One of the most frustrating disadvantages to group travel is that when there are 20+ people traveling in a group, it means that there are 20+ egos, temper tantrums, ignorant outbursts, and selfish behavioral characteristics to take into consideration…

…There were those who were notoriously late for group gatherings, those who constantly made special requests … and also those who clearly needed a lesson (or many) on respecting all aspects of a foreign culture …

… In my opinion, the worst offenders were those who were ignorant enough to make certain assumptions about Egypt and Jordan, and especially the people of these countries … I guess my expectations were too high for some participants and they often reminded me of my inaccuracy.

If you’re like me, the above ‘Post-Vacation Thoughts‘ offered by Brett Mickelson beg the question “are any other similar acts of bloggery detailing the disadvantages of group travel in Jordan and in general?”

I’m glad I asked …

Dean 'negotiating' with some of his more 'emotional' travel mates in Jerash.

… funny photo aside, along with managing well-optimized egos are those members of a group whom grate on others. For example, in this kvetch-a-thon we read of some nerves rubbed somewhat raw:

Dinner time arriving, Faisel took us for an orientation walk of the town. Nerves growing thin, I wasn’t the only one wanting to bite the head off of one of the two “louder” members of our group …

Goodbyes MERCIFULLY done, the group went back up into the main town and found a “Mystic Pizza” (safe enough). A glare that possibly scorched her eyebrows later, one of the girls swapped me away from the louder member of the group who had been slowly plucking my every last remaining nerve…

Following one of the other Australians (who also confessed a desire to break every piece of furniture in the place), we made our way back to the hotel while trying to stay in close enough proximity to the girls so they wouldn’t be hassled.

Here’s another example from TravelBlog where a couple of younger tourists were grouped with mostly older ladies – the latter of from which a few could be classified as Olympic-class shoppers. Not a problem until the poor tour guide finds themselves engaged in ‘cat herding‘ before they can get everyone on the bus and go somewhere else.

At Madaba we first discovered that some members of our tour liked to shop. In particular two ladies called Patti and Allie. Patti and Allie had come on the trip with another friend

Caroline and these three ladies were exactly like the ladies from Ab Fab. Allie was Patsy, Caroline was Eddie and Patti was Saffy. We ended up having many good laughs with these ladies, but at this stage of the journey we were most dismayed to discover that Patti and Allie could spend in excess of 20 minutes shopping while the rest of us waited for them. It reminded me very much of my darling mother.

Of course, sometimes it’s not the other travelers, but the travel agency or tour guide that turns the group into a mob, as we read in this ‘tense’ account:

Our last day in Jordan was spent driving northward, with some stops, towards our overnight stay in the town called Madaba which was Moab in the bible. It was an overall tense day in our group. Khaleid was not happy with us that we questioned him to the agency and we were not happy with him that we had to do it in the first place. The tension mixed with the fact that the trip was winding down really made for a quiet day. I think that almost everyone was looking forward to wrapping up the trip or moving onward to their next destination. Despite all of this, I enjoyed the day.

Perhaps one solution is to go it alone with compatible friends, and a competent taxi driver.

Then there’s always the temptation of striking out on one’s own:

Not that life here is all that demanding or stressful: all I really do is Arabic; but being part of the group, along with all its little rules and requirements, can be a bit taxing and at times frustrating – like this past week: I had a little run-in with a lady from BYU who had come to evaluate the program here – it was like talking to a wall; but at least I think I made her feel uncomfortable. And so… the thought of striking out on my own again proved too tempting.

I just happened to have a pamphlet of Jerash and its Roman ruins at the house …

Though sometimes getting away from the group is more the fault of a careless tour guide than the intentions of the individual … especially when that individual is a female who stumbles into a male only area:

We walked down a staircase past a small group of men, and I followed Hilda through an archway before quickly realizing that I had just walked into a section of the complex that was restricted to women. I apologized to the two muhajabaat sitting there and backed out, to find that Waleed and our guide had disappeared, and that I was left alone with the group of strange men.

Another alternative is to trade one set of problems for another, traveling with family. Here’s one such blogger whom along with making it through Jordan with 25 family members – did so while feeding their Scrapping or Scrap book hobby.

