"Reflection Week Trip to Umm Qais" by Achol Otto
Hello!
To wrap up our semester that is coming to an end, Amideast is holding our reflection week where professors are able to host their own reflection activities of choice. Ustadah Mjriam, who was our professor for the Community-Based Learning & the Arab-Israeli Relations classes took us to Umm Qais today, a city in northern Jordan.
Although Umm Qais has the significance of being in close proximity to the ancient ruins of Gadara, the city also holds the significance of having been a major battleground during the 6-day war of 1967 between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The war resulted in Israel capturing the Golan Heights from Syria, and occupying the West Bank from Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt.
Hover over the pictures to learn more about each landmark we saw!
One of the results of the war was that Israel captured the Golan Heights which was a part of Syria located on the far left of the picture. Its fertile soil is used to grow agriculture, and its high altitude is used as a security strategy to oversee different parts of Syria (in case of an attack to reclaim the land they owned).
Another result of the war was Israel occupying the West Bank which had belonged to Jordan. This also gave them more access to a major water source within the region, the Sea of Galilea. We learned that since Jordan no longer has a place to store its water, the country has to give its water to Israel during the winter to store. However, Israel only gives Jordan purified wastewater instead of the pure water that is allocated to this country, which only adds to how Jordan is the 2nd most water-scarce country.
After learning about the regional significance of Umm Qais, we saw more of the amazing archeological park there of ancient Gadara. It consists of an old town, a Roman theatre, and more. It appears in historical records after the conquest of forces of Alexandar the Great in 333 BC. It is a beautiful area to see with a plethora of views of the lands surrounding Jordan’s border.
I am ultimately grateful that Ustadah Mjriam brought us because it is one thing to learn about these places in a classroom, but it is truly insightful to see them in person.
Shukran,
Nosa
Achol (Nosa) is a student at Mount Holyoke College and is studying abroad on the Amideast Area and Arabic Language Studies Program in Amman, Jordan.
