What was expected to be a dry, cultural run down of ancient, biblical sites turned out to be a fascinating, amusing journey made possible by Jafar Ghazal, our Jordanian guide.

The Jordan tour was organized by the Siam Society (www.siam-society.org) 12–20 February 2007 led by Barent Springsted. The diverse group of 21 was a combination of Thais and expatriates. 

From the onset, Jafar demonstrated his broad knowledge of Jordanian history and culture. During the long drives between destination points, he colored his explanations with jokes, personal anecdotes and news clippings.

During one of the longer drives he explained how to wear the kaffiyyeh (rhymes with Sophia), the traditional red and white headdress held on with a black band; so often associated with Middle Eastern men. He demonstrated the various ways to wear the kaffiyyeh, some were practical, as in keeping blowing sand out of your face; others, to communicate, as in a style that says, “I’m a single and available man”.

After the kaffiyyeh demonstration, Jafar introduced us to all the denominations of the Dinah, the Jordanian currency.  Each note has an image of a Jordanian king wearing a kaffiyyeh. Jafar explained that the Dinah is the most difficult currency to counterfeit. To verify a genuine note, you only have to take a note and turn it upside-down. Then snap the edge of the note with your finger. If the kaffiyyeh falls off, you have a counterfeit.

We never learned the details of Jafar’s background; we did learn in the course of his explanations he had worked with an archeology professor on digs in and around Petra. As with most rediscovered Lost Cities without a written history, the purpose and lifestyle details are left to one’s imagination. I got the feeling Jafar was not always in agreement with his professor’s interpretation, which demonstrated his independent thinking and intuitiveness. He would present the prevailing interpretation and then add his own. I like this quality in a guide as it shows we were not just getting a canned presentation. He’s original.

Jafar is interested in the sacredness of monarchy just as is the case in Thailand.  During the long drive between points of interest, Jafar carried a virtual library in his backpack, informing us of unemployment, education, birth rate, changes to the Bedouin lifestyle and the future of the Dead Sea. There was hardly a question asked that Jafar didn’t reach into his pack and pull out a relevant article.   

The most incongruous sight of the trip was the bagpipe performers in the Jerash amphitheater. Jerash is the largest collection of Roman influence outside of Italy. Returning home I did a search on bagpipes and learned the basic idea of bagpipes are ancient, dating back to the Romans. The bagpipes are there to demonstrate the excellent acoustics of the amphitheater.

Jafar is one of those people who can continuously eat but stay trim. As we passed through small villages he would whisper to the driver and point. The bus would slowdown  long enough for him to leap out, bolt through traffic, his full-length cashmere coat flowing behind heading for some obscure stall selling his favorite local cuisine.  Moments later he would reappear at some prearranged meeting point with his arms laden with the local culinary delight.   Entering the bus he would always begin with, “My friends, this is the best place for…”

On the first day, we were indoctrinated into the world of Jordanian desserts with him telling us about a shop that he couldn’t wait to take us. It wasn’t until the end of the trip that we finally got there. It turned out to be everything he made it seem. The shop was full of trays of small pastries flavored with pistachio nuts and honey. It was an absolute delight for those of us with a sweet tooth. Even a dentist would have found this place special and would have left with a five pound tin can of “Yummy-yummy” for “a friend”.   “Yummy-yummy”,  was another favorite Jafar term.

No matter where we were in Jordan, Jafar could call on his “cousins” to help us out. When someone left a camera in Aqaba, there it was waiting at the next hotel. It was delivered courteously by one of Jafar’s “cousins”. When he was looking for a food stall selling his favorite falafel he’d stop the bus and find a “cousin” to assist with locating the best shop.

Jafar had a unique system for survival as at most destinations he was swimming amongst sharks. He has to coexist with the local hard-sell vendors to be able to return with future tourists.  To avoid awkwardness with the vendors who overcharge, he developed a sign language advising us when an item was fairly priced and when it was not. Using hand signals similar to those  used in baseball, where pulling his ear meant “no” and touching his nose meant “maybe”.