Jerash, Madaba

On the last day of our tour, we drove through the capital Amman with its hills of whitewashed buildings to the Roman ruins of Jerash. We passed parts of the city where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, who once lived in tents, have erected sheet metal structures. There are also over a million Syrian refugees in the northern part of the country.

Jerash is really well preserved, with its heyday around 200 AD, and covers a huge area, with temples, arches and a hippodrome or stadium, where chariot races were held in ancient times. Until a couple of years ago there were re-enactments staged by Jordanian military, but they have been discontinued because of the decline in tourism. These were supposed to be an amazing spectacle, so we were sad to hear that.

We returned to Madaba, city of mosaics, to visit a church with a famous mosaic (square cut pieces of coloured rock) depicting the Holy Land. I wandered a bit shopping, was offered tea by a shop owner which I tried to decline since I’ve had enough tea, so was offered wine instead. I accepted the small cup and then felt obliged to buy a couple of scarves but it was nice, most people we have met have been so friendly. Even when they aren’t trying to sell you something! We saw a workshop where mosaics were being made, a patio table like this would be shipped for free! And the cost was only about $10,000.

We went to a restaurant for our last meal, and realized a wedding dinner was being set up around us. The bride and groom entered to chanting and clapping, which we joined in, and they graciously shook our hands and posed for pics. I had to get to the washroom on the upper floor where the bride’s dance was taking place, so a guy who I think was Omar Sharif escorted me through the cheering crowd. I’m pretty sure I photobombed a few wedding pics. Our group shared a few shishas, or water pipes (apple is always the best flavour) then back to the hotel where people started to depart. The airport is apparently open 24 hours, since most of the flights leave at 3 am!