Jerash (called Gerasa back in the day) sports some of the most complete, undamaged Grecian and Roman ruins than can be found just about anywhere. It’s a relatively small town about an hour’s drive north from Amman and about another hour’s drive to the Syrian border.

It’s a big complex. We started at the hippodrome (horse racing facility) and walked maybe a mile and a half viewing the city, actually one-half of the city, passing through a Hadrian’s Arch, two Grecian theaters (North and South), a huge oval forum surrounded by columns, a temple to Artemis with Corinthian columns, countless other columns with varying styles of capstones and a sea of rubble from structures that have not stood the test of time. Scattered among these ruins are the remains of a number of Byzantine-era Christian churches. The scope and grandeur of the whole thing takes your breath away. So did the 35-degree weather but we survived.

The half of the original city that remains was the public sector. The private sector has been taken over by modern Jerash. The contrast between old and new is striking in that their architectures blend well together.

The hippodrome is said to be the most complete in existence. The stables, starting gates, track and even the concession stands are all there. Some of the spectator seating remains; in its heyday it seated 15,000, small in comparison to Rome but this one is far more complete and hasn’t had to be rebuilt like most others.

The Greeks knew how to build theatres. Unlike the Romans, who built theatres as free-standing buildings, the Greeks built theirs into the side of a hill. Doug and I explored both and believe me, they are not for the faint of heart. The climb to the nosebleed section is steep and there are absolutely no guardrails nor anything else to stop a fall once it starts. Drink a few beers and sit in the hot sun and . . . .

Incidentally, we explored a different Greco-Roman theater yesterday in Amman (called Philadelphia in the Second Century AD). It seats 6,000; Jerash’s South Theatre seats 5,000 and the North Theatre about 2,000.

One really great feature of Greek theatres is their acoustic design. There is one spot in the center where a speaker’s voice is heard perfectly throughout. Clever indents in the stage’s walls act as amplifiers. The Romans messed up the acoustics of the Philadelphia theatre when they “improved” the Greek design.

Interestingly, the Greeks occupied Jerash for perhaps 300 years, in which time Greek became the language of choice among the local inhabitants. The Romans lasted 600 years, 1,000 years if you include the Byzantine era. Yet Greek remained the language and culture of choice; the Romans couldn’t displace Greek with Latin.

Gerasa has suffered from various invasions since the time of the Romans and an 8^th century earthquake did a number on it. One reason that the city has withstood these calamities so well is that it was a late-Roman city. The Romans learned from their earlier mistakes in its construction. For instance, the columns here, made of stone sections stacked one on top of another, were protected from ground tremors by placing sheets of metal – copper, for instance – between sections. This provided a form of lubrication that allowed the sections to move slightly without falling over.

There are two small museums with interesting artifacts, but the real deal is to see the scope and grandeur of the entire city.

After returning to the Grand Hyatt refuge, another couple, Judy and I ventured forth in a taxi to find art galleries that Osama had recommended to us. Amman is built on hills (like Rome, but with more than seven hills). The streets climb the hills in a series of switchbacks that left us totally confused as to where we were and where we were going. One mile becomes three miles.

Our driver dropped us in a nondescript street. Sure enough, there was a gallery of a sort. It really was an art installation dedicated to the proposition that we, especially women, have identities defined by paper documents and our blood line. The highlight of the exhibit was a room whose walls were lined with bags of blood. Our visit was brief.

After wandering the streets a while longer (it was spitting snow by then) we eventually found Darat al Funun-The Khalid Shoman Foundation. Situated in six converted houses, the Foundation is a showcase and workshop for contemporary Middle Eastern art. Artists from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Jordan were represented. We visited three galleries.

Now to get home. No taxis in view. No problem. The nice lady at the blood exhibit gave me wifi access and I called up an Uber ride. Three minutes later we were on our way. The taxi fare had been $7.50. The Uber fare was about $3.00.

