Friday in Muslim countries is like our Sunday - no school, religious day, most businesses (except services) are closed.This morning we were up at 6:15 and went down to Seasons restaurant for the breakfast buffet. It was a large and decent buffet. We met the two ladies who will be traveling with us. Dot is a retired full col. in the Navy and Sandy works for the government in DC. Both were a pleasant addition to our tour. We were to be in the lobby at 7:45 to head out touring. Our A&K man was there to make sure our guide and driver showed up on time and all went well. Rabi Haddad (our guide for the time in Jordan) and Fabi showed up, and off we went for the hour drive to Jerash. Rabi is a college grad and certified by the state as a tour guide. He is on contract to A&K. He and Fabi are funny, delightful guys.
We got in our 8 passenger van and headed to Jerash at 8am. This drive took about an hour. We drove through the country side which was hilly, rocky. Jerash was conquered by the Romans in 63BC and built up by the Romans. The ruins are amazing. It was cold but not rainy at Jerash. We entered through what seemed to be the requisite vendor booths we saw at all the tourist sites on this trip. There were not many tourists, so we were the target of most of the vendors. Everyone in our group was bothered by the vendors throughout the trip, and sometimes they were like swarms of bees. I found them mostly to be pleasant but persistent. Usually when I stopped to talk, it became an interesting interaction.
Rabi showed us around and then we had an hour or so to wander by ourselves. Hadrian's Arch was the first impressive site to Jerash. This was built in 129AD to commemorate the visit of Emperor Hadrian. It is a massive and beautiful arch with lovely carved acanthus leaves at the base of the pillars. We walked by the Hippodrome, a large arena which could seat 15,000 people. There was a performance there later, but we passed on that in favor of wandering around the site.
We walked through the South Gate which dates from 130AD and passed what used to be the market area. This opened up into the amazing Oval Plaza. The size and remaining columns were what took our breath away. From there we walked up the hill to the Temple of Zeus and the South Theater which was built 90-92AD and seats more than 3000 people. There was a short performance by Jordanian bagpipe group.
We walked back down the hill, through the Oval Plaza and down The Cardo (Colonnaded Street) which is 874 yards long. We stopped at the intersection for some info by Rabi, and then stood in front of the Nymphaeum, a beautiful huge building with a fountain. Rabi let us go here to wander on our own. At the Cathedral, all four of us climbed the huge stairway up to the Temple of Artemis.
We split up here, and Bill and I went to the North Theater which was really awesome seen from the top level of seats. Next to it was the North Tetrapylon and the ruins of the West Baths. We finally ended up at the North Gate built in 115 AD. We started wandering back to the entrance and stopped to rest in front of the Nymphaeum where we were approached by a bracelet vendor, Hamid. We had a cute little chat with him, and he gave me a silver bracelet as a 'gift'. This happened quite often, but usually it meant they wanted money for it. Hamid did not. Bill felt badly about this and gave him $5, and in turn, Hamid gave Bill a bracelet as another 'gift'.
While we were there, we heard the first of the many Muslim call to prayer that we would hear throughout our trip. Loudspeakers from many mosques broadcast the call, and they all start a few seconds after each other which results in an amazing cacophony of sound. We made it back to the entrance where we stood with Rabi and Fadi while they talked to some of their vendor friends. One of the vendors played for me a one-string instrument that they were selling.
At noon we drove 10 min to the Green Valley restaurant. As we entered, there was a cage with two birds in it. A small cat was trying to stick a paw in, and the birds went after it with their beaks, and the cat jumped a mile high. The six of us had a family style meal which started off with an amazing lemon/lime/mint drink which looked awful but tasted great. Then we were served a traditional bread like Indian naan (khoboz) along with lots of dips - hummus, tahine, babaganouch, taboule, and a spicy one, all of which are called mezza. Then we got pans of kofta which is ground meat, tomatoes, spices, in a variety of ways - one with tahine sauce on top. These were served squashed in a round pan with various items on top. Usually kofta is just rolled up and grilled. It was all quite good. As we were leaving, the birds had been replaced with shisha (hooka) pipes. These are all over the Middle East - in fancy restaurants, village corner coffee shops.
Then we drove back to Amman. There were lots of stalls along the road selling pomegranates. It started to rain as we headed back into town. Amman is called the white city for all the buildings made of limestone. We powered on and went to the Citadel - a tall hill in the middle of town full of buried ruins that they are excavating. There is the old Jordanian Archeological Museum here (they are building a new one), Temple of Hercules built in 166AD with pieces of the statue of Hercules on the ground including a huge hand, Byzantine church built in the 5th and 6th centuries AD, the Umayyad Palace cir 730AD where I got my photo taken with a Tourist Police (who are there to assist people plus make sure they don't damage sites). Next to the Palace was an old huge cistern.
On the ride back to the hotel, the guys took us to a place called Jolie's for a sweet treat called kunafa - cream cheese mixed with dough, honey and topped with a wonderful shredded wheat. It was amazing, and one of the foods I had read about. I can't describe it adequately, so look it up on Google. They also had some amazing pastries ready to sell that I wish I could have brought home.
We arrived back at the hotel at 4, soaked but happy. Bill napped, and I wrote in my journal and then went to the Business Center to send email. I got 30 minutes free.
We met Dot and Sandy for dinner once again at Versace. The menu at Versace was the same as last night. Tonight for appetizers I had an eggplant and goat cheese ravioli topped with minted lamb Bolognese. Bill had buffalo mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil. Tonight I had the cod that Bill had last night, and he had the Milanese style veal cutlet (huge), oven baked potatoes, and rocket salad. We both got the tiramisu parfait.
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