Jordan: Jerash (10/29/2023)

Sunday, October 29, 2023 (continued)
After lunch, our excursion continued to the Roman ruins of Jerash.

We started at the Hadrian's Arch (129 CE), built for the
occasion of the Roman emperor's visit

To the left side of the arch was the hippodrome (212 CE),
here seen from the outside

But first a peek at the mosaic flooring of geometric
patterns and an inscription in the ruins of the
Church of Marianos (570 AD) (KSS)

Inside the hippodrome, where horse and chariot races took place

The spectator stands (which once could seat
15,000 people) and a few of the starting gates

The complex had solar panels

Cats at the Visitor Center (KSS)

The Three Tonys with our guide, Sufian (KSS)

The South Gate (129 CE) was also built for Hadrian's visit,
and between the two gates the city was to further develop;
however, instead the city grew to the north, and this
became the South gate; when a city wall was constructed
in the fourth century, it incorporated this gate

Inside the gate to the west were workshops;
this is an olive oil press (c 220-300 CE)

This section of the city wall leads to the earlier
gateway to enter the city

To the east is a row of shops and workshops

The immense Oval Plaza (c 130 CE) with a curved colonnade

More of the curved colonnade

Looking up at the Temple of Zeus

As we headed up to the Temple of Zeus,
we passed a few large Schinus molle/Red
Pepper Trees, which is apparently in the
same plant family as poison ivy

A view from the Temple of Zeus of the Oval Plaza

Zooming in on the Cardo Maximus/
the main street leading farther north

The stage side exterior wall of the South Theater (c 90 CE)

Two tiers of seats could hold 4,700 people

The theater is said to have excellent
acoustics, and like the Center of the
Universe in Tulsa, OK, if you stood
in a certain spot and spoke or clapped,
only you would hear the echo

The "stage" of the theater

A "military band" with a man with bagpipes played
an American patriotic song, and then Amazing Grace,
before marching around to a more military beat

Now we had a half hour of free time that was nowhere enough to see the rest of the Roman complex.

We started down the Cardo Maximus; note the CCTV on the left

We only made it to the bases of the Tetrakionion/four
monumental structures at a crossroads (again, CCTV)

A corner of the Umayyad/Abbassid Mosque (early 8C)
with its columns along the crossing street

Back in the motor coach to head to our hotel in Amman, we
passed a Bedouin vendor straining camel milk for a customer

The camels appeared to be hobbled to keep them apart

Approaching the W Amman Hotel (2018),
which is managed by Marriott

Entering the hotel was like entering
a stylized Siq at Petra

Braided fabric-covered tree

Our hotel room right

The hotel room left

Two separate doors for the shower and
the WC with sink

The view from the hotel room

A lamp in the hotel room

We had a light dinner at the bar called the Living Room,
again with lentil soup, and garlic parmesan wings

We were not able to take much advantage of our hotel room, as we checked out at 23:00 to be taken to the airport for our 2:30 flight on October 30th.

Monday, October 30, 2023

Our 2:30 flight on Qatar Airways took us to Doha, the capital of Qatar, which seemed to us to be in the wrong direction: southeast. Our next leg was from Doha to Philadelphia, a 14-hour flight that took us back over Amman!  We had dinner, then lunch, then dinner, and had plenty of time to catch up on movies! Made it home safe and sound.

Jordan: Amman (10/29/2023)

Sunday, October 29, 2023

We checked out of the Petra Marriott and boarded the motor coach bound for Amman.

Stopped at a viewpoint overlooking the aea of Petra

Shrine of Ayn Musa/Moses's Spring

Another rock said to have been struck by Moses
to create a spring, and water from this spring is
what eventually flows to Petra and is diverted from the Siq

The rock and the beginning of the stream (KSS)

Tamiko scoops a bit of spring water to drink (KSS)

A dog takes advantage of the police stopping the traffic (KSS)

Heading back north on the Desert Highway, we stopped
again at the New Jerusalem Resthouse

Kittens at the New Jerusalem Resthouse (KSS)

Passing a Bedouin tent, with its water tanks to the left

This tent offers camel milk for sale

A stop in Amman to view the Roman Theater (2C CE) that held 6,000 people

The Roman Theater

The Odeon Theater was next to the Roman Theater, and
was built at the same time, but holds only 500 people

Chipsy snack bar (KSS)

Amman, the capital of Jordan, was a neolithic settlement, which was later referred to in the Bible when the Citadel was besieged by King David. In 3C BCE, Ptolemy II Philadelphus rebuilt the city and named it Philadelphia. The Romans arrived, and in 1878 Circassians settled here after exile from Russia. The Emirate of Transjordan was established in 1921, remaining a British mandate until independence in 1946 as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Without zoning, Amman has grown higgledy-piggledy
up the mountainsides

Stairs may be the only way to reach your home

Queen Alia Miltary Hospital (1987, renovation 2014-2018),
Queen Alia was the third wife of King Hussein (grandson of
King Abdullah I); she founded the Office of the Queen of
Jordan to finance social development projects with an emphasis
on women and children, including women's right to vote

We continued to Jerash for lunch at
the Lebanese House (est 1977)

Meze of olives, hummus, and bright pink pickled vegetables

Fattoush/salad with pita chips

Baba ganoush with pomegranate seeds

They called this a rocket salad,
but it does not look or taste like our arugula

French fries

Sfeehas/meat pie in the center

Falafel with more pickled veggies

Oops, the flatbread is almost gone

Mixture of beef and lamb, and chicken kebabs

Dessert of Layali Lubnan/a semolina pudding
topped with pistachios and rosewater syrup

Next: Jerash.