So now we’ve had the farewell dinner and most of our friends, including Doug and Judy are on their way to the airport for their 2:30 AM departure. We are wimps; we booked a 4:00 PM flight tomorrow, will stay overnight in Frankfurt and catch the 11:00 AM nonstop to Tampa, getting in around 3:30 PM. Rebecca and the kids arrive Thursday and then it’s a week of non-stop fun. We’ll squeeze in some jet lag recovery time whenever we can.

So that’s it: this is the last posting I’ll be doing on this trip. You can, however, look forward to at least one more video posting from Judy.

Thanks for coming along with us!

Jon and Judy

Climbing out of the valley in which Wadi Musa and Petra are located, we encountered snow. Not a lot, but enough to whiten the landscape and slicken the road. Osama told us that Petra is closed for the day due to the bad weather. But descending from the mountain pass warmed the air and changed the precipitation to rain, which stopped by the time we reached Amman 3.5 hours later, about noon.

The landscape was flat and arid looking, although not as desert like as Egypt. There were occasional signs of vegetation and even farming. Being winter, we didn’t see any crops growing.

Osama talked about Bedouins, some of whom we saw offering camel and donkey rides at Petra yesterday. “Bedouin” is not a race, ethnicity or religion. Rather, it is a way of life: Someone who lives primarily in the desert, often in tents, and raises sheep and goats, moving from place to place to graze his or her animals. In the 1960s the vast majority of Jordanians were Bedouins. Today it’s 4% but some people live as part time Bedouins, living in the desert in spring and fall but moving to a town during the hot and cold months. Just think, most of our group would have grown up Bedouin if we’d been born in Jordan.

Osama talked about other aspects of life in modern Jordan. Here are a few points:

• Jordan is a kingdom, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The king has ultimate control; he appoints the prime minister and the members of the Senate. The House of Representatives is elected. Laws enacted by the legislature must be approved by the king who has veto power.
• Laws of the country, as in Egypt, are civil and religious. Civil law is non-denominational. Marriage, divorce and estate matters are subject to religious courts, either Islamic (95% of the population) or Christian (Greek Orthodox; 5%). All citizens must declare a religion so as to be able to participate in the courts.
• Education is free and compulsory from ages 5 (was 6 until this year) through 16. Public schools are adequate but private secondary schools are superior teaching, for instance, more than just Arabic and English. University education is of very high quality, better than private schools. Students follow one of two tracks: humanities or scientific depending on interest and aptitude. Vocational education is being emphasized recently because there are more jobs available in these fields than especially the humanities. University education is free for family members of military veterans.
• Health care is of high quality in Jordan. It is free for those six years of age and under and 60 or older. Military veterans and government employees have free health care. Others must rely on their employers for health care or purchase private policies.
• Jordan has little petroleum, unlike its neighbors to the east and south. It does have significant mineral reserves, particularly potash. Potash is exported to India where it is converted to fertilizer, which in turn is imported back to Jordan.
• Another source of income for Jordan is tourism, both the kind we’re doing right now and also medical tourism: people who come to Jordan from the Gulf states, the Middle East and elsewhere for high quality care.
• Jordan is the second poorest country in terms of fresh water sources. The Jordan River, which it shares with Israel, produces only a small amount of water. The aquifer beneath the southern desert areas has been tapped but that source will last for less than 100 years.
• The unemployment rate in Jordan is 19.5% and climbing, not counting refugee population. We’ll have to interrogate Osama more closely to find out how Jordan is able to deal with this problem.
• There is a sales tax that averages 16% and a graduated income tax starts at 5% and caps at 25,000 Jordanian Dollars.
• Jordan is host to a large number of refugees from neighboring countries, recently from especially Iraq (one million) and Syria (1.4 million). Jordan has received over two million Palestinian refugees since 1948, most of whom were granted citizenship. “We offer to share what little we have with those in need. Sending them home would mean their death or their conversion to ISIS,” said Osama. There are others who make up Jordanian population: guest workers from countries like Egypt (700,000) and the super wealthy.
• On our way into town we passed through new areas populated by multi-million-dollar mansions owned by wealthy Iraqis who moved here prior to the 2003 war that deposed Sadam Husain.

