Not as impressive as Ephesus in Turkey but nonetheless, Jerash is one of the finest Roman cities outside Italy.
We drove northwards towards the Syrian border to see the C12th Aljoun Castle which towers high above the town.
South-East of Amman, in once a fertile but now an arid landscape, are a number of castles.
Qasr al-Azraq is one built of basalt by the Romans and where Lawrence of Arabia stayed during his leadership of the Arab Revolt. The basalt door weighs about 3 tons and includes hinges. The skill of those Romans never ceases to amaze.
Qasr Amra, is a beautiful bath house from the C8th and now a world Heritage Site. The walls and ceilings are covered in frescoes with scenes of hunting, dancing and bathing and depictions of ancient rulers.
Qasr al-Kharrana
Late afternoon in Amman and a visit to the Citadel and then the Roman amphitheatre.
According to The Bible, Moses climbed Mount Nebo and was able to see the promised land that God told him he would never be able to enter. Like Moses, we looked over towards Jericho and the Dead Sea.
Pope John Paul II visited in 2000.
The staff and the serpent recreated.
The beautiful mosaics inside the Moses Memorial Church date from the earlier church built some time after the C4th.
"Arabs want peace". Jordan is struggling to cope with an enormous influx of refugees from the awful violence and repression in Syria to the north and east; and to the west, Jordanians look to the fertile lands stolen from them by the pariah state of Israel. The many Jordanians we encountered were cheerful, friendly and welcoming.
About 20 miles south-west of Amman lies the town of Madaba and the Church of St George which houses the remains of the famous C6th mosaic map of the Middle East. What survives of the map shows, among other places, Egypt and the Nile, Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
From Madaba we headed south to see Karak Castle. This enormous structure, with its warren of tunnels and passageways, was built by the Crusaders in C12th.
Petra - the main reason for our visit to Jordan and we were not disappointed by the experience.
Many years ago Trish read 'Married to a Bedouin' by Margeurite van Geldermalsen and hoped to meet her on our visit to Petra. Sadly for us she was busy elsewhere but it was a pleasure meeting and listening to her son - in red below.
The hour long climb to the Monastery was worth it!
Somewhere down in that maze of sandstone is the gorge leading to the Nabatean city of Petra.
Our last stop on this great trip was to the desert landscape of Wadi Rum. Sadly, we were only there for a few hours - I could have stayed there for days!
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
The face of Lawrence of Arabia.
Sage tea in a Bedouin camp.
Maqluba - meaning 'upside down' - a traditional Arab dish. Very tasty it was too!
No comments:
Post a Comment