Adventures with Julia

October 11, 2018

Mohannad picked us up at 9am and we drove north to Amman.  We passed through the all white city in an hour and continued driving north to the town of Jerash, a provincial town that flourished during the Roman Empire. For centuries it was hidden under the sand and has come to light again during the last 70 years of excavation and restoration.   It is considered to be one of the best-preserved Roman towns in the world, which is why Mohannad brought us to the ruins.   A local guide, Dougan, walked us through the town.  It was quite impressive in size.

Hadrian’s Gate (130 AD)

Even before we passed through any of the gates, we could see standing Corinthian columns all over the site, providing the name “city of a thousand columns.”  There were three standing large gates.  One at each end and a third one build by Hadrian in 130 AD, just outside the town walls.

The Oval Plaza where large gatherings were held in Roman times.

The most interesting features to me were three colonnaded streets, the Oval Plaza near the entrance and the two theaters.  The Oval Plaza, with Greek and Roman features, was built between the 1^st century BC and the 1^st century AD.  It reminded me of the plaza in front of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It must have been a grand place and could have held thousands of people.

The main colonnaded street even had sidewalks.

The intersection of Crdo Maximuson the left and a side street.  There were four towers, one of which is delineated in the center of the image and another, which is in shadow on the left.  marked the intersection during Roman times.

The streets still had all the original stones, complete with ruts from chariot wheels, as well as many tall columns along both sides of each street.  The main North-South street, called Cardo Maximus, was lined with stone shops on both sides.  Included here is the intersection of the Cardo Maximus with a side street.

The north theater originally for CIty Council meetings and later enlarged as the city grew in size and power.

There was a theatre at each end of the town.  One was built for city council meetings and later enlarged with an upper level for performances.   The other was much larger and could hold several thousand.

The south Theater

Also notable was a temple to the Greek goddess, Artemis that was started in 135 AD but never finished.  Only 12 columns out of a planned 32 were erected.  Over the centuries it was put to several uses including a fort by crusaders in the 12th century.

The unfinished Temple of Artemis (ca 135 AD)

THe Church of St Theodore (494-496)

The Church of St Theodore (494-496 AD) was a three-aisled basilica constructed with many stone blocks taken from earlier Roman structures.  It was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD.

All the structures were made of local limestone with a few columns made of granite.  Although the day was warm, it was not unbearable and now and then a cooling breeze kissed us.  I had fun with this pano shot of a cluster of columns above the Oval Plaza.

We stopped at the Jerash gift shop and saw instruments for sale that were like the one Mark tried to play in the desert.  It is called a Rababa and is a traditional Bedouin violin.  The single string is made of horse hair and the covering is made of sheep leather.

On the way back to Amman, we asked some questions of Mohannad.  Why are all the buildings white?  Because, he said, since 1975, there is a law that they must be white.  It is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.   Anyway, the King likes it that way.

Why is the call to prayer so much softer and quieter than in other Islamic countries?  One person with a good voice has been selected to sing the call every day from a central mosque in Amman.  His voice is broadcast simultaneously to every mosque in the country, so there are not a number of different calls overlapping.  Also, because there are many Christians in Jordan, the call is kept short and soft.  It is the most pleasant call to prayer we have heard anywhere.

Why is the country so easy going? The kingdom is neutral in a sea of discord and has a peace treaty with Israel.  The current king, Abdula II, is half British, pro-western, and follows his father’s popular policies closely.  There is free education and healthcare for everyone.  There is freedom of religion and no restrictions on women.  The population is mostly progressive Sunni and have a live and let live attitude.  Everyone we met was friendly and relaxed with us.

Back in the city, we stopped at the Citadel.  It was rather unimpressive compared to Jenash, but did offer a good views of the city.   The fortifications included an Entrance Hall which was interesting.

A view of the white city where all buildings are required to be white since 1976.

View looking South.  Includes a large Roman theater at the edge of the Citadel.

The Entrance Hall at the Citadel in Amman (ca 730 AD)

Inside the Entrance Hall.

Mark at the Citadel with the huge Jordanian Flag above a government building.

Back at the hotel, we changed and walked to the pedestrian street called The Boulevard.  We had quite a time finding the street, as our directions were sketchy.  We ended up following our intuition and asking several people directions.

We finally find The Boulevard and look along the whole street for the Jubran Restaurant.

When we got to it, there was no mistake.  It was a pretty street with fountains, flowers and sails decorating the walkway.

The atmosphere was festive and fun.  Determined to have a Jordanian meal, we finally found the Jubran Restaurant on the 7^thfloor of a glass high rise in the middle of the district.  Our meal was reasonably good, but not great.  The best part was the hot puffy bread.

People began to arrive as we were ready to leave.  It is clearly a night time crowd that is too late for us.

When we finished dinner and emerged back on the Boulevard the crowd had quadrupled in size.  We hung out for a few minutes, then headed to our hotel.  I did not want to walk so we took a taxi and got fleeced.  We did not check to make sure the meter was on and he demanded $15 for a ride that should have cost no more than $5.  Shame on us for not paying attention.

October 12, 2018

Mohannad picked us up at 6:30am for our flight to Beirut.  On the way to the airport, he stopped at a falafel shop and bought a box of freshly made, very hot falafels as well as two falafel sandwiches, all for us.  It was very nice of him and so we dutifully ate the sandwiches even though it was too early for our stomachs.  I must admit that, in spite of the early hour, they were the best falafels I have ever eaten.   Fresh, hot, and tasty.   Mohannad bid us good bye at the airport where we met the agent who walked us through the departure process.  Soon we were on Middle East Airlines headed for Beirut, Lebanon.