Here is group shot of our tour group while in Egypt. There were a bunch of us. And what was really cool was that over 25 of us were FAMILY!! I love scrapping and reliving the memories of this trip. I’m so thankful to have experienced it–not just the tours and the history, but being with my familiy to experience it.

…Then we went to Jordan. It was really amusing seeing Jordan’s name everywhere. I totally got a kick out it!! He was so proud! These were taken at the airport. Joey wanted to pull Jordan’s bag..LOL..what a silly!

Of course, some times you’re group is just fine … it’s the other groups touring Jordan that may offer one or more interesting events, such as this nearly unfortunate incident detailed in Jordan Journals by someone whom forgot the ‘safety in numbers‘ rule:

When we approached the deck above the Jordan River and the Baptism font, our eyes were treated to the rather full body of a young woman clad in the briefest of white bikinis, thong and all! A group of women were to the side, in various stages of undress, having just climbed out of the river. And, the crowning glory, a woman of probably 55-60 years of age still in the water, clothed, or rather unclothed, in a soaking wet black negligee-style dress, which left nothing to the imagination.

The majority of our group were truly offended, particularly an Arab nun accompanied by younger relatives; and a couple of German ladies, one resident in Jordan, and one visiting. They verbally attacked our guide, who explained that this was a recent occurrence amongst Russian tourists, and when he had expressed his reservations on previous occasions, had been told by the “bathers” that to submerge themselves in the holy waters was part of their culture. The independent guide, i.e. not of the Baptism Site, said that the tourists were entitled to behave as they wished.

That last account reminds me of my first trip Jordan, when enjoying some ice cream at the adjoining Mövenpick Resort, we were beset first by a belly dancer, then a gaggle of drunk Russian women whom compelled us on stage to join them (at the risk of pulling our arms clean out of their sockets mind you).

Chuck Holton and Dean Peters boogie like its 1999

The next day, we spotted the same group solemly visiting the banks of the Baptismal site. That said, I found the time spent with my own group that day spiritually moving and motivating as expressed in my post “Walking in the steps of Jesus along the banks of Bethany Beyond the Jordan.”

Oh I could go on, just as I’m sure those who’ve traveled with me could do likewise. The point being, when it comes to travel mates and tour groups, the aphororism “your mileage may vary” most certainly applies.

Put another way via some recent Jordanian blog posts regarding human interaction, please take “No offense …” to the question “Are You a Highly Sensitive Person?” … as it is all part of the travel package.

The Quarryscapes project started in 2005 and is now almost finished … The project is basically an effort to study and raise awareness about ancient quarries in the eastern Mediterranean area. In this context, we in Jordan studied ancient Bronze aged quarries in the Jafr area, Nabatean quarries in Petra and Roman quarries in Jerash. In the upcoming meeting, I will present some of our work in Jerash.

How cool is that?! And how can I get in on such action the next time I tour Jordan?

Until then, I suppose I’ll just have to live vicariously through posts like the one above by Nizar over at the Jordan science and engineering blog …

… and project websites such as “Quarryscapes” that offer ancient imagery of:

• Al Jafr – whose formation begins as massive thickness of chalky limestone or marl, then repeated the sequence by chert and chalky limestone, chalk or hard limestone.
• Jerasa – where  visit to the site will reveal that stone was brought to the site from many sources. Remarkably, large granite columns are present, apparently brought all the way from Egypt.
• Petra – The stone is extracted from the Cambrian Um Ishrin formation. This is a well indurated fluviatile quartz arenite. The lower section consists of reddish sandstone and the upper is whitish.

Like I said … where do I sign up to see some awesome archaeological sites like these?

A recent Jordan Times article reports that the historic site of Um Jimal, rich in Byzantine and early Islamic, ruins remains “undiscovered” – overshadowed by the larger Roman city of Jerash and the rose-red city of Petra among others.

Yet this well preserved ancient city, whose Arabic name translates a “Mother of Camels,” is only a 45 mile (72 km) drive east of Jerash, and/or northeast of Amman.

