Jordan’s Biosphere Reserve is an Oasis in the Desert

Dana (Photo credit: sharnik)

Up in the Ottoman-era labyrinth of Dana village, the RSCN is shepherding a groundbreaking restoration project with U.S. Agency for International Development funds. The developers who have despoiled the Dead Sea coast with large, unsympathetic resorts are being kept at bay, in favor of boutique hotels that complement the region’s rich heritage.

Though not as spectacular or wellpreserved as some other Jordanian ruins — Dana’s main site, the Byzantine citadel of Khirbet Feynan, was reduced to rubble by an earthquake in the 8th century — Dana’s ruins lay claim to being as valuable, for some of them are infinitely older. On a stony hillside overlooking the desert plains, I spend hours picking through the animal bones and limestone crockery of a Stone Age settlement believed to date back 11,000 years.

It’s little wonder that the locals should feel a potent sense of ownership. Yet all the people I talk to seem to have embraced the influx of low-level tourism. The old indigenous life perseveres, but interactions between tourists and locals seem unjaded. My trip is punctuated by invitations to share a cup of Arabic coffee — a spicy brew infused with cardamom — and handshakes with grizzled farmers driving their herds in search of meager pasture.

According to Tarazi, this honest cultural exchange has become one of Dana’s main drawing cards. “What started as a project aimed at benefiting the local community has traveled full circle,” he says. “Now, the opportunity to interact with local people is one of the main reasons for Feynan’s success.” From the outset, conserving Dana has meant conserving this timeless human presence.

Mohammad epitomizes the way this coming together of old and new has served to enrich the tourist experience here. Born in a cave not far from where the lodge now stands, he lived his childhood on the knife-edge of subsistence. From age 6 he worked as a goatherd, camping out at night among the rocky pinnacles with only his flute for comfort.

After he finished school, the opportunity to go to university lured him away from Dana — just one migrant in a wider diaspora, as the countryside’s young people, disillusioned by the traditional life, headed for the cities — until the prospect of a job with the ecolodge enticed him back. Today, that job, well-paying by Jordanian standards, means a better life for his young family and a small home in a village on the reserve’s western periphery.

And the job comes easy. Mohammad is a natural guide, as deeply reverent of the old ways as he is proud of his work. “Some visitors have said that this is the best trip of their lives,” he claims, later sending me the TripAdvisor testimonials of former Feynan guests to prove it. “This makes me very happy.”

Together, in pleasant springtime temperatures, we meander along the tracks that radiate from the lodge. Barely a minute goes by without Mohammad stopping to point out things that my less keen eyes might have missed, such as the pattern of a plant fossil high on a wind-polished wall, or a brief cameo from the reserve’s shy wildlife: a blue lizard darting across the pebbles or a griffon vulture wheeling against the lapis sky.

Of the reserve’s stellar cast of mammals — several of which are endangered — we find little, save for the gaggles of domesticated camels that we see often, their forelegs fettered to stop them from striding off into the shimmering desert.

Over at the pioneering copper mines, we spend a whole morning peering into the crab-holes that perforate the bedrock, attempting to imagine the files of blinking men emerging from below, laden with ore chipped from the seams that begin 100 feet down and run for 300 feet underground. In between sites, we walk along gulches scattered with shards of green malachite, where Mohammad demonstrates the knowledge that develops where harsh conditions demand ingenuity: that the white-flowered artemisia can be used as an antiseptic and that marjoram, when crushed, behaves like soap.

But our most memorable foray takes us into the famously beautiful slot canyon of Wadi Ghwayr. The scenery gets better the deeper we go. The walls gradually narrow, until we are burrowing into a gullet of granular rock that rises in raspberry-ripple dips and bulges, blocking out the sun. An hour in, rivulets of water appear at our feet, running in braided channels before disappearing back underground — a sign that up on the Shobak plateau, the rains are beginning.

“Where you find the water you can make the life,” Mohammad counsels happily, hopping from boulder to sandbank before pushing on up the gorge. Five hundred generations have done just that in Dana. And as Jordan sets the standard for eco-tourism in the Middle East, it seems likely that people will be living here for generations to come.

