Teaching in the Kingdom: Jordan: Amman, Petra, Jerash and the Dead Sea

Sometimes life in Yanbu reminds me of that Neil Young song that begins "I was lyin' in a burned out basement, with the full moon in my eyes. I was hopin' for replacement when the sun burst through the skies." Leaving Saudi for a visit to Jordan is a bit like that. We left lots of sunshine for more sunshine, but we also left a country with a sort of gloomy restrictiveness for one much more open. People are somewhat shrouded in Saudi (most women literally so) but in Jordan the faces more regularly beam. The capital, Amman,a city of four million, felt much smaller, very friendly, and quite welcoming.

Built like Rome on seven hills, Amman has a lot of up and down to it, and at the bottom, right beside the main shopping area, the "main street," is an ancient Roman amphitheatre which cost one dinar (a whole buck fifty) to enter.

The city is thought to be the longest inhabited city on the planet with population data going as far back as 10,000 BC. About 300BC its name is changed to Philadelphia and then somewhere around 150AD the Romans take over and build this amphitheatre. And there it sits, probably still used for music, dance, what have you. It is one of those places that inspires, spooks (but in a good way), and enthralls. We could have spent hours. You can see from the look on Rose's face that those seats have an effect.

From Amman, we headed south to Petra, a three hour drive that took us through a lot of desert scrub land, into very old rolling stony hills, and finally into the valley of striking sandstone cliffs, chasms, and outcropppings. We were agape during the long steep descent into the town of Petra.That's the town in the background, surviving as far as I can see on the trade that the famous tourist attraction brings. The sandstone caves and cliff homes are in those darker hills in the back left of the photo. Once you enter the site, it's an exciting winding walk of about 4 or 5 km along a chasm floor which opens out in places to become more of a canyon or valley floor, but always on both sides rise vertiginous cliffs, usually with homes, tombs, or meeting halls carved into them.

Here you can see Rose and Marsha about to enter the narrow chasm that leads down to the centre of the ancient carved town. This goes on for about 2 or 3 km until you come to a stunning facade called the Treasury, and it is a gasp-inducing sight.Meanwhile, your neck feels the strain of constantly looking up at the soft undulating walls, often showing a varying array of natural colours. You can see in the one photo here all the colours occurring naturally in the ceiling and the walls. It seems there has been some polishing involved, but nonetheless it is remarkable.

The Treasury, all carved from the stone face.

One of many entry rooms, but notable for its polished ceiling.

Me sitting at the foot of an apartment complex.

From Petra,we headed back to Amman with our driver, Jamaal, for next day's excursion to the ancient Roman city of Jerash, just north of Amman, and then the Dead Sea in the Jordan valley. Jerash was built by the Romans starting around 60 BC. It is a huge spread of a ruin, covering many acres. We saw a re-enactment of Roman soldiers attacking barbarians and then did a tour of the ruins.

I'd pick the middle one to be on my team, I think.

Two of the more interesting sights at Jerash, and there were loads to choose from, include this long Roman causeway with what must have been a pretty spectacular set of buildings in its heyday, along with that endless line of columns along the other side. And the second picture below is of the columns in the Temple of Artemis. I took that picture lying on my back at the base of them. One of them sways a bit if there's a strong breeze; in fact, a small spoon has been inserted in the base of the column and with one hefty push anyone can make the column move, as the local coffee vendor showed me, pushing with one hand on the column and pointing with the other at the spoon that moved slowly up and down as the pressure from the column dictated. An earthquake in the 17 or 1800s cracked the column and it's been swayable ever since.

Roman road/pedestrian way

Columns at the Temple of Artemis, from the ground up.

The columns on the left appear in the picture above.

Oh, two other things. First of all, we never expected to see and hear Jordanians in traditional dress playing the bagpipes. And they played Amazing Grace. What's that about? In the other pic, you see our driver bargaining with a roadside nut and dried fruit vendor. He gesticulates admirably but we still aren't sure that he saved us money. Fun for us to watch though.

And finally, The Dead Sea. Besides being a place I never really thought about because it never occurred to me that I'd some day get to visit, it provides one of those unforgettable experiences made so by simply being uniquely strange. First of all, and you may well know all of this already so bear with me, it is the lowest inhabited place on earth, over 400m below sea level. It is impossible to sense that while you're there, but you're mindful of it nonetheless, even though there is nothing visual or physical to indicate this odd fact. OK, there's a sign, but that's not what I mean. Then there's the water, but nothing to indicate that it will feel like light olive oil when you get in, and it does feel oily like that but not in an unpleasant way . . . much. Lying down in it involves some suspense (pardon the pun) because you expect to sink. All your senses tell you that. But you don't; the floating feeling is quite wonderful, once you get your balance sorted out. Physically, you're in a position you've never been in before, so it takes some getting used to. Then it's like you are lying in some gorgeous hammock, one that allows you to paddle about, slowly drift and turn, and almost fully relax, as at least one of the pictures below indicates.