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Metro Detroiters visit Jordan as part of a post-Mission adventure.
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
osephine Jackson is a 73-
year-old volunteer with the
Detroit Institute of Arts
who has long harbored a
fascination with antiquities. But
never, ever, did this Farmington
Hills resident expect the real
thing to be so grandiose.
Petra.
An ancient Nabataean city
carved out of red rock, the spec-
tacular site was one of several
Ms. Jackson saw on a post-Mir-
acle Mission tour through Jor-
dan.
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tween Israel's Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian
King Hussein. Two years ago,
when Miracle Mission I took
place, the travel opportunity
didn't exist.
"Before the peace treaty, not
many people went to Jordan, es-
pecially Jews. If you had Israel
stamped in your passport, they
would not let you into any Arab
country," said Mission staffer
Ruth Broder.
That all changed on the day of
the signing, Nov. 10, 1994. Mis-
In addition to Petra, the group
visited Aqaba, Jordan's only port,
and Jerash and Madaba. Antiq-
uities are well-preserved in Jor-
dan due to the arid climate, and
several travelers from Detroit
said they were impressed by the
country's cleanliness.
"I call it Switzerland clean,"
said Mission Vice Chairman Ben
Rosenthal. "I didn't see any trash,
even in the smaller cities. It's ob-
viously a poorer country than Is-
rael, though. They could do more
if they had more money."
On the second day, metro
Detroiters visited Mount Nebo,
where Moses stood and looked
toward the Promised Land.
Travelers said the Jordanians
were friendly to the Jewish
crowd. There was little talk of
politics. And when a fatal heart
attack struck traveler Max
Green — a West Bloomfield
resident who took the trip with
his wife, Phyllis — a Jordan-
ian guide lent a helping hand.
Left: Arid weather has preserved
the ancient city of Petra.
Below: Jordanian guards
supervise goings-on at Petra.
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"The size of it is overwhelm-
ing," she said. "I still don't un-
derstand how it was built."
Other metro Detroiters ex-
pressed similar awe over their
two-day trip to Jordan. After the
completion of Miracle Mission II
(May 7-17), about 95 of almost
900 travelers continued their
Middle East adventure across Is-
rael's border into Arab territo-
ry.
It was a trip made possible by
the recent peace treaty signed be-
sion planners at
the Jewish Fed-
eration of Met-
ropolitan Detroit were quick to Members of the group thanked.
market the first-time opportuni- him, but he shrugged it off.
"After all," he said. "We're all
ty. Spots filled up immediately,
brothers."
Ms. Broder said.
On May 17, the metro Detroit
entourage passed through cus- This article is part of an ongoing
toms on a group visa. They rode series about the second Michi-.
Jordanian buses with Arab tour gan Miracle Mission, a commu-
guides. They stayed at the Forta nity trip that took 866 metro
Grand Hotel in Amman and ate Detroiters to Israel May 7-17.
ethnic food at local restaurants.
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