We arrived at the old town section that was once an upscale neighborhood but is now considerably diminished. As the wealthy moved out those remaining can’t afford the cost of housing nor can they abide by the overcrowding, lack of parking and noise.

We had lunch at a restaurant that serves traditional Jordanian food with heavy emphasis on humus and humus-based dishes, all dipped into with pita-style bread. The restaurant is open 7×24 and is always populated with “real” Jordanians, from the Prime Minister to common folk. During Ramadan they are open from sunset to sunrise to observe the fasting dictates of that religious observance.

We walked through spice and gold retail sections and through a fairly large fruit and vegetable market. And, yes, I bought two spice mixtures, one for meat and poultry and the other for rice. Note to self: get Osama to tell me what the devil I bought so I can brag with authority at our next dinner party. You’re all invited!

Finally, we were bused to the Citadel, the highest point in Amman. It has a reconstruction of Roman ruins (pieces taken from all over Jordan and installed here). There is also a nice museum with artifacts dating from the earliest human habitation through Bronze and Iron ages, the Roman, Islamic and Ottoman periods.

While dry, today has been cold and windy. The temperature barely reached 35, I’d judge, and we were all thoroughly chilled to the bone. We’re at the Grand Hyatt hotel, which is nice but very Western. The four of us had burgers in the bar. Our waiter, a young fellow, told us they served “the best beef burgers in the Middle East.” He is going to spend a semester in Cleveland studying law (something other than family law, I’d guess) starting in June.

Can you believe it? Our last day of touring (to Roman ruins said to equal the ‘wow’ factor of Petra) is tomorrow.

Today I took 641 pictures, a high so far for this trip, walked 9 miles and took over 20,000 steps. Judy wasn’t far behind. Every step was worth it: Petra is an incredibly interesting place and I’ll let the pictures do the talking. But an apology first: with that many pictures and so little time to choose, I’ve had to do just a quick selection. Someday Real Soon Now I’m going to do a better job of editing and describing what’s there. But not tonight so you’ll have to put up with the mess I’ve put together.

Basic facts about Petra:

• The Nabataeans, a nomadic tribe of Arabs wandering around what is today Jordan and other adjacent areas, settled in Petra in the second century BCE. Being traders themselves, the recognized the strategic importance of Petra on the trade routes linking the East with the Mediterranean and northern Africa. Spices, including frankincense, incense and other luxury goods the high demand goods. The Nabataeans got stinkin’ rich.
• The Nabataeans developed the technology of water management and control, building complex water networks throughout their mountainous home.
• They also became quite skilled in large scale stone carving. They carved both homes and burial chambers into the sides of the sandstone cliffs.
• Being good traders, they established relationships with first Greece and later in the first century AD with Rome. Both cultures were trading partners and provided artistic inspiration to the Nabataeans. Many of the carvings they did drew directly from Grecian and Roman ideas: the columns, pillars and capitols that adorn Petra. They even adopted Grecian and Roman gods and goddesses.
• Things went downhill when Rome officially annexed Petra in 106 AD, folding it into their Arabian holdings, and making Petra the region’s capitol. The Romans tried to modify Petra’s architecture, adding arches, enlarging the stadium, installing lead pipes to replace the Nabataean’s perfectly good earthenware pipes – typical things Romans do when they conquer a country.
• Traders discovered about this time that transporting goods down the Red Sea was a cheaper-better-faster way than camel caravans across the desert. Camels get ornery and Nabataeans want their cut in the action.
• A major earthquake struck in 363 AD, pretty much ending Petra as a major city. Oh sure, the Crusaders built an outpost here and the Byzantines built the odd church but soon only Bedouins occupied the former burial chambers as homes. Incidentally, descendants of the Bedouins occupy themselves these days serving the tourist trade: buggy, camel, horse and donkey rides, trinket sales and food service.

Ok, that’s enough. You get the idea. At least there weren’t any statues of Ramses II we had to contend with.

We hiked in with Osama who gave us the blow-by-blow. He’s a university graduate with a degree in anthropology and knows his stuff. Doug, Haul and I hike out by ourselves, climbing to one feature after another. It was cold and windy all day – temps in the 40s. But we layered up and did OK. The outlook for the rest of our visit is about the same. Hopefully it’ll stay dry.

