Travels in the Levant

Today we had our last quiz in Arab Histories and then we went to the office of the newspaper Al Destour, The Constitution, where we met we had a tour and met with the editor-in-chief, Usama Al Shareef, about journalism in the Middle East and particularly journalistic freedom in Jordan. Because it is illegal here to crisizie the King and to make remarks that “are a danger to national security,” the press is often limited in what and how much it can say. Shareef said that there are no specific guidlines in Jordan for what you can and cannot say and that the days of having a government censurer in newspaper offices are over. Today, there is relatively more freedom, but it is more difficult to know what you can and cannot write. Journalists here have gone to jail for what they wrote and newspapers can be closed down for days or months at a time if the government becomes to angry with their writing. In terms of Arab countries, Shareef said Lebanon had the freest press, and I would guess Saudi Arabia has the most restrictive. We got a copy of an English paper also published by The Constution; here is a link to its online version, which has wonderful articles that are full of cricisms of Bush and US foriegn policy. http://www.star.com.jo/default/default.aspx

About a week ago, we had a very interesting experience at the Jordanian police department. When I arrived in Jordan I was given a stamp next to my visa saying “report to nearest police station in 2 weeks.” Apperently the multi-entry visa I got in the US is good for three months, but it must be extended if I want to stay longer than two weeks. Even the people who bought their visas at the Amman airport got this stamp and so all 14 students, Curtis, Regan, and Tawfiq to a field trip to the nearest police station. We tried to find cabs but there wern’t enough to fit us all so we got on one of the many, filthy, mini buses that connect various parts of Amman. The 10 minute ride cost about 20 cents. At the police station, we all dutifully explained to the police that we just needed to extend our visas (for free) and dutifully handed over our passports. There was a little garden behind the station so some of us went and sat on the benches. Several policemen lounged around the yard and one was pulling leaves of a nearby tree and eating them. We waiting and waited and after an hour went to check on our passports. They were still “being processed.” We were then informed that the regulations had changed and that an “blood test” (I read AIDS test) was required to remain in the country more than two weeks. This test could only be performed at one hospital in Amman and would cost around $25. Not only that, but if we got the test we would have to go back 2 days later, pick of the results, and take them to the police station. The alternative, they informed us, was to pay a fine of 2JD ($2.6) per day we remained in the country after the first two weeks. This seemed strange as none of us had thought we would have to pay to stay longer than two weeks. A little while later we were informed that the price had gone down to 1.5JD per day. This whole situation still baffles me, but I decided I did not want to go through the pain and trouble of getting AIDS, and so will just have to pay the fine (on top of an exit fee) when I leave the country. Talk about a tourists racket.

After waiting another 40 minutes and with still no sign of our passports we decided to take action. Curtis told us we were going to play “ugly Americans” and so the whole group of went and stood in the tiny reception office. By standing around and getting in the way of everything that (wasn’t) happening, we were more of a nussance than the police could handle. It wasn’t long until half of us got our passports back and only another 15 minutes until the rest were returned. Curtis told us that all and all, we had gotten off easily. Hopefully, none of us will have to return to the ineffecient beaurocracy of the Jordanian police, possibly worse than American drivers lisence offices.

Today, Sunday, we begain our school week with a discussion of our final essays. We were supposed to leave to tour a public health care facility at 10:30, but apperently someone forgot to arrange the trip so we didn't end ... [Continue reading this entry]

Yesterday morning I woke up early and went down the street to the 24-hour internet cafe. After that Jessica and I took a cab to C Town, a huge western-style grocery store, to buy gifts for the various people and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Thursday morning, yesterday, begin our long weekend, which marks the midpoint of our time in Amman. Jessica and I met Yasmiin and Lina, our language partners, at the Donut Factory down the street from our ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tomorrow is our last day of class before our long weekend. 9 people are flying to Egpyt and staying at an awsome hotel on the Nile River. I am staying in Amman with Monica, Bruce, Ian, and Jessica; we have ... [Continue reading this entry]

Yesterday we took a field trip to Umm Qais and Ajloun. Umm Qais is situation in the extreme North-West of Jordan and has amazing views. First, there are roman ruins there (which are the same as others throughout the world). ... [Continue reading this entry]

I wrote a post a few days ago about our trip last weekend to Jerash but the internet here bombed before I could upload it and so I lost all of my post. Here's some picture from our trip, which ... [Continue reading this entry]

I have been so busy that I have had no time for anything but studying, travel, and some sleep. We finished our school week on Thursday with a difficult quiz and then jumped into taxis to get to the Amman ... [Continue reading this entry]

Today, instead of attending our regular classes at UJ, we took a field trip to several the desert castles of Jordan. Check out my links at the bottom of the page and click on Jordan Tourism Map for a ... [Continue reading this entry]