Hello All,
Yesterday I went to the mall to buy a new camera and a new pair of sneakers. After Istanbul, the soles were separating from the shoes, so it was time for a new pair. I had had them for years and they survived the wash machine 300x. It was time.
I went to SmartBuy, which is the equivalent of Best Buy in Jordan. I was looking around at the cameras and finally a man came up to me to ask if I wanted help. I said yes and started asking him questions in Arabic. He responded in Arabic, but after a while, he asked if I would prefer to continue the sale in English. I said no, I would like to speak in Arabic. It was a proud moment when I bought that camera having talked and asked questions only in Arabic.
When I went to buy the sneakers, I did the same thing, only Arabic. Three salesmen helped me decide between two pairs of pink ones. They collectively told me that the hot pink was more me. I agreed. Buying this objects in Arabic made the purchase much more memorable. On the way home, the Taxi driver told me that I have a nice Arabic accent. This was a victory day for me as far as Arabic goes.
So today I decided I wanted to go somewhere and take some pictures. All my afternoon classes were canceled, so I went to King Hussein bin Talel mosque. I invited people to come, but they wanted to go to Starbucks. Their loss lol. This mosque was built by the current king, King Abdullah, in memory of his father, King Hussein. It is the largest mosque in Amman and is built in a Levantine style. The lines of neutral colors mock a Syrian style while the towerish minarets mimic an Ottoman look. There are many gardens around the area as well as some museums. I decided to save the museums for another day since I have a lot of homework to accomplish.
When I arrived at the mosque, a man came up and escorted me out of the gates. I kept asking why I was being told to leave. He said that the mosque would be closed for the next hour and to come back in an hour. I asked if it was prayer time, because I had checked before I left and it wasn't. He told me it wasn't, but that it was just a break from visitors. All of this conversation was in Arabic. I decided to go to City Mall, a very nice mall nearby and wait. I walked around an Arabic Calligraphy store and went to a Starbucks (See you could have done both, SIT classmates lol). I loved the calligraphy accessory store. It is called Heba's Designs. If you want to check it out, I have the link on my facebook wall. I also bought four Arabic Pop Artist's CDs. In America it is impossible to find a lot of current Arabic music. I am tired of listening to the same Arabic songs over and over again. As a result I bought CDs from the top of the charts. The artists were Elissa, Carole Samaha, Melhem Zain and Wael Kfoury. I will bring the CDs home so that Kelsey and Kate can get some new Arabic music. Sorry Kelsey, this music is not like Marcel Khalif lol.
I finally hailed a cab and went back to the mosque. I walked through the gate without a headscarf on. The same man who turned me away earlier told me to leave again and re enter with a scarf. I felt so stupid. Of course I needed to cover my hair before walking in. What a rookie mistake! I quickly wrapped my scarf around my head and entered. He did not sem pleased, but he allowed me to continue. The guards are not to accepting for a very popular tourist site.
I walked around the mosque for a while, then asked a security guard if I could peak inside the main prayer room where the men prayed. I had seem pictures online and it was beautiful. Also, no one was praying. I could tell by the lack of shoes outside the door. The man said no and switched our conversation to English to make sure I understood I was not to go in there. Wow, a week in Istanbul totally made me forget that I had to follow the rules. In Istanbul, I could go into the main prayer room of any mosque that I visited and just hang towards the back in a respectful manner. Shame on me for asking to go to the men's room at this mosque! I know the rules! However, I was disappointed that I could not see the pretty prayer room. I went to the women's room and was able to peak at the main prayer room from behind a screen that reminded me of a Roman Catholic confessional screen. As you can assume, I could barely see anything. Honestly, I was a bit peeved. I could not see the inside of the mosque. I mean I had traveled from America. Why couldn't I see it? I had to remind myself that it was not personal, and that I should feel happy to be able to walk around. Chill your boots, Natalie!
Upon leaving, I bumped into another building. I asked another security guard in Arabic what the building was. He told me if was a holy place where they kept important things. I asked if I could go in (apparently I had not learned anything yet!). He said yes and offered to escort me. I said sure and he lead me into the small building. I am so happy I asked! This building houses a letter that Muhammad wrote to a friend around 1400 (that is what the guard told me and I double checked). The guard was nice enough to read it to me in Arabic in a beautiful song like manner. There was also a piece of hair believed to be from the "middle part" of Muhammad's beard. The Hashemite family owns these relics and put them on display at the mosque. This was an amazing experience! I am so happy I got to see everything! Skip the prayer room, I got to see genuine Muhammad things! I kept thanking the guard over and over for the wonderful tour. He said he liked how I kept speaking in Arabic. I said thanks and we parted ways. Beautiful experience! I asked him for permission to take pictures, he said yes.
Lesson: Do not be mad about what you can't do. Be happy about what you are able to do! Also, always ask to see things. Sometimes the answer is no, but at least you know you didn't forget to see something.
Yesterday I went to the mall to buy a new camera and a new pair of sneakers. After Istanbul, the soles were separating from the shoes, so it was time for a new pair. I had had them for years and they survived the wash machine 300x. It was time.
