When we share with
friends some of the activities we routinely do around the country, often times
we get a response like “there are many hidden gems in this country, but why do
we not know about them?”
اضافة اعلان
I will talk about
the gems now and leave the answer to the question for another occasion.
Writing does not
do justice to these hidden gems. No matter how prolific or literary one is when
writing about the unique experiences this land has to offer, and one can do in
Jordan, the description remains abstract. Even the best descriptions and adjectives
fall short of telling the story of this open air museum. Seeing is believing.
Here is a personal
example. I have come to know about the dinosaur foot print in Shobak, in the
south of Jordan, through a social media post by the renowned environmentalist,
my good friend and nature lover, Mohammad Asfour. I asked him about the site
and he, in addition to telling me about his experience in finding the location
by trekking the area on foot during the heat wave, provided me with a
scientific paper detailing the discovery written and published by seven authors
from Germany, Poland, the UK, and Jordan in Annales Societatis Geologorum
Poloniae 90:331 — 342.September 2020.
The paper
describes the site in an exploratory manner. It details the seven “successive
pes imprints” with pictures and measurements, and a geological history of the
area.
I shared the story
with Australian Ambassador to Jordan Bernard Lynch, who was visiting me to
discuss other matters. It turned out that one of his three children has a
passion for dinosaurs, just like my son, so we invited them to the site. We
visited the site on September 24 to explore the dinosaur foot print in Shobak
in a family-friendly adventure. It was an enjoyable excursion. We drove
off-road for about 30 minutes and walked 4 km uphill to reach the site. The
children loved it, despite the heat and the steep climb up and down.
The ministries of agriculture, environment, and tourism should designate the area as a bio reserve to protect it and provide its population with environment-friendly sustainable livelihood opportunities.
The place has a
huge potential and can turn the area into a destination for scientific,
educational, and adventure tourism. It is virgin land that needs plenty of
development, but it provides an opportunity that can ignite a cluster of
activities, in association with the Jordan Heritage Revival Company programs
that are being developed and implemented in the Shobak area.
The area is one of
the remaining locations where there is some presence of the juniper trees
(Juniperus phoenicea). They are threatened and very unhealthy. The biosphere is
degraded and needs protection. The ministries of agriculture, environment, and
tourism should designate the area as a bio reserve to protect it and provide
its population with environment-friendly sustainable livelihood opportunities.
A related subject
is the cleanliness deficit across the country, especially on inter-city roads,
and particularly roads leading to tourist locations and around the locations
themselves. These locations require the government to act more seriously to
address what amounts to a shameful environmental challenge. A quick trip to the
Dead Sea would make the point. Once again, seeing is believing.
Fares Braizat is chairman of NAMA Strategic Intelligence
Solutions, former minister of youth, moderator of the working group on tourism
as part of Jordan Economic Vision 2033, and member of the Royal Committee to
Modernize the Political System. [email protected]
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