Jordan and beyond

Day 1 - And we’re off to Jordan - first stop Amman and its sites .

We start at the top ! The remains of the Temple of Hercules on the Citadel . Constructed between 162-166 CE during Marcus Aurelius’ Roman occupation of Amman’s Citadel, the great temple is larger than any in Rome . Its portico faces east and is surrounded by six, 33-foot tall columns. Measuring 100 feet long by 85 feet wide, with an outer sanctum of 400 by 236 feet!
From just three gigantic fingers, one elbow once belonged to a massive statue of Hercules .
Likely toppled during one of the area’s catastrophic earthquakes, the statue fell to bits, but unlike the temple, all except the hand and elbow disappeared. - “The rest of Hercules became Amman’s countertops.” Best guess is that, in its original state, the statue would have measured upwards of 40 feet high, which would have placed it among the largest known marble statues to have ever existed.

Below after a walk down the hill is a 2nd century Roman amphitheater with 6,000 seats- impressive , great acoustics !

There’s not much of the forum but there’s s great column lined road and we head out to the markets - all activity : fruit vegetables pots pans medicines and gold and silver !

It’s getting hot - time for a beer !Read more