Offering visitors a unique visual reward due to the numerous above-ground artifacts it offers, this photo-ready demonstration of “Haurinte architecture” attributes its distinctive blackish hue due to the stones hewn from the nearby basalt plains.

Strategically located near the modern-day crossroads to Syria and Iraq, 10 miles (17km) east of Mafraq, this once Nabataean village along the Via Nova Traiana was incorporated into the Roman empire by Trajan in the 1st Century AD – later becoming a military outpost along the King’s Highway with walls and fortifications to defend Roman-occupied territory that stretched into the eastern desert and the borders of modern-day Saudi Arabia.

Eventually, Byzantine churches were built on the site during the 5th and 6th centuries, while its stone barracks, water cisterns and administrative buildings were gradually converted to a rural village under the Umayyad rule around the 7th century.

Devastated by an earthquake in 749AD, the basalt fortifications were left abandoned for around 1,000 years until later re-inhabited at the turn of the 20th century by Druze families who resided in the ruins, some of which still stood over two stories high, before the city fell into complete disrepair and obscurity.

Currently, the greatest threat facing the ruins is encroachment from the surrounding community, as reported in said Jordan Times article, with the modern-day village of Um Jimal built right up to the gate fencing off the ancient city – including residents taking some of the rocks and stones for their homes and gardens until the Department of Antiquities (DoA) established an office to oversee and protect the site.

And though just an hour or two out of the way, the provincial town of Umm al-Jimal is ready to welcome travelers willing to make the journey.

Me? I’m definitely adding this to my list of places to photograph if and when I can get back to Jordan. I also wonder if the DoA couldn’t boost tourism here by making it a jumping-off place for various ecotourism expeditions?

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As we approach the seventh anniversary of the devastating 9/11 attack on America, my thoughts have returned once again to an extraordinary situation I found myself on that fateful day.

It was on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, while in Gerasa (Jerash) the most complete and best-preserved Greco-Roman city in the Middle East, when a group of us first heard the news that all hell had broken loose in New York City.

I was with a team of 28 American Christian leaders and journalists when one of our team, Giles Hudson, received a mobile phone call from USA Radio Network, in Dallas, Texas, that a plane had slammed into one of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center Building.

In a state of shock, we were then taken to the nearby city of Gadara (modern Um Qais), with its spectacular panoramic views overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the site of Jesus’ miracle of the Gadarene swine, where He sent demented spirits out of two men into a herd of swine who ran down the hill and drowned in the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 8:28-34), and there we received more information about the second plane crashing into another of the towers. It was if the demons of hate had been unleashed on America and all we could do was to pray for the victims and their relatives.

It was surreal to be in Jordan at the time of the worst terrorist attack in American history. Very soon, we were overwhelmed with Jordanian people who stopped us at every place we went to offer their condolences.

When we visited the Dead Sea, we could hear the sounds of a violent gun battle taking place in Jericho, just a short way across the water – and it went on for most of the night. Some of the team stayed up to pray for peace not only in the Middle East, but also in America.

The idea for the trip began at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Convention in Dallas earlier that year, when the Jordan Tourism Board and the Jordan Ministry of Tourism launched an effort to educate Americans about the less explored parts of the Holy Land, which extends beyond Israel to encompass all of the land of the Bible. This includes modern-day Jordan, now guardian of more than 200 major biblical sites from both Old and New Testaments. And in April, His Majesty King Abdullah II shared with a small group of pastors in Washington, D.C., about the history, beauty and safety of his country, and invited them to come and visit. This trip that was led by A. Larry Ross and sponsored by the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB,) was an extension of that invitation.

Background on Jordan

Located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, this country is blessed with the rich spiritual heritage of the full story of the history of salvation as recorded in the Bible. Abraham, Job, Moses, Ruth, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus were some of the figures of the Bible who performed pivotal elements of their divinely-ordained missions in this ancient landscape that is now within the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The very name of the country – Jordan – retains the unique baptismal aura of a holy river and a blessed land. It was here, in the waters of Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan, where the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit first manifested itself explicitly when John baptized Jesus.

