Jordan...extra!
Jan. 3rd, 2015 07:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
motodraconisOne does not simply walk into Jordan just to see Petra.
We started off in the capital Amman, though the trip was not designed to hang about, with just long enough for everyone to meet up at the hotel. Still, there was time to see the (two) sights of Amman. The Roman theatre, built in the reign of Antonius Pius (138-161 BC.)
While Amman might not have much, what it has is excellent - the best and most finely preserved amphitheatre I have ever seen.
Amman Citadel.
And then... er... there didn't seem much to do, hence I ended up doing a spot of shopping (not a bad choice, as there was no time or real opportunity to shop for the rest of the trip.) First thing the next morning, we were off to the desert of Wadi Rum.
Famed as a haunt of Lawrence of Arabia...
...we saw his well, his meditation place...his...well he seemed popular, but I confess the only bit of the famous film I remember is this scene...
Which I tend to conflate with this scene.
Our Jordanian Guide for the week Osama, and Sheik Al-egg, our Bedouin host in Wadi Rum. We were to be spending the night at his encampment.
The Sheik drove us to his camp personally. Check out all the tapes and that tape deck!
Desert! I seem to see a lot of desert, people are going to start thinking I like the stuff.
Though Wadi Rum is full of interesting natural rock shapes; skulls, dragon heads, at one point, a seated 18th century man in knee britches and wig. Alas, most seen while driving, so this is the only one I was able to snap.
Gorge!
Photo-bombed my own photo!
There are plenty of petroglyphs on the walls, ancient and modern. Here is an older glyph of a woman giving birth (or possibly someone with a terrible stomach upset) note the man stood next to her with his arms in the air, in the ancient posture of all new fathers re-enacted everywhere, across all cultures, since the dawn of time..."SHIT! WHAT SHALL I DO? AAAAAAGH! Should I make tea? AAAAGGGH! I've lost the hot towels - AAAARGH!"
The Bedouin Encampment...
My tent (number 13) actually, it was not much of a hardship, there was electricity in all the tents, and raised beds, and a proper toilet across the other side of the camp. My last Bedouin camp in Morocco had been rather more rudimentary.
From Wadi Rum to Petra, and then to Dana and its nature reserve. For me this was the low-light of the trip. A desolate, semi-abandoned village, a nightmare walk across slippery and steep terrain and non-paths, and nothing to see but scenery.
It was Xmas Eve and really quite a dull and boring place to have to loiter in after the hair-raising, thorn-infested, bleak and tiresome "ramble." To add insult to injury, there was no beer which would have made the place marginally more bearable. Not my thing.
Thankfully we fled the next day! Off to see the 12th century crusader Castle of Kerak. (Not to be confused with the famous Krak des Chevaliers which is in Syria.)
Kerak doesn't look so impressive from the entrance, but inside it is a huge complex with many barrel vaulted corridors and rooms still intact. The main and most famous inhabitant and lord of the castle being the French crusader knight Raynald de Châtillon.
I was impressed, though I couldn't get this out of my head.
"This is the castle of my master... Raynald de Châtillon!"
"May we come in?"
"Of course not - you are English types!"
"Well what are you then?"
"I'm French! Why d'you think I have this outrageous accent you silly king!"
"What are you doing in Jordan?"
"Mind your own business!"
Raynald was not an agreeable or popular character...
When Patriarch Aimery of Limoges refused to finance this expedition, Raynald had the Patriarch seized, stripped naked, beaten, covered in honey, and left in the burning sun on top of the citadel. What the fuck? Dipped in honey?
He became notorious for his wanton cruelty at Kerak, often having his enemies and hostages flung from its castle walls to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. (Aparently, he devised some sort of helmet to prevent the victims dying instantly in order to prolong the torture.)
By all accounts, he was a greedy plunderer and little more than a pirate, attacking merchants and civilians. Saladin swore to behead him himself, and after various narrow escapes on Raynald's part, he eventually he got his wish...
In 1187 Saladin invaded the kingdom and decisively defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. The battle left Saladin with many prisoners. Most prominent among them were Raynald and King Guy, [King of Jerusalem] both of whom Saladin ordered brought to his tent. The chronicler Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, who was present at the scene, relates:
Saladin invited the king [Guy] to sit beside him, and when Arnat [Raynald] entered in his turn, he seated him next to his king and reminded him of his misdeeds. "How many times have you sworn an oath and violated it? How many times have you signed agreements you have never respected?" Raynald answered through a translator: "Kings have always acted thus. I did nothing more." During this time King Guy was gasping with thirst, his head dangling as though drunk, his face betraying great fright. Saladin spoke reassuring words to him, had cold water brought, and offered it to him. The king drank, then handed what remained to Raynald, who slaked his thirst in turn. The sultan then said to Guy: "You did not ask permission before giving him water. I am therefore not obliged to grant him mercy." After pronouncing these words, the sultan smiled, mounted his horse, and rode off, leaving the captives in terror. He supervised the return of the troops, and then came back to his tent. He ordered Raynald brought there, then advanced before him, sword in hand, and struck him between the neck and the shoulder-blade. When Raynald fell, he cut off his head and dragged the body by its feet to the king, who began to tremble. Seeing him thus upset, Saladin said to him in a reassuring tone: "This man was killed only because of his maleficence and perfidy".
