Hello all! Sorry it’s been awhile since my last blog post. Didn’t do much traveling in the past two weeks. Last week was midterms and although I only have four classes, professors here somehow managed to schedule seven tests for one week. Needless to say I was pretty busy. Last weekend I literally spent from 12pm-10pm studying. However, so far it has paid off and I’ve done relatively well on all my midterms. Right about now, my mind is checking out and I will probably be coasting for the rest of this week until spring break. Mostly because I am so excited for my trip to Ireland to see my girlfriend!
Yesterday, my friends and I traveled to Jerash, in northern Jordan, to visit the ancient Roman ruins of Jerash—the largest, most well preserved Roman city in the entire Middle East. According to Wikipedia…
“Jerash is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It 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 (though Jerash was never buried by a volcano). Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. It was a city of the Decapolis.
Jerash was the home of Nicomachus of Gerasa, one of the greatest mathematicians in human history.”
Located within the city is a vast amount of ruins. Immediately at the entrance is the Arch of Hadrian (dedicated to the emperor) followed by a large hippodrome where chariot races were held every day. (Being the nerd I am, I paid the 5 Dinars to watch the “Roman Chariot & Military Experience,” a demonstration/reenactment of Roman Military weapons, tactics, and a small chariot race. It was cool!) Following the hippodrome, there was a large oval forum with streets leading to the Temple of Artemis, Zeus, as well as a medium-sized Roman theater. The landscape of the surrounding area was absolutely gorgeous. This has to be one of the greenest areas of Jordan I have ever been to. Notice in several of the photos the amount of flowers blossoming around the area.
Although I absolutely loved seeing the ruins, my favorite part of this trip has to be the Roman Chariot & Military Experience. We paid 5 Dinar and entered the hippodrome and proceeded to the bleachers of the hippodrome, where people used to actually sit when they would watch chariot races! The show began with the sounding of a horn from a “Roman Legionnaire.” This was the signal for the formation of 25 Roman Legionnaires to march in. They marched by the “reviewing stand” next to us where the Emperor was standing (something tells me he wasn’t the ACTUAL emperor…) and it looked vaguely familiar. (Colin, they did an eyes left) We got to see demonstrations of Roman military equipment, weaponry, and tactics. My favorite part was getting to see the soldiers in formation displaying a “Roman tortoise:” the formation used to march forward under the barrage of arrows or other projectiles. The “engineer” would stand at the back of the formation and when they reached a castle door, he would move under the shields, between the soldiers, to