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Jordan
Culture & History
Personality, Culture, & Identity
Jordan is the calm in the chaotic storm that surrounds
them. They are Muslims who are influential members of the Arab league, yet maintain
open relations and an open border with Israel. There's a balance in Jordan that
seems impossible, yet they have maintained it for years.
Jordan is, in many ways defined by their relationships.
They work with their neighboring Muslim countries as some, particularly Syria allow
terrorists to create chaos in their region, yet Jordan refuses to allow such acts
and quickly expels any such people or ideas. Jordan also has an open border and
a peace treaty with Israel, yet are the recipient of many of the Palestinian Territories'
refuges. They are a kingdom, yet preach independent thought and democratic ideas.
Jordan is a land of seemingly obvious contrasts, yet it remains calm.
Jordanians tend to identify as either Jordanian or Palestinian and each person's
dress defines this. This identity is at the root of how each person defines him
or herself, particularly the Palestinians; cities, regions, and the country are
divided by the two groups. They get along fine, but the Palestinians view
Jordan as a temporary home and the Jordanians view the Palestinians as a
friend and neighbor who needs a place to stay.
History
Jordan is as old as time, however the political borders
that exist today were only created after WWII. Modern-day Jordan was part of the
Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Israeli, Roman, Arab, and
Turkish empires. It is mentioned often in the Bible as "trans-Jordan"
meaning across the Jordan River and it was through Jordan that Moses led his people
and here that Moses took his final breath.
Before Alexander the Great took the land now known as Jordan,
the Persians nominally controlled the region, but in the 300s BC, Alexander the
Great took and established order over much of the Middle East including what is
today Jordan. This began a long history of foreign rule for the region and was about
the same time that Petra was built in southern Jordan,
which was erected as a trading post. After the Greeks came the Romans, whose ruins
at Jerash remain as a symbol of their history.
Next, with the division of the empire, the Byzantines and so on.
With the introduction of Islam in the 500 and 600s the area changed dramatically
from a cultural perspective and this change later led to a number of wars between
the Muslims and Christians, known as the Crusades. The Crusades often times traveled
through modern-day Jordan, continuously wrecking havoc
on the land.
In the 1500s the Ottoman Turks took power over much of the Middle East, then four
centuries later the region's strongest influence shifted to the
European powers as Ottoman Turkey found itself
on the losing side of WWI and were unable to control its Arab colonies.
Jordan didn't escape the control of foreign rulers until they gained
independence from Britain in 1946.
In 1947 Israel was created and Jordan, among other countries,
protested this action. Despite a battle, the Arab countries accomplished little
and Jordan became a destination for fleeing immigrants from the Palestinian Territories.
In 1967's Six Days War, Egypt pressured Israel, which
resulted in their loss of the Sinai Peninsula and Jordan's loss of the West
Bank and their share of Jerusalem.
Over the next 20 years or so the Middle East was unstable as power shifted to the
oil-rich Gulf Coast Countries, yet somehow through this process,
Jordan remained fairly neutral and relatively unaffected by the drastic
changes taking place in neighboring Iran, Iraq, and Egypt.
In 1993 there was finally a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Territories
and the following year, Jordan signed a formal peace treaty with Israel.
Since the 1990s, peace with Israel seems far from certain, but
Jordan has maintained an open border with Israel, while balancing their
commitment and support to the Arab world. Additionally, there are multiple Palestinians
in Jordan, yet the government has maintained peace by expelling radical Palestinians
who threaten Israel's existence and Jordan's pact with Israel.
Dress & Behavior
As a Muslim country, there are a number of religious laws which should be obeyed
by everyone in Jordan, including tourists.
Women should cover their hair at all times in public and both women and men are
expected to cover their legs and shoulders; showing your knees and/or shoulders
can be offensive. Although western clothing, even tight western clothing is common
in Jordan, showing skin is still not appropriate. Even 3/4 length pants, like Capris
and short sleeve shirts should be avoided, although, with the growing tourist industry,
there is some leniency to these rules, especially at
Dead Sea beaches. The best course of action is to follow the lead of the
locals.
Adult women are best off traveling to Jordan with their
husband or family. Single women travelers are looked at oddly and traveling with
a man who is not related or married to you is widely considered inappropriate. Pretending
you are married is not right, but most Jordanians would consider it less offensive
than a single man and women traveling together. It is also improper to touch a woman,
even holding your wife's hand or offering to shake a local woman's hand
can be considered inappropriate to a strict Muslim, but in Jordan you'll rarely
encounter this issue.
Islamic law forbids pork products and alcohol and these must be avoided. Although
some hotels may offer alcohol in their restaurants, pork is nearly impossible to
find and consuming either is offensive and is best avoided. To learn more about
dining etiquette in Jordan, visit the
Jordanian Food page.
This page was last updated: August, 2011