We fly from Abu Dhabi to Amman, Jordan on an early morning flight which left us a full day to explore upon arrival (an 8 a.m. flight seemed quite reasonable until I realized it meant we needed to leave the house around 5:30 a.m. - eek! But we gained two hours on the way there and made the most of our long and active day).
Upon landing we immediately headed about an hour north of the capital to an area called Jerash. There are some absolutely stunning Roman ruins there - I think the largest and best preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy. Standing at an actual intersection that was in use thousands of years ago where one direction heads to Damascus, one to Baghdad, one to Amman (and I've forgotten the fourth direction - and I'm not totally sure I have the other three right... but one was part of the silk route and I think the other was the king's highway....). Some of the stone roads have grooves from chariots- just generally mind-boggling how long ago this was in use and how well preserved many of the parts are. Another favorite stops were the theaters (no safety railings!). Jake and I loved hearing about the history from our guide and the girls (especially Jane!) loved the climbing and exploring. We would be listening to the guide and would look up and see Jane propped up really high in various places around the old ancient city.
The country of Jordan was so beautiful and rocky and mountainous. There was some agriculture still being cultivated despite the lateness in the season but I bet it has a lot more green in the springtime. The people were so friendly. We got a lot of (positive) comments about our family as they aren't used to seeing such large "Western" families - large families are *very* common in the Arab part of the world (whereas when we are in San Francisco, we're more likely to get raised eyebrows and an incredulous "Are *all* those YOURS?" comments!).
I took too many pictures to fit them in one blog post, so I'm splitting them into three (Roman ruins, Petra and the Dead Sea). Enjoy!
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| On the main old colonnade through the ancient city of Jerash |
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| At one of the main old entrance gates to the city |
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| The girls with our guide - he has something like 37 grandkids and clearly thinks kids are a blessing |
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| The oval marketplace |
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| Anna liked the "bumpy" road |
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| Our little climbing monkey |
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| Anna's "Baby Nest" as she called it |
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| The girls climbing high in the theater (no safety railings and it was steep!!) |
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| Next stop: An old Roman fort at the top of one of the seven mountains of Amman (the capital) |
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| Even Jake and I got into the climbing fun some |
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| Our kids are now experts at identifying the UAE and Jordanian flags (except that Anna calls them *all* "Amewican" flags) |
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| I loved seeing all the houses and apartments perched on the steep hills on all sides of the fort |
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| Hard to tell from this picture but this is an open arch below |
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| Our beautiful big kids |
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| A "door" that rolled in front of a tomb up at Mount Nebo. Jane and Meredith decided they would have a hard time closing or opening this door! |
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| The land of milk and honey that God showed Moses from the top of Mount Nebo |
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| Ever the performer, Anna climbed up on a "stage" at the top of Mount Nebo and sang a few songs for a group of Polish sightseers |
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| At a famous church in Madaba - an area still known today for it's artisans who make beautiful mosaics. We didn't take a picture but we went to a mosaic workshop and saw some of the artists in action. |
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| Famous mosaic floor at a church in Madaba |
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