Jerash: Week 4 / Day 23 / Feb 2
Amman, Jordan: Today will be a trip to the old Roman city of Jerash. Before heading there I walked around a bit downtown and got some breakfast.
Breakfast was at a famous restaurant called Hamesh. Despite its fame I did not really see much difference from what I had eaten yesterday. Looking at the picture of my meal (hummus, french fries, salad, and falafel) it looks a bit odd, but seemed to be a pretty common breakfast for the patrons around me.
Continuing on through the shopping areas I saw a number of different shops.
I stopped briefly for a cup for of coffee made in the Turkish style.
And then hit some more shops before heading out of town.
I especially like the picture on the lower right. I originally took a picture of this man’s shop and showed it to him. He looked at it, took his hat off, and asked me to retake the picture. He was much happier with this one.
One of the interesting things in Amman is the taxi system. There are the traditional yellow taxis that will take you where you want to go. There are also white taxis that are much cheaper and more akin to a bus. They run a prescribed route and will not deviate from it. However, they have no set schedule and will wait until the car is full before leaving. Shown below is a line of them waiting to be filled.
Leaving Amman I took a traditional yellow taxi ride up to Jerash – about 45 minutes away. It is interesting taking a cab here as there is no meter. Instead, there is a brief negotiation with the driver about the proper fare:
“40 JD (Jordan Dinar)”
“No that is too much, I was quoted $20 JD elsewhere.”
“20 JD?!?!? I cannot possibly do that. I can do 30 JD.”
“I don’t think so. I’ll find someone else for 20 JD.”
“OK, for you my friend, I can do 25 JD.”
“OK, let’s do 25 JD.”
Entering Jerash one is greeted by the Arch of Hadrian. This is a large arch that was constructed for a visit by the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the year 130 AD and took over a year to construct. How cool is it that people would build a special entrance to the city just because you are going to visit?
Located just through the arch are the remains of an old byzantine church and the living quarters of the priest of the church.
Further back behind the church is the hippodrome – sadly, this is not so named because they raced hippos there, but because it was used for horse and chariot racing. The name is derived form the Greek for horse (hippos).
Most of the hippodromes stands have been destroyed, but in sections that remain there are still Greek engraved panels and various buildings.
From atop the hippodrome one can also get a good view of the rest of the city.
Progressing further towards the city, one passes through the main gate. Jerash was not always a gated city, but following fires set by looters in 300 AD, gates were constructed to avoid a repeat of such incidents.
Just past the gates were a number of shops on both sides of the road. Most interesting of these shops was one containing an old oil press. The pit in which the press sits is still accessible.
Beyond this short entry road is a large oval shaped plaza. This plaza opens onto the main road that runs through the center of Jerash on one axis and towards the Temple of Zeus on the other axis.
The Temple of Zeus is really a multi-part temple complex. On the lower level is the Sanctuary of Zeus and above that the larger Temple of Zeus. The construction of both of these reflects some infighting within city leadership over the years. In addition to the Temple of Zeus there is also the Temple of Artemis (patron goddess of Jerash). The Sanctuary of Zeus was built initially and city leadership then decided that a larger Temple of Artemis was needed (since she was the patron goddess of the city). However, before the Temple of Artemis could be completed, the leadership changed their minds and said, “Nah, just kidding! Let’s go back to Zeus being most important” and built the larger Temple of Zeus (shown below).
Located right next to the Temple of Zeus was the South Theater.
For some reason on the day I was there, someone decided that what this scene really needed was a bagpipe player and drummer jamming out Ode to Joy.
I’m not sure why that was the thought, but it was kinda cool. Heading down from the Temple of Zeus I went back through the oval plaza and onto the main road running through the center of Jerash.
Located past the midpoint of this road as it runs through the city was a Nymphaeum. This Nymphaeum was much grander in design and scale than the one I saw yesterday in Amman.
Just beyond the Nymphaeum were the stairs leading up to the Temple of Artemis. While never completed, clearly it was going to be a grand structure.
Located nearby were the ruins of a water driven stone saw (wooden portion reconstructed).
Beyond the Temple of Artemis were another gate and plaza at the north end of the city.
Also located at the north end of the city were an additional theater which was pretty much deserted.
Finally, next to the theater was another byzantine church retaining much of its mosaic flooring.
As it was getting close to sunset I decided to head back along the main road of the city. One of the things that could be better seen in this light was the worn out ruts in the paving stones caused by years of chariot traffic.
After walking the length of the city, I exited to engage in yet another round of “Let’s Make a Deal” with a taxi driver concerning the ride back to Amman.
