Travel and travelling companions
Shahid Alam goes for some fun reading
M. Sakhawat Hussain is a prolific writer. He has written on a variety of topics, mostly of a serious nature, with refreshingly light-hearted travelogues attesting both to his varied interests, and ability to generally write knowledgably on the gamut of topics he chooses to focus on. Jordan Nadi Tote is the fourth of his travelogues, and the first to be set outside South Asia. As the title of the book indicates, the location is the Middle East, and is almost entirely concentrated on a country that, for some reason or the other, is less familiar with the average Bangladeshi than most other states of the region. Yet, as Hussain reveals, it is as important as any of the other vital countries of a region that is both strategically and geopolitically critical as well as having a primal religious significance for the three major world monotheistic religions: in chronological order of appearance, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In fact, during protracted periods of recorded history, it has been contested by a variety of large and small powers over the issue of an association between religious significance and strategic and geopolitical importance. Jordan fits in easily with that interface. But this review is not about the history of Jordan per se, although Hussain, like in his other travelogues, takes recourse to historical anecdotes to enhance the quality of his narrative. It is a good ploy, although the author states that some readers have complained that he takes recourse to history a little too much for their liking. Well, to each his/her own in reading taste, but, for me, Hussain's use of history actually spices up his writings.
I am a travel buff myself, but have always preferred visiting out-of-the-way places and meeting ordinary folk in order to try to understand, in however limited a form, what makes a particular country and its people what and who they are. And I like traveling by myself, with the occasional partner or two breaking the pattern. And I am a history buff. I just happen to agree with American chef and traveler Anthony Bourdain's promotional blurb on his upcoming show on CNN that he would prefer to stay away from cheesy tour guides spewing out the usual rigmarole on "touristy" sites, and, instead, take in the sights, sounds, people, and places that he would find interesting. However, the reality is that most people need tour guides, and visit places that are "touristy". Hussain and his traveling companions of six (three couples) did have an efficient and endearing Jordanian guide, and they took in many of the recommended "touristy" destinations. And, by the author's account, all had a most satisfying tour, with their failure to visit the West Bank being their biggest disappointment.
So, why Jordan? As one of Hussain's traveling companions, Dr. Tanvir A. Khan, remarked at the end of the journey: why not Jordan? As already mentioned, it is a place where the three great monotheistic religions crisscross each other, and, inevitably, interact. One of the decisive events in human history, the Crusades, visited its soil. According to the author, 12 to 14 crusader castles exist on its present-day territory (as with the other countries of the Middle East, mainly due to the region's geo-strategic location, and the deep religious sentiments attached to it, there have been numerous changes in territorial boundaries, and countries have appeared on, and disappeared from, the map throughout oral and recorded history). Including the crusader castle Kerack, which Saladin had captured, and which Hussain and his companions had visited. Kerack (or Al Karak) castle is not to be confused with the more famous (in its time, almost impregnable) crusader castle in Homs, Syria, Krak des Chevaliers, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. They, however, did get to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Jordan, the truly wondrous Petra (Al Batra in Arabic), which housed the civilization of the ancient Nabataean Arabs.
Jordan is also the final resting place of 16 of Islam's prophets. Legend has it that even Hazrat Musa (Moses) lies buried here. What is indisputable, if only for purely geographical reasons, is that many prophets, including Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), passed through the land of Jordan. It is also the eternal resting place of Abu Ubaidah, one of the military commanders of the most successful caliph of the nascent years of Islam, Hazrat Umar bin al-Khattab, under whose stewardship Islam made rapid inroads into the Byzantine Empire, Persia, and further east up into the southwest corner of Pakistan, and parts of northern Africa. It might be recalled that the architect of those victorious campaigns, Khalid ibn al-Walid, generally recognized as one of the greatest generals in military history, was removed by Umar (and replaced by Abu Ubaidah) primarily because he was very popular, especially with his troops. Hazrat Umar, as the author notes, lived a very simple life, in spite of being a very powerful ruler, and, after his army had captured Jerusalem, removed the ban on the Jews entering the holy city that had been imposed by its Christian rulers.
Jordan's capital Amman's history goes back seven thousand years. The author notes that it has been well-preserved, its people take pride in its history, and eagerly show it off to the sizeable number of tourists that visit it each year. He then sadly (as well as indignantly) contrasts that scenario with the treatment of Dhaka city, which is just 400 years old, but is having to witness many of its historical sites being demolished forever. He does not believe that old Dhaka, an institution in itself, will survive another fifty years. Hussain, in a similar vein, ponders on the chivalry shown to each other by Saladin and Richard the Lionhearted, and laments that such people are no longer to be seen on the world stage. In Bangladesh's context, he remarks on how the leaders of the two major political parties do not even like to see each other. He turns philosophical as he recounts Field Marshal Allenby's insolence at Saladin's tomb, and American soldiers urinating on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. The age of chivalry has long gone, Sakhawat Hussain!
The author at different times discusses the Arab character, and remarks on how the average Jordanian, relatively less well-off than most other Arabs of the region, is much more enlightened, sophisticated, courteous, and liberal in outlook. He takes time out to talk about the Arab Spring, during which time he was in Jordan, and wonders if it will one day overwhelm that country. Furthermore, he engages in a perfunctory discussion on geopolitics pertaining to that region, reasonably arguing that, if one has visited Jordan (for that matter, almost any country in the Middle East), one cannot but help write about regional conflict, Western diplomacy, geopolitics, and Israel. He mentions that Jerusalem is currently under the control of the Jewish state of Israel as being part of its "Promised Land" (by God) philosophy. Israel, in fact, is a country for the Jews, and hard-line Jews still dream of Eretz, or Greater, Israel, of which the realization of the "Promised Land" dream forms an integral part.
Hussain obviously had some interesting traveling companions. Some of their idiosyncrasies manifestly kept the whole group in good spirits, an essential ingredient when traveling long distances. The most intriguing of them seems to have been Dr. Tanvir A. Khan. From all accounts, he is a formidable epicure, with a particular penchant for all things sweet, and an inveterate photographer. However, he displayed his limitations, as when he waded in to just about knee-height in pajama and kurta in the Dead Sea even after repeatedly being assured that he could not even commit suicide by drowning himself in that body of water. The likely explanation is that he did not know how to swim, and was going to take no chances of going deeper into the water beyond his self-imposed limit, reassurances or not, scientific proof or not! Equally fascinating is the story of Zakaria who, after having grandly announced that he had brought along with him an expensive swimming trunk bought at Gulshan market in Dhaka, he alighted on the Dead Sea beach in near-formal sartorial splendour!
Hussain talks about Col. T.E. Lawrence, or, more popularly, Lawrence of Arabia, and is not about to accept without question the Western, as well as Lawrence's own, account that he is the hero of Aqaba. He indicates that the local narratives regarding the Arab uprising of that period deserve closer inspection. A couple of confusing statements creep in. The author follows his statement that Giovanni Fantoni created the Serpentine Cross sculpture atop Mount Nebo in Jordan (from where Moses saw the "Promised Land") in the eighteenth century with one that says that he rebuilt in the sixteenth century. Furthermore, he identifies Wasfi Tel as a colonel in the Jordanian army soon after declaring him to have been a major. Travelogues should be fun reading. Jordan Nadi Tote provides that pleasure, but also dishes out some interesting history of one of the fascinating, if not as well known in Bangladesh as several other Arab nations, countries of the Middle East.
Dr. Shahid Alam is Head, Media and Communication department, Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) .
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