The Royal Family

Living in a monarchy is a new experience for me.  When we arrived I was surprised to see a picture of the King in so many places.  Go into a travel agency and there he is; and over the manager’s desk in a car rental office; at the little café we frequent there is a picture of the King having a cup of tea.  Pictures of the whole Royal Family are also common.  I have seen them in people’s homes, in offices at the University, on the counter in a hotel.  The Nursing Dean’s office has three large pictures behind her desk – one of the deceased King Hussein, one of the current king, Abdullah II, and one of the Crown Prince Hussein who is 20 years old.  When I was given an office at the Faculty of Nursing, there was a large picture of the deceased King on the wall. The next day it was gone.  I have not yet been comfortable enough to ask why he left me.

Flag of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

King Abdullah II is the 41st generation direct descendent of the Prophet Mohammad.  He is the eldest son of King Hussein (and Princess Muna, King Hussein’s second wife) and has been on the throne since Hussein’s death in 1999.  He received some of his education at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and also attended Georgetown University.

King Hussein is still much remembered although he has been dead for 15 years.  He was married four times, the first when he was only 19.  His first and second marriages ended in divorce and his third wife died in a helicopter crash.  Queen Noor, his fourth wife, survives him.  She was born in the US of Syrian descent and became a Muslim when she married. 

Queen Rania, the wife of King Abdullah II, was born in 1970 in Kuwait, the daughter of a prominent Jordanian family of Palestinian origin.  She is very beautiful, with long auburn hair.  It is interesting to me that she is never pictured in a hijab, yet we see most women here covering their hair.  I am always surprised that she is not a fashion trendsetter, with University girls seeing her as their role model for deciding whether to cover or not.  She has commented on the topic of hijab in an interview on CNN in 2008.  At that time she indicated that it should be a woman’s choice and that it should not be compulsory. 

King Abdullah and Queen Rania have four children, the Crown Prince Hussein, another son Hashem and two girls Iman and Salma, ranging from 9 to 20.

Princess Muna, the mother of King Abdullah II, was the second wife of King Hussein and the first to bear him a son.  She was born in England. They were married for ten years, from 1961 to 1971.  I have been told that she did not convert to Islam, but have also seen sources that say she did.  Princess Muna, now aged 73, is still very actively involved in promoting nursing in the Kingdom.  She chairs the Jordanian Nursing Council and is the founder of the Princess Muna College of Nursing. 

Countryside in North Jordan (note the olive trees)

[clicking on pictures will enlarge them]

The history of Jordan really begins after World War I when the British and the French divided the remains of the Ottoman Empire.  England assumed sovereignty over Transjordan, Palestine and Iraq and France administered Lebanon and Syria.  In 1946, a treaty with the British gave Transjordan full independence and Emir Abdullah became King Abdullah and the country was officially named the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.  King Abdullah was assassinated in 1951 at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the same one that has been in the news recently because it was closed by the Israelis.  King Abdullah’s oldest son, Talal, reigned for less than a year, and then abdicated due to illness to his son, Hussein who ruled from 1952 until his death in 1999.  Because he was under 18, his rule began with a Regency Council performing the functions of the King.



Map Showing the Borders of the Governorates (similar to counties)

 

Jordan is slightly smaller than Indiana.  Amman, which is in the northern quarter of the country, is about 32° north latitude, roughly the same as Tucson, Arizona or Savannah, Georgia.  The lowest point is the Dead Sea, at 408 meters (1338 feet) below sea level and the highest point is 1854 meters (6082 feet) above sea level.  One of our biggest surprises has been how hilly the country is.  The entire coastline is only 26 kilometers (a little over 15 miles), on the Gulf of Aqaba, which is an arm of the Red Sea.  I am looking forward to seeing the ocean.  For someone like me who is used to a daily view of either the Sheepscot River which flows to the Gulf of Maine, or Boston Harbor, I really miss seeing the ocean.  We plan to go to Aqaba when my niece is visiting over Christmas (Insha’Allah).

There are no passenger trains in Jordan.  In the late 1890s a train ran from Damascus in Syria to Medina in Saudi Arabia, but by 1920 it was discontinued.  Having taken trains in many countries, I am always disappointed to be in one that does not have any train travel available. 

 

Bags of Olives Waiting to be Pressed for Oil

 
A bit of trivia: There are around 20 million olive trees in Jordan.  A total of 178,000 tonnes (tonnes are metric tons or 2200 pounds) were produced in one year.  There are 131 olive presses which have a production capacity of 369 tonnes per hour.  A few weeks ago we went olive picking with a group of people and had the opportunity to go to an olive pressing plant.

 

Olive Oil Factory