyone does. Also, all of the guys, including me, have bought a keffiyeh - a piece of cloth traditionally worn on the head by the Bedouins - and wear it to protect our head and neck from the scorching sun.

[1] Stephen Williams, Tourism Geography - a new synthesis, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2009

Where is everyone?

The next day, our trip through Jordan started with a tour of the city centre of Amman. We were on a tight schedule, so the city tour consisted of a quick visit to the Roman amphitheatre and a visit to the ruins of the old citadel. The first thing I noticed when entering the amphitheatre were three large photographs of the former king, the crown prince, and current king Abdullah II. When you start looking for it, you will see pictures of the him almost everywhere. It is not obligatory to put those pictures up, but people like it.

Figure 1: Me in front of the photo of King Abdullah II in the Roman amphitheatre

After the bus had managed to climb the steep slopes of the citadel hill, we made a quick tour around the ruins of the old citadel. There are ruins from before the iron age up to the Ummayad (8th. century) period. The site has undergone restoration, though some parts have not been restored well due to lack of funds. It was also clear that the site was adapted to hold the hand of the tourist. There was a path leading around the site, guiding the visitor where to go. Signs along the path provided the visitor with information.

Figure 2: Temple on the citadel hill, with modern Amman in the background

Then we went to the ruins of the city of Jerash, once part of the Dekapolis (10 city-states in the area). The feeling I had had the whole day became very clear here. We were almost the only tourists on the site. There were only a few other tourists, so we had the whole site for our own. This site has been developed less compared to the citadel, there were some signs with information around, but restoration was poor in some areas. What surprised me was that there were no barriers at all. You could just walk up and climb on the ruins if you wanted to.

Figure 3: Empty street underneath a clear blue sky in Jerash

In my next post I hope to look deeper into the state in which original archaeological sites have been adapted to tourism, and where the tourists have gone as I travel further to the ruins of Umm ar-Rasas.

Looking at the Other

The first day at ACOR served as an introduction to Jordan. In the evening, I set out with some others to explore the surrounding area. We set out for Suq Sultan, a nearby area with some shops to get some water and supplies for the next day. Getting around in Amman is quite different compared to Groningen. Street names have only been added a few years ago, but are not used. People here navigate using landmarks, such as a mosque, hotel, or house of an important person. The traffic here can be eloquently described as an 'organised chaos'. The roads do not have lanes, the lanes are created and terminated by the flow of traffic. Throw in pedestrians crossing the road at almost any point, and it seems like a recipe for disaster, but somehow things things turnout just fine.

Figure 1: View of Amman during the sunset

On our adventure I noticed that we drew attention. We were almost the only non-locals on the street, so we got some looks, and especially our female companions drew the gaze of the bystanders. This made me realise what women experience much more than men. I have never really been stared at, so I felt a bit unsettled, even though their stares were not of bad intent, but rather of curiosity. According to John Urry, people do not observe the world in an absolute, objective manner.[1] There is not a single reality, rather the gaze with which people observe is socio-culturally framed. People relate things they see to things they know, their own social identity. This social identity is formed by factors such as values, political affiliation, nationality, and religion. In Foucaults terms of power, we construct our social identities in relation to the other. We looked different, we were the other.

[1] John Urry, The tourist gaze 3.0, 2012

Introduction

For some people, the unknown is a thing waiting to be explored. For me Jordan is unknown territory. Jordan hosts many touristic sites, ranging from the desert of Wadi Rum to the ancient city of Petra.

Together with a group of students from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen I will travel through Jordan. We will meet experts in the field of tourism, and we will travel to touristic sites like the Amman Citadel, the ruins of the city of Jerash, the town of Madaba, and much more. 

Throughout my journey, I will also evaluate my own role as a tourist/student of tourism. In my opinion, Dr. Porter, the head of the American Center for Oriental Research (ACOR), made a valid point when she asked whether we would have come to Jordan if it were not for the Summer School. I will look at sociocultural aspects of tourism, and hope to reflect upon my identity of being a tourist/student of tourism.

By ' looking at tourism' I mean using critical social theories to explain touristic performances. In particular, I want to look at encounters between tourists and locals. Tourists and locals can meet in official and unofficial encounters.[1] Official encounters are encounters where a service is provided, for example the interaction in a taxi. Unofficial encounters can e.g. arise when tourists and local engage in conversations on the street.

Tourists visiting Jordan tend to be wealthier than most of the local population. This gives the tourist power over the locals from an economic point of view. Due to the dramatic decrease of the number of tourists visiting Jordan over the last few years, because of the instability in the region, this position of economical power increased. 

I will also look for signs of the so-called demonstration effect. In brief, this is the phenomenon that due to presence of tourists, the host culture can begin to take over aspects of the tourists' culture.[1] I hope you stay with me on my journey through Jordan.

[1] Stephen Williams, Tourism Geography - a new synthesis, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2009