Rome to Turkey: Day Fourteen: Jerash, Dead Sea, Amman

"I will love thee, O lord, my strength:"

Psalm 17:2

Today we had plans for a morning visit to Jerash, an ancient and well preserved provincial Roman town about 51 km north of Amman. (1) On the way, we stopped off at the Zarqa River, one of the larger tributaries that flows into the Jordan River. It was know in Biblical times as "Jabbok", which derives from the Hebrew "to flow' or "pour out." (2) The river is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, notably in Genesis when Jacob prepares to meet Esau (actually mistaken for the Jordan), (Gen 32: 4-22), and again after Jacob crosses the Jabbok to spend the night. It is in this story that Jacob wrestles with God and is renamed Israel. (Gen 32: 23-32) (2)

Jerash, like Ammon, is an ancient city that predates Roman occupation. Its origins date back to the Bronze Age and during Christ's time was known as the Roman city of Gerasa. (3) The town and its surrounding area is likely the "country of the Gerasenes" referred to in the New Testament. (Mark 5:1, Luke 8:26, 37.) (4)

The city of Jerash was part of the Decapolis, a group of ten Roman cities in the area of Judea and Syria. Nine of the ten cities are located in modern day Jordan. The most northern is Damascus in Syria, the most southern Ammon (Philadelphia.) (5) Most of these cities were formed during the Hellenistic period following the death of Alexander the Great. The term Decapolis however is identified with the period after the Roman conquest, though apparently much of the population maintained use of the Greek language. (5), (6)

Our tour began with the reconstructed hippodrome. Most of the stones were recovered from rubble, while others were created and added. (6) Tourism to the site is gaining popularity, and shows of Roman soldiers and chariot races are performed, though unfortunately not while we were there.

The small and well reconstructed Theatre nearby featured two Jordanians with instruments; one with a drum, the other with bagpipes. I must admit that the bagpipes threw me off somewhat. After several minutes of confusion and feelings of cultural antithesis, Robbie explained that the bagpipes originated from the Middle East - a fact somewhat contested through later research, though generally supported along with possible origins being Greek or Celtic. (7), (8), (9), (10) Robbie also explained how sound was amplified in the Theatre using hollows in the base of stone, which covered with skin would cause it to resonate. There was also a specific location centre stage, which would cast your voice perfectly off the surrounding architecture, allowing you to project sound further. If you stepped an inch off the mark, the effect would disappear.

We toured the rest of the site at leisure, climbing past rolling hills of wild flowers. Looking back from the top of one hill, I was able to get a picture of the sprawling city, including the oval Forum and the south end of the Cardo, with the modern city spread out behind it on a nearby hill. Ancient temples exist beside remains of Christian churches, which sprang up after Christianity was recognized in the Empire. Stopping to discuss roman engineering and architecture, we were offered tea made on the spot by very young boys, who carried stainless steel containers with them that steamed with hot water. The pillars that made up the Colonnade and other structures like the temples, were interlocked and stacked stones. Robbie demonstrated by pushing on one of them that they were designed to move in the wind, but still remain locked and durable.

Jerash was one of my favorite ancient sites to visit, both for its well preserved or reconstructed architecture, and for its setting in natural beauty, with green hills punctuated by yellow and red flowers under a warm blue sky. Soon however, we were on our way back to Ammon. As we had the rest of the day free and it would be our last full day in Jordan, we took a vote on what to do next. It was pretty much unanimously decided to visit the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is basically made of salt, or at least approximately one third of it is. Which is why people float in it. The mud of the sea floor is rich with minerals and renowned for its healing properties. Resorts are everywhere and tourism relies heavily on the famous properties of the water. Unfortunately, the sea is reported to be shrinking through evaporation and diversion of its source waters. Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan all have diverted water away from the Jordan River, and its tributaries, which flows from the north of the Sea of Galilee, through the Jordan River Valley, and into the Dead Sea. (11) Talks have begun about connecting the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, to counter the effects, though many environmentalists oppose it, and it would cost an exorbitant amount of money. Both the Jordan River and Dead Sea are essentially considered ecologically endangered. (11), (12)

Since the Dead Sea is 1385 ft below sea level, we spent some considerable time descending from higher mountainous elevation. As we approached, we were able to see just how large it was, dotted with resorts along its shores, with the Israeli mountains in the distance. Apparently one cannot just visit the sea without paying for access to it through a resort. So our tour company arranged lunch at a local resort that would then grant us access to their facilities and beach. The lunch was excellent, though most of us ate quickly, anticipating getting out and into the water. We were warned by Robbie that due to the high salt content, it was not recommended to have any bowel movements prior to swimming. We all obeyed this command, except for one person in our group, who later claimed that "it wasn't that bad." (For more on swimming tips and experiences look up: http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/18748/Dead-Sea-18 )

The water really is buoyant. Its almost impossible to stay motionless, as your body wants to tip over at the slightest movement. Mostly I laid on my back, or rather more of a sitting position and paddled my way out to sea. I made it quite a ways out, where soon the voices from the beach started to drop off. I thought about swimming (or paddling, as swimming is rather difficult) all the way to Israel and wondered if anyone has tried this, and whether or not Israel patrols the shores of the sea closely. Paddling back into land, I followed everyone else's lead and covered myself head to foot in the salt and mineral rich mud. It actually stung a bit, which I supposed was the effects of the salt. After a quick outdoor shower we retired to the poolside to dry off. The resort had several elaborate pools, which were packed with tourists, which apparently attracted more attention than the sea.

In the evening we all met at a popular local's restaurant in Ammon for our final meal together before we said our goodbyes. Tomorrow I would be leaving Jordan and entering Israel.

The last note in my journal for this day also mentions that there was a truck driving slowly through the neighbourhood with music playing, delivering and selling propane much in the same manner we would experience an ice cream truck rolling through residential streets in North America.