Our first stop as little tourists was at the Amman Citadel. It was very very cold and windy up there. Our guide, Iyad, told us all about how this citadel has a long history of occupation by many great civilizations including the Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad periods. The main buildings we saw were the Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine church with the pretty dome), and the Umayyad Palace.
The Ammonites were too weak to prevent the children of Israel from passing through their land (Deut 2). Moses surveyed the Promised Land from Ammonite territory.
We drove down to this huge ancient Roman theater. These theaters will never stop being cool!! We stood in the center and sang, and the school kids who were there on field trips were getting the biggest kick out of it. They stood right in front of us and listened to our Christmas songs, clapping and cheering. Nicole and Caroline got swarmed by them after.
I love the colors of the limestone. These theaters make the best lines. Excuse the number of photos! But enjoy them if you're into it - I think they're so beautiful.
Our next stop was at the Jabbock River. This was a super spiritual experience despite the yellow dusty air and toxic water and trash on the ground. The river is just 30 minutes east of Amman. We talked about the story of Jacob in Genesis 32:22-30. Jacob was en route to meet his brother Essau. At this site, called Penuel in the Bible, Jacob wrestled with an angel and saw God face to face. What a cool story! Jacob was scared to meet his brother, and his brother ended up forgiving him and embracing him.
Genesis 33:10 notes:
Who am I not seeing through the eyes of God? We need to pray daily to see through the eyes of God.
We had a DELICIOUS lunch at Green Valley restaurant. We watched them make fresh hot flat bread, I think it's a type of pita. They brought out these YUMMY fresh dips and salads. The hummus and cucumber dip and fresh tomato salad was all super delicious. We all got full too quick and then still had the entree! We had lamb and chicken and more pita, and then bananas for dessert.
Last stop of the day! Jerash.
Jerash is one of the best-preserved Roman sites in the world. It has archaeological levels found from the Stone Age through the Iron Age. When Abraham traveled to Canaan from Heran, he passed through a city called Jershon (Abraham 2:16-18), possibly another name for ancient Jerash. Under Roman rule, Jerash was included among the ten cities of the Decapolis.
The air was dusty, and it got dark pretty early. We were given some free time to run around. We saw the temple of Artemis, a large theater, multiple Byzantine churches, large gates, bathhouses, and a well-designed grid street system.
We left by 4:50 and headed back an hour or so to the hotel for dinner. We were all so tired! Such a fun busy day. The hotel wasn't quite as nice this last night, haha.
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