Let the international student voice be heard

Proud to be from a country with many significant religious sites, where Jesus Christ himself was baptized, freshman accounting major Ibrahim Tashman shares his culture and explains how important Jordan is to the Christian community.

Jordan is located in the Middle East and shares boundaries with Syria, Iraq, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Jordan River is popularly known in the world as the place where John baptized Jesus. “Jordan river is the lowest place on earth, Christ’s baptism in this river is very significant because it shows symbolically how humble Christ was,” Tashman said.

What other biblical importance does Jordan have?

“Jordan was a site of many miracles in the bible. The account of Joshua and the walls of Jericho in Joshua chapter three happened in Jordan. Also the account of Elisha and King Naaman in  Second Kings chapter five where Naaman was asked by Elisha to dip himself  7 times in the water to be healed took place in Jordan. The Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea, a place considered to  be the world’s saltiest sea. There are no living things in the Dead Sea, the sand is very dark and very good for the treatment of many skin diseases. Many people go there and are healed and several cosmetic and balm products are gotten from the salt in the Dead Sea. The Sea is very safe for swimming, people float in the sea and there are no incidents of drowning. In fact you can even read a book while swimming because it is just over a 1000 ft. deep. This is a site that has attracted people from all over the world.”

Having many religious historic sites, what are some cultures you have in Jordan?

“Surprisingly, with all the Christian religious historic sites, 97 percent of Jordan populations are Muslim and we speak Arabic. With dressing, woman mostly wear a Hijab to cover their hair and neck as it should not be seen in public. Young men dress regularly like how guys dress in America, but during traditional holidays and big occasion, most guys wear the dishdasha which is an ankle length garment with long sleeves and comes in different colors.”

What kind of music do you have in Jordan and who is your favorite artist?

“We adopted Arabic music and have several artists, my favorite is Umar Diab. He is originally from Egypt but popularly known in the Middle East. I love his songs because most of them are about love, he has an amazing voice, a good personality and his lyrics are carefully chosen. His songs really portray the real Arabic kind of songs.”

What kind of food do you have in Jordan?

“We eat one of the most common foods in the Middle East which is rice and lamb meat wrapped in grape leaves, it is very delicious and yummy. My favorite meal is called Mansaf which is made out of lamb cooked in dried yogurt and served with seasoned rice on flat bread. Mansaf is regarded as the one thing that attracts a man to run as fast as a cheetah to go eat it. It is simply delicious.”