JORDAN
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Subject: Stories from the desert Date: 04 Jun 2002 From: Kevin Charbonneau
"The desert, like a powerful magnet, changes those who come within its field. Many travelers have felt it to be an almost mystical experience; others, a challenge to their humanity, to their very survivability. Some have found peace, some despair. Others have created from inner resources monuments of literature, philosophy, and religion. Perhaps the desert is no more than a magnifying lens, something that enables man to write large wahtever he truly is." Chapter 1: Jesus was a tight-wadOnce upon a time, the eccentric but endearing John the Baptist preferred to live and work (i.e. dunk people underwater) along the quiet eastern bank of the Jordan River, a stone's throw from Jericho and Jerusalem. The Bible refers to the area as "Bethany beyond the Jordan" (John 1:28). John chose Bethany for its historic connection to the prophet Elijah, who is believed to have ascended to heaven in a burning chariot from a nearby hill, and for its spring-fed stream (Wadi al-Kharrar), which allowed for much more pleasant baptisms than did the muddy, polluted waters of the Jordan. Labeled on the mosaic Map of the Holy Land (found in the Church of St. George, a short thumb away) as "Ainon, where now is Saphsaphas" (Saphsaphas means willow tree in Arabic), the region was a major stop on the early pilgrimmage trail until political turmoil limited access to this sensitive area around the time of the Crusades. Unfortunately, this instability persisted, and it wasn't until the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace accord - and three years of removing landmines - that archeologists were finally granted access to the site. Following an extensive search, the ruins of churches, monasteries, mosaics, and an elaborate water routing system (used for filling the baptismal pools) have been uncovered. Excavations continue to unearth new finds, some dating to around 2000 years ago, supporting claims by archeologists that they have at last rediscovered the site of Jesus's baptism. This assertion landed a major endorsement in March 2000, when Pope John Paul II visited the site accompanied by 50,000 devotees, and after nearly a 1000-year break, the Christian pilgrims are returning. So too are filthy jedi wanderers. The hostels I stayed at in Damascus and Amman, extortionately, charged extra for showers. As a matter of principle - and I stress: not poor parental hygienic tutelage - I hadn't washed myself properly in over a week. Yeah, yeah, 'cleanliness is next to godliness' and I'm barreling down the highway to hell. Thanks for caring. Anyways, I did bathe at Bethany beyond the Jordan. A sufficiently superficial if not spiritual cleansing. Chapter 2: I want to be fatSalt ... a blend of sodium and chlorine - the first, a metal so unstable that it bursts into flame when exposed to water; the second, a lethal gas. When we swallow the blend, it forms hydrochloric acid in our stomachs. Homer dubbed it "divine" and Plato hailed it as "a substance dear to the gods." And "Ye are the salt of the earth," the Bible says. The oceans contain enough salt to bury the entire United States a mile deep. Humans are 70-percent fluid - the same percentage of the earth's surface that is covered by ocean. They each share the same salinity. The money paid to soldiers in Rome for purchasing salt was known as a salarium - the origin of the term 'salary.' Salt is cool. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, over 400 meters below sea level. Now a serenely quiet shore, the Dead Sea region is thought by many to be the site of five biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboin, and Zowr. A dried pillar of salt near the sea is believed to be the remains of Lot's wife, who, upon fleeing the damned city of Sodom, disobeyed God's command not to look back. More importantly, the water of the Dead Sea is chock full o' salt. Compared to regular sea water, the Dead Sea contains 4 times as much salt, 20 times as much bromine, 15 times as much magnesium, and 10 times as much iodine - it is, in effect, 33% solid substance. Bromine, a component of many sedatives, relaxes the nerves, magnesium counteracts skin allergies and clears the bronchial passages, iodine has a beneficial effect on certain glandular functions, and salt - as we've established - is just plain cool. The local spas claim this renowned, curative elixer does everything from improving your bench press to attracting Circassian harem girls. These claims are not supported by the FDA or personal experience. The peculiar buoyancy of the Red Sea's briny liquid forces even the densest swimmer into a back float. It's like taking part in a NASA exercise. Or being freakishly obese. Floating like a human bobber, it's easily possible to drift along reading a book. With the current escalation in Kashmir, I recommend Seuss's Butter Battle Book. After rejuvenating (and burning your corneas while doing salty surface somersaults), a great place to rinse-off