Study Abroad at BYU-Jerusalem: Jordan

This week has been a blast! As a group, we got up early Monday morning and drove to Jordan. Jordan isn’t that far but we spent about 2 hours at the border crossings. We then drove to Mt. Nebo and looked out at the top. Mt. Nebo is significant in the LDS faith because that’s where we believe Moses was translated. Other faiths believe he was buried there. Also, we visited the Madaba Greek Orthodox Church. There is a mosaic map built in the floor of the Holy Land created around the 6^th Century B.C. It was very pretty and accurate (during the Byzantine Period). So after a long day of driving and waiting at the borders, it was nice to finally go to our hotel in Petra. When our bus pulled up, there was a huge line of Jordanian dancers dancing in a line while one of them was playing the bagpipes and throwing their swords around. We had drinks in front of the hotel and then they showed us how they were cooking our dinner across the street in a pit. One of the dishes was lamb (which I think I tried it for the first that night). The food was so different. Haha, it was like everything that didn’t look very appetizing tasted amazing and the food that looked more familiar to me was not that good. So basically, you have to try everything where your in Jordan and Jerusalem because you never know what you’re going to get. That night, around 60 of the students went on a night hike. We walked down the street and walked through the canyons of Petra. There were lanterns on both sides of the pathway and once we reached the treasury, two guys played a traditional song on the recorder and another traditional instrument. It was so fun to see that. There were lanterns all the way up to the treasury. It was probably my favorite night in Jordan – looking up at the stars while surrounded by lanterns at the treasury. If you go to Petra, you need to walk through it at night! It is a MUST DO! It is my dream one day to do that with my parents. It was THE coolest thing.

I got to hike through the canyons of Petra the next day. As we walked as a class to the treasury, we stopped under an arch-like side of the rock where we sang a hymn. It brought the spirit into our field trip sight and affected everyone as it echoed through the deserted canyons. In Petra, there are multiple overlooks that show canyons as far as the eye can see. And there are countless tombs. Petra actually reminds me of Zion’s Canyon, except with tombs EVERYWHERE. It’s crazy to think that those beautiful tombs were just carved out of the canyon side. There are massive and on some of them, to go inside, you must climb to get into the doorway. It looks like these tombs and monasteries were built for giants. There are locals everywhere in Petra. They or their kids will try to sell you stuff non-stop. Some of them actually live in caves in the canyons and then go outside to work that day selling stuff. They have donkeys that many tourists will ride hiking to the top of a mountain. If you ever go to Petra, NEVER RIDE THE DONKEYS! It is so dangerous because there are thousands of narrow stairs and a cliff on one side. Luckily the program director told us we weren’t allowed to ride them. I did so much walking in that day though. But the most fun part was RIDING A CAMEL! It was definitely the highlight. We got this guy to let four of us ride the camels for 5 dinars, which is a bargain (it usually costs 20 dinars). It was a bumpy 10-minute ride while we rode them back to the treasury but it was SO FUN and SO WORTH IT. It didn’t realize how high camels stand and how they bend their legs. Petra is such a unique beauty in the world. Now I get to cross off one of the “7 Wonders of the World.”

Seeing the Amman citadel was really interesting. I played hide-n’-go-seek in the ancient roman ruins there. We also sang a hymn in the citadel, which had amazing acoustics. After, we drove to the Jabbock River, which we believe is where or is at least near where Jacob wrestled with God in the Bible and where God visited him. It was dirty, trash was everywhere, and yet it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. The spirit was strongly present.

Pita bread is a popular thing in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land and in Jordan. I feel like I have pita bread every meal but each time, it is to die for! We had that for lunch on Wednesday.

One of the coolest parts of this trip is visiting the art I studied in A.P. Art History my senior year in high school. I got to go to the Temple of Artemis. It was amazing! The Roman ruins took me back hundreds of years in time when I was walking through them. I got to walk down one of the roman streets that was still there and their cobble stones were huge and VERY uneven. You could still see where the people drove their carts on the streets though. Also, it blows my mind how the romans built their columns and temples. They were one of the greatest builders in history – very precise and talented. We had running races where the Romans would have competed. Also we had a dance party while the bagpipers were playing the roman theater. It was so cool! Later, we got to go to the Royal Automobile Museum. It had cars that the Jordanian kings have driven all throughout history. It pretty much showed the history behind Jordan and what the country went through. My brothers would have loved it!

We got the chance to go to King Abdullah II's mosque. Women had to wear black robes and cover their hair with scarves. We were covered head to toe but it was the most remarkable experience to be in one of the Islam holy sites - it was like a temple for them. It was beautiful inside! Also, we were the first study abroad group to have the opportunity to go to the Jordanian Archaeological museum. I got to see pottery and arrowheads that was made around 36,000 B.C. Also, I got to see part the copper scrolls and the containers the Dead Sea scrolls were in.

The last night in Jordan I went exploring with my friends and got gelato off the street. Rainbow street is a popular street in Amman and it’s usually a party street when its warmer. There were a lot of people on it but no stores were open. We found guitarists where they played traditional songs for us and we sang a hymn for them.

Right before we drove back to Jerusalem, we stopped at the Jordan River. Singing hymns and reading scripture where John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ was an unforgettable spiritual experience. I got to dip my feet in the river. The other side of the river is Israel and we were told we couldn't contact the people on the other side, especially since there were soldiers guarding both sides.

The story line is… Jordan is AMAZING! Everyone needs to add it to their places to see!