God repeatedly designated Jordan as a land of peace and refuge, where Ruth, Elijah, David, Jesus, John the Baptist and the first Christian communities, among others, found safety and peace. Most of the great biblical prophets made their journeys of faith from the east bank of the Jordan River to the west – symbolically moving from the “wilderness” where men and women are tested, to the Promised Land that is the Kingdom of God.

Most of the holy sites in Jordan where the biblical prophets performed miracles or reached out to ordinary people are identified, excavated and easily accessible to visitors. New sites are being discovered every year. Visitors to Jordan can often visit archaeological excavations and share in the excitement of identifying ancient remains of places where Moses completed his mission from God; where Elijah lived by faith; where John the Baptist preached and heralded the arrival of the Messiah; and where Jesus performed miracles.

We spent a tense week in Jordan as all flights from the Arab World had been suspended. But then came the welcome news that Royal Jordanian Airlines had been given permission to fly into JFK Airport in New York.

Before we left for Amman Airport, we attended a candlelight service with nearly 500 Jordanian Christians and Muslims. As we got into the bus to take us to the service, a bellboy at our hotel asked if he could address us on the buses’ PA system. He told us that he had lost some of his family in the fighting in the West Bank and said that he knew what it was to lose members of his family that he loved. “I would like to tell you that I am very sorry for what has happened in America and I want you to know that all of the Jordanian people share in your sorrow.”

We then joined with others in lighting candles for peace at a special candlelight remembrance service at the Citadel in Amman on Sunday, September 16, 2001, to show solidarity with the victims and their families of the New York and Washington terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Muslims clerics united with Christian priests and ministers from the various Christian communities in Jordan, as well the Lord Mayor of Amman in condemning the violence in the United States and praying for the families of the victims. It was hard for us to hold back the tears at this momentous time in world history.

Ruth Cox Mizell, the then Congressional Liaison for Capitol Hill Prayer Partners and White House Liaison for American Christian Trust, was one of our team and she attended the candlelight service. Ruth, who is the widow of baseball great “Vinegar Bend” Mizell, said, “I really appreciated their caring for us. They really cared about what happened in New York and at the Pentagon. Everyone was so mournful when they told us how sorry they were about what happened. I have really come to love the Jordanian people.”

After the service, our team headed for Amman Airport, to fly back to New York on Royal Jordanian Airlines on what turned out to be the first flight from an Arab country. Security was tight and we understood that several armed marshals were on the flight.

When we arrived at JFK Airport, a bevy of armed FBI agents and other security met us. Like many, I couldn’t catch the flight I was booked on and so had to find another airline to get back to Southern California. As we took off, I could see the pall of smoke rising from what was the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

Like all of you, I will never forget what has happened to our world during that time. However, it was heartening to know that so many from around the world were standing with the American people in love and solidarity and like our friends in Jordan, are lighting symbolic candles for peace.

After such a wonderful insight into the biblical sites of Jordan and meeting the friendly Jordanian people, all I can say is go and see Jordan for yourself. It is a trip of a lifetime for all Biblical scholars and those who wish to see the Bible come alive in these troubled modern times.

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Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 45 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS); and US Bureau Chief for the Missionaries News Service (www.missionariesnews.tv) and Safe Worlds IPTV’s Christian News Services. He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding He is also the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com.

© Assist News Service – copied with written/republish permission cited at the bottom of the above article, courtesy in part by Gospel for Asia. GFA’s Bridge of Hope program is designed to rescue thousands of children in Asia from a life of poverty and hopelessness by giving them an education and introducing them to the love of Christ. For only $28 a month, you can cover the cost of one child’s tuition, books, uniforms, one or two meals a day and a yearly medical checkup—and your child, his family and community will hear the Gospel as a result. To learn more about Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope program, visit our website at www.gfa.org/child or call 1-800-WIN-ASIA (United States) or 1-888-WIN-ASIA (Canada).

Michelle Malkin has aggregated a good list of links on this topic for those seeking more.

Welcome to the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan

We had no idea that Jordan has so much to offer.There are some world famous historical and cultural sites, but also breathtaking nature and pilgrimage routes. So you can say Jordan is an eye opener.

