We got to our hotel/hostel in Amman (the capital) and I asked myself why I am still living like a college student. It was not nice, but we settled in well and went to some awesome sites and ate some really good food. The day after getting in we went on a tour to Madaba, Mt. Nebo, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, and the Dead Sea. Madaba is famous for Mosaics, especially in St. Georges church. It wasn't really that interesting, but the city had a really nice atmosphere. Mt. Nebo is where God showed Moses the promised land shortly before Moses died. There is supposed to be a really awesome view of Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, and some other cool places. However, the sky was very hazy and we couldn't see much. Next, Bethany Beyond the Jordan is just that, a little tour of the Jordan river in a militarized zone where John the Baptist did his baptizing and where Jesus was baptized. Tara is about 70% confident that the place where Jesus was supposed to be baptized is actually the place. The oldest descriptions of the exact location where around 500 years after Christ, but the place they showed us made sense. The river has moved of course, but the place was a dried up whirlpool extending off the river. Several churches have been built there over the centuries, they are mainly rubble now. We also went and saw the West Bank in Israel across the Jordan. There were armed guards and everything, but it was pretty relaxed feeling. And I must say, it was very surreal to be walking in what was or was close to the footsteps of Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Finally, the Dead Sea was awesome! We floated so well, it was actually hard to put our feet back down once we were floating! We rubbed the black mud on us and everything. I don't recommend putting it on your face and then rinsing off in the sea. We both got a little water in our eyes and mouths. It was not pleasant. All in all, it was a good day.
The next day we hit up the attractions in Amman. These were mostly Roman ruins and they were pretty cool, but we've both been to Rome and after a while a Roman theatre is just another theatre and a column is just another column. But then, when you think it is all the same you see something incredible. Something like a random stone hand as big as a car lying there with no real significance to anything, no sign or description accompanying it. People say everything is bigger in Texas. Those people obviously haven't travelled around the Rome or Rome's empire.
Every night in Amman we ate at the same restaurant serving hummos, fool, and falafel. We both agreed that it was the best falafel and hummos we have had. And it was cheap! A couple of bucks would stuff both of us. It was also fun to go through the downtown vegetable markets and shops. We are getting used to being minorities and getting lots of stares.
After seeing the sights in Amman we went to Jerash, a huge and impressive Roman ruin. There was a Roman theatre, but it was special because these old Jordanian guys were playing Scottish bagpipes and they were good. It was also cool to hear the acoustics in the theatre. Besides that, all the temples and columns looked the same. The colonnaded street (a street lined with columns, very typical in any Roman city) was cool because we could see impressions in the stone pavers from wagon and chariot wheels. After Jerash, we hit up a castle, but it wasn't that impressive. Then we went to Umm Qais, a Hellenistic Roman city. The city was typically Roman, but the view was incredible. We could see the Sea of Galilee (where Jesus calmed the storm and I think where he walked on water), Tiberias Israel, Syria, and the Golan Heights. It was really pretty.
Well, that was a lot in one shot and only about half of the trip. Enjoy the pictures and there is more to follow.
Jamie
Tara at the Jordan River.
Black mud at the Dead Sea, our very own spa treatment.
Jesus' baptism site
Roman theatre in Amman
Giant hand at Amman Citadel
Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights with Syria in the distance.
Colonnaded street in Jerash
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