Jordan, Day 2

November 14, 2008

Pillars! Capitals! More Pillars!

That’s kind of what our tour today was like. Of course, our guides had more intelligent things to say about the pillars, but as far as what we saw…mostly pillars. I even started to get a little tired of them and stopped taking as many pictures (also because I was a little afraid of having my battery die before the end of the day.)

We started the day a bit late (again) due to anther mishap involving oversleeping. Oh well. Our first stop was at Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, in modern day Amman. The first thing we saw upon entering the site was the “proto-ionic capital” that we have come to know and love since our first introduction to it at Rachel Ramon. The header-stretcher construction of what I think was an Iron Age palace was also pointed out. The point being, of course, that while we always here stories of the wars between Israel, Judah, and Ammon, most of the time they got along and there was a trade of goods and ideas and building styles. The most obvious aspect of the sight was the huge pillars which once made up a temple to Hercules. We spent some time looking at different aspects of the site from different time periods (Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic). It was a bit frustrating because I wanted some time to wander and then to go to the museum. Instead, our Jordanian guide kept going to one next place. It was interesting, but I was more interested in the museum. We eventually did get there, though I felt far more rushed than I would have liked to be. There was so much amazing stuff there! I really wish I would have had more time to take it all in. I think I did manage to see all the main “highlights” but there’s so much more I could have absorbed with another hour or two. Oh well. (Here's one of the Dead Sea scrolls...or what was left of it.)

Our next stop Gerasha, “Beth-Shean on steroids and fertility drugs.” It has been called “The City of a Thousand Columns” and the name definitely fits. I did not count the columns, but between the long cardo and other streets, the various temples, churches, theatres, and other areas, one thousand doesn’t seem like an unreasonable estimate. It was a huge sight and we spent quite a bit of time going around it with our Jordanian guide.
It was one of the Decapolis cites, and after the destruction of Jerusalem apparently attracted quite few Christians. Hadrian slept over night there at one point, and to commemorate (?) that they built a huge, beautiful gate. It was a pretty amazing site, but I’m afraid that I wasn’t quite as interested in its history as I have been of sites with much more mundane ruins. Oh, I believe it's also a traditional site for the story of Luke 8:26. The geography doesn't so much fit, though.

After considering the ruins we had an amazing lunch. All sorts of dips and sauces for pita, HOT from the oven. Various hot dishes. Good (though well seeded) oranges and little “donut holes” that we figured had been dipped in a rosewater syrup. One of the sauces I got was even spicy. It was wonderful. I’ve missed spicy food so much!!

On our way to the last stop of the day, we paused for a couple minutes on the bank of the Jabbok. In spite of the large canyon through which it flows, today it is little more than a trickle. For those who read Patrick McManus, it would definitely qualify as a “crick” rather than a “creek.” It had old tires, soap suds, and the smell of sewage.
In spite of all this, it was still a beautiful place. Back in antiquity, of course, it would have been really quite lovely – a symbol of all that is beautiful and fertile and good. We spent some time talking about the night that Jacob spent along the Jabbok river. The name Jacob means “heel” or, kind of as an allusion, “deceiver.” Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart is “deceitful.” Apparently, the Hebrew verb there is derived from the Hebrew noun meaning “heel.” So, we could say , our hearts are all like Jacob – clever, out for our own good, sneaky.

The last stop of the day was a “Mystery” sight. Dr. Wright did let the modern name slip – “Iraq Al Amir.” When we arrived we saw a large, rectangular building, made of huge stones, much like some in base of the temple platform. There were also carvings of many large cats around the outside, as well as some more Jewish symbols. Inside, the area had apparently been divided up into quite a few rooms, generally smaller. There were large windows all over the walls. The question was, when was it built, and what was it built for? Apparently four suggestions have been made over the years: palace, temple, fortress, or really elaborate grave. The last three we found unlikely for a variety of reasons. It turns out that Josephus mentions a “country estate” built in this area of the country by a Hasmonean Jew named something like "Herconus". It seems likely that this is that site. I have to admit, it was a beautiful area. I wouldn’t mind living there myself.

And now we are off – traversing the desert high way, on the way to Petra. It is now 6:30. We probably have slightly less than 3 hours left to go. Long day! But worth it.

Addendum: We drove through the darkness to Petra. It was difficult to make out anything along the road, but I sort of got the feeling that it was a bit similar to eastern Montana. Just with better roads (or maybe worse if compared to the highway?), a few more trees, and more people. It seemed fairly flat and fairly barren, though it was hard to tell. I liked it. When we got to Petra it was much too dark to make out anything, but we were told that the site begins where the lights end. (Apparently, electricity is illegal there.) We ate a late dinner, and I headed to bed pretty quickly.