A Rihla to Jordan

Living in an Arabic country has been my dream since I was a child, and this is just the opportunity that I was granted after graduating from Boğaziçi University. This had been such an important goal, that even after years of waiting to get married, I postponed my wedding and went to Jordan to strengthen my knowledge of Arabic last summer. This experience was quite valuable not only in terms of improving my Arabic language skills, but also in allowing me to learn about a new way of life and culture. This was especially significant because I believe that language learners should experience language in its native environment. So, with this intention, I, along with my fellow classmates set off for the adventure of a lifetime in Jordan.



Each of us experienced Jordan in unique, but equally memorable ways. We began our two- month intensive Arabic course at the internationally-renowed Qasid Institute in Amman. The program allowed us to expresses ourselves freely and improve our Arabic skills in small classroom environments. We were expected to produce ideas around specific topics and express them in a reasonable manner. This discussion-based strategy played a vital role in improving our Arabic listening and speaking skills. To further strengthen our speaking skills, we pre- pared many presentations, completed project-based assignments and took Islamic courses taught in Arabic. Simultaneously, we took many courses of Islamic studies like Islamic Movements, Jordanian Society, and Film Production at Madarik, which is an Arabic and Islamic studies institute founded by Amjad Rashid. A key to our success was the sincerity of our Arabic teachers, the helpfulness of the coordinators and the immensely rich excursions that helped us discover the culture of our host country.

The teachers played an integral part in our growth. Their role extended beyond the classroom, and they supported us throughout our stay in Jordan.

Another added benefit of being in an Arabic-speaking nation was that we were able to speak with our neighbors and form strong relationships with them. In this way, Jordan had quite an impact on me. We were given a chance to get to know Jordanians and they welcomed us warmly, making us feel at home. The friendships that we formed during these everyday conversations still hold immense value for us.

Due to the similarities between our two cul- tures and sharing the same religion, we often forgot that we were away from home. For example, experiencing Ramadan in Jordan was a unique experience for all of us: We prayed taraweeh (or the night-time prayers of Ramadan) prayers in different mosques behind imams who recited the Qur’an with various different recitations. And even during these night prayers, we were blessed with invitations from local Jordanians and Palestinians. The most impressive thing for me was the at- titude of people. It was as though they had known us for decades. In addition, the special events where people of different nationalities such as Americans, Somalians, Turks and Albanians gathered were such a blessed opportunity to form bonds of sisterhood.

Beyond the formal course portion of the Arabic intensive, we had weekend trips that proved invaluable to understanding the history, the society, the heritage, and the culture of Jordan.

This was something that we could not gain from reading books! These excursions were not just activities for entertainment, but also spiritual journeys. We visited numerous mauso- leums of scholars, cemeteries of the prophets and the sahabah, or the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him. The most important of these journeys was the one to Masjid Al Aqsa, or The Furthest Mosque, in Jerusalem. This mosque holds central importance in Islam, and one that has been mentioned by the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him: “You should not undertake a special journey to visit any place other than the following three mosques with the expectations of getting greater reward: the Sacred Mosque of Makkah (Ka’bah), this Mosque of mine (the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina), and Mosque Al-Aqsa (of Jerusalem)” (Muslim, Bukhari, Abu Dawud). Alhamdulillah, we had the honour of visiting Jerusalem, and especially Masjid Al Aqsa whose surroundings God has blessed. Our travels in Jeruselam and in Jordan gave us a deep understanding of Islamic history and civilization. We may never live in the desert, nor eat desert foods, nor walk in the streets of Jordan again, but we will never forget the precious days in Jordan and Palestine. Indeed, these were days of reflection far away from our stressful student lives in Istanbul, and they are forever-engraved in our memories.

Although at times, our days in Jordan seem like a distant memory, we know we gained many marvellous opportunities in language and culture and long-standing friendships. This unique summer education program equipped us with an understanding of another culture, helped us to form multiple perspectives, to learn to live with people of various nationalities and develop skills in living abroad. Certainly, many of us will go our own ways, but this program has made us stronger, more confident, and more experienced.

01.09.2016

Büşra Ünlü Yaman

EDEP Student - Boğaziçi University, Senior


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