Arrive in the Jordan!

Thursday 9 April

Depart Bangkok, arrived in Amman about 6:00am travel to Jerash, then Rabah in Amman. Drive to Medeba for accommodation.

Amman Airport and ready to go to Jerash!

Just Kid-ding!

Our first taste of Turkish Coffee

First taste of Turkish coffee. Enough to put a smile on your face!

Our first Middle Eastern Breakfast at Jerash
The two Fionas in amongst the wild flowers.

Arriving at Jerash is our first experience of antiquity. It houses the best preserved Ancient Ruins outside of Italy. The site had been buried for centuries, and they are still uncovering amazing things. It is just an experience that is unable to be described if you are an Australian where your Colonial history goes back about 200 years, and to arrive in a place like this and walk on Roman roads and through Roman buildings that are over 2000 yrs old!

Ruth about to do battle with a Roman Soldier. But who has the sharpest sword?

To imagine the chariots rumbling up the promenade with all sort shops, the Coliseums, the bathes the temples…. The site was mainly embellished in the time of Hadrian but the Christian influence had appeared by about 300-400 AD and there were several old Church ruins. The Temple of Artimas was incredible. The whole city is designed around this huge place of worship. It is just phenomenal in the size, and layout of the whole city.

Having fun at the Promenade, or initial entrance into the main street

Drove to Amman to view the Citadel. This is the site of ancient Rabah, where Joab, David’s chief captain conquered the Ammonites. It is the scene of Uriah the Hittite’s death, and it marks a tragic turn in the life of King David, and consequently the whole nation of Israel. Very helpful to imagine the siege and the archers raining arrows down on the those below, and reflect on the consequences that sin brings in our lives. It often not only affects us personally but can irreversibly change the lives of others as well.

Meeting Amy at The Citidel, Amman

Coliseum at Jerash. The one in Amman is a third as big again!

Visiting the huge Coliseum in the town centre (Amman). These type of structures are just an amazing testimony to the strength and might of the Iron Empire of Rome, and the mark it has left on world history.