I went to SmartBuy, which is the equivalent of Best Buy in Jordan. I was looking around at the cameras and finally a man came up to me to ask if I wanted help. I said yes and started asking him questions in Arabic. He responded in Arabic, but after a while, he asked if I would prefer to continue the sale in English. I said no, I would like to speak in Arabic. It was a proud moment when I bought that camera having talked and asked questions only in Arabic.
When I went to buy the sneakers, I did the same thing, only Arabic. Three salesmen helped me decide between two pairs of pink ones. They collectively told me that the hot pink was more me. I agreed. Buying this objects in Arabic made the purchase much more memorable. On the way home, the Taxi driver told me that I have a nice Arabic accent. This was a victory day for me as far as Arabic goes.
So today I decided I wanted to go somewhere and take some pictures. All my afternoon classes were canceled, so I went to King Hussein bin Talel mosque. I invited people to come, but they wanted to go to Starbucks. Their loss lol. This mosque was built by the current king, King Abdullah, in memory of his father, King Hussein. It is the largest mosque in Amman and is built in a Levantine style. The lines of neutral colors mock a Syrian style while the towerish minarets mimic an Ottoman look. There are many gardens around the area as well as some museums. I decided to save the museums for another day since I have a lot of homework to accomplish.
When I arrived at the mosque, a man came up and escorted me out of the gates. I kept asking why I was being told to leave. He said that the mosque would be closed for the next hour and to come back in an hour. I asked if it was prayer time, because I had checked before I left and it wasn't. He told me it wasn't, but that it was just a break from visitors. All of this conversation was in Arabic. I decided to go to City Mall, a very nice mall nearby and wait. I walked around an Arabic Calligraphy store and went to a Starbucks (See you could have done both, SIT classmates lol). I loved the calligraphy accessory store. It is called Heba's Designs. If you want to check it out, I have the link on my facebook wall. I also bought four Arabic Pop Artist's CDs. In America it is impossible to find a lot of current Arabic music. I am tired of listening to the same Arabic songs over and over again. As a result I bought CDs from the top of the charts. The artists were Elissa, Carole Samaha, Melhem Zain and Wael Kfoury. I will bring the CDs home so that Kelsey and Kate can get some new Arabic music. Sorry Kelsey, this music is not like Marcel Khalif lol.
I finally hailed a cab and went back to the mosque. I walked through the gate without a headscarf on. The same man who turned me away earlier told me to leave again and re enter with a scarf. I felt so stupid. Of course I needed to cover my hair before walking in. What a rookie mistake! I quickly wrapped my scarf around my head and entered. He did not sem pleased, but he allowed me to continue. The guards are not to accepting for a very popular tourist site.
I walked around the mosque for a while, then asked a security guard if I could peak inside the main prayer room where the men prayed. I had seem pictures online and it was beautiful. Also, no one was praying. I could tell by the lack of shoes outside the door. The man said no and switched our conversation to English to make sure I understood I was not to go in there. Wow, a week in Istanbul totally made me forget that I had to follow the rules. In Istanbul, I could go into the main prayer room of any mosque that I visited and just hang towards the back in a respectful manner. Shame on me for asking to go to the men's room at this mosque! I know the rules! However, I was disappointed that I could not see the pretty prayer room. I went to the women's room and was able to peak at the main prayer room from behind a screen that reminded me of a Roman Catholic confessional screen. As you can assume, I could barely see anything. Honestly, I was a bit peeved. I could not see the inside of the mosque. I mean I had traveled from America. Why couldn't I see it? I had to remind myself that it was not personal, and that I should feel happy to be able to walk around. Chill your boots, Natalie!
Upon leaving, I bumped into another building. I asked another security guard in Arabic what the building was. He told me if was a holy place where they kept important things. I asked if I could go in (apparently I had not learned anything yet!). He said yes and offered to escort me. I said sure and he lead me into the small building. I am so happy I asked! This building houses a letter that Muhammad wrote to a friend around 1400 (that is what the guard told me and I double checked). The guard was nice enough to read it to me in Arabic in a beautiful song like manner. There was also a piece of hair believed to be from the "middle part" of Muhammad's beard. The Hashemite family owns these relics and put them on display at the mosque. This was an amazing experience! I am so happy I got to see everything! Skip the prayer room, I got to see genuine Muhammad things! I kept thanking the guard over and over for the wonderful tour. He said he liked how I kept speaking in Arabic. I said thanks and we parted ways. Beautiful experience! I asked him for permission to take pictures, he said yes.
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| Entrance to the Men's section |
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| Muhammad's letter! He had very nice handwriting. I am too short to get a good picture of it. |
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| There are many trees and plants around |
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| The label to the letter. The name of the friend did not mean anything to the guard or me. |
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| Look at how great my new camera is! I caught a picture of Muhammad's beard hair! |
Also, I really like hitting up places by myself. I feel like I can just enjoy the place and I don't have to worry about interacting with another person. I also speak more Arabic when I travel alone. When someone sees a pack of Americans, they switch to English ASAP. I like practicing my Arabic so going alone suits me well.
Til next time!
Natalie
ممتاز! موسيقى جديدة :)
ReplyDeleteHaha shukran! bede roh bthib musika...in sha allah!
ReplyDelete