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Ecotourism in Israel

I stumbled on the following article at the Jerusalem Post regarding ecotourism in Israel.  I’ve got to be honest, Israel is not the first country I think of when I think “eco-tourism“.  Ecotourism, as I wrote about in the post immediately preceding this one, means communing in a natural environment with both flora and fauna in their natural habitats, and Israel doesn’t seem to have much of either, from what I can tell (I’ve never been there), but they also have other problems, do they not?  I’m aware of the kibbutz concept, and it looks like the government is trying to use the previous success of Israeli farms to push tourism into Israel farther.

At any rate, seeking to help farmers diversify their income, the Agriculture Ministry has launched a course to train farmers in eco-tourism. The pilot class started this week and includes 20 farmers from the Galilee and the Golan. As it becomes more difficult to make a living off agriculture, more farmers have turned to tourism to supplement their income. Taking advantage of their rural setting, the farmers want to cash in on the world’s hunger for ecologically friendly enterprises. The ministry hopes that by combining environmentally sound agriculture with green tourism, farmers will be able to remain on the land. “Agri-rural tourism is one of the major leverages that the rural regions have to offer,” said Shai Dotan, director of the ministry’s agricultural-tourism development project. “The goals of the course are to assist the residents of Israel’s rural areas to adjust to the changes that are taking place in Israel’s agricultural sector.” The course has seven full-day sessions, each taking place in one of the participants’ farms. The participants learn about different methods to make their farm an eco-friendly environment, focusing on things such as water conservation, energy production, organic gardening and recycling. “In the past I’ve attended many courses that taught the principles of environmental farming, but I always left with the feeling that I don’t know how to begin,” said Miri Falach, counseling director of the ministry’s Galilee and Golan districts. “This course is different, because it doesn’t only teach the principles, it gives participants the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of the things they learn. Next week, for example, we will be teaching the participants how to set up and maintain an organic garden. The week after that we will work on installing a water-recycling plant.”

Falach came up with the idea to offer the course, and many of the topics covered are already in practice on her farm on Moshav Had-Nes in the Golan Heights. “I have several cottages on my property and I felt terrible about the amount of water that goes to waste,” Falach said. “My home overlooks the Kinneret, and I can plainly see what the water shortage has done to the lake level. “To think that every tourist who comes to stay fills the Jacuzzi, and that the water then goes to waste, seemed like a real shame,” she said. “So I decided to collect the drained water and water my garden with it.” Falach said she often gets funny looks for her sustainability-promoting actions, but she hopes that others will catch on soon. “There are 120 farms on my moshav, and I’m the only one to take any action on this front,” she said. “But I believe that there is a real potential here for growth.” While environmental tourism may not be a top priority for Israelis, Falach said, when it comes to the international market, there is a growing demand. “I can only hope that Israel follows this trend the same as it does others,” she said. “Maybe in a few years people here will also take environmental considerations into account when choosing a place to spend their vacations. We think this course will help prepare people for that day.” The ministry’s rural-development branch hopes to eventually set up a ranking system to evaluate the levels of sustainability of each farm, Falach said, adding: “In the same way hotels have star rankings, we’ll have leaf rankings or something like that.” The course is also being supported by the Israel Farmers Federation. Federation chairman Avshalom Vilan, a former Meretz MK, said he supports the ministry’s efforts to promote tourism in the rural areas because farmers can no longer rely on agricultural production alone. “This doesn’t replace agriculture, but it can definitely supplement it,” Vilan said. “We have seen this phenomenon pick up momentum in the last 10 years and have been involved in similar efforts ourselves.” The course is being subsidized by the ministry and costs NIS 850. If the pilot proves successful, there are plan to hold the course in other parts of the country.

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Iran proposes to promote Silk Road tourism

Image via Wikipedia

TEHRAN (ISNA)-The second meeting of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) tourism ministers was held in Antalya, Turkey with Iran’s proposal for reviving Silk Road tourism cooperation.

The proposal was approved by member states.

Iran also proposed establishment of ECO tourism news agency and holding global annual Norouz ceremony in which people celebrate the beginning of spring.

Exchange of tourists among ECO members, forming ECO tourism convention, holding Norouz ceremony and organizing ECO sports competition in Iran in 2020 were also approved.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization Deputy Director Reza Mousavi led the Iranian delegation.

Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are ECO member states.

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Turkey gears up for Adventure and EcoTourism

– from ricof3

I was sent the interesting article below from http://www.ftnnews.com.  It’s interesting to me, because the marketing for Turkey has always been, since I’ve been alive, in its rich history, richer culture, well placed geography, and intersection with the world’s major religions throughout time. (The famous Hag Sofia Mosque above is one beautiful example).  But now, the good health of seniors, in part, is inspiring members of the Turkish travel industry to consider more active options:

Monday, 16 June 2008 A great range of ideas, experiences and areas of expertise were shared and debated at a symposium on alternative tourism in the Kackar last week.

