Hitte
De Jordaanse hitte
warmde me op
Ik voelde zon en uitgestrektheid
stond aan de top
oh, wat was ik klein
De hitte
een mooi gezicht
fijn
een opgewondenheid viel over me
als een deken,
een oude bekende
Ik was en kon vergeten,
werd bekeken
Licht
werd het steeds
De hitte
verschaft inzicht
kent leed
ik herken het;
het gemak van bewegen
op den duur
vrijheid
omdat ik weet
En als blikken toch
mijn dodelijke ogen konden doorzien
wat er soms door me heenging
eenzaamheid
en liefde
voor deze wereld
en voor alles
wat ik niet begrijp
Rest nu nog
Het stof van de woestijn op mijn schoenen
Plaatjes vastleggend
voor het thuisfront,
Een contact, doch
slechts door blikken betast
maar veelzeggend,
ze raakten een alomvattende wond
Ik weet nu
wat hitte doet
het maakte mensen gek
maar het is goed...
donderdag 28 augustus 2008
vrijdag 22 augustus 2008
Jordan uncovered
Jordan: a great place on earth. So friendly, beautiful, warm and easy to travel around. The views, desolated areas, busy crowds, space aplenty, desert, rocks, water, modern life and tradition& history. I experienced many things, Amman, Madaba, Jerash, Petra, Kerak, the desert (Wadi Rum), Dead Sea, snorkling in the Red Sea, waterfalls at Ma'in.
I was wondering if the kindness of it's people was fake, knowing that the country lives of tourism. But as my trip was passing I started to think and feel this friendliness is real, people are mostly very kind; it's in their culture to be helpful. They literally take care. Whereas in Europe you just give people directions when they ask you, in the Arab world they bring you to your destination or as far as possible. Because of good and bad experience from the past in Turkey and my study background, I was a bit sceptic at first. But the (real) Arab world is not so much different except for a couple of things; no touching, harrassing, screeming or trying to sell in a forcing way.
Yes, people do stare at white Europeans, no matter what you wear. But when you attire just a tiny bit (which is even more comfortable in the heat) there is no problem whatsoever and you can move freely through the country.
Of course there are negative sides to find, to live as a muslim woman in my opinion, mostly veiled or sometimes totally covered in black or in chadors; whereby the eyes only are visible, it must be awfully hot and also restrictive in many ways. The social control is strong for many, and even though some woman are brought up like that and feeling happy the way they live, (it was seen sometimes by the pride and beauty they were showing off or the way they were moving, like it was a second skin) for me it was sometimes hard to deal with. Especially in the beginning, I could feel anger sometimes towards this 'men-ruled' society, it was them who once made these rules that woman should 'protect' themselves against the weakness of male flesh, and who decided that hair was the woman's pearl. Men should cover themselves as well according to the Quran, and some did, but they were allowed to wear white dresses, which seems much more comfortable.
What happens behind the veils? Eyes can do a lot. Under these black robes there could have been the most expensive and trendy clothes, which you could guess by seeing the shoes, make-up, sometimes showing a waistline and by wearing jewelry. Woman made their statements if possible somehow through subtle details. Anyhow, all this covering and mystique drives men totally crazy, so what about this 'so called protection'? I could feel the sexual tension in the air, the whole society sometimes. As the tv was showing lots of almost naked woman, the streets were black. People get confused and frustrated. For me it was confusing too, I must admit.
Strangely enough, moving some days in such a society, you see that woman are protected/ being respected by wearing the chadors and moving more free. You suddenly see your own bare arms as special, your wrists as beautiful, because they belong to you. My point is: you get aware of your treasurous self, freedom and feminity more than ever somehow.
On the other hand I still am not for the covering up, only because people are telling you from an ancient religious view to do so, but I can imagine it's more exciting keeping things to yourself or share them only with the special ones we meet in life...
I was wondering if the kindness of it's people was fake, knowing that the country lives of tourism. But as my trip was passing I started to think and feel this friendliness is real, people are mostly very kind; it's in their culture to be helpful. They literally take care. Whereas in Europe you just give people directions when they ask you, in the Arab world they bring you to your destination or as far as possible. Because of good and bad experience from the past in Turkey and my study background, I was a bit sceptic at first. But the (real) Arab world is not so much different except for a couple of things; no touching, harrassing, screeming or trying to sell in a forcing way.
Yes, people do stare at white Europeans, no matter what you wear. But when you attire just a tiny bit (which is even more comfortable in the heat) there is no problem whatsoever and you can move freely through the country.
Of course there are negative sides to find, to live as a muslim woman in my opinion, mostly veiled or sometimes totally covered in black or in chadors; whereby the eyes only are visible, it must be awfully hot and also restrictive in many ways. The social control is strong for many, and even though some woman are brought up like that and feeling happy the way they live, (it was seen sometimes by the pride and beauty they were showing off or the way they were moving, like it was a second skin) for me it was sometimes hard to deal with. Especially in the beginning, I could feel anger sometimes towards this 'men-ruled' society, it was them who once made these rules that woman should 'protect' themselves against the weakness of male flesh, and who decided that hair was the woman's pearl. Men should cover themselves as well according to the Quran, and some did, but they were allowed to wear white dresses, which seems much more comfortable.
What happens behind the veils? Eyes can do a lot. Under these black robes there could have been the most expensive and trendy clothes, which you could guess by seeing the shoes, make-up, sometimes showing a waistline and by wearing jewelry. Woman made their statements if possible somehow through subtle details. Anyhow, all this covering and mystique drives men totally crazy, so what about this 'so called protection'? I could feel the sexual tension in the air, the whole society sometimes. As the tv was showing lots of almost naked woman, the streets were black. People get confused and frustrated. For me it was confusing too, I must admit.
Strangely enough, moving some days in such a society, you see that woman are protected/ being respected by wearing the chadors and moving more free. You suddenly see your own bare arms as special, your wrists as beautiful, because they belong to you. My point is: you get aware of your treasurous self, freedom and feminity more than ever somehow.
On the other hand I still am not for the covering up, only because people are telling you from an ancient religious view to do so, but I can imagine it's more exciting keeping things to yourself or share them only with the special ones we meet in life...
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