Tomorrow we’re off to tour Amman.

The Death of Moses

34 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, ² all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, ³ the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

⁵ And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. ⁶ He buried him^[a] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. ⁷ Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+34&version=NIV

When we signed up to see Petra, an ancient city in Jordan, I didn’t realize we’d be standing on the very spot described in Deuteronomy 34. From that spot we could see (with a little imagination to overcome the mist and haze) not only the Promised Land but also:

• The Dead Sea, clearly visible in the pictures
• The Jordan River, kinda seeable in the pictures
• Al-Maghtas, the site where Jesus was reportedly baptized by John the Baptist; murky at best
• Jericho, as in the Battle Of (“Walls came a tumbling down . . . “)

Osama, our new guide (and no relation, he’s quick to note, to the other Osama) points out that the promised land shown by the Lord to Moses can’t technically be seen by mere mortal eyes. There are mountains and unrealistic distances involved. But the Lord moves in mysterious ways.

On the other side of Mount Nebo we saw the valley where Moses struck the rock with his staff, bringing forth water for his wandering tribe.

Numbers 20:

⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.. . .

¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Watergushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

The tribe was giving Moses and Aaron a hard time about the 40 years of suffering in the desert he’d brought down on them so I can see why Moses might have struck the rock to make it look like he, Moses, caused the water to flow rather than the Lord. The Lord wasn’t amused. Moses’s punishment was to see the promised land but not to enter it.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+20&version=NIV

Moses’ Spring is down there in the valley; there’s a marker at the spot. It’s one of several springs of that name in Jordan; Egypt has at least 10. So take your pick.

Moses’ burial spot isn’t known, and according to Numbers, won’t ever be known. But it must be somewhere near Mt Nebo, right where we were standing this morning.

The Fransiscan Order purchased the and at the summit of Mt. Nebo in 1932 and built a chapel there on the spot where previous shrines had stood. It’s a decidedly Christian church even though members of the Jewish and Islamic religions share Moses’ story.

We had a very nice lunch in nearby Madaba at a restaurant run by a lady and her friends. The restaurant has recently been expanded using money from the USAID organization. They served a traditional Jordanian meal including a half dozen appetizer’s and a chicken and rice upside down dish that I intend to make as soon as we get home.

Madaba has St. Georges church that has a mosaic floor piece that depicts the holy lands. Mosaic decorations were a big deal especially in the Byzantine era.

Madaba’s weather put us in mind not of Moses but of Noah. It rained so hard we were soaked. The temperature was in the 40s. And we’re the sissy bunch that complained in Cairo when it barely made it to 70.

The rest of the day was a three-plus hour ride through the Jordanian countryside to Petra. Half that time was after dark. One or two of us dozed off during the daylight portion, recovering from the 4:30 AM wakeup call.

Tomorrow we do Petra: three miles walking in, three miles walking out. The good news is that the snow tomorrow should be limited to the mountain peaks. It won’t hit Petra proper until day after tomorrow. A group couldn’t get in two weeks ago due to snow.

Me, oh me, oh myro, why did we leave Cairo?

Over 4,600 years of religious history in one day, our last in Egypt. Not bad! Ramses II snuck in a final appearance when we weren’t looking.

The Step Pyramid in the Saqqara is the final resting place of Pharaoh Djoser who was the first king of the Third Dynasty around 2600 BCE. It has (or had) six levels rather than a continual rise from base to cap. Hatem points out that this is not truly a pyramid. Djoser’s wife observed that the usual practice was to build mortuaries that were slightly elevated above ground level. “Why not do it one better? Build a mortuary for yourself that is higher. “Mastaba” is the Arabic word for the lower mortuary; this is really a step mastaba. There is an accompanying palace, made of stone, that was to serve Djoser in the here-to-come. Most living structures of the time were made of mud brick, subject to rapid decay. Stone construction ensured lasting (at least 4,600 years so far) longevity.

