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Jordan and Lebanon

November - December 2021
A 14-day adventure by skip's retirement travel Read more
  • 36footprints
  • 14days
  • 205photos
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  • Lebanon
  • Jordan
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  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 6

    Ancient Amman

    November 26, 2021 in Jordan ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Ammon, formerly known as Philadelphia and before that as Rabbah, dates to at least 7,000 BCE. In the 13rh century, it was the capital of the Ammonites. What today is known as the Citadel is located on a hill that is in central, modern Amman. But it was fortified at least as early as the 18th century BCE. As in much of this part of the world, the ancient town was located within the walls. What is a bit unusual is that the citadel was continuously occupied up until the 19th century.
    The 1st picture is just inside the citadel entrance. The 2nd picture is of the Temple of Hercules within the citadel.
    The 3rd picture looks at a later addition to ancient Amman by the Romans. Every Roman city had to have a theater. This one is located across what was a stream that is now in a conduit and is built into the opposite hillside.
    The 4th period recalls the Christian or Byzantine period in Amman with the remains of a church located within the citadel.
    The 5th picture moves forward to the Muslim period with the Umayyad palace. The last picture is of one of the 120 cisterns I'm told exist here. This one is said to have been built by the Ottomans.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 6

    Jordan miscellany

    November 26, 2021 in Jordan ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    There is a lot to see in Jordan. To try to do the country justice, I've decided to gather together some more or less random pictures and impressions of the country.
    The 1st picture is of the River Jabbok. This river is where scripture tells us Jacob went to meet his brother Esau after their long separation. In fact, I was told that this is the very place.
    The 2nd picture looks at the Jordanian landscape. Of note here is the road way down below. It is the road we were traveling. It is also the King's Highway. This is s major trade route from western Arabia through the middle east to Damascus and beyond. This is the route controlled by the Nabataeans with their capital in Petra (see other posts).
    The 3rd picture is in a mosaic workshop. The artists here are all disabled in various ways. Their work is exquisite.
    The 4th picture is in a church in Madaba. The picture is a floor mosaic map of the middle east, showing all the important cities of the region. The church was built around the mosaic; even columns were sited where the the original tesserae are missing.
    The 5th picture is a wood fired bread oven. Look closely and you'll see that the bread dough is stretched like pizza dough and then placed directly on the superheated stones that make up the floor of the oven. Really good bread baked in a way that is new to me.
    Last but not least is a Thanksgiving turkey dinner prepared using Jordanian cooking and spices. It was outstanding and a real treat to celebrate the holiday in a new and cosmopolitan way. Right up my alley.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 6

    Ancient Jerash

    November 26, 2021 in Jordan ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Known in Roman times as Gerasa or Antioch on the Golden River, settlement here dates back to neolithic times. Inscriptions attribute the founding of the city to Alexander the Great.
    Ancient Jerash is best known today as one of the best preserved Greco-Roman cities anywhere. These pictures recognize the historic and archaeological importance of the site.
    The 1st picture is the triumphal arch of Hadrian celebrating his visit in about 129 CE. It is located along the road about 400 meters before the city gate
    The 2nd picture is taken from the Temple of Jupiter, looking down on the famous oval forum and the even older temple of Zeus. Normally the Romans just built on top of what they found, but it is thought that the Zeus temple was used for Jupiter worship until the new temple was ready. So they decided to preserve it. The 3rd picture is a better view of the famous forum from near the Temple of Jupiter.
    The 4th picture looks back from the forum to the temple of Jupiter on the hill. The temple of Zeus is just visible to the right (the box like building with a stone arch). Also, the stone pavement is original from about 2,000 years ago.
    The 5th picture is the Cardo Maximus, the main north south street. It is a straight, colonnaded street that runs like this for almost a kilometer. There would have been shops on each side behind the colonnades.
    The last picture looks through a gate up to the Temple of Diana (or Artemis to the Greeks).    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 7

    Desert castles

    November 27, 2021 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    These are 3 castles built in the desert east of Amman. They are old, built by different people's and for different purposes.
    Pictures 1&2 are of Harana fortress that they think dates to the 7th century . It is built along the eastern trade route from the Red Sea to Syria and beyond. The structure appears to be for security: Protecting caravans on their way. It also appears to have functioned as a caravanserai, a minor trade point and short term storage site for goods in transit.
    Pictures 3&4 are of Qasr Amra. This was described as having been built in the 8th century more as a rest stop or even a resort for wealthy Arabs of the time who wanted to spend some time in the desert. It is unusual in that it contains frescos of animals, plants and people. It is doubly unusual in that many people are naked. Most of these are related to the bath house.
    Pictures 5&6 are of Azraq fortress. This one was built by the Romans to protect their eastern border. It was maintained and modified by the successive controlling powers. For example, the square building in the 5th picture is a mosque built during the Islamic period. The castle was used continually until modern times. Lawrence of Arabia slept here during one journey from Arabia to Damascus during the British Mandate in the 20th century.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 7