Seeing the execution of Raynald, Guy of Lusignan feared he would be next. But his life was spared by Saladin, who said of the execution:
It is not the wont of kings, to kill kings; but that man had transgressed all bounds, and therefore did I treat him thus.
Our last stop, the ruined Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also known as Antioch on the Golden River, now known as Jerash
Over 2000 years old and said to have been founded by Alexander the Great.
Bagpipes! I'm told this chap learned how to play the pipes in the British army (or in alliance with them.) He did indeed play Auld Lang Syne. Note his headscarf is red and white. Our (Jordanian) guide told us that the red and white scarf is a new colour combination and was invented-connected to the British. In the last days of the Ottomans, when the local Arabs were trying to break free of their rule and establish their independence, the British allied with them (refer back to old Lawrence) in order to break the Ottoman control. Arabs in alliance with the British took to wearing red and white headscarves to show their political connection. (The traditional man's scarf is white, black or chequered black and white.)
Of course, depending on who you are, you might connect the red and white scarf less favourably. In some films, the "baddies" will wear the red and white check.
Less controversially, check the scarf for tassels - as worn by the bagpiper - this is a traditional Jordanian embellishment. The chap in the picture above has no tassels, a style favoured more in the Arab Emirates. (Though Jordanians will wear tasselless scarves, presumably when slumming it.)
Jerash is wonderfully preserved, a real treat!
Mosaic at Jerash
Mum, dad and baby coach - we travelled in the baby.
Map of Holy Land in the Byzantine church of Saint George of Madaba. The oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. It dates to the 6th century AD.
Lastly our group (with the Sheik and his brother) at Wadi Rum.
Phew! More photos on Flickr.
We started off in the capital Amman, though the trip was not designed to hang about, with just long enough for everyone to meet up at the hotel. Still, there was time to see the (two) sights of Amman. The Roman theatre, built in the reign of Antonius Pius (138-161 BC.)
While Amman might not have much, what it has is excellent - the best and most finely preserved amphitheatre I have ever seen.
Amman Citadel.
And then... er... there didn't seem much to do, hence I ended up doing a spot of shopping (not a bad choice, as there was no time or real opportunity to shop for the rest of the trip.) First thing the next morning, we were off to the desert of Wadi Rum.
Famed as a haunt of Lawrence of Arabia...
...we saw his well, his meditation place...his...well he seemed popular, but I confess the only bit of the famous film I remember is this scene...
Which I tend to conflate with this scene.
Our Jordanian Guide for the week Osama, and Sheik Al-egg, our Bedouin host in Wadi Rum. We were to be spending the night at his encampment.
The Sheik drove us to his camp personally. Check out all the tapes and that tape deck!
Desert! I seem to see a lot of desert, people are going to start thinking I like the stuff.
Though Wadi Rum is full of interesting natural rock shapes; skulls, dragon heads, at one point, a seated 18th century man in knee britches and wig. Alas, most seen while driving, so this is the only one I was able to snap.
Gorge!
Photo-bombed my own photo!
There are plenty of petroglyphs on the walls, ancient and modern. Here is an older glyph of a woman giving birth (or possibly someone with a terrible stomach upset) note the man stood next to her with his arms in the air, in the ancient posture of all new fathers re-enacted everywhere, across all cultures, since the dawn of time..."SHIT! WHAT SHALL I DO? AAAAAAGH! Should I make tea? AAAAGGGH! I've lost the hot towels - AAAARGH!"
The Bedouin Encampment...
My tent (number 13) actually, it was not much of a hardship, there was electricity in all the tents, and raised beds, and a proper toilet across the other side of the camp. My last Bedouin camp in Morocco had been rather more rudimentary.
From Wadi Rum to Petra, and then to Dana and its nature reserve. For me this was the low-light of the trip. A desolate, semi-abandoned village, a nightmare walk across slippery and steep terrain and non-paths, and nothing to see but scenery.
