Blogs from Jerash, North, Jordan, Middle East - page 5

The final day of the organised tour for those going to Amman included a trip to the ancient Roman city of Jerash. Jerash is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. They even included a live show complete with a roman legion, tho we stuck to the static sites. The tour took about two hours to cover the entire site. For much more useful and informative detail on this site, please read the government web site at http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism3.html :-) ... read more

25 Aug - after crossing into Jordan, our 10th and final country for this trip, we drive to Jerash. This is one of the best preserved cities within the Decapolis / Greco ruins - it's reminds me of Pompeii and Herculaneum, only MUCH bigger. It's an amazing site with forum, main street, shops, ampitheatre (with Jordanian bagpipe band??!!) and a temple to Diana - the goddess of hunting, with the incredible moving Corinthian pillars. It's early evening before we arrive in Amman, the capital of Jordan and check into the Toledo. Nice hotel, shame about the room...ours appears to be getting rennovated. Helpful man on reception though puts us in another room though immediately. I'm amused by the 'kibblah' on the ceiling - this is a sticker showing the direction of Mecca, to keep Muslims right ... read more

After the massive walking of yesterday both Dave and Chelle were completely exhausted. So it was with great joy they woke up and hopped into a rental car for a full day of more walking and sightseeing. Because the tour that we were going on didn't actually start until the next morning (oops - a wee spot of bad planning that actually turned out really rather well) we had decided to rent a car for the day and drive up to see the ruins of Jerash and then head down to the dead sea to have a bit of a float. So we started the day by trying to navigate our way out of Amman. We were pleasantly surprised by how empty the roads were as we were driving out of the city and were most ... read more

A close second to Petra on the list of favourite destinations in Jordan, the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. And like Petra its the city in itself, the more you explore the more you fall in love with it.... and trust me its worth that walk. Be prepared to walk miles climbing up and down the hills and make sure you are stuffed with food and water. After Petra this is a dream destination of a photographer so charge your camera, don't forget to carry extra memory space or a spare camera if you can. Its better to be have it all than to be sorry later. I really thank my mom who has been putting up with me throughout this journey despite being ... read more

So today, after handing out food packages, we made a quick stop by Jerash. The ancient ruins are very well preserved by the desert climate and are quite impressive. With two large amphitheatres, the place serves as the accomadation for the famous Jerash festivals. Unfortunatly these lively festivals happen just as we leave. We saw evidence of preparation for the crowds to come though as small tents were set up and stages built in the amphitheaters. If you're ever in Jordan at the end of July don't miss the festivals... they're supposed to be incredible. The actual ruins themselves are really quite Roman... they say if you've seen one great Roman ruin, you've seen them all. But for me, I really enjoyed our quick walk around the area seeing as they were my first Roman ruin ... read more