The
desert city of Petra was lost from maps for
1,000 years. At its peak before the time of
Christ, the popular oasis on ancient trade routes
boasted 30,000 people, incredible architecture,
and aqueducts cut into the rocks. The Nabataean
people who built it grew very wealthy, but around
A.D. 800, the trade routes changed, and Petra
was abandoned to the blowing sands. It was rediscovered
by a Swiss explorer in 1812. the Treasury, above,
was depicted in the film Indiana Jones and
the Last Crusade as the temple that contained
the Holy Grail.
|
The
King and I
By
Peter Greenberg '72
Photos by Robert Landau
Surprisingly,
Jordan is full of medieval castles (holdovers from
the Crusades), and perhaps the biggest surprise was
a whitewater adventure in Wadi Mujib — in a country
few people think even has water. It was a location
where Abdullah had trained with the special forces,
and one of the more beautiful places I've ever seen.
In the meantime, he explained to me the short distances
between his neighbors. In Aqaba, his palace is only
a few hundred yards from the Israeli border. And as
we flew in his helicopter, we could see Israel, Egypt,
and Saudi Arabia — each within just a few miles
of our position. In the event of another Arab-Israeli
war, Jordan would likely become a battlefield.
And
so the current tension over Palestine keeps Abdullah
busy. My visit marked the first time since he became
king that he had taken any time off. It gave us the
opportunity to speak of many things, ranging from
Palestinian rights to the environment; from negotiating
and keeping a lasting peace, to his favorite television
shows and movies. At night, out in the Wadi Rum Desert,
where Lawrence of Arabia roamed, we often joked with
lines from Austin Powers. And then, just as
quickly, the king would switch back to more important,
compelling topics. We discussed the economic reforms
and infrastructure needed to lay the groundwork for
hope for the Palestinians, whether Yasser Arafat can
control the very people he officially represents,
and, of course, American fears of travel to the region.
"The perception of the Middle East is that if something
happens in one country, it means that there's a sudden
[U.S.] State Department travel ban on people going
anywhere in the Middle East. If there's a problem
or riots as you had recently in Cincinnati, it doesn't
mean I can't go and visit Boston. In fact, I think
the best line that anybody ever had was my mother.
'If it wasn't safe,' she said, 'I wouldn't want my
son to be living in Jordan.' "
"Jordan: The Royal Tour" was originally scheduled
to premiere on September 24, 2001. On the morning
of September 11, I was at the Today Show preparing
to go on the air; and the king was in the air over
Nova Scotia, heading to the United States to appear
at a number of events prior to the premiere. Then
the first hijacked airplane hit the World Trade Center.
Most transAtlantic flights were diverted to Gander,
Newfoundland, but Abdullah's plane was one of the
very few allowed to turn around in midflight and return
home.
And
almost immediately, Abdullah was back in Jordan, working
the phones, talking with President Bush and other
leaders as the world prepared for war in Afghanistan.
Queen Rania increased her public presence, making
impassioned, intelligent pleas to denounce the events
of September 11 as well as to work behind the scenes
to keep peace in the region.
As
was the case with his father, Abdullah walks a fine,
delicate line as a leading broker for peace in the
region. Jordan is often the first stop that Secretary
of State Colin Powell and other world leaders make
in the region. It was Jordanian intelligence that
uncovered the plot by Osama Bin Laden to blow up Los
Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999.
Jordan was one of the first countries to pledge support
to America after September 11. And, as the Israelis
and the PLO negotiate for peace, Abdullah — like
his father before him — will likely be intimately
involved in the process.
"My
father worked all his life for peace, and he used
to say he wanted it for his children and his children's
children," Abdullah says. "Well, that's now our generation,
and I'm in the same position. And I don't want to
have to work all my life for the same goal. Our generation
is perhaps the best generation to achieve that peace.
And we cannot afford to wait for it. For all the obvious,
and not-so-obvious reasons, we need that peace now."
Peter
Greenberg is the travel editor for NBC's Today
Show, and also the chief correspondent for the
Discovery Network's Travel
Channel, as well as editor-at-large for National
Geographic Traveler magazine. Greenberg says that
he and Abdullah continue to stay in touch, and that
"the concept for peace for both of us is a 'when'
—
rather than an 'if' —
proposition." "Jordan: the Royal Tour" first aired
in April 2002.
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