It was Xmas Eve and really quite a dull and boring place to have to loiter in after the hair-raising, thorn-infested, bleak and tiresome "ramble." To add insult to injury, there was no beer which would have made the place marginally more bearable. Not my thing.
Thankfully we fled the next day! Off to see the 12th century crusader Castle of Kerak. (Not to be confused with the famous Krak des Chevaliers which is in Syria.)
Kerak doesn't look so impressive from the entrance, but inside it is a huge complex with many barrel vaulted corridors and rooms still intact. The main and most famous inhabitant and lord of the castle being the French crusader knight Raynald de Châtillon.
I was impressed, though I couldn't get this out of my head.
"This is the castle of my master... Raynald de Châtillon!"
"May we come in?"
"Of course not - you are English types!"
"Well what are you then?"
"I'm French! Why d'you think I have this outrageous accent you silly king!"
"What are you doing in Jordan?"
"Mind your own business!"
Raynald was not an agreeable or popular character...
When Patriarch Aimery of Limoges refused to finance this expedition, Raynald had the Patriarch seized, stripped naked, beaten, covered in honey, and left in the burning sun on top of the citadel. What the fuck? Dipped in honey?
He became notorious for his wanton cruelty at Kerak, often having his enemies and hostages flung from its castle walls to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below. (Aparently, he devised some sort of helmet to prevent the victims dying instantly in order to prolong the torture.)
By all accounts, he was a greedy plunderer and little more than a pirate, attacking merchants and civilians. Saladin swore to behead him himself, and after various narrow escapes on Raynald's part, he eventually he got his wish...
In 1187 Saladin invaded the kingdom and decisively defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. The battle left Saladin with many prisoners. Most prominent among them were Raynald and King Guy, [King of Jerusalem] both of whom Saladin ordered brought to his tent. The chronicler Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, who was present at the scene, relates:
Saladin invited the king [Guy] to sit beside him, and when Arnat [Raynald] entered in his turn, he seated him next to his king and reminded him of his misdeeds. "How many times have you sworn an oath and violated it? How many times have you signed agreements you have never respected?" Raynald answered through a translator: "Kings have always acted thus. I did nothing more." During this time King Guy was gasping with thirst, his head dangling as though drunk, his face betraying great fright. Saladin spoke reassuring words to him, had cold water brought, and offered it to him. The king drank, then handed what remained to Raynald, who slaked his thirst in turn. The sultan then said to Guy: "You did not ask permission before giving him water. I am therefore not obliged to grant him mercy." After pronouncing these words, the sultan smiled, mounted his horse, and rode off, leaving the captives in terror. He supervised the return of the troops, and then came back to his tent. He ordered Raynald brought there, then advanced before him, sword in hand, and struck him between the neck and the shoulder-blade. When Raynald fell, he cut off his head and dragged the body by its feet to the king, who began to tremble. Seeing him thus upset, Saladin said to him in a reassuring tone: "This man was killed only because of his maleficence and perfidy".
Seeing the execution of Raynald, Guy of Lusignan feared he would be next. But his life was spared by Saladin, who said of the execution:
It is not the wont of kings, to kill kings; but that man had transgressed all bounds, and therefore did I treat him thus.
Our last stop, the ruined Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also known as Antioch on the Golden River, now known as Jerash
Over 2000 years old and said to have been founded by Alexander the Great.
Bagpipes! I'm told this chap learned how to play the pipes in the British army (or in alliance with them.) He did indeed play Auld Lang Syne. Note his headscarf is red and white. Our (Jordanian) guide told us that the red and white scarf is a new colour combination and was invented-connected to the British. In the last days of the Ottomans, when the local Arabs were trying to break free of their rule and establish their independence, the British allied with them (refer back to old Lawrence) in order to break the Ottoman control. Arabs in alliance with the British took to wearing red and white headscarves to show their political connection. (The traditional man's scarf is white, black or chequered black and white.)
Of course, depending on who you are, you might connect the red and white scarf less favourably. In some films, the "baddies" will wear the red and white check.
Less controversially, check the scarf for tassels - as worn by the bagpiper - this is a traditional Jordanian embellishment. The chap in the picture above has no tassels, a style favoured more in the Arab Emirates. (Though Jordanians will wear tasselless scarves, presumably when slumming it.)
Jerash is wonderfully preserved, a real treat!
Mosaic at Jerash
Mum, dad and baby coach - we travelled in the baby.
Map of Holy Land in the Byzantine church of Saint George of Madaba. The oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. It dates to the 6th century AD.
Lastly our group (with the Sheik and his brother) at Wadi Rum.
Phew! More photos on Flickr.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-04 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-04 05:35 pm (UTC)