In Jordan: Umm Qais

Sometimes I travel for a change of scenery and other times I travel to be transported in time.  The great thing is that in Jordan you can do both or as some animal cruelty perpetrators would say "kill two birds with one stone"--Why do people say that? Why kill two birds? What did the birds ever do to you? Are you gonna eat the birds?

Umm Qais Main Street

Anyways, on my last blog I wrote about my trip to the Dead Sea, a place with no equal on the planet, certainly a change of scenery.  When I took a trip to Umm Qais, one of the ancient cities of the Roman Decapolis (Ten Cities) also known as Gadara in Jesus's days, walking through the ruins was like stepping into another time period.  The architecture, the layout, the Corinthian columns, the intricately carved stones, the plazas, the theaters, the remains of their paved roads, and the living quarters were all so different from their present-day surroundings in Jordan.  I presume that their architecture stood out in quite a contrast back then as it does now, and it makes me wonder why the architectural elements of these microcosms of Roman life took little root in this region of the world.  It's true that some elements of Roman architecture can be found in some of the most famous mosques.  The columns and arches are examples of that.

However, aside from that, I wonder if the people of the Levant had so much pride in their culture and past architectural accomplishments that they saw Roman architecture as inferior or too foreign/western?

Umm Qais Corinthian Column

Or maybe there were building codes that prevented the occupied to emulate the architecture of the occupiers?  Was it a way to distinguish between classes? Or perhaps, did adding Roman architectural concepts to your home or city made you a sellout?

I enjoy visiting the ruins of old cities because it reminds me of the transient nature of societies and civilizations--how quickly power comes and goes, how cultures clashed or adapted to one another, how people organized themselves in terms of social hierarchy, and what those individuals way back then valued.  One can draw a lot from the architecture.

Umm Qais Roman Theater

For example, the many theaters demonstrate their love of storytelling, the administrative centers show their hierarchical bureaucracy, and the paved roads were there to facilitate commerce.

To me, these relics of the past given that they seem so out of place in this region could be seen as a cautionary reminder of how western experiments exporting western aesthetics or ideals can go wrong.  It's interesting that even today contemporary western powers continue to prod, nudge, and in some cases take complete control through force as the Romans did of vast areas of the Levant.  I don't necessarily think that all incursions or even all invasions are bad.  Humans have been roaming and invading territories since the beginning of time.  Different groups learn to co-exist while others fight tooth and nail to expel whatever they consider foreign.  Perhaps physical features serve as a basis for separation or maybe a family lineage, heritage, language, religion, type of garment, or even their architecture.  

I wonder would the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan be what it is today without its ancient Roman history?  How would Jordan be different if say the Mongols or the Crusaders had not invaded the territory centuries ago or if it had resisted Ottoman control? What would Jordan look like if colonial powers had not demarcated its boundaries?  I think that these interventions and invasions are part of the human experience with one idea replacing another and old ideas re-emerging as novel.  It's tough to say what's good or what's bad or better or worse.  That's not to say that one should sit idly as change occurs before one's eyes, although if that's someone's choice than so be it, but one could also be part of the change or of the resistance to change.  In some way each and everyone contributes to it whether it be passively or actively.

Stone-carved theater seats at Umm Qais

Time will tell if new experiments, incursions, or invasions will be embraced by the current residents of the Levant.  I guess if they are, we will see replicas, and if not, someone else a thousand or so years from now will be writing another reflection about the ruins leftover from our contemporary world and will perhaps wonder if their new endeavors in this region will be successful.

See links on Umm Qais with up to date travel details and other interesting historical facts :

http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism3b.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Qais

http://www.visitjordan.com/default.aspx?tabid=176

Safe travels! Thanks for reading.