    Nature reserves

    November 27, 2021 in Jordan ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    We visited 2 small nature reserves in eastern Jordan. Both are dedication to rehabilitation projects, but their foci are very different
    The 1st is the Shumari Wildlife Refuge. The primary goal here is the breeding and reintroduction of the Arabian oryx, a native species that was hunted to extinction as recently as the middle of the 20th century. The 1st 2 pictures are taken here. The 1st is the oryx, and the 2nd is a quick glance at the vegetation here.
    The 2nd refuge is the Azraq Wetland Reserve. This was an important oasis for travelers and for wildlife, especially migrating birds. However, it is being drained by over pumping. They say that about 25% of the water used in Amman (a city if some 4 million) comes from here.
    The 3rd picture looks at a spot that's more or less what the oasis ought to look like. The 4th picture looks at some of the vegetation where the water has dried up. The 5th picture looks over an area that not too many years ago had standing water at least a meter deep. The last picture looks over some open water that is part if the project to restore the wetland.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 8

    Barouk Cedar Forest, Lebanon

    November 28, 2021 in Lebanon ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This forest is part of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve on Shouf Mountain. This is my 1st time actually seeing the famous cedars of Lebanon in situ. The cedars of are historic and religious significance and the tree is a symbol for Lebanon, having been placed on the national flag. These are the trees said to have been used to build Phoenician ships and were gifted to Solomon for use in building the 1st temple.
    The 1st 3 pictures are in the forest taken during our walk there. The 2nd 3 pictures look across the valley to several sections of the forest    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 8

    Beit El Dine

    November 28, 2021 in Lebanon ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    This palace was started near the end of the 18th century and was built on a place of a Druze hermitage called Beiteddine (House of Faith). It is a place of spectacular beauty and opulence, and legend had it that the architect's hands were cut off to keep it that way. Today, it's the Lebanese President's summer residence.
    The 1st picture is the outer courtyard where there were rooms upstairs in the building to the right for visiting dignataries to stay. Downstairs was a stable for their horses. Today the stable is the museum space in the 2nd picture. The surfaces have been finished as a museum, but I still find the architecture interesting.
    The 3rd picture is the middle courtyard. The building straight ahead is the main public building where the emir or whoever was in charge over the years had meetings.
    The 4th picture is one of the meeting rooms showing the inlaid woodwork that is found throughout all the rooms we were able to visit.
    The 5th picture is said to be the main sitter my room of the wife of the emir. They could sit here and keep track of what was happening in the courtyard without being visible to anyone outside.
    The last picture fascinates me. There was a complete bath house included with hot, cold and temperate rooms, etc, found in most hammans. This is the ceiling is the hot room. The folks who lived here were not Muslim. So when they built this room during the Ottoman period, they were able to include this forbidden symbol in the design, with the powers that be none the wiser.
    The inner courtyard remains closed as private.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 8

    Mosaic museum

    November 28, 2021 in Lebanon ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Downstairs in the Beit El Dine (see another post), in what was likely servants quarters, storage rooms, stables, etc. is a mosaic museum. Most of these are floor mosaics in amazingly good condition. Some are from churches, and many are from ancient residences.
    These mosaics were brought here to preserve them as the works of art they are. Inscriptions date them to the 5th and 6th century. It's probably obvious that I'm fascinated by mosaics. So it's no surprise to find another post about them.
    Some are inside. Some are outdoors. I'll not comment further other than to invite your enjoyment of the extraordinary artistry required to create such work.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 8

    Deir al Kamar

    November 28, 2021 in Lebanon ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Deir al Kamar is a mountain village whose name means Monastery of the Moon. The earliest record of the village is on the 13th century when some land was sold to the Teutonic Knights. It served as the capital iyf Lebanon from the 16th to the 18th century. Today, the town is mostly Maronite Christian, but all the other religions and sects are living in the region.
    The 1st picture is the Midane or main square with one of the public buildings in the background. The 2nd picture is of one of the palaces built for the brothers of the head administrator of the area. The 4rd picture looks again across the square on the opposite direction. This is another palace. At the left edge is the 16th century Fahkreddine mosque.
    The 4th picture is the church of the Lady of the Hill whose statue is in the 5th picture. This Maronite Church dates to the 16th century. It is sited where the old monastery once was.
    The 6th picture is a side street in this mountainside town.    Read more

  • skip's retirement travelJordan and Lebanon
    Day 9

    Byzantine-Roman Tyre

    November 29, 2021 in Lebanon ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Tyre is the city of the kingdom whose king was Hiram, the guy who sent cedars of Lebanon (see other posts) to Solomon for use in building the temple. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and was one of the major Phoenician cities of antiquity.
    The 1st picture is the Cardo Maximus in the Byzantine part of Tyre. In the distance you can see Hadrian's Gate that marks the point between the Byzantine section that is basically a necropolis and the Roman section. The 2nd picture is the Cardio Maximus in the Roman section with the standard colonnades (see the Jerash post).
    The 3rd picture is of a baptismal font in an ancient church, and the 4th picture is an ancient fountain or nymphaeum.
    The last 2 pictures are taken at the hippodrome. This is said to be the largest hippodrome in the Roman world. In the far distance, just visible are the remains of a Roman aqueduct. A closer view of the aqueduct is in the 6th picture.    Read more

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