The Roman past.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Jerash, Jordan
We wake up before seven, and the outside air is still cool. Freddie and Isabel go to school, and Betty prepares food for us, and short after eight we are behind the wheel of our rented Renault and into the Amman trafic. 

Unfortunately, our phones have a very poor reception, maybe because they are MI phones from China . This results in extremely slow GPS, so that I drive somewhat randomly. It's not easy to pre-guess a GPS. Fortunately the road signs are in both arabic and english, so we do have some incators.

We do make our way out of the city, and once outside, one of the advantages of a desert, is that there are not many roads.

But frankly, we are not in the desert here. For a simple Dutchman like myself, this arid area looks exceedingly dry, but there are olive groves and on many moutain sides, I see gardens. Many slopes are almost bare, but neat walls indicate that in many places there is agricultural activity. There is rain soeties, and last winter enough snow to make a snowman.

The hills are smooth, and the landscape 'biblical.' In small vilages we see herds of sheep and goats. Many men dress Arab clothing, many women cover their hair.

And then we arrive in Jerash . And it does not disappoint. Wonderful Roman ruins show an almost complete town. Outside the town is a hippodrome, which is still in use. There is even a horse roaming inside the race track.

As usual I forsake all guides, because I want to walk quietly and at our own pace, and let the ruins slowly enter my mind. Rows of columns line streets and an oval agora. There I get greeted by a schoolclass of boys who want to know if "that chick" belongs to me. I forgive them their english and explain that indeed, Sisi is my wife. They all want to shake my hand. A teacher stand next to me, and I am taken by surprise when a boy asks for the third time if we can take a picture, and suddenly the teacher slaps his face. I assume discipline is instilled the old-fashioned way here.

Something simiar I witness later in the day when Sisi is taking a picture, and a schoolboy stands behind her and imitates her moves. A security guard calmly walks up, grabs the boy by his ear and leads him away by his ear . I assume those boys will think twice before doing those things again. In Holland I think we would do either 1) nothing or 2) talk. I wonder what is more efffective.

But the boys run away already, laughing and playing tack. 

We walk through the streets of this old Roman town and I marvel at the completeness of the remains. I agree with Betty: Jerash is underrated. I have seen few more complete roman remains. Even two cute theaters enrich the city - with a mosty coplete stele. 

At some points we sit down in the shade on some columns, drink water, eat some snacks and quietly enjoy the surroundings. There is a temple of Zeus, a temple of Artemis, a church and a cathedral. Most of it built after a visit of the great Hadrian.

In the afternoon, hot and satisfied, we return to the car, While I drive to Aljoun Sisi falls asleep, and does not wake up unti we get close. From a distance the castle tops one of the highest hilltop.

Just like in Jerash, our Jordan Pass lets us in without having to buy a ticket. This is a castle with an arabic origin, built as a defence against the cruisaders. But over time, it has had Christian masters as well, because the building contains also a church.

From the top we have a marvelous view, not just geographically, but also historically. There, to the west, you see the Jordan Valley, a bit further south on clear nights, you should be able to see the lights of Jerusalem. North is Lebanon. What an amazing experience under the hot sun. Too bad there is a haze in the distance. I really feel I am standing at the crossroads of history. From all sides we see history around us.

After a scenic drive home, we enjoy a relaxing evening. I swim a bt with the chidren in a pool in the garden. Later I write this diary and try uploading pictures.

What a great day.

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