Abraham Path

Last weekend, I went on one of CIEE's scheduled trips, this one call the Abraham Path Voluntary Trail (or something like that). It is a trail system set up in the al-Alyoum or al-Ayoum (I'm not sure which) district of Jordan, which consists of 4 villages in norther Jordan. It was my first trip north, and the first time I saw forests of any kind in Jordan. The north is apparently much more fertile than the south, which is where Petra and Wadi Feid are. The trees in these forests were shorter than, say, New England forests, but not too far off some Alaskan forests. Our first stop on the Path was at the Soap House, where locals make soap out of olive oil and local herbs. Olive trees are everywhere. We even saw some trees that are 2000 years old, planted by the Romans. I have pictures, but my camera isn't with me, so I'll post them later. The actual trail we hiked on was not very long, it was only about a 2 hour hike, but there are more extensive trail systems that the locals are working on, with help from the Abraham Path organization, which gets outside funding from the EU, among others. We met an older couple from England who were helping to set up the trails. Apparently, this couple were the first climbers to visit Jordan with the intention of rock climbing, and they have been helping to promote trails and climbs in the country ever since. They knew Hakeem, our guide in Wadi Feid.

After our hike, we got a tour of some of the notable sites in the villages, including an old Christian church and the buildings that will be a hostel and restaurant, which will hopefully bring more business to the region. We ate lunch in the home of one of our guides, a traditional Jordanian meal with rice, chicken, hummus, flat bread and various fruits and vegetables. Our final stop was the ruins of a church, apparently famous for it's floor mosaics. However, it had rained the day before, so the mosaics were covered to protect them. The views from the church were amazing though. These villages are built on a very small mountain range, and the church was on the top of one of the hills. From that vantage point, our guide pointed out Palestine, and revealed that he was Palestinian. It seems that almost anywhere you go in this part of the country, you can see Palestine. This fact has given me new insight into the reason that the refugees are so set on their right of return. Besides the way they were abruptly kicked out and have very right to be angry about it, they can literally see their land, they just can't get to it. It much be extremely frustrating, and keeps the issue always relevant. I knew this part of the world was very small, geographically, but it's one thing to know it and another to see it.