Amman and Jordan Review

Saturday, June 18, 2011
by Cal Johnson

Our last day in Jordan was quite varied. We visited the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf (and Blind) in Salt, the Roman city of Jerash (under restoration), and performed at the Vesper Service at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Amman. 

Each of our visits in Jordan has had its surprises, and today was no exception. Unlike many tour groups, ministry (through music) and missions are a part of our agenda. It was important that we see first-hand some of the work sponsored by our sister church from the Episcopal/Anglican community—having been assured the night before by the Presbyterian liaison in the Middle East (Douglas Dicks) that the Presbyterian Church collaborates with and supports the work of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in this region. 

While we had only scheduled about 30 minutes to visit the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, the members of our tour group were so interested in the important ministry sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, that we stayed well over an hour. Not only did we see some classes for kindergarten-aged children, but also vocational training classes in cooking, moisacs, and weaving. We were impressed by the multi-lingual approach to the education here, involving sign language (international, Jordanian, and English), as well as Arabic and English instruction. Equally impressive were the wood and metal fixtures (doors, railings, windows, etc.) all made on site by the students over the years. And then we saw the items for sale in the Gift Shop that had been made by students—very high quality work and designs. A member of our group gave a cash donation to Brother Andrew de Carpentier, a Dutchman who is the Director General of the Institute. I had made a donation last week online through the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and was delighted to see that my gift will really be put to good use here. If anyone would like to make a tax-deductible contribution (using a credit card or Paypal), you can do so through this website: www.afedj.org. I for one highly recommend such a contribution.

Then off to a major city of the Roman Empire: Jerash, the 2nd best preserved Roman city behind Pompeii. Most of its destruction occurred in 749 AD as a result of a major earthquake. But even in the 19th and 20th century, residents have scavenged the ruins for rocks with which to build their homes. Much of the eastern side of the highway consists of modern dwellings, making archaeological work there impossible. However, it continues on the western side of the highway, and we marveled at the construction of major roads intersecting in the center of the Roman city, the amphitheater (used still today to seat up to 3000 people in this open air auditorium for concerts and plays during the Jerash Festival of mid July through mid August every year), the hippodrome (still in use for horse races and reenactments of gladiator games), and the temples to Zeus and Artemis.

Then a fantastic lunch of typical Jordanian fare on the outskirts of Amman, after which we all came back to the hotel to clean up and take siestas from the afternoon heat.

This evening we had our first performance. A moderately-sized congregation joined us for the English-language Vespers at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer on Rainbow Street near the First Circle of the Jabal-Amman district. We only had an hour to brush up on our repertoire, which we had not rehearsed for about 10 days! The wonderful acoustics in the church enhanced the sound of the choir and trumpeter Yvonne Toll’s superb musicianship! We had only planned to sing an introit, the Magnificat, an anthem, the Lord’s Prayer (in Arabic in a Lebanese musical setting), but the visiting priest and the congregation insisted on hearing more—so we gamely performed almost everything we had prepared, and those present thoroughly enjoyed the vocal solos by Linda Bush, Rebecca Plowman, and Margaret Grayburn. And then what a reception of Jordanian goodies!

You can view one of the songs we presented by following this link - Lord, Our Dwelling Place.

This week in Jordan has been quite a revelation for all of us — even to me on my 5th trip to this wonderful, safe, sane, hospitable country. We have enjoyed seeing historic sites from the past (Petra, Jerash, St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church in Madaba) and with Biblical significance (the Baptism Site, Mt. Nebo, even looking across the river at Jericho), as well as institutions representing the present (the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, the new Jordan Museum, the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, Church of the Redeemer, Wild Jordan and the Jara Souk). But we especially have been enriched by the interpersonal relationships established with local people. 

Without intending to list them in any specific order, we really enjoyed and hold in high respect: 

Engineer Rustom Mkhjian, our guide at the Baptism Site (and an Armenian Christian) for his passion and enthusiasm as well as scholarly understanding of the evidence about this site; and many thanks to HRH Prince Ghazi who made this guided visit possible;

Dr. Khaled Khreis, the Director General of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, who came in on his holy day off (Friday), to welcome us to this fascinating museum of contemporary art by artists from across the Muslim world and developing countries, many of them women—what a stereotype breaker about Islamic art and about women in Muslim societies who are active at as creative artists!; and thanks to HRH Princess Wijdan, the Founder of the Gallery, as well as her daughter HRH Princess Rajwa for her continued patronage of this collection;

Dr. Faris Nimry, Director General of the new Jordan Museum, with his splendid vision for a meaningful and educational experience for children and adults (Jordanians and foreign visitors like us) who will go through this museum with its interactive exhibits that present the context of the information—and he came on his day off to give us a personal guided tour as well;

Executive Director Brother Andrew de Carpentier and his deputy, Iwad Sweiss, who gave us an explanatory history of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf (and Blind Deaf)—and the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem for recommending we visit this institution!;

Douglas Dicks, the Presbyterian liaison in the Middle East, for joining us at dinner on Friday to tell us about the role and activities of the Presbyterian Church USA in this region—most informative;

The Rev. Don Campbell from Australia, who is serving as interim priest of the English speaking congregation of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Amman, Jordan, as well as the regular priest in charge, the Rev. Les MacQueen, for their warm welcome to participate musically at Vespers at this church, and the opportunity to meet so many local Christians;

Sami Sahowneh, our wonderful guide from the GuidingStar Agency, for his most informative accounts of the places we have visited, his excellent sense of organization and time-keeping, and his delightful sense of humor—a truly fine gentleman with whom we will surely stay in touch!; and thanks to Mark Khano, of the GuidingStar Agency for selecting Sami and our terrific and always unflappable bus driver Mr. Abit, and for taking care of the overall organization of our tour, especially the hotels, buses, entries, guides, meals, and so many little details!

Haifa Najjar, Director General of the Ahliyyah School for Girls and the Bishop School for Boys in Amman, who prepared a reception and tour of her schools for us, which we were unable to do because we really needed to rehearse prior to our first performance tonight; and to her assistant Noor, who sent the baklava to us at the Church of the Redeemer anyway, —which we will enjoy all the way to Jerusalem on Sunday!

We will have many memories of these wonderful Jordanians who have made such an impression on us this week. Surely Their Majesties, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, must be very proud of their countrymen!

And tomorrow we venture into the heart of the homeland of Jesus - —Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Judean wilderness, Nazareth and Galilee, —where we will continue to be inspired by things historic, Biblical, and contemporary. I suspect I speak for all of us that we are being immensely enriched by the experience.

Cal & The Gang at the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf

Linda makes a connection

Dot and Rod visit the Weaving Room

Margaret at Hadrian's Gate

Sami guides us through the Jerash ruins

All of us, at the Church of the Redeemer in Amman