Visiting, Jerash, and Ajlun

Visiting

We were able enjoy some Arab hospitality this weekend. First, on Thursday night Jackson and I took up Raid's offer to call him anytime, and wwe met him downtown, and he took us on a walking tour of the downtown. He is very nice. He kept saying, "Next time we will..." We talked as we walked and ate knafa, a super sweet, traditional dessert. It was humbling to realize that Raid gave up watching EuroCup soccer to spend the evening with us.

On Friday, the whole team went down to the souf (market) Al Abali, the largest market in Amman. It was like a three block long garage sale. Then we did a lot of walking through the downtown, ending with a meal at Hashem's, one of the best-known falafel & hummus places. In the evening the guys went out with a couple of students, saw a movie, and hung out for several hours. So I am thankful we are getting to know some of our students and see the cultural first-hand.

Jerash

We atarted early, 7:15 AM, for a visit to two great archaeological site near Amman: Jerash and Ajlun. Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the Mideast. Our friend Akef drove four people and three of us, Kim, Jackson, and I, took the bus. First Akef arranged a taxi to take us to the bus station, then he met us there and then met us there to make sure we got on the right bus. The taxi ride was about 10 minutes and cost $3 JD (I think we were over charged), and the one hour+ bus ride cost $0.75 each. The bus had cramped seat, was hot, and smokers, but it is the way most Jordanians would travel.

Akef dropped us off at Jerash at 9:00 AM and said he thought it would take four hours. I thought to myself, "How could we spend four hours at a ruins?" Once I saw the site, I was amazed. The enclosed site stretched for a mile, I think, and was full of collumnades, and huge ruins. We saw a hippodrome (track for horse & chariot racing), two ampitheaters, three large arches, at least six churched, an multiple Roman temples, and a bath. It really was spectacular!

I've included several pictures, and more are at this link. After visiting the ruins, we ate a Jordanian meal and headed for the castle of Ajlun.

Ajlun

Ajlun was a castle built by the nephew of Salah al-Din (Saladin), one of the Islamic heros in defending Palestine again the Crusaders. We repeated the Akef & bus relay to the town of Ajlun, and took a taxi up to the castle. It is huge and can be seen for tens of miles since it is on top of a peak. I was thinking, "How could this compete with Jerash?" Well, it was different, and spectaclar in its own right. In contrast to how hot it was in Jerash and on the ride to Ajlun, the breezes and height made for a cool combination. Ajlun is a boy's dream of castle! We spent a couple of hours climbing stairs, looking through arrow slits, in dark interior chambers, and up on the top. The views were spectacular.

The Town of Ajlun

Akef's car was leaking water from the radiator when he dropped us off at the castle. While we were at the castle, he got it fixed in town. When he picked us up, it was leaking again, so we went back to the town. We walked down to the bus station and saw a huge line of people. They were all waiting for busses back to Amman. The town was a very cultural experience. I didn't see any other Westerners. All but a few of the women wore headscarfs. The town was buzzing and the market was very active. Saturday evening is the end of the weekend here in Jordan. Extended families are very close here in Jordan, so many people spend their weekends traveling and visiting families. The huge line was all of the people returning to Amman for the workweek. Later, while I was reflecting on the day, I realized that we were probably the few people of our faith in the entire town.

Thank you for praying for us,
Michael