Jerash

If anyone needs a reminder that Jordan is largely a Muslim country, hearing the Islam call to prayer through my hotel window last evening at about 10 p.m. and again this morning at 4 a.m. does the trick.

The city of Amman has been here since at least the 13th century BC and, so, in a city of 4.3 million people, everything is built on top of everything else. Low-story buildings built of white limestone is mostly the story, along with lots - lots! - of street-level storefronts. And, yup, there are McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and a place named Donuts Factory; apparently it used to be Dunkin’ Donuts, but they “went local” (though the signage colors look strangely familiar).

Street-sighting: a guy wearing a Yankees cap with the familiar NY logo. And, nope, no Boston Red Sox cap sightings!

And here’s a neat fact: during the third century BC, the city was named “Philadelphia” by the Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus - but later changed to Amman.

Our group is 15-folks, including me. We’re just starting to get to know each other and . . . so far so good.

Our day started with a one-hour drive to Jerash - the Pompeii of the East - with ruins dating to the Eighth Century and earlier; apparently it is the second most visited ancient site in Jordan (after Petra, where we visit later this week). Only 20% of it has been excavated; while what we can already see is pretty amazing, there’s still much more to dig-up.

That was followed by lunch at a local restaurant - a joint that seats hundreds but which, at lunch time during Ramadan, was uncrowded.

Our afternoon took us to “The Citadel,” the primary excavation site in the city-proper. It dates to around the 1st century BC (think “Romans”) but also Byzantines and Ummayads, and includes a spectacularly preserved Roman Theater which is still used for performances.

As I said to another tour member today, “we ain’t got stuff this old back home.”

The first five photos are from Jerash; the second five are from The Citadel and its Roman Theater.

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