The Backlog Blog, or, A History Lesson
It's been a little while, I know. Don't know if you missed us. We sure are missing all of you! I hope this backlog blog, or b'log blog, finds you well and keeping all your new year's resolutions. Okay, New Year's is a long time ago. I mean, it's already Easter. New Year's is ancient history. Well, hold on there. Not as ancient as some of the history we caught a glimpse of during our trip to Jordan over Christmas. And that's where I'm going to start this blog, even though, since then, we've also been to India, and I have a trip coming up to Tbilisi, Georgia in a couple of weeks. Not sure whether I'll ever catch up to our adventures, because that trip to Jordan is worthy of at least 2 blogs, maybe 3. At this rate, we'll be back home in Canada before I even get to telling you about the Dead Sea (definitely the low point of the trip, pun intended).
So, Jordan, wow! It really was the trip of a lifetime. Our only complaint is that a week wasn't nearly enough to take it all in. If we ever have a chance to return, we would spend a week in Petra alone. And then we would spend another week in Aqaba (or, as I like to call it, Ahhhhhhhhqaba--that first part is pronounced as a deep sigh of relaxation). Then maybe a few more days in Jerash. And perhaps a trip to the Jordan River. Overnight in one of the desert tents at Wadi Rum rather than just the jeep tour. A few more days in Amman. Let's see--a month in Jordan might suffice. And, of course, we would want our amazing driver, Waleed, to accompany us everywhere.
What did we love about Jordan?
Just about everything.
Let's start with the ruins (no, I'm not talking about Glenn and me, although the dry desert air is taking its toll on the skin). We knew from the little bit of reading we'd done in advance that Jordan is home to some of the most extensive preserved Roman ruins in the Middle East (people we talked to in Jordan claim that there are more, and better preserved, Roman ruins in Jerash alone than in Rome itself). We haven't been to Rome yet (planning to go next January) so can't judge for ourselves. But what we did see was certainly impressive. Jerash and Amman (known in the days of the Roman Empire as Philadephia) were two of about 14-18 cities comprising the Decapolis (seems someone couldn't count), a string of cities that were originally founded by the Greeks and then taken over by the Romans and used as stopping places along the trade route. Most of the ruins have yet to be uncovered, but what we saw was truly impressive, as has been the effort to restore them. Imagine a city-sized jigsaw puzzle with pieces as big as houses.
My grasp of history is limited, but here is a wiki site that can tell you a bit about what I'm talking about:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapolis
I'm going to let the pictures below speak for themselves, and then I'm going to post another blog, very soon, with pics of Petra.
More soon, I promise....
Temple of Hercules in Amman:
View of Roman amphitheater in Amman:
The Jerash Amphiteater (the tourist you see below yelled up at us that the marble in the floor was from his home city in Italy)
The Madaba Mosaic: the oldest known map of the Christian world, uncovered during the renovation of St. George's Church in Madaba in 1884:
So, Jordan, wow! It really was the trip of a lifetime. Our only complaint is that a week wasn't nearly enough to take it all in. If we ever have a chance to return, we would spend a week in Petra alone. And then we would spend another week in Aqaba (or, as I like to call it, Ahhhhhhhhqaba--that first part is pronounced as a deep sigh of relaxation). Then maybe a few more days in Jerash. And perhaps a trip to the Jordan River. Overnight in one of the desert tents at Wadi Rum rather than just the jeep tour. A few more days in Amman. Let's see--a month in Jordan might suffice. And, of course, we would want our amazing driver, Waleed, to accompany us everywhere.
What did we love about Jordan?
Just about everything.
Let's start with the ruins (no, I'm not talking about Glenn and me, although the dry desert air is taking its toll on the skin). We knew from the little bit of reading we'd done in advance that Jordan is home to some of the most extensive preserved Roman ruins in the Middle East (people we talked to in Jordan claim that there are more, and better preserved, Roman ruins in Jerash alone than in Rome itself). We haven't been to Rome yet (planning to go next January) so can't judge for ourselves. But what we did see was certainly impressive. Jerash and Amman (known in the days of the Roman Empire as Philadephia) were two of about 14-18 cities comprising the Decapolis (seems someone couldn't count), a string of cities that were originally founded by the Greeks and then taken over by the Romans and used as stopping places along the trade route. Most of the ruins have yet to be uncovered, but what we saw was truly impressive, as has been the effort to restore them. Imagine a city-sized jigsaw puzzle with pieces as big as houses.
My grasp of history is limited, but here is a wiki site that can tell you a bit about what I'm talking about:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapolis
I'm going to let the pictures below speak for themselves, and then I'm going to post another blog, very soon, with pics of Petra.
More soon, I promise....
Temple of Hercules in Amman:
View of Roman amphitheater in Amman:
The Jerash Amphiteater (the tourist you see below yelled up at us that the marble in the floor was from his home city in Italy)
The Madaba Mosaic: the oldest known map of the Christian world, uncovered during the renovation of St. George's Church in Madaba in 1884:
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