2007 - Jordan - # - 1000Places

Our Middle East adventure continues...

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THE LAND OF MOSES - We extended our Middle East trip to spend a week in Jordan for the express purpose of seeing Petra. But from the first day, we discovered Jordan to be much more than just the home country of Petra. It is a land of mountains and beaches, castles and churches, and ancient ruins - a rich desert setting steeped in Biblical history but with a progressive outlook to the future. This is our pictorial journal of our trip through the "land of Moses".

AMMAN - We began our visit in the capital city of Amman. Early morning is the best time to see Amman – its profusion of gleaming stone structures vividly display why it is called the “White City.” Amman is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its modern buildings blend with the ancient.

AMMAN - We began our explorations the morning of May 20th, traveling through the old part of the city to reach Jebel al-Qal'a or Citadel Hill (jebel is the Arabic word for hill). Amman was originally built on seven hills, each of which more or less defines a neighborhood (today it has spread over 19 jebels).

AMMAN - We were led by our personable guide Jihad Qsar, a descendent of Bedouins. Admittedly we were a little taken back by a Middle Easterner with the name of "Jihad," but as he explained to us, rather than "holy war," he considered the true meaning of his name to be "hard worker."

AMMAN - The ancient Citadel Hill is where Amman began some 5000 years ago. Towering above the city is the Roman Temple of Hercules, its columns silhouetted against the sky. Today it is also known as the Great Temple of Amman. It was built in the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD).

AMMAN - Larger than any temple in Rome itself, the Temple of Hercules is framed by six 33-foot tall columns.

AMMAN - From high atop the hill, the Temple of Hercules could be seen from virtually anywhere in ancient Amman. A monumental staircase once connected the temple with the forum, theaters, colonnaded streets, shops and other public activities in the city center below the Citadel. Traces of the staircase had long disappeared.

AMMAN - Down the hill from the Citadel (and purportedly connected to it by a hidden tunnel, although our guide questioned this) is the Roman Amphitheater, a deep-sided bowl carved into the side of the mountain. It is the most impressive legacy of Philadelphia (the Roman name for Amman) built under Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD).

AMMAN - The ruins atop Jebel al-Qala’a reveal key historical eras in Amman's many lives. Just a few hundred feet away from the Temple of Hercules we came upon these elegant Corinthian columns. They mark the location of a small Byzantine Basilica thought to date from the 6th or 7th century AD.

THE LAND OF MOSES - We extended our Middle East trip to spend a week in Jordan for the express purpose of seeing Petra. But from the first day, we discovered Jordan to be much more than just the home country of Petra. It is a land of mountains and beaches, castles and churches, and ancient ruins - a rich desert setting steeped in Biblical history but with a progressive outlook to the future. This is our pictorial journal of our trip through the "land of Moses".

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