It was attended by around 40 government representatives, members of civil societies, representatives of the Turkish private sector and foreign journalists – the first time such an event has been organised in Turkey.

Why develop alternative tourism?

The private sector, the government and NGOs are all aware of the potential of the alternative tourism sector in Turkey, for different reasons but with the same aim: to develop the sector. With many years of experience in the tourism sector, both in the public sector as international relations manager of Turkish Airlines (THY) and the private sector through SKAL International, as editor in chief of the only incentive tourism magazine MeeTurkey (published ever 3 months) and editor of Turkey’s leading travel trade magazine New Focus Travel Magazine, Sevil Oren explained the process which led to her initiating the idea. “I could see where the world was going to go through changes in lifestyles, the changing profile of tourists, the third age groups getting healthier and wealthier but, by the same token, showing an interest in alternative tourism like trekking, culture and history-based tours, bird-watching, endemic plant and flower studies on the land, regional food, cultural heritage, sailing and ecological holiday villages. Added to which, I met Kate Clow while she was putting together her trekking guide “The Lycian Way;” what she was doing seemed very exciting for tourism in Turkey, especially as alternative tourism is the sector’s fast growing new baby.”

The Culture and Tourism Ministry is interested in diversifying the sector through investing in and encouraging alternative tourism (as set out in the Tourism Strategy of Turkey – 2023) and thus increase annual revenues. Last year the Turkish tourism sector, mainly through mass tourism, brought in over $18 billion and the ministry’s goal is to more than double that to $50 billion by 2023 by investment and diversification, mainly in the alternative tourism sector.

…

The Culture and Tourism Ministry and National Parks have yet to agree on what constitutes an ecotourism guide, and Karaerkek highlighted that to make some tours possible he needs to employ four guides: a KOKART guide to meet official requirements, a National Parks guide, a botanic professor to explain nature and a mountain guide to ensure the safety of the group. This is obviously impossible for a small group of 10 or 15 people, he highlighted, and emphasised the need for a specialised qualification recognised by all.

Journalists discover the Kackar

Prior to the conference, a group of foreign journalists spent six days exploring the Kackar, courtesy of the Culture and Tourism Ministry. They hiked to “yaylas” (summer pastures), walked through forests and along old mule tracks over mountain passes, spent nights in local villages and experienced Turkish hospitality firsthand (the “kaymakam” of Yusufeli organised a show of the traditional Black Sea folkdance, the Horon). One of the highlights was camping in the snow and then, with snowshoes, descending icy slopes past some lakes to Ayder.

…

The five foreign journalists shared a wide variety of experience acquired throughout their careers with their audience. Maes – a travel editor from Belgium – spoke about walking and bicycle tourism in Belgium, and showed how much both have added to the local economies of the areas through which they pass. Belgium, a country of 10 million, has 10,000 km of trails. Razetti, a travel writer and photographer from the UK, gave a talk entitled: “How do the people of the Himalayas benefit from ecotourism?” His pictures really impressed the audience, although they were removed from the direct experience of most of them. Nearer to home were the mountains and trails of Italy, illustrated in Ardito’s talk. He also pointed out that Turkey’s bear population is a potentially huge tourism attraction.

Scholnik – a travel writer from Israel – spoke about Israel’s walking route system, showing exactly how the trail network was created and is maintained and financed by the sale of maps. Israel has 6,000km of trail maintained by professionals. Scully, a travel marketer from Ireland, gave a very popular talk about the development of alternative tourism in a region of Ireland. Her explanation of the Green Box eco-marketing scheme was felt by all to be relevant to the Kaçkar, in that it has brought together both those who provide small village accommodation and service providers in a supportive network. Their standards, reinforced by training, have united the 130 participants in a joint marketing scheme, which is reaping many rewards, and will be extended through the whole country.

Have you been to Turkey?  After reading some of author James Michener‘s works, (okay I’ve read all of his works, and his travel experiences have inspired me since I was 21), Turkey is one place I’ve always wanted to visit.  I’ve been to Greece twice, and it’s only a ferry ride away, (and we lived in Iran for a short time when I was a kid), but I’ve never made the trip.  Let me know your thoughts in the comments.