Middle East - Anthony Ham [286]
Traditional Crafts
In Jordan, jewellery is an important indicator of wealth and status, especially among the Bedouin, who also produce wonderful weavings. Today more than 2000 Palestinian and Bedouin women produce kilims and camel bags under the guidance of several Jordanian organisations such as Beni Hamida. Palestinian embroidery is another important craft, and most visible on the Palestinian dresses known as roza.
If craft is your thing, then head for the Wild Jordan Centre in Amman (Click here) for an overview of the country’s diverse cottage industries and their locations.
ENVIRONMENT
The Land
Jordan can be divided into three major geographic regions: the Jordan Valley, the East Bank plateau and the desert. The fertile valley of the Jordan River is the dominant physical feature of the country’s western region, running from the Syrian border in the north, along the border with Israel and the Palestinian Territories and into the Dead Sea. The valley (part of the larger African Rift Valley) continues under the name Wadi Araba and extends to the Gulf of Aqaba where Jordan claims a sneeze-sized stretch of the Red Sea. The majority of the population lives in a hilly 70km-wide strip running the length of the country known as the East Bank plateau. The remaining 80% of the country is desert, stretching into Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
Wildlife
Spring is the best time to see some of Jordan’s two thousand flowers and plants, including the black iris, Jordan’s redolent national flower.
Two of Jordan’s most impressive animals are the Arabian oryx and Nubian ibex, which are resident at the Shaumari (Click here) and Wadi Mujib (Click here) nature reserves respectively. Jordan is an important corridor for migratory birds en route to Africa and southern Arabia.
Nature Reserves
The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN; www.rscn.org.jo) operates six reserves in Jordan, of which Wadi Mujib (Click here) and Dana (Click here) are the undoubted highlights. The Azraq Wetland Reserve (Click here), located in eastern Jordan, is a good place for bird-watching.
Environmental Issues
According to the Environmental Sustainability Index (last updated in 2005), Jordan ranked higher than any other Arab country. The RSCN, under inspired leadership, has pioneered models for sustainable development and tourism by working closely with local communities and making them stakeholders in conserving local reserves. The society has also been responsible for reintroducing several endemic animals in Jordan, including the endangered oryx.
Despite these welcome environmental initiatives, there are still major problems including a chronic lack of water, pressure of tourism on fragile sites such as at Petra and in Wadi Rum, and increasing desertification through over-grazing.
Solutions to these problems are constantly under review and there are ambitious plans to build a pipeline, known as the ‘Peace Conduit’, connecting the Red and Dead Seas to provide desalinated water and also raising the dropping levels of the Dead Sea (see boxed text, Click here).
FOOD & DRINK
While not as famous as the cuisine in Egypt or Turkey, Jordan nonetheless has a distinctive culinary tradition, largely thanks to the Bedouin influence.
The Bedouin speciality is mensaf, delicious spit-roasted lamb that is basted with spices until it takes on a yellow appearance. It is served on a platter of rice and pine nuts, flavoured with the cooking fat, and often centrally garnished with the head of the lamb. Honoured guests are served the eyes (which have a slightly almond flavour); less honoured guests are offered the tongue (a rich-flavoured, succulent meat). The dish is served with a sauce of yogurt, combined with the cooking fat. In Wadi Rum you might be lucky enough to be offered a Bedouin barbecue from the zarb, a pit oven buried in the desert sand.
Another Jordanian