Day 3: Um Qais, Aljun, Jerash

It was a long day of touring Jordan’s historical sites. We met our driver at 7:30 and were disappointed to learn that Mohammed was having car trouble and we were assigned a new driver named Mohammed (aka Mohammed 2). Mohammed 2 was a lot more quiet than Mohammed 1 – In fact, he was mostly silent the whole day. Even though he was quiet, Mohammed 2 was nice and a good driver and took us to all the sites we had hoped to see on Day 3.

First we arrived and Umm Qais, the site of Ottoman and Roman ruins, about a 2 hour trip from our hotel in Amman. We were spoiled in Amman with the several signs explaining the sites at the Citadel, so it was a lot more difficult to navigate Umm Qais, which is not a popular tourist destination and lacks the Citadel’s many explanatory signs. It was nice to feel like we were exploring the site almost alone and Paul managed to follow the map in our Jordan guide book while I looked for all the signs (love my signs) and we were able to see old Ottoman residences, a collondaded Roman street and Roman theater, and an octogonal Byzantine church that was built over the Roman ruins. A lot of the ruins were constructed from basalt stones that had a beautiful dark gray, almost black color. From the Umm Qais lookout point, we were able to see Israel (Golan Heights, part of the occupied territories), Syria and Jordan all at once. It was a beautiful view and an intense reminder of the part of the world we’re exploring.

Paul at the Ottoman ruins in front of a residence made from cannibalized stones.
Columns made of basalt stone.

Next stop was Aljun, an old castle built by Muslims in the 1100s to defend against Christian crusaders surrounded by a never filled moat. It was impressive (to say the least) with a maze of large cavernous rooms with narrow window slits and breathtaking views of Jordan. The castle is located on top of a mountain overlooking 3 valleys. I loved looking out at all the olive farms on the Jordan countryside. And it was interesting to see parts of the castle that are still in the process of excavation or reconstruction.

At the top of the castle.
Castle.

Our final visit was to Jerash, the best preserved Roman city in the Middle East. It was AMAZING. We had a great local tour guide (quite a character). He told us we “seemed like nice people,” so he was surprised to learn we were American. He quickly added that he views all people as people, not nationalities, so we were okay with him.

Our guide spent 2 hours showing us the sites of the massive Roman city (so different from the tiny Umayyad city we saw at the Citadel). Jerash is so well preserved, it was like walking into a history book.

We saw the Roman forum, the heart of the city surrounded by massive ionic columns where the townspeople would meet and the merchants set up shop. The names of the merchants were still inscribed onto the columns in the forum. And we learned how the columns survived the several earthquakes that hit the area: the Romans put a large metal rod through the center of the hallowed out columns that enabled the columns to shift without falling over. Our guide told us to put our hand in the crack between the bottom and middle sections of a column, and we could actually feel the column moving! It was like feeling a pulse.
Off the forum was the main road, a long collonaded street. We saw chariot grooves in the hard rock and evidence of the city’s intricate sewer system.

In front of the main road.
The forum.

Off the main road, a series of 49 steps in a grand staircase led to the Temple of Artemis/Diana. It was so beautiful, I have to let the pictures speak for me.

Inner sanctum of the temple.
Temple, still surrounded by imposing corinthian columns.
Us at the top of the stairs leading to the temple.

The Roman theater here was so impressive. The seat numbers were still inscribed on the seats in Greek, and the stage of the theater was still almost fully intact. We learned that a Roman theater is semicircular in shape, as distinguished from an amphitheater, which is round and hosts chariot races and gladiator fights. And our guide had us test the impressive Roman sound system. I whispered into one “speaker” (a round depression in the rock in front of the seating area) and Paul heard me perfectly through another.

Me sitting in the theater seats.
Paul in front of the theater stage.

We saw so many amazing sites at Jerash, but the forum, main road, temple and theater were our favorites.

Even though we were exhausted when we got back to our hotel, we made big steps at dinner time. We ventured back to the same area as Lebnani Snack and built up our courage to try a restaurant on the main road we had been eyeing since day 1. I can’t be sure of the name (it was in Arabic) but I think it was called Grand House Snack . Grand House Snack had a large open area along the street with tables and chairs surrounded with crescent moon and star lights. After we left Lebnani Snack the night before, we had seen it packed and bustling with people and we were excited to give it a try. When we walked in an English speaking waiter told us that the restaurant had chicken shwarma and mango juice, and asked if that was okay. I don’t think the menu was available in English. We said that was just fine, ate our meals, and then just sat for a while looking around.

We got the feeling it was more of a hookah place than an eating place and hoped to partake, we just had to figure out how to ask. We were seated front and center at the restaurant, by the entrance on the main road, and although I had seen a few women enter, there were no women in sight in our section of the restaurant. I felt a little uncomfortable, so of course, I asked Paul to talk to the waiter (and besides, as I mentioned, he has the less awkward communication technique). It was tough to get a waiter’s attention, so I figured it was time to get myself just a little more uncomfortable. I finally managed to flag down a waiter and order us mint sheesha! Paul ordered us mint tea, and we so fit right in! Then, with my new found confidence, I managed to get another waiter’s attention and get us a few more hot coals as we were running low. By the time we left, it was packed and bustling just like the night before, and we felt like we had experienced part of the Amman community.