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DEL.ICIO.US“Viva la difference!”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’d like to blame the limited access to the Internet for not filing this blog entry in a timely manner. But I must confess that some of us engaged in some inter-faith disco dancing late into the night Thursday night in Aqaba and the Internet cafe across from our hotel didn’t open until we were done with breakfast and ready to pray the Friday juma’a prayer.
In some ways, Aqaba is like the South Beach of Jordan, with a vibrant street life and night life; the cafes, with the obligatory “hubbly bubbly,” the shops and the restaurants, from Ali Baba’s to Popeye’s.
And even in Aqaba, at the top of the Red Sea, Atlanta was closer than we thought: Several of us wandered into Red Scorpion, an upscale men’s clothing store billed as “Unisex,” to meet a young man who pulled out photos of his dad in front of CNN Center, at Stone Mountain and near the fountains at the Mall of Georgia.
Early in the day, our group visited the ruins of the ancient port Eilat only to be distracted by a lone camel, its front legs tied together to keep it from wandering off. Immediate photo op. Then, after lunch, we fanned out across the city, some visiting the souk or market (all of my attempts to “score” Jordanian soccer jerseys for my children have so far failed,) some venturing to the coral reefs for choppier water than anticipated.
Before our dinner, we gathered together in a circle on the terrace of our hotel, the Golden Tulip, and, with the darkening sky as our protective canopy, we each shared generously and honestly from our souls, our concerns and reflections about interfaith dialogue. There is no way to capture the depth and breadth of the words shared, but here is a sampling:
“I wonder if we’re a select group,” said one pilgrim. “I feel all religions set up barriers and have exclusive features that limit our capacity to bring people together. We have to keep struggling to identify those, think about those and consider getting rid of them.”
“Viva la difference!” said another.
A Christian pilgrim spoke of the “unbelievable entry points” and the opportunity for amazing connections from the simple but profound act of being invited into another’s religious rituals, like a Sabbath dinner at the home of a Jewish friend.
Another pilgrim shared her profound sense of the sacred, experienced when she, a Christian, was included in the Muslim prayer held in a crevice of a mountain in the vast expanse of sand and rock at Wadi Rum. “Worshipping in the desert was one of the most powerful experiences of my life.”
But I will leave you with this, perhaps profound in its simplicty: “We went snorkling, not as a Jew or a Muslim,” said one participant, “but as friends.”
Photo: Ameenah Sabree, left, and Debbie Jones embrace during a group discussion.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: World Pilgrims of Atlanta
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By betsy morehouse
November 5, 2007 6:14 PM | Link to this
Hi Jill (Morehouse Lum) - looks like a wonderful trip! We’re keeping up via the blogs - we love you! Mom and Dad