The wonderful Petra

Petra is a Unesco World heritage site. We had no idea but it is a vast, unique city, carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataens, Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago. Apparently it was a junction for all the trade routes and linked China and Egypt …

… The next day we returned before the crowds arrived and were all alone in the Siq. On the way back the boys had a lift on the horses and after that in the hotel a nice shower, breakfast and into to car up north driving along the King’s Highway.

The king’s Highway

The King’s Highway is the historic route to Amman. The views are stunning and you can see Crusader castles in Karak and Shobak. Shobak was very small but had a very interesting secret tunnel. Our torches were not good enough to try to leave the castle this way, but still it was nice to venture around this castle. History in practise because there were arrow slid windows according to Bart and lots of armoury like the very heavy bullets for the catapults.

Karak castle was much bigger, with nice views, we even could see the Dead Sea. It also had a nice museum which told everything about the crusaders.

The Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The dead sea is very salty so you can float without help. If you get the water in your eyes they will start burning. It happened to Evert and Helma, they rushed out of the water to rinse their eyes under the shower. It also tastes foul and makes you very thirsty. The sea is clear but no fish are in this sea, too salty.

Spiritual Jordan

You tend to forget that Jordan is a place for many pilgrims. You can visit many places which were named in the Bible. So very close to Israel, but if we want to come home by car we are not allowed to have a stamp of Israel in our passport. So we visited Mount Nebu [Nebo], the place where Moses just before his death saw the promised land. We also saw the river Jordan where Jesus was baptized.

Jerash

As we are planning to see Damascus, we skipped Amman and drove direct to Jerash, a well preserved Roman city. It was very impressive. Imagine, we walked on the road that Emperor Hadrian and Alexander the great walked on. A lot of walking though, but it was well worth it. Most beautiful was the temple of Artemis.

We also saw a show with roman soldiers and chariots in the hippodrome, fun. now we are stranded in Irbid, the university town in Jordan and tomorrow we will cross the border with Syria where Internet seems to be a little more problematic.

Wow, I just keep thinking about what the boys saw during this trip – and how much more memorable their trip through the historic and Biblical Hashemite Kindom is going to be than any touristy trip they may take in the future to someplace like the contrived Magic Kindgom.

My compliments to the parents for affording their sons such wonderful life-long impressions!

Domingo performed against the backdrop of one of the most impressive and best preserved Greco-Roman theaters in the world in the city of Jerash, 40 kilometers north of the capital Amman. Krall performed at the Amman Citadel, an equally impressive Greco-Roman site. more >>

Big in Jordan: How to reenact Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, is a post by Matthew Firestone linking up the ancient World of the Nebateans at Petra with Hollywood pop culture in this snappy little snippet:
With the world premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull scheduled for May 22, 2008, it’s no surprise that the internet is buzzing these days with Indy-related travel themes …

… one of the newly minted New Seven Wonders of the World, namely the ancient city of Petra, happens to be the location of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade …

… In the climax of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the Joneses, Sallah, and Brody race across the world to reach the temple housing the Holy Grail, which is located in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon in Hatay near İskenderun.

Interested in reenacting one of the greatest moments in cinema history? Go grab your trusty bull whip and keep on reading Mr.Firestone’s excellent article. Just remember, I’m the guy who this past November spared no expense nor YouTube bandwidth to show you “The Petra Treasury Indiana Jones didn’t show you!”

Speaking of adventures, over at Jubilada Fashionista, said blogger armed only guide books and the internet made all their reservations and other travel arrangements own with relative ease; despite competing for rooms with visitors attending a world class auto race event and/or a nursing conference near the Dead Sea. Along with this factoid, Jubilada writes towards the end of an extensive and well-written review of his Jordanian journey:

In conclusion, Jordan is a very good trip and easy to go independently . I understand why most high end tour companies tagged it on to their trips to Egypt. The Jordanians are very well schooled about being nice to tourists. I do think they have to work on the transportation systems in this small country especially for tourists. I did read that they were working on a railway but it keeps getting stalled.

Jordan is also very safe and they love America (not George). It was a pleasure to see how different it is from what we constantly hear about Middle East chaos. You do not need guides as your book will explain all the sites for you.

