Jerash, Jordan

Hi all!  Sorry for the delay in posting, but without further adieu:  part II of our Jordan adventure!

The second leg of our trip took us north of Amman to Jerash, Jordan.  Jerash, founded by Alexander the Great circa 330 BC, is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the Near East (I'm not really sure what this means)(1).  While much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 749 AD, excavations starting in the 1800s uncovered amazing ruins that, due to the dry desert air in Jordan, have held up quite well.  In my travels I've been to Rome, Athens and Olympia and I've never seen ruins of this magnitude or in this good of condition.  Jerash was an unexpected high point on a trip of many extraordinary sights and we're very glad to have been advised to give it a try!

Here are a few of the amazing sights:

The Arch of Hadrian

North Gate in the distance

Floor mosaic

Right at this moment, a Jordanian man came up to us and asked to take our picture, or so we thought..

Annnnnnnnd...welcome to the most awkward picture in history.  Why am I doing this pose?  Maybe because I'm uncomfortable posing for a picture with this strange guy?  A guy who asked my husband if he could take a picture with me using our camera? 

I look more offended than I actually was, but given the circumstances, some offense might have been warranted..

Good thing we found this faux traditional Jordanian bagpipe trio to perk me up!  I guess I swapped 1 strange Jordanian man for 3 more!  This was seriously odd, though--I don't believe bagpipes are a native instrument to Jordan.  We went with it, though!  When in Rome (or Jerash..) 

South Gate

Next post--the Dead Sea!