Ajlun

We took a bus to Ajlun. It was sort of uncomfortable because we were a large group of Americans. When travelling in a group of more than 6 people, it is impossible to not be insular and like yuppie tourists. We were like yuppie tourists.

Ajlun is a town in the north of Jordan, a very lush, green part of the country. A few olive trees dot an otherwise pine forest. It is a very hilly landscape as well. Our bus had to weave on the road while climbing up the steep hills. The driver turned an otherwise precarious drive into a slightly awful one.

Around one turn a vast expanse of lush green poured out into an otherwise empty basin. Rolling fields of green gave way to a precipitous rise in the center of the Basin. Perched precariously on top of the steep rise was a cluster of dark stone. I figured that that is where the bus was headed. I don't like buses very much, because you have no say in where they go, and rarely do you even know where they are headed.

We all filed out of the buses so that we could purchase tickets and use the restroom at the ministry of antiquities. Sharif, one of the administrators here, ordered us all to stay hydrated. We all filed back into the buses and swerved 100 more meters up the hill to the castle. The bus stalled, and the driver slammed on the breaks. I just wanted to get out of the bus before we rolled down the hill, uprooting pine trees as we went. I just wanted out, it was stupid to get in a bus to go 100 meters anyway. He turned the engine over, put and floored it trying to start on a severe uphill. The engine roared, the transmission screeched, and the car stalled again. Another attempt and we lurched forward, slowly, until something caught and we were off. 25 meters later, we stopped and everyone got out, walking through the entrance gate, up the path the last few meters to the summit. Sharif yelled to keep walking, take pictures once you were up the stairs, the view was better up their anyway. We took a group picture on the side of the road.

We had a tour guide, but the tour was too big for me to hear anything, so I didn't mind staying with the tour, rather I just followed behind. There were a few others who did the same. I don't like tours very much. I later learned, through a travel brochure, that Ajlun was built by Osama bin Munquth, a person who we read in Arabic class last semester. I was very pleased by this realization, even if it was retrospective.

The Castle itself was truly spectacular. It offered a sturdy labyrinth of stone, creeping moss and the occasional sunlight, piercing through a light shaft or a slit in the stone for arrow fire. The most impressive part of the castle was the view from the highest tower. Situated high above a castle perched high up on a hill, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and most of northern Jordan is visible. It is magnificent. The wind is persistent and powerful, the view is unreal. It is like a scene from a Wagner opera, seated high upon Valhalla, looking down onto Earth. It was even better when the tour left.