Jerash

Happy New Year everyone.  May 2013 bring good health and much happiness to all of you.

We started our day at 9:00 traveling in fog to Ajloun to see Qala-at-ar-Rabad.  This castle sits high up on a mountain giving you a beautiful view of the Jordan Valley.  We were very lucky that the fog lifted by the time we got there so that we were able to see the amazing valley below.  There were many greenhouses, olive groves, fruits and vegetables growing in the valley, it looked very lush.  The castle was built by the Arabs and featured Islamic architecture.  It was built for protection against the Crusaders.  It once had 7 towers and was surrounded by a dry moat that dropped more than 15 m.  2 earthquakes badly damaged the castle however restoration is being done.
Northern Jordan is the most densely populated area in the country with many small towns and villages.  We stopped at an olive processing place to see how olive oil was made.  It was a small plant where the local farmers take their olives to to be processed.  They are charged to process their olives and then the either use the oil for them self or they can sell it on the street.  100 kilos ol olives produce approx. 15 l of olive oil.  The green olives are used for eating and the black olive is made into oil.
In Jerash we toured through the Roman ruins, often referred to as the 'Pompeii of Asia'.  It is one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the world outside of Italy.  It is estimated that 90% of the city is still unexcavated.  This is hard to believe as we walked 3 kms seeing many of the ruins such as the Hadrain's Arch, Oval Plaza, Colonnaded Street, the Cathedral, the Temple of Artemis, the Temple of Zeus and the Theatres, to name a few.  In it's day Jerash was a bustling place with a population of 15000.  It too suffered a devastating earthquake and the population decreased after that.
On our return to Amman we were able to see the spectacular views of the beautiful countryside.

Today was our last day with Isam so we said our goodbyes as we thoroughly enjoyed our time with him.  He gave us a good insight into a Jordanian's life.