Our last day in Jordan seemed to have been spent in a whole new country as we explored the northern portion and its incredible history. While the south consists of rural desert, rock mountains, and beach..the north has the big urban area of Amman and the green rolling hills. Along these hills is vast growth of vegetables, fruits, and those delicious olives. Amman has over a million people and is a very wide-spread city that is filled with white buildings on the hills. i
Our first stop was as north as we should be traveling at this point. To be honest, if I would have realized how close we were going to Syria..I might have skipped the first destination. However, no problems and we got to see our first of the Roman cities of the Decapolis. League. The Decapolis consisted of ten cities in Palestine or present-day Syria, Israel, and Jordan. This first city was Umm Qais or the ancient name of Gadara. It is not as famous as Jerash because a lot of it was destroyed during the big earthquakes of Jordan. However, it still has an amazing theater, roads with the corinthian pillars, and archaeological remains that show how smart the roman architects were! Their drainage system underneath the roads was unbelievable to see and think about. The view made the drive north completely worth it for both of us as you could see 4 countries on this corner area of Jordan. You could see Jordan, Israel (Golan Heights of Palestine), Syria, and Lebanon. The Golan Heights portion had an area where they were raising crocodiles and alligators which was interesting as well. On our way out of Umm Qais, we saw the later Byzantine houses that were built and occupied until just a few decades ago. Also, there were some caper bushes planted along this site as I never knew how capers grew. i
From here, we moved a little south to the second most visited site (first is Petra) in Jordan- Jerash. In honesty, it was not on my original list of places I had to visit on the trip because I do not usually teach the Roman history of the Middle East too much and also because the pictures did not excite me too much. Shame on me- it was awesome!! Talk about history, I went into that mode again where I just looked at the ruins and Imagined what it really looked like in its bustling days hundreds of years ago. Jerash is the most famous of the ten Decapolis League cities because it is known as one of the most preserved roman cities in the world. Sand covered it through all of the earthquakes and it was only restored 70 years ago. What surprised me the most was the unbelievable size of the city and its complexes (ended up being over 750,000 square meters). Jerash came under Roman rule around 63 BC and made it through the golden age of Rome. It was eventually controlled by the Ummayad family of the Islamic empires and all the way through to the Ottoman period. The city ruins today included two large theaters, temples for mutliple gods (like Zeus & Artemis), a Hippodrome, churches, long columned streets, houses/bathhouses, shops, the famous forum, etc. The theaters were incredible and size and their history. For example, the north theater was for the privileged of the city and actually had numbers on the seats. They were given stoned tickets with seat assignments like if you were going into Lucas Oil Stadium for a football game. The oval plaza, like the Treasury of Petra, receives all of the portrait fame at Jerash, but there was so much more to see in this big ancient city. Though I have never been to Rome, I received a pretty good preview of its architecture in Jerash. i
From Jerash we hustled back towards the hills of the Syrian border to an old castle called Ajlun Castle. It again was a hidden gem that our driver recommended. Along with its amazing views of Jordan, Syria, and Israel, it had a great history display. The castle was an Islamic controlled castle that helped fight off the attacks during the crusades. It was large and in a great militaristic spot. An interesting touch to the history of the castle was the church and mosque next to each other on the top. This symbolized the togetherness of Christianity and Islam. i
After this last history spot, we went to what became our lunch/dinner . It was my favorite meal thus far as it included many middle eastern favorites. We started with fresh lemonade (mixed with mint) and plenty of different mezze/salad options. I had way too much hommus and tabouleh but it was again amazing. The pita bread was in big fresh circles for dipping into the different dips/salads. The main dish was a middle easter BBQ of beef, chicken, and lamb. It was great to put everything on pita slices and make little tacos with the salads/hommus. As we ate, we watched the workers set-up for a giant iftar break-fast at sunset that was going to have over 450 people. Our driver noted that this will only be a few families because of the large size of families. Jordan families consist of a little under 7 children per household which is one of the highest numbers in the world. i
We then drove back to the hotel and now lay down during our last night in Jordan. About an hour ago, we noticed all kinds of fireworks and honking going on throughout the Amman sky. We thought it may be a connection to Ramadan and how there is less than a week until the Eid al fitr. No- it actually goes perfectly with the end of my trip. As I celebrate all of the things I have gained for my teaching this upcoming year back in Westfield, many of the Jordanian high school graduates are currently going crazy over the release of the Tawjihi examination scores. This is an even more important examination than the American SAT as it decides the fate of what university students can attend and what programs they can study. It basically determines the future of their higher education and eventual careers. You talk about testing being important in an education system- tonight shows this: http://jordantimes.com/nail-biting-wait-for-tawjihi-students-comes-to-an-end-thursday. Hopefully no violence and just happiness in the streets for these happy students in Jordan. i
Well, the next time I post we will be back in the U.S ready for work, football season, and our everyday lives. We both agree though that this trip has not only been memorable in a way of seeing things that are once in a lifetime kind of experiences but the trip has also changed the way we see things in the world in multiple ways. For one, wow- there are some amazing things out in the world waiting to be seen. While yes there are the popular places to visit that offer many amazing things- but here is a country that is usually not on the top of people's travel lists. I can honestly say that Jordan gave me more to see and learn about than Egypt could have in the week we were here. This teaches me to not only go to the places that are on the cover of the textbooks. Also, Janell and I were introduced to middle eastern culture in so many authentic ways. I understand a tremendous amount more of the whys, whats, hows relating to the middle east and its people. Included in this is the understanding of religions and their values, practices, and history. I always stress to my students the importance of Tolerance in this world and now I have some real life experiences to share with this teaching. Finally, we have shared times with amazing people in this country of Jordan. In so many instances we heard them talk about their disappointment in people perceiving their country in a negative way because of the media and conflicts in neighboring countries. Their tourism and economy suffers from this and it is unfortunate. As I talked to Janell about it in the Dead Sea yesterday, it is like someone perceiving Americans as "bad or dangerous people" because of the kidnappings in Cleveland and the school shootings in Connecticut. How different is every American person?! There are people that are considerate to others and there are people like the man in the Ohio courtroom today. You cannot categorize people into giant groups and our experiences in Jordan with amazing, friendly people has demonstrated that in full effect. Again, their family- and faith driven lives are something we enjoyed getting to know and recommend the country to anyone looking for learning, adventure, and even relaxation. i
Heading to bed and cannot believe the trip has come to an end. Though it was a quick week- I cannot think of anything we did not get to see that I had on my list. Places like Jerash and Mt Nebo were actually bonus sites and I am glad we were able to make those happen! As we leave, we hope to keep communication with Abdullah's family and also a teacher I just heard back from via epals.com (great site for international connections in classrooms). The teacher is in an Amman school and would like to establish communication via our students next school year. It will only be with girls though as their rules only permit female-to-female communication in a project like this. Next up is going to be looking for communication with a boys school in Jordan. i
Again, I cannot thank you for voting in the Teacher Trek Grant Program and sending me to a place to learn. Along with learning, my wife and I enjoyed an experience together that will be tough to top in the future as we celebrate anniversaries every summer. It was not Egypt- it was better. i
Long flights ahead in the morning... As-salamu alaykum
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