Bob and Ann in Egypt and Jordan 2009

We have no snow – just warm sunny weather. This is unusual for Jordan. It’s supposed to be cold. Snow is normal. Our fortunate weather makes it pleasant to see all of the sites on our schedule.

Our first visit today was to Jerash, a part of the Decapolis which were the ten largest cities of the Eastern Roman Empire. According to the OATS literature, Jerash has been compared to Pompeii for its fine state of preservation. We have been to Pompeii and this claim is greatly exaggerated. It is very impressive, though. We saw Hadrian’s Arch, the Nymphaeum, temples dedicated to Zeus and Artemis and several theaters and churches laid out on colonnaded streets. The columns themselves are a highlight. We spent 2 1/2 hours wandering through the ruins getting explanations from Iyad, taking photos and listening to a serenade by traditionally dressed men playing bagpipes, of all things. Here are three Jerash videos you can look at: the hippodrome, the main plaza, and bagpipes in the Roman theater.

Back on the bus, we rode to our lunch in a large tented restaurant. Walking in, we watched men baking bread where they rolled out the dough like a pizza maker and placed it directly on the colas. It puffs up as it bakes. It tastes smoky. Our lunch had the traditional dips where we used the bread that we just saw being baked. Our main course was shish kabob with chicken and beef. Most of us ordered lemonade that had mint in it. It was very refreshing.

Castle in Ajlun

After lunch, we drove on to the Saracens’ castle in Ajlun. This castle was built in the 12th century by Saladin to drive Crusaders from Jordan. It is well preserved with galleries, towers, staircases and many chambers forming a medieval maze. We climbed to the roof a got a panoramic view of the countryside. It was a little hazy but we could imaging seeing Israel, Syria, Iraq, etc. You can see a video of the landscape by clicking here.

After visiting the castle, it was time to head back to Amman. On the way we stopped at an operation that produced olive oil. This region is known as a prime olive producing region. Here is a video of the operation. We also stopped at a viewpoint on the side of the road for tea. The view was exceptional but it was damaged by all of the trash at the rest stop.

Dinner tonight was in the hotel’s restaurant. It was a buffet with lots of choices. Dessert included some special Christmas specialties including fruitcake and red and green jello. 9:00 was bedtime.

Here is a map of where we went today: