The Baptism site – where religions meet and bring up emotions

     Even if emotions have so far not been the main center of focus of tourism studies, an increasing number of scholars have dedicated more attention to the influence emotions have on touristic encounters. As Davidson and Milligan suggested “our first and foremost, most immediate and intimately felt geography is the body, the site of emotional experience and expression par excellence. Emotions, to be sure, take place within and around this closest of spatial scales”. Consequently, emotions take place in and very close to our bodies and can be caused by us or our closest surroundings and thus as well by certain sites or situations close to our bodies, but also attachments. Buda describes in her article how emotions (attachments) due to tensions between the Israeli and Jordanian tour guides caused the latters to dislike tours into Jordan for only a few days, as well as the increase in entrance fees to Petra.

The effects of emotions were also very clearly displayed by our guide to Jesus’ Baptism site, Rustom Mkhjian. The emotions he felt and which the site causes ran like a thread though the tour he gave us. He made clear very early on that the stories and the emotional attachments that the stories create, are what makes the site truly unique. The Jordan River, the Baptism site and the surrounding area is where the encounter of religions has taken place as it is the setting of numerous sacred stories for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Narrating parts of these sacred stories, telling us about the significance of the archeological sights and seeing churches pertaining to different religions, allowed the religious emotions to spill over to us toured. Furthermore, Rustom Mkhjian told us about his decision to stay in Jordan rather then go elsewhere for work because of the attachment he has to this site. This stressed again how a specific place and the emotions it causes affects the tourists who visit but also the locals who see it on a daily basis.

Finally, admitting that I am not a big expert in religious matters or very religious, I have to say that being told about the significance, the stories and visiting the Baptism site have brought up emotions of ease and hope in myself. I felt that while religions have been in conflict over centuries, Jesus’ Baptism site is the best example that there is place for all religions at the same time in the same place.

Dorina Maria Buda, Anne-Marie d’Hauteserre and Lynda Johnston ‘Feeling and tourism studies’ (2014) 46 102, 106-108.

John the Baptist Spring

One of the numerous churches around the Baptism Site,
pertaining to different religions

The River Jordan only centimeters from the border to the neighboring Israel.

Staged (un)authenticity?

     An early influential idea by MacCannell, namely the concept of staged authenticity tried to explain why tourists are fascinated by other cultures and societies. He believed that by seeking to partake in the lives of other cultures and societies, tourists try to find the authentic, which is not given in their monotonous and unauthentic own societies and everyday life.  MacCannell took over a basic idea of Goffman, who divided the social spheres into ‘front’ and ‘back’. Thus the former is the staged encounter between locals and tourists, while the latter constitutes the private and real lives of locals taking place without the tourists’ observation. Because tourists seek the authentic ‘back’ sphere of cultures and societies, which is however inaccessible them, they experience staged (un)authenticity on the ‘front’ sphere. As a consequence seeking the authentic has a contrary effect as it has to be staged to please the tourist eye and distorts the actual authenticity, maybe even causing a false image for a local community.  

I observed this counter productivity on two occasions, at the mosaic shop and the La Storia Tourism complex. We first visited Madaba and had the chance to see the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Middle East. Followed by a bus ride to the Mount Nebo, the burial place of Moses, and finally a mosaic shop and a tourism complex. As we entered the mosaic shop, we saw two tables covered in little mosaic stones and two unfinished mosaic pieces on which we were shown and explained how this handicraft is best practiced. We were lead to the shop to then continue with the visit of the La Storia Tourism complex. This complex had reproduced Jordan’s history, monuments, handicrafts and scenes of everyday life with puppets. I can surely not say that I have seen everyday life to a large detail in Amman, but what I have seen on the streets looked differently to what the museum tried to depict. I immediately realized that this was way to stage the authenticity that the museum thought we sought when visiting Jordan, however, I can also say that the group seemed very disappointed by the unauthentic image it conveyed. Realizing the inauthenticity, I did not even take any photographs. Leaving the museum I glanced into the mosaic shop several times while waiting for the group and the man who was working when we entered the shop was not sitting at his working place anymore. This made me think that the tables at the entrance of the shop were maybe also only a way to stage the way in which the mosaics are crafted while the actual work was done in the back of the shop, where tourists had no access, thus confirming the existence of the ‘front’ and ‘back’ sphere.

John Urry and Jonas Larsen, The Tourist Gaze (3, Los Angeles: SAGE 2011), ch 1, 10.
Stephen Williams, Tourism Geography: A new Synthesis (2, Routledge, 2009) pt 2 subsection 6, 135.

The oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Middle East - Madaba

Demonstration of the mosaic handicraft

View from the top of  Mt. Nebo, Moses' burial place

USAID - Aid or Neocolonialism?

     Modern day travel books are very comparable to the travel reports that travellers of colonial powers wrote about economic, cultural and historical differences in their colonized countries. These reports were very often fueled by their interest in differences as well as backwardness of the colonies about which the travellers reported in an authoritative way. Furthermore, the colonial times were a period where the big international powers sought the exploitation of the colonialized territories and taking advantage of the latter’s weaknesses.       

Whilst not in such a drastic extent, however very noticeable, is the big impact that USAID (United States Agency for International Development) had and still has in Jordan. On our visit to the main office of USAID in Jordan we were shown all the projects that the agency started in the country, such as achieving standards for hygiene, the opening of a culinary school and the placement of US Rangers in Petra, and many more. While the intent to help improving the country’s sights, tourism management and market may be a good intention, it seems to me that the changes that are made have a rather authoritative character and convey an image of backwardness for Jordan.    