Facts :

1. Blackberries do work here
2. All current is 220 but some plugs are European and some English
3. Lots of Atms and they still take our dollars
4. Hot book for foreigners “Married to a Bedouin”
5. Watch Lawrence of Arabia and Indiana Jones DVDs before you go
6. Read the Jordan Times the local English newspaper on line www.jordantimes.com to see what’s doing.
7. Check Jett buses to see their schedule and then work around it.
8. The tour books say that the luxury hotels have buses to take you to your next destination….not true

Prepare to be stunned – or so writes a TravelPod blogger from Wadi Musa, Jordan who also had a great experience arranging their own travel explaining:

Our Taxi driver turned out to be a gem. He spent 7 hours driving us from Amman to Petra along the Kings highway. He stopped at all the points of interest and let us take photos. This land is full of history (as we anticipate Israel will be). Characters from the old testament walked this land. We were in awe.

Meanwhile a “Request for Dates and Info on Jerash Festival in 2008” on the Lonely Planet forums is returned with this response:

For the third time in over 27 years, the world-renowned Jerash Festival will be largely absent from the Kingdom’s cultural activities season, which will kick off in July, to come back in 2009 in a new shape, Culture Minister Nancy Bakir said on Thursday.

Bummer! That said, don’t forget, alternate events are easy to find at our BlogJordan Calendar of Jordanian Events page and/or our “This Week in Jordan” category.

Speaking of staying on schedule, as Scott on Safari ‘traveling through Africa 2008′ he takes a stop at one of my favorite cities on the entire planet, Aqaba, opining:

The rooms were very nice, it was very luxurious after coming from Egypt. We went for a walk to find at ATM to get some JD since all I had was 6 JD. Then we walked to a nearby café, Tche Tche Café, for dinner. The food was great and came out nice and warm; a very nice change. Jordan seems to be a lot cleaner and more organised than Egypt.

Of course Scott goes on to describe an encounter with Saladin’s revenge while ‘Journeying Jordan.’

Still, better that than an uncommonly rare but none-the-less unfortunate and fatal crash of a Jordan tour bus traveling from Jerash to Irbid.

Finally, Zawya is reporting that “Visitors on package tours [of Jordan] rise by 48.4% in first quarter” citing:

Tourist traffic to the [Hashemite] Kingdom continued to grow during the first quarter of this year, with visitors on package tours rising by 48.4 per cent compared to the same period of last year.

Official figures released by the [Jordanian] Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities yesterday revealed that some 101,311 tourists on package tours visited the country between January and March compared to 68,279 in the same period of 2007.

According to the figures, their average length of stay also increased by around 7.3 per cent to 4.4 nights during the first quarter of this year compared to 4.1 last year.

Here is a link to the English rendering of the 1st Quarter OTA report entitled “Tourism Statistical Bulletin JAN – MARCH 2008 Volume 4 – Edition 1.

This last report proving once again what I’ve been saying since November:

“Why spend $2000 for a week of manufactured fun Magic Kingdom when you can experience the journey of a lifetime in the Hashemite Kingdom?”

That’s right boys and girls, I went ahead and paid the big bucks for the hotel bandwidth, in part to secure the video and pictures captured since the 2nd onto a server I’ve got setup – but also to punch up some Picasa photos and YouTube videos for your enjoyment.

But first a little background. After all, you have to eat your dinner before desert, and you don’t get videos until you get a bit of history. In this case some of the history of the “Pompeii of the Middle East or Asia” – otherwise known as Jerash. More accurately too as no volcano undid this magnificent discovery of Roman ruins. Enough to see to fill at least a 1 or 2 gig memory card (trust me, I know).

There are two approaches, ours taking us by the Hippodrome, or the Circus Jerash. Here you can buy tickets to a re-enactment show run by a retired Swede living out his childhood dream.

