Petra & Amman Jordan Day 4
Petra & Amman Jordan
Day 4 - Wednesday, November 24, 2004 - Discover the City of Jerash & Visit Ajlun
We woke up to partly sunny skies with 50 degree cool temperatures. Gennie took a bag of laundry to be cleaned as it was reasonable here.
We were on the bus at 9 AM and ready to travel north from Amman to the city of Jerash, a part of the Decapolis, the ten largest cities of the Eastern Roman Empire. We went by the Jordan University, a huge complex with many fast food restaurants surrounding it that are very popular with the young people who identify with the West.
Samir told us that gas is 50 cents more per gallon than we pay at home. All gas comes from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and is leaded with very little for unleaded vehicles. We made a stop at an ATM machine and the ATM card did not work but the credit card did. As we drove north, we passed one of the largest of eleven refugee camps in Jordan. Over 1,000,000 people have come here since 1967 when they fled Palestine.
The schools are compulsory until 10th grade. Schools are mixed until 6th grade and then are segregated with boys and girls attending the university together again. We made a short stop at a roadside stand and bought some bananas that were then shared in the bus. As we headed into the mountains, we saw the cuts and layers in the limestone.
There are evergreen trees, olive groves, and a few plots of farm land separated by low rock walls. We made a brief stop at the Yabook River where Samir told us a famous Bible story that had taken place at this site.
We finally made it to Jerash, Samir's home city that has been compared to Pompeii for its fine state of preservation of Roman architecture. We saw Hadrian's Arch, the Nymphaeum, temples dedicated to Zeus and Artemis, and several theaters and churches laid out along colonnaded streets.
Much of this is being restored and in the Hippodrome, there will be chariot races next April . Most of this huge ancient city complex was preserved because it was buried in the sand and survived the earthquake 749 AD that destroyed most of the other areas.
The South Theater was our final stop, an incredibly preserved amphitheater with places for 4,000. We were met by a small group of Jordanian men in full uniform playing bagpipes and drums as we came in. The acoustics were wonderful and Sylvia Emmons sang for the group.
Our buffet lunch at the Jerash Restaurant was very good and we had a chance to watch them making and baking the delicious flat bread we have been having for every meal.
After lunch we continued to climb the winding road to Al Mirod where our first stop was a Catholic church where it was legend that Jesus, Mary, and their followers hid in a cave over 2000 years ago. It was a very simple church where thousands of pilgrims come each year on June 11th.
Next we visited the Saracens' castle at Ajloun. Saladin built this 12th-century castle in his successful campaign to drive the Crusaders from Jordan in 1189. It is a wonderfully preserved castle with galleries, towers, staircases, and many chambers forming a medieval maze.
On the way home to Amman, Samir stopped the bus to let us visit a local olive oil pressing plant. The people were so friendly and went out of their way to help us understand the process of squeezing olives to extract the oil. We were even invited to share their communal meal of flat bread and tomato based stew eaten with by hand with chunks of the bread being dipped to scoop the stew. It was AWESOME stuff!
As we returned to Amman we stopped and visited the Darat el-Funun (House of Art) Gallery, where we viewed artworks by contemporary Arab artists. The restored house itself is of some archaeological interest.
In the early evening we returned to our hotel for a very brief stop and then we were back on the bus to go across town during rush hour where we had a home hosted meal. We had been invited to have dinner with a local family. This was an interesting experience to say the least.
We all sat on cushions on the floor and were served plates of steaming hot rice, chicken, and vegetables. Our meal was concluded with hot sweet Jordanian tea as well as a fresh banana and oranges. We were shown the family's apartment which was spacious with 3 bedrooms very little furniture and mats for beds. The kitchen was a one person affair with the refrigerator was in the entrance way.
We got back to the hotel at 9:45 PM after a very full day and began to pack, process the 350 photos, and write the log. We do leave Amman tomorrow for Petra.
Golden Tulip Hotel - - - Meals: B, L, D
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