Firstly I believe that instead of placing US rangers on an important sight such as Petra, it would be more advisable to train the local staff and provide jobs for the local community, so that the latter can profit form the benefits their tourism brings. Moreover, while a lot of the funding may come from the agency and the United States to support Jordan, without which it could not have gotten this far, this strong Western influence will eventually cause the Jordanian culture and oriental organizational spirit to change. As a consequence visitors will find a more and more ‘westernized’ Jordan, which I believe is not very positive for a country that is especially culturally and socially so different to the United States or Europe. Furthermore, I share Dr. Suleiman Farajat’s opinion that while foreign investors and agencies are indispensible to make costly changes possible, they will at the same time not make the same effort and promote the country as passionate as locals would. Thus, I believe that the way in which Western countries and especially USAID have left marks all over the Jordanian tourism sector, can be compared to neocolonialism, as their ‘good deeds’ will support them in creating a positive and altruistic image and ease international relations.

Tim Edenson, ‘Tourism’ International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (2009), 301. 

USAID signs in Petra - one of many 'Western footprints' in Jordan

“Tourism grows sick but never dies” – Meeting Dr. Suleiman Farajat

     Recent theories suggest that tourism brings together multiple elements into one place. This fights the idea that there are certain constant spirits or identifications with a place, but rather that these different elements are conditional and may alter from time to time. As a consequence of many elements being interwoven with the volatile global flow of people, a place can be temporarily stable but then be followed by a threat of chaos such as lesser economic or cultural wellbeing. Thus the stability of tourism in a certain area is very dependent on the quality of storytelling by tourism workers, the meeting of the trouists' expectations of infrastructure, but also the practices of tourists and the continuity of their visits.
On the fist day at the American Institution for Oriental Research (ACOR), Dr. Suleiman Farajat’s (Dean for development and Quality Affairs Department of Tourism Management, Faculty of Archeology and Tourism at the University of Jordan) gave us an interesting presentation on the history of Jordan as well as an insight into the developments and current instability of tourism in the country. One of the major changes to tourism in Jordan was the nomination of Petra as a UNESCO sight in 1985, the most important turning point however, proved to be the peace treaty of Oslo between the Jordanians and the Israelis in 1994. After that, the United States were able to convince the Jordanian Government to invest in better infrastructure and building hotels in and around Petra to boost the sight, causing more tourists to visit the country. A further change and increase in tourism came about when Petra was named one of the seven modern wonders of the world, increasing the number of visitors again and at the same time the demand for tourist guides, accommodations and better infrastructure and organization. Unfortunately, however, since 2010 the incidents and political situation in the countries surrounding Jordan have caused tourism to decline dramatically. Potential visitors started thinking that the country is at war, despite only very small and almost no incidents happening at the Jordanian borders and causing the tourism sector to suffer significantly.
Finally, Dr. Farajat mentioned that Jordanians have been over relying on tourism and disregarding its potential volatile character and at the same time forgetting to target other markets, such as Eastern Europe rather than merely advertising Jordan in the Unites States and focusing on Western European countries. However, he concluded with a positive outlook, stating that "tourism grows sick but never dies." Consequently, the current weakened strength of tourism in Jordan resulting from the influence of several elements is a clear sign of the volatile or unstable features of this sector.

Tim Edenson, 'Tourism' International Encyclopedia of Human Geography (2009), 308-309.

A very warm welcome to Jordan – My most memorable tourist encounter

     According to me, the encounters I make with locals on my trips are the most memorable moments I have and they shape the opinion and attitude I have towards the country I visit to a very large extent. As Alan Williams described in his book, Tourism Geography: A New Synthesis, such encounters can be of any character, be it positive or negative for either side. Prior to my trip, I was afraid that there could be an insurmountable language barrier between me and the locals, or that I accidentally behave in a ‘typical European’ way which could be perceived by locals as disrespectful or that locals would feel a sense of unease due to us visitors from Europe if there would be a big cultural difference.

As soon as I landed in Amman, I was immediately surprised by how modern the airport was and how well our taxi driver, owner of the hotel but also locals in the center of Amman and waiters spoke English. Simultaneously, however, I became aware that we as tourists take speaking English in foreign countries for granted, which can cause local languages to change more and more as good English skills are increasingly widespread and maybe even causing an erosion on the strength of the local language, in this case the Arabic. Having been to Egypt, as the country culturally and geographically closest and most similar to Jordan where I have been, I expected much of Amman to be similar to Sharm-El-Sheikh. However, when me and a few other students headed to Amman’s downtown I was proven the contrary. The strong odors or pushy vendors I had experienced in Egypt were not present in Amman at all. On the contrary, while the salesmen offered us their goods, they seemed to accept more easily when we declined with a smile and walked on. Even more pleasant however was the ‘Welcome to Jordan’ that we heard from almost every vendor as we walked around.     

And finally, we were given the warmest and most memorable welcome at the restaurant we visited the first night. We chose a restaurant where we could see mainly locals. As soon as we had ordered, two little boys approached us and one of them handed us a little note. His name was Zaid and the writing on the paper said ‘Welcom tow the Jordan. May nam is Zaid’. His mother had written the little note for us and I was lucky enough to keep it as a nice memory of a big smile that the woman and her child had put on our faces that were so tired after our day of travelling. This was probably the warmest welcome and tourist encounter I have ever experienced and made my fears of clashes with locals fade away immediately.

Stephen Williams, Tourism Geography: A new Synthesis (2, Routledge, 2009), pt 2 subsection 6, 134-155.

‘Welcom tow the Jordan. May nam is Zaid’ - A warm welcome