Out and About in Dubai
Ramblings of a Chinese-American living in the SimCity of the Middle East…

On our 4th and last day in Jordan we visited Jerash, which is about 50 km (30 miles) north of Amman, and is considered one of the largest and most well preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside of Italy.  It once had a Roman population of 15,000 to 20,000.

We entered the city of Jerash via the South Gate (dates back to 130 AD) which then opened into what was once used as a marketplace.

 

Once we walked through the gate there were signs for reenactments of chariot races but unfortunately they did not have any scheduled when we were there.

As DB and I walked through Jerash, I tried to follow Lonely Planet’s suggestion to “imagine life 2000 years ago: the center bustling building with shops and merchants, lined with cooling water fountains and dramatic painted facades. Picture today’s empty niches filled with painted statues; buildings still clad in marble facades and decorated with carved peacocks and shell motifs; and churches topped with Tuscan-style terracotta tiled roofs.”

Below is a the Colannaded Street (or Cardo) which is still paved with the original stones.  We could still see the ruts worn by chariot wheels. On both side of the columns were once shops and there was an underwater sewage system that ran the full length of the Cardo (damn, those Romans were clever). 

 

Close-up of the Columns:

 

This is the Temple of Artemis below.  Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and sister of Apollo and was also the patron goddess of Jerash.  11 of the original 12 columns are still standing and the temple’s inner chamber was originally clad with marble slabs and housed a shrine which probably contained a statue of the goddess.

 

A close-up of the temple’s columns:

 

Below is the North Theatre built in 165 AD and was doubled in size in 235 AD to hold 1600 people.

 

There were 2 theatres in Jerarsh – here is the stage of the South Theatre which was built betwen 90-92 AD and seats morre than 3000 spectators. 

 

While we were touring the South Theatre, there was a performance by the trio below and due to the bagpipes I think they sounded rather Scottish.

 

So that’s it!  We drove straight to the airport after Jerash and concluded a wonderful and very jam-packed 4 days vacation away from Dubai. 
 

Previous:  Dead Sea, Madaba, Mt. Nebo, and Amman (Jordan, part III)

Day 3 in Jordan was spent visiting the Dead Sea, Madaba, Mt. Nebo, and a short drive to see the Roman theatre in the old part of Amman.
 

 

First we went to Madaba which is reknowned for its Byzantine-era mosaics.  Here is the most famous one in St. George’s Church – it was unearthed in 1884 and is believed to be constructed in AD 560. 
 

 

Originally 25 meters long by 6 meters wide and containing more than 2 million pieces, it is now only 1/3 of its original size:

After exploring a few other archeological sites, we headed towards Mt. Nebo and stopped along the way at a mosaic shop.  It was pretty cool watching how modern day mosaics were made:

 

Mt. Nebo is where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land and also where he was later buried.  It was very windy and cold enough to need a sweater.  Unfortunately the Moses Memorial Church was closed due to renovations so we just walked around a bit.

This is the view from one side of Mt. Nebo – could it be the view of the Promised Land?  No idea as couldn’t find the sign that said “Promised Land” and wasn’t even sure which compass direction I was facing and it was too bloody cold to stand around to figure it out.

 

Next we drove to the Dead Sea which – thank goodness! – was a complete change in temperature from Mt. Nebo and I was able to strip down to my bikini and not feel cold. 

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the Earth at 408 meters below sea level (and dropping each year!) and is 6 times saltier than ocean water due to its high evaporation rates.  It is so salty that no plant nor animal life can survive on it. 

We spent some time in the Movenpick spa where I splurged on a mud wrap and DB had a sea salt scrub.  DB did some floating in the Dead Sea (water temp was 25C / 75F) where he accidentally got some of the sea water in his eyes and can personally attest that it was a most painful experience.

Here are some random people by the Dead Sea slathering themselves with the surrounding mud:

 

After visiting the Dead Sea, we headed back to Amman and because I wanted to see the Roman theatre, our driver took us to a lookout point where we were able to see the whole of the theatre.  You can see it in the middle of the photo below smack in the middle of old Amman:

It was built ~ 2nd century AD and once had a seating capacity of 6000.  Full restoration of the theatre began in 1957 and currently, the theatre is used in the summer for entertainment.

Previous: Wadi Rum (Jordan part III)

Next: Jerash (Jordan part IV)

The next day, we spent a half day at Wadi Rum which was made famous by Lawrence of Arabia.
 

Unlike the desert of Dubai (which is flat), the desert area of Wadi Rum is hilly – great for rock climbing! – and the scenery is quite spectacular.  We hired a driver to take us around and here are some of the sights.
 

Mushroom Rock:

Small Rock Bridge:

Walking across Large Rock Bridge:

DB waiting patiently for our BBQ lunch of grilled chicken and salad with lebneh dressing: 

Enjoying the quiet of the desert:

Previous: Petra (Jordan part I)
Next: Dead Sea, Madaba, Mt. Nebo, and Amman (Jordan part III)

In early December, DB and I decided to get the heck out of Dubai for a few days since we had 3 days off due to one of the Eid holidays.  After considering a few places like Maldives, Eqypt, Turkey, we settled on Jordan.  We flew Emirates from Dubai to Amman (3.5 hours) and then drove from Amman to Petra which also took about 3 hours.


Petra is greek for “stone” and is one of the new “Wonders of the World.”  Almost all the structures in Petra were carved out of the existing sandstone.  Since we arrived at night, we took part in the “Petra by Night” tour where you get to walk through the archeological site from the entrance up to the Treasury (photo below) guided only by candlelight.  It was pretty cool:

The above photo is the Treasury by candlelight and the organizers had laid out carpets on the ground where we could sit, enjoy some piping hot mint tea, and listen to 2 musical solo performances. I enjoyed it all but it was a bit chilly when we stopped moving and with the time difference between Dubai and Jordan, I was pretty beat and was struggling to stay awake since it was 11pm by this time (1 am Dubai time).


Here is what the Treasury with its Hellenistic facade looks like by day.  You can see the scale of this amazing archeological feat by comparing it to the size of the people at the bottom of the photo:

Royal Tombs (remember this was all carved out of the existing sandstone):

Only 5% of Petra has been excavated and that 5% could take days to explore.  Besides the touristy areas that we visited, there are also a few off-the-beaten trails that would be great to hike if DB was the hiking type and if we had more time.

Instead we just did the hike up to the Monastery which probably took about an hour or so but was great fun and the views up top were worth it.  Here is the Monastery:

Here is DB almost to the top of the hike:

Here I am on the top of the world with some man that jumped into my picture:

Next: Wadi Rum (Jordan part II)