is the cascading hot spring at Zarqa Ma'in. Hiking past asynchronous desert waterfalls leads to a cavernous cauldron in the hillside. Despite this scalding baptism by fire, expect to remain a salt lick for the next few days (especially if you refuse to pay for a shower, you cheapskate). Chapter 3: Indiana Jones was SwissFor over 1000 years, Petra (stone in ancient Greek) was lost to all but the few hundred members of a Bedouin tribe who guarded their treasure from outsiders. In the 19th century, Swiss explorer Johann Burkhardt heard Bedouin speaking of a "lost city" and vowed to find it. Though initially unable to find a guide willing to disclose the city's location, he guessed that the city he sought was the biblical Sela, which should have been near Mt. Hor, the site of Aaron's tomb. Impersonating a Chrisitian pilgrim, Burkhardt hired a guide, and on August 22, 1812, he became the first non-Bedouin in centuries to walk between the cliffs of Petra's siq - the mile-long rift that was the only entrance to the city. Gives me the shivers. "Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city 'half as old as Time' !" - Dean Burgon, Petra Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade filmed Petra as the fabled 'Canyon of the Crescent Moon.' A fun movie, a fitting name, a fraction of the grandeur. Nothing could have prepared me for the magical enchantment of Petra. Alone at dawn, following the ancient path of Nabatean priests through a deep and narrow fissure eroded from solid rock, winding past ghostly images of wind-worn carvings until - suddenly - the shadows are pierced by the luminescent Khazneh, the first light of the lost city of Petra seeping between the blood-red canyon walls. Go see Petra. Tourism is down 90-percent from last year ... the prices are lowered, the experience heightened. Wander endless trails, climb ancient stairways, lose your bearings, find hidden reserves, and discover a mysterious beauty that still echoes the secrets of a distant age. Chapter 4: Always read the warning signsTorah is the Semitic name. The Greek expression, which in English gives us Pentateuch, designates a work in five parts: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These form the five primary elements of the collection of thirty-nine volumes that make up the Old Testament. Though the original authorship attributed to Moses has long been abandoned, these books retain a foundational reverence among Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. I wonder why. The scientific inaccuracies are ludicrous and, more pointedly, the contradictory laws they expound damn you for nearly everything under the sun. Despite this, and the endless begatting and begotting, the Torah is quite an entertaining read. A few days ago I mentioned my recent sojourn up the holy peak of Mt. Sinai. The Bible describes a mountain engulfed in fire and smoke that Moses ascended to receive the Ten Commandments while the Israelites built a golden calf at its base. As Mt. Sinai is one of only two places where God revealed himself to the people, this rugged apex is a significant site for the monotheistically-inclined. If this describes you, please read the fine print before undertaking your peaked pilgrimmage ... "Take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death" (Exodus 19:12). Oops. Chapter 5: Shimmering in the shining shadow of ScheherazadeDahab is an oasis of hermetic hedonism in a desert of Islamic fundamentalism. Praise Amun-Ra. Necklacing the nape between the Sinai mountains and the turqoise misnomered Red Sea, the village of Dahab (Arabic for gold) is a kaleidoscopic cavalcade of indigenous Bedouins, chemically preserved hippies, diving and snorkelling enthusuasts, flesh afficionados, and the lords of leisure. A kinetic mandala that pulses beneath the palms and takes your breath beneath the waves. Paradise on seven dollars per day. Maya Angelou wrote: "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." I don't know about that; true agaony would be eating lima beans at a co-worker's baby shower while listening to Hindi music. Either way, I do appreciate your indulging patience in reading these scattered thoughts. If you seek a skilled storyteller, I'd suggest the silver-tongued Scheherazade of the mythic Arabian Nights. Lounging like a sultan on the cushions of a seaside cafe in Dahab, I recall her exotic tales of adventure, gaze across the water to the nearby contours of Saudi Arabia, and express thanks for such inspiration. "I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next." - Gilda Radner Whatever happened to Scheherazade? Did she and Dunazade eventually feel the blade of King Shahryar? Did she live happily ever after? Do we really want to know? Perhaps life is more alluring and attractive when gauzed in the mantle of mystery. I prefer this. Nearing a Thousand and One Nights on the road, this belief sustains me. I trust that further stories yet await. - in the name of neither cross nor crescent, crusading knight-errantly towards Jerusalem ... Kevin 'Chevalier' Charbonneau |