Ok, another pharaoh, another tomb, another bunch of carving bragging about his dear close friends the gods. We’ve seen enough already. But nearby we viewed three mastabas of local dignitaries, not dignified enough to have a pyramid but rich enough to have a pretty elaborate, multi-roomed mausoleum all their own. Engraved on each tomb’s walls were scenes depicting normal life of everyday people (OK, everyday rich people). Boating, fishing, raising cattle, slaughtering cattle. These noblemen knew they weren’t cut out to become gods but they wanted to spend their time in the next world enjoying the luxuries they enjoyed in this world.

This mortuary of Saqqara complex includes several mounds of stone and dirt that are charitably counted as pyramids (137 or so in total, as I recall). In the distance we could see two others, one being quite misshapen. It’s called the Bent Pyramid. Constructed around the same time as the Step Pyramid, it seems that they hit a snag. “Boss, this pyramid isn’t going to make it. It’s already starting to come apart. It’s too heavy.” The solution: the angle was reduced so the peak was reached with fewer stones and hence less weight. The architect corrected the design; his next pyramid went up without a hitch. Trial and error on a pretty grand scale.

We stopped at a school for rug weaving. It’s a school because local kids can come and learn the art while still participating in their normal schooling. It sported, of course, a huge showroom of finished product, all hand made. A basic kid’s rug started at $120. Craftsman-quality goods ran $2,500 and up. It can take a year of manual labor to do a good-sized rug; given the ton of product in the showroom they must have a small army working.

We also made a quick stop in Old Memphis. Memphis, on the east side of the river across from the necropolis, naturally, was the capitol of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Today it is a small town with a small outdoor museum of antiquities dug up in the area. There are fewer antiquities found in this region for a couple of reasons: the Nile flooding covered much of the ruins with silt so many items remain underground. Also, the climate is damper here than in the south, so things deteriorate more rapidly here.

But there, smack dab in the middle of everything, were not one but two huge statues of Ramses II. They guy just didn’t quit. One is the twin to the version that stands in front of the Cairo train station except that this one fell over when his legs collapsed.

Then lunch, another mixed grill, another batch of home-baked bread cooked in a wood burning oven by a nice lady.

Jumping forward 2,600 years, we visited teo Coptic Christian churches. One was built on top of a Roman fortress. One included an underground chamber where Jesus and his folks spent time during their nearly four-year sojourn in Egypt. Saint Mark came to Egypt in 61 AD and Egypt remained a place or relative safety for Christians until Emperor Constantine freed things up when he converted in 313 AD. Today, Coptics make up about 15% of Egyptians. Coptic Christians can be thought of as being the same idea as Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox. In fact, there is a Greek Orthodox church right next door to the Coptic church.

How about Jews? Today there are only 40 Jewish families in Cairo and the same is true in Alexandria and elsewhere in Egypt. Jews left Egypt in the Twentieth Century for three main reasons. First, Nassar nationalized most businesses and property, causing Jews (and others) to go elsewhere for economic reasons. The creation of Israel lured many Egyptian Jews to emigrate. And then the series of wars with Israel gave Jews, even those who were Egyptian citizens, a stigma that made life in Egypt difficult.

We visited a church that was originally Christian but was sold in hard economic times to a Jewish man who converted it to a synagogue. Jewish law requires 10 men to hold a service. There aren’t enough Jewish men to hold a service, even when men from the Israeli embassy are recruited. The Department of Antiquities funds maintenance of the building.

We ran the gauntlet of one final open-air bazaar (I bought a refrigerator magnet photo taken in the 1920s of Gaza pyramids during Nile flooding for 20 EP), boarded the bus and returned to the hotel. The farewell dinner is tonight and we’re off to Jordan at 5:30 AM.

Some of you may have wondered about security and safety for us in Egypt. It’s been quite safe with no perceived threat whatsoever. However, metal detectors are at every tourist venue, our group has been escorted almost everywhere by an armed guard and our bus has been escorted by a two-man police car detachment while in Cairo. There’s even a sniffing dog at the entrance to our hotel here in Cairo.