At first I thought it was going to be a bit hokey, but along with the showmanship – some history and ancient how-to was explained and demonstrated – making it something I would recommend seeing. Just bring some water and filter for your camera lens as the sun can get a bit high, hot and toasty. That said, here’s a little tidbit I captured with mySanyo Xacti digital recorder:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wiVbOtqls&autoplay=0 425 350]

Hopefully can see through the YouTubey graininess that no small amount of detail was spent on the uniforms – not I did not say costumes; in keeping with the buckets of history one can enjoy here. Speaking of history, did you know that recent excavations show thatJerash was inhabited during the Bronze Age and Iron Age (3200 BC – 1200 BC)? And that the Romans ‘absorbed’ Jerash into the Arabian District – making it part of the Decapolis around 90 AD and building all the neat stuff I got a glimpse of today – like the Temple of Artemis as seen in the video below:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_tZHY7yzBQ&autoplay=0 425 350]

As you can tell, I love this stuff (almost said ‘dig this stuff’). One place I was hoping to get back to was the Large South Theater, one of the largest in-tact Greco-Roman amphitheatres we have today. It is complete with the tunnels, the seats, the staging – and an acoustic sweet spot that I just had to try out:[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtqREfPC6qM&autoplay=0 425 350]

Sorry about going sharp there on Dvorak’s rendering of the 23rd Psalm form his work 10 Biblical Songs (how embarrassing). The acoustics were so hot, that I found the sound was bouncing back at me, mixing pitches with the ones I was hearing on the iPod. Well that, and how much vocal color can one seriously expect to capture with the very tiny microphone embedded in the Sanyo Xacti VPC E1 (in yellow)?

As credits go, that band behind me is not my normal backup – but rather a group of bag pipers and drummers who normally entertain there – though I did not see their act back on ’04. I also find the selection of instruments a bit odd, wondering if lutes and lyres weren’t more in order considering the era represented by the surrounding structures.

Knit-picking aside, I hope I made this little history lesson a bit less painful. But for you gluttons for punishment – I’ve provided more to explore at the blogJordan Wiki under the obvious category of ‘ Jerash.’

Picasa pictures incoming as I sleep (getting every penny out of this bandwidth I can). Some even surprise me in terms of quality and atmosphere – the evening sun bathing the limestone and marble in a warm orange glow.

Tomorrow the Citadel – and with it pix from the Temple of Hercules!

Oh hey, before I turn in: a BIG shout out to Diana Scimone who was kind enough to link up my blog on hers: DianaScimone.com.

Noted for being the location of the miracle of the Gadarene swine (Matthew 8:28-32), Gadara overlooks the juncture points for of Syria, Israel and Jordan. The town also went by the names of Antiochia or Antiochia Semiramis and Seleucia.

Before enjoying this vista, we went to the spot where Jacob wrestled with the angel as described in Genesis 32:24-32: the River Jabbok.

I got it all mapped out as points 1,2 & 9 for you below:

[gmap map:3]

Also on the map (points 3,5,6 & you’ll note Jerash (محافظة جرش) a site is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa (sometimes Garasa) – with some historical references to it as Antioch on the Golden River.

In the 21st century, the majestic location is sometimes misleadingly referred to as the “Pompeii of the Middle East or Asia“, referring to its size, extent of excavation and level of preservation – EVEN THOUGH Jerash was never buried by a volcano.

Jerash, a city of the Decapolis, is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East – as in enough columns and stonework to fill a 2gb memory card.

Of particular note are the Temple of Artimous and the Ampitheatre – I have excellent evening photos of the former – and some YoutTUbe of me proving the acoustics in song I’ll post later tonight.

Why not now? Glad you asked.

I believe it was John Steinbeck who wrote: “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” And suffering both a keyboard failure on the laptop and reduced to dial-up at 236kbps – More than likely I’ll just shell out the almost $20 U.S. to use the Hyatt’s bandwidth – but I have a commitment to those who’ve aggregated and linked this site to give them the best I can.

Good thing I brought a backup keyboard!

That said, interesting message I’m taking away from this trip as there have been several “gremlin” attacks – including the A/C going out on the bus during the hottest stretch of the day and trip.

I think God’s trying to tell me to enjoy what blessing I have and quite whining so much. Sometimes personal growth smarts – but more on how my trips to Jordan continue to transform me in a latter post.

Remember, Dean Sings on YouTube later tonight (or tomorrow

p.s. – also tomorrow the King Abdulla 1 Mosque, the Citadel, and the Temple of Hercules!