The Dead Sea

I have not yet been floating in the Dead Sea, one of those things that everyone is supposed to do when they're in Jordan, although I might have a go when my next visitor comes out in a couple of weeks. On the other hand, I'm not sure how much I want to after my visit to the excellent Dead Sea Panoramic Complex museum, where I learnt that;

- the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth at over 400m below sea level, which makes it pretty toasty even in winter

- it was made by the separating of two tectonic plates, the same split which has created the whole of the Great Rift Valley

- both it's depth below sea level and it's position above a fault line contribute to it's wierd composition; evaporation making it saltier and the fault line throwing up all sorts of strange chemicals that you won't find in normal sea water

- for example, the Dead Sea apparently has 7,800 times the amount of cadium that you would find in normal sea water (yes, the stuff they use to make batteries ...)

- the Dead Sea is disappearing very rapidly because of diversion of water from the Jordan River - the southern section has disappeared almost completely in the last few years, as you can see comparing the map on the right (from 2005) with the satellite image below (2009) ...


Interesting 5 minute BBC report on Dead Sea

Having said that, I have driven along the coastline many times, and there are some pretty unique sights - check these out ...

Natural salt sculptures along the coastline

The water looks so blue and inviting ...

Lovely mountains tumbling into the blue sea action ...

The other thing about the Dead Sea is that there are lots of lovely five star spa complexes along the coast, so even if the sea itself is a bit odd, there are pampering opportunities aplenty. I will make it my duty to test them out and keep you informed ...

Money money money ...

One of the questions that I've been asking myself since arriving here is ' where does all the money come from'? As I've said before, Jordan is pretty expensive for everything except the basics (a woman cannot live on coffee and felafel alone), and yet people don't seem to earn a lot. Then on the other hand, there do seem to be a LOT of really rich people here ... at least those have been my anecdotal impressions so far. To try and understand the situation a bit better, I've been trying a combination of some internet research and asking as many people as possible what they think, and have come up with the following;

'Jordan is not a rich country'

Jordan is classified in economic terms as a 'lower middle income country' or an 'emerging market', and according to World Bank statistics the GNP per capita was $3,306 in 2008 - so $275 or only £245 a month. Another 2009 study claims that "29% of Jordan’s employees earn less than $500 per month, while 30% earn between $500 and $1000 per month". As for its resources, Jordan doesn't seem to have much except potash, and is totally reliant on imports for oil and almost all other energy needs 996% to be precise), while water and therefore agriculture is a huge issue (as previously discussed).

'Jordan is not cheap'

This may not seem too bad, but when you compare salaries to the cost of living it's really not great. Have a look at this site if you don't believe me - even simple things like milk and bread are about the same price as the UK, and rents aren't great either;

Cost of Living information from Numbeo
(skip past the first bit about indexes ... real information underneath!)

Every Jordanian I know complains about the massive gap between salaries and the rising cost of things, and after initially thinking that I must be getting ripped off because I'm a foreigner, I've come to realise that I'm not really paying more than locals, it's that locals can't generally afford the same things that I would buy ... and yet these expensive things are in the shops, in fact in many many shops and malls around the city. So who is buying this stuff?

'Jordan has some very rich people'

I don't have any groovy facts to support this, but a drive around Amman will show you this - the side of town where I live is a vast expanse of huge houses, numerous malls and all the trappings of wealth. I have seen porches racing down the road from me, and places like Starbucks and TGI Fridays (really!) are always busy - all pointing to a pretty significant middle and upper class with plenty of cash to wave around. And this is what niggles me - who are these people, and where does their money come from?

'Jordan doesn't really make anything'

I've trawled a few websites on the subject of Jordan's economy and what exactly they produce, and the answer generally seems to be 'not much'. To break it down in very basic terms, Jordan's GDP seems to come from the following sources;

Agriculture - 2.5%
Industry - 23% of which;
Mining (potash and phosphate) - 3%
Construction - 4%
Manufacturing - 16%
Services - 74.5% of which;
Telecoms - 13%
IT - 10%
Transport sector - 10%
Tourism - 10%

Other services (banking, insurance, etc) seem to account for the remaining portion of the services sector.

So from these figures it would seem that a number of people are getting rich on selling dirt (potash / land) while the rest of the wealth seems a bit ephemeral ... and certainly doesn't seem to be enough to account for the extravagant wealth on display.

So to contrast with 'facts', these are the various opinions I've had about where all this money is coming from.

1. Foreign aid

The US in particular provides Jordan with very very large amounts of aid - somewhere in the $1 billion mark I believe - as it really needs to keep Jordan stable and onside in what is otherwise a pretty volatile region. Don't know how long term this is as a source of income though ...

2. Corruption

Possibly linked to point 1, everyone seems to think that corruption is pretty widespread, although I must admit that I haven't come across it myself yet and it certainly doesn't seem to be as widespread as in places like Indonesia or Nigeria. I've also heard that many of the businesses and construction projects may be linked to money laundering (Iraq in particular has been mentioned ...)

3. The Gulf

There are around 700,000 Jordanians working in the Gulf, and more in Europe and the US, all sending money back to families and to invest - this out of a population of only around 6 million, of which over half are Iraqi and Palestinian refugees (although some of the Iraqi refugees are apparently pretty minted). So money earnt overseas would seem to account for at least a good chunk of the money around ...

4. Foreign investment

Jordan is apparently a popular investment area as well, although not entirely sure why (any of my clever economust type friends know?) - possibly something to do with the free trade agreements? But anyway, money flowing in and being diverted into Audi 6's sounds plausible to me ...

So, still not sure where the rich get their moolah from ... but it's certainly there, and needs spreading around a bit. Perhaps Jordan should finally introduce some income tax?! Rather than taxing food and clothes at 26% ...

Wierd and Wonderful - WAW pt 2

One that comes in the 'wonderful' category - this is my favourite piece of graffiti in Amman, and gives you a good idea of exactly how 'hardcore' things are here ... does it make anyone else suddenly feel like they're back at primary school?

The real Ben Hur!

It's been another gorgeously sunny weekend here I'm afraid, so I took a contingent of British expats to Jerash, Jordan's largest Roman ruins. The ruins are in the hills north of Amman, which are lovely and green at the moment, and it was a real pleasure to wander through the old buildings with grass and clover under our feet and olive groves all around - so different from arid Amman, and feeling much more like Tuscany or Provence.


The ruins are what is left of the old administrative town of Gerasa, with all the temples, markets and other large buildings, and are surrounded by a wall nearly 4km long. Apparently, the people would mainly have lived outside of this walled town, where the modern town of Jerash is, and the two areas would have been connected by several pathways and bridges like the one on the right. Although the modern town isn't very picturesque, it's actually quite nice to see the juxtaposition (!) of the grand and the everyday, the old and the new.





As if all these great ruins weren't impresseive enough on their own, Jerash also has a live show that they put on twice a day, complete with a garrison of Roman soldiers, gladiators and chariot racing ... soooo much fun, and educational too! For example, we learnt that Roman soldiers fought in lines of 9 men, with the front man fighting for 8 minutes before going to the back of the line to rest, eat etc. So basically anyone facing the Romans was always facing a fresh fighter - with tactics like that, no wonder they swept across the world!



And here they are in action - this is how they would have used a wedge tactic ...



After showing us a whole variety of such tactics (including a very impressive tortoise move), we were treated to some gladiator fighting (and might I add, some rather well-toned and frankly under-dressed gladiators) ...



And then to finish off, the chariot racing! And I even got to have a go ... move over Ben Hur!

Food Pt 8

Well, a drink actually - this is my favourite refreshing tipple, a mix of lemon juice, fresh mint and sugar (which for some reason the Syrians call a 'Polo') ... always fabulous!

Ruins, greenery and forbidden hills ...

As a break from endless desert and dryness, my folks and I went north towards where the borders of Jordan, Syria and Israel meet to visit a place called Um Qais, on a line between Irbid and the Sea of Galilee to the northwest on this map.


View Larger Map

Unfortunately it was a bit of a misty day so we didn't have the full views of Israel and the Golan Heights that we would have otherwise, but it was still stunning - and so refreshing to be up in the hills and surrounded by greenery. It really made me realise how dry so much of Jordan is, and how much I miss the lushness that we take for granted in the UK ...



So, along with the grass (GRASS!) and olive trees, Um Qais has some pretty good Roman ruins to boast of, not in the same league as Jerash or Palmyra but nicely preserved and in a fabulous location perched above valleys and the Sea of Galilee. As well as the standard temples, theatre, trade centre and bath complexes, there are also some great underground chambers which they are still digging out - I think the one below was a tomb, and they've also found chambers deep beneath churches and other buildings ...





Like so many of the historical locations here, you really get the sense that the process of unearthing all the historical treasures is only just starting, and it's exciting to think about all the fabulous things still left to uncover. Um Qais has ongoing archeological digs all over the place, and we watched a team unearthing a Byzantium church with mosaics before our very eyes ...








There is also the first part of a Roman road that apparently went all the way to the Mediterannean ... which is a long way! The road is a classic example of the Roman road building expertise ... nice camber ... good diagonal paving to encourage runoff ... fancy columns ... and oh so straight!

And then, as if all that wasn't groovy enough, there is also a really good restaurant slap bang in the middle of the ruins, with a lovely terrace overlooking the Golan heights - it is actually almost worth doing the trip just to have this very agreeable lunch. So come join me for fine food, culture and a sneeky peak at one of th flashpoints of the Middle East!

One for the dance generation

Nothing to do with my travels - just because it makes me smile (and if anyone else remembers that Ally Pally NYE ...)

Happy music here!

P.S. turn the volume UP for this one! I don't care if you're at work, do it!