FEBRUARY 17 - JERASH AND AMMAN CITADEL

The following morning, Thursday, February 17th, we met Zak and Mohammad at 8:30 a.m. in the lobby of the hotel. Our itinerary for the day would include a visit to Jerash, have lunch, and return to Amman to visit the Citadel.

Unlike Egypt, I have to admit that neither of us did any research into Jordan before the visit. I guess we were so wrapped up in our expectations for Egypt, Jordan sat on the back burner beforehand. But, thanks to Zak, we did learn a lot during our days there.

Jordan, whose formal name is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, lies in Western Asia. "It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and east, Iraq to the northeast, Syria to the north, and Israel, the Palestinian West Bank, and the Dead Sea to the west. In the southwest, it has a 16 mile coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. The Gulf of Aqaba separates Jordan from Egypt. Amman is Jordan's capital and largest city, as well as its economic, political, and cultural center.

It has three climates: 80% of it is Saharan desert; 8% is Afro-tropical; and 12% Mediterranean, which part is called the "food basket of Jordan" and which has 35" of rainfall per year.

On our way, Zak told us about all sorts of home remedies the bedouins used for various medical conditions.

For example, a morning ritual, followed by many Jordanians even today, involves the drinking of water and a teaspoon of apple vinegar, waiting a half hour and then drinking 1/2 espresso cup of olive oil.

People suffering with diabetes boil olive leaves to re-invigorate the pancreas. Pomegranate peels, rich in anti-oxidants, are boiled and drunk for stomach ulcers.

Bedouin babies are given mother's milk for seven days and afterwards camel's milk is added for three years for calcium and strengthening of bones.

Yellow scorpions, found in the desert, are roasted, ground up and added to camel's milk to increase immunity against scorpion and snake venom.

According to our itinerary, Jerash, 30 miles north of Amman, is a city founded by Alexander the Great. Often called, "the Pompeii of the Middle East," Jerash was decimated by invasion and earthquake over the centuries. "Here, in the hills of Gilead, remains from Neolithic times have been found, as well as Greek, Byzantine, Umayyad and others. Jerash's golden age, however, arrived with Roman rule and theatres and temples were continuously added as the city thrived under the Roman Empire. The massive ruins are spread over a large area divided and crisscrossed by colonnaded streets whose pavements still show the grooves of chariot wheels."

The area is quite large, with lots to see, and the weather was very comfortable. One of our stops was the Hippodrome where chariot races and other sports took place.

Hadrian's Arch

Oval Plaza

Peppercorns

Probably the most fascinating site in Jerash, for me, was the South Theatre. A few things stand out in my mind about this open air theatre. First of all, we were treated to the playing of bagpipes! Yes, bagpipes! Who knew that bagpipes originated in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq)?

In addition to the bagpipes, the theatre has incredible acoustics. There is a stone in the center of the "stage" where orators would stand, speak and their voices would be heard throughout the theatre. Of course, we tested it out ourselves and, sure enough, our voices were amplified throughout the theatre. Standing there on that very stone, that was actually depressed, one cannot even begin to imagine how many thousands of people stood in that exact spot. Pretty awesome when you think about it! In addition, there are "built-in speakers" around the theatre that would somehow amplify the sound within the theatre. Something is actually plumbed underneath the flooring to the center stone. Further, even then, things were quite organized - seats were actually numbered so that ticket holders could find their seats! Amazing!

We headed back to Amman for lunch and an afternoon of further sightseeing, but not until we stopped and bought some magnets from a very, very tall young man, Kareem (meaning "generous"), who was 7'2" tall!

And, of course, a stop in the very clean restrooms (both western and eastern available) at the site, always heeding the advice of a very wise woman, Mrs. G: "Never pass up the opportunity to use a restroom!"

Heading back to Amman for lunch, we quickly realized that the roads were very good in Jordan compared to Egypt. Like Egypt, Jordan doesn't have oil so it's considered a very poor country as well. It is a constitutional monarchy with the current King being Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, the eldest son of the late King Hussein bin Talal.

The incredible food we had in Egypt continued during our stay in Jordan with lunch at Tawahin Al Hawa Restaurant. As usual, lots of starters that were a meal in itself. We learned very quickly that there would always be starters and that we had to pace ourselves for the main course! And, of course, I had the another one of the much-loved water/lemon juice/mint drinks with my meal.

On our way to the Citadel, we learned that Jordan has many malls, comprising of multi-level areas - lower floor supermarkets, second floor electronics, third floor fashion, make-up, shoes and fourth floor cafes.

There is a 200% mark-up for imported cars. In other words, if a car is $10,000.00, a Jordanian would have to add $20,000 to the price tag for a sales price of $30,000. Wow! Considering the low wages in Jordan, I have no idea how a car is budgeted in.

There are no subways, tramways or trains but the BRT - Bus Rapid Transit - provides public transportation in Amman. Ten percent of the population is Christian (Greek Orthodox, Coptic or Roman Catholic) and 90% are Sunni Muslims. Eighty percent of people in the cities live in apartments, either rented or purchased with a mortgage. Gasoline is about $1.20 per liter or $4.80 per gallon. It doesn't matter whether the price of oil goes down world-wide nor does the price reflect the stock market. The price never goes down; the government just adds taxes each year and the price remains the same or goes higher.

Tourism is the #1 revenue of Jordan, medical tourism being #2 and education #3 - there are 39 universities, both private and public, in Jordan.

Thirty years ago, a family had an average of 15 children; today, there is emphasis and advisements about birth control. The people are more educated and they realize that there is just not enough money to support a family with too many children. Like Egypt, there is no such thing as "unwed mothers."

People used to fly pigeons all the time over Amman. Now, according to Zak, it is pretty much against the law because male pigeons used to "steal" female pigeons from another group and their owners were charged with this "thievery." When we were there, we did see lots of pigeons in the sky.

The afternoon brought us to the Amman Citadel and Temple of Hercules.

We had also gone into a little Museum which was on this site. Small enough to enjoy but the cutest thing was a mother with a little boy who had on tiny shoes that (deliberately) squeaked as he walked. I, of course, didn't take a picture of him but I did suggest to Michael that he find a pair of shoes like this in his size so that I can hear him walking in the house - to say he is a "stealth" husband is to understate the fact that he could be in one room with me and immediately exit into another room with me not knowing and still carrying on a conversation with him.

Zak also showed us where he lived as a child. He lived at the top of the hill pretty much where he's pointing near a mosque. He walked something like 1200 stairs to the neighborhood below every day to school. He and his friends would come to the Citadel and fly kites and then took a mule up the hill back to his home.