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DEL.ICIO.USCall to prayer, and call of nature
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(Editor’s Note: This blog is being written by three Atlantans — a Jew, a Christian and a Muslim — who are taking part in an inter-faith trip to the Holy Land to learn more about other religions).
It is evening in Amman, and much has happened in the last 24 hours. After a delicious dinner in our Hotel Larsa, punctuated with lively conversation, we headed to our rooms with our assigned roommates. What a great feeling to stretch out on an actual bed after a night in an airplane seat!
We awoke at 4 a.m. to the sound of the muezzin’s call to prayer from a near-by mosque. I use the term “we” loosely as I slept through it myself. However, our Muslim pilgrims, along with a few other pilgrims, attended the prayer ritual.
After another great meal we boarded our tour bus at 8 a.m. and sat with our “dance partners” for the day. We began with a very important ritual: counting off. Yes, we each have been assigned a number. No matter how lofty our goals are for this trip, we still need some structure to keep us from being lost, late or left.
After gathering ourselves together, we headed north to the city of Jerash, one of the best preserved Roman cities in the Middle East. On the way we passed the time by talking with our respective partners and listening to three of the pilgrims share their faith stories. (Today it happened to be our three leaders. Each pilgrim will have an opportunity to share with the group sometime during the pilgrimage).
We also stopped at the Jabbok River where, according to Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with God (or an angel). The story in Genesis tells of Jacob’s anxiety as he returns home to face his brother Esau, whom he had cheated of his birthright many years prior. Jacob does not know if his brother will welcome him or attack him. At the river Jabbok he spends a night wrestling with a divine being. Jacob refuses to let go until he is blessed. Finally, he is blessed and God changes his name to Israel but leaves him with an injured hip and a life-long limp. His 12 sons later become the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel.
This story is an important ones for Jews and Christians, as most everyone of faith can relate to wrestling with God at some point. Being on that ancient ground was meaningful to everyone.
Jerash was amazing. Founded in 170 BCE, it has been a Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic (under the Ottoman empire) and Jordanian city. As we walked through the ancient Roman Theater, Hippodrome (where chariot racing once occurred), the Temple of Artemis, and Oval Plaza, we were awed by its size and history. It was especially moving when we heard the call to prayer from several mosques simultaneously from the town below us.
As the sun rose higher in the sky and it began to get warmer, we also started to get hot, thirsty and tired. At one point we stood around on the path, taking a break from the long walk. When one of the pilgrims, a non-Muslim women, asked some of the Muslims on the trip how they felt about the Jordanian women who covered themselves from head to toe, we struck up a conversation about the roles and rights of women in our respective religions. Various folks asked questions and shared ideas about misogyny (perceived and real) in our different faiths. We agreed to keep the discussion of gender roles going during the trip.
It was after 3 when we got lunch. Now we were getting hungry and ready for a rest. Like my dance partner said, “You really get to know a person when you see them upset or angry and see how they handle it”. (He said this after I insistently voiced my concern about finding a bathroom.)
One of the great things about these kind of trips is that we go beyond lofty idealisms and get to the nitty-gritty of being human beings together; human beings with hope and belief that there is some way to see beyond our differences and live together with respect, a sense of humor and even joy.
Pictured in photo, L-R: bloggers Audrey Galex, Jill Ulrici, Tayyibah Taylor
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: World Pilgrims of Atlanta
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By Dean Peters
October 31, 2007 10:40 AM | Link to this
Hi Jill,
I’ll be traveling to Jordan next week - posting my experiences at http://blogjordan.com
Do you think we’ll have a chance to get together and exchange notes (I just sent the same note to Audrey)?
Dean