Amman and Jarash

Sunday November 14 -  In Greek and Roman times the city of Amman was call Philadelphia but during the Byzantian rule it’s name was changed to Ammon after the Amonites.  In the Bible Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt but his daughters survived and gave him nine sons.  Lot was an Amonite so the city’s name was changed.

Our first stop was the Citadel where a temple to Zeus was located, probably built around 168 AD.  The views of Ammon from the hill top are spectacular! A museum in the ruins holds the oldest statue in the world, created around 6500 BC.

Nearby is a Roman theatre built in 151 AD and still used today. Because I was interested in the Dead Sea Scrolls we stopped by the Jordan Museum to see a few samples of what was found.  The majority of the scrolls are on leather and some on papyrus but one is on copper.  All but a few are in a museum in Jerusalem. No photographs were allowed (but John snapped a quick one).

Forty five minutes north of Ammon is the town of Jarash.  At the top of the hill is a castle built by the Muslims but copied from the English and Spanish Crusaders in 11th Century AD. It is a huge structure with a moat and three separate gates that must be breached to gain access.  There are hidden tunnels, special places to attack intruders, and a fresh water system that will hold the fort for many weeks.  It also holds a mosque and a Byzantine chapel with a mosaic floor.

Following lunch we toured the ruins of the city built by the Greeks then the Romans in 130 AD.  It took 400 years to complete parts of the city.  We passed through Hadrians Gate, walked around the Hippodrome and viewed Zeus’ temple from below.  Outside of the temple was the oval plaza surrounded by columns.  A special festival is held here every year.

From the Plaza we walked on the Roman road along stones still showing the ruts made by wagons and chariots. This road leads to the north gate and is crossed by two minor roads. We could see the city walls from one crossroad. Shops and stores would have lined the road.  One shop was obviously a butcher shop and others were two story structures with stairs up to the second level.

Zeus’ daughter, Artemis has a gate and a temple in her honor.  A Nymphaeum was created to supply the city with water.  An aqueduct carried the water to the fountain where statues of maidens poured water into a pool, then carved  lions’ heads spit it out into a trough that spilled over into the sewer system.  And, yes, they had an underground sewer system!

We visited two more theaters/arenas and two more churches.  One had a beautiful mosaic floor.  

And they are still finding more ruins.  So, so impressive!