Jordan (Page 1: Amman and Jerash)

Amman - a view of the city. Settled for some 6-7,000 years, Amman was known as Philadelphia in Roman times. Today it is a city of some 1.5 million, and is he capital of the Hshemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Amman - another view from atop the Citadel, one of the highest hills in the city and a site of major archaeological interest as it was the administrative center of both the Roman and early Arabic city.

Amman - ruins of the Roman Hercules Temple atop the Citadel, built in the 1C AD.

Amman - ruins of a Byzantine church atop the Citadel, probably dating from the 5C AD.

Amman - ruins of the Umayyad palace atop the Citadel, dating from the 8C. The Umayyads were the first Arab dynasty, and ruled a large empire in the eastern Mediterranean from their capital in Damascus.

Amman - Roman theater (1C BC), which once sat 6,000. This is in the lower part of Amman, opposite the Citadel.

Amman - a fruitstand in the market area of the city.

Amman - a scene in one of Amman's many colorful outdoor markets.

Amman - herding sheep to market.

Salt - this small city 29km northwest of Amman (a short and smoky bus ride away) has a well preserved core dating mainly from the late Ottoman period (19C).

Salt - a typical scene in one of the many souks.

Salt - the locals are especially friendly and eager to practice their English, even if their entire vocabulary consists of "hello" and "yes"!

Salt - more of those friendly locals!

A common sight on the roads of rural Jordan.

Mt Nebo - scene of the final vision and death of Moses, Mt Nebo is mentioned at several points in the Bible.  The present church is modern, but incorporates sections of earlier structures dating from the 4-6C.

Mt Nebo - the memorial to Moses, at the spot where legend holds that he died.

Mt Nebo - view looking west toward the West Bank in Occupied Palestine.

Umm ar Rasas - this drab pile of ruins conceals some of the most spectacular mosaics in this part of the Middle East.  It was an important settlement and militar garrison in the Roman and Byzantine periods.

Umm ar Rasas - a floor mosaic from the ruins of the Church of St Stephen (6C), showing the seven cities of the Transjordan (note Philadelphia - Amman - at the bottom).

Umm ar Rasas - another floor mosaic from the Church of St Stephen (6C).

Kerak - this small town lies south of Amman on the Kings Highway to Petra and the Red Sea, and is known for its fine castle, built by the Crusaders around 1140.

Kerak - a view of the upper section of the castle.

Kerak - one of many passages in the castle. Nothing like a medieval castle to stir one's imagination...

Dana - this small village has been restored to appear much as it did in the 15C when it was originally built. It lies at the edge of an eponymous nature reserve, with a view west towards the Dead Sea.

Wadi Mujib - this is one of several steams feeding the Dead Sea, which has no outlet.

Dead Sea - along the southern edge of the Dead Sea are several farms growing bananas, dates and other such crops in this subtropical depression.

Dead Sea - a place with an almost eerie beauty, much of the area around the Dead Sea is nearly devoid of any life.

Aljun - this town, some 85km northwest of Amman, developed around the base of a castle which was first built in 1184.

Aljun - though small, the castle is elegantly proportioned.  Dating from 1184, it was restored in the 1980s.

Aljun - a common sight along most roads is of vendors with charcoal braziers selling a delicious cardamom-flavored coffee.

Jerash - after Petra, this is probably the most famous sight in Jordan, and is one of the best preserved Roman ruins in the Middle East.  Unusual for a Roman city is this oval plaza, probably dating from the 1C AD.

Jerash - the Sanctuary of Zeus, built 162-6 AD atop an earlier structure from the Greek period.

Jerash - the South Theater was built between the 1C and 2C AD, and is able to seat 3,000 spectators.

Jerash - South Theater, view of the stage, a venue for the contemporary Jerash Festival held each summer.

Jerash - South Decamanus.  Once a main road through Roman Jerash.

Jerash - a view of the Oval Plaza from the end of the South Decamanus.

Jerash - the Fountain Court (2C AD), part of the Temple of Dionysus which was incorporated into a large cathedral complex in the Byzantine era.

Jerash - ruins of the Byzantine Church of St Theodore, built in 494-6 AD.

Jerash - the Sanctuary of Artemis, built at the peak of Jerash's prosperity in the 2C AD.  Artemis was the daughter of Zeus and patron deity of the city.

Jerash - the Altar Terrace.  This Byzantine construction was added to the Sanctuary of Artemis around the time latter became a cathedral in the 4C.

Jerash - rain on the Cardo Maximus, principal thoroughfare through ancient Jerash.

Umm Qais (Gadara) - this settlement lies on a hill overlooking the Golan Heights on the border with Syria, and was founded around 323 BC.  It reached its zenith in the 1-2C AD.

Umm Qais (Gadara) - fragments from an ancient past.

Golan border - note the bulldozers in the Yarmouk River, diverting water into the occupied Golan Heights in violation of a bilateral treaty Israel signed with Jordan in 1994.

Sunset on the road from Irbid back to Amman.

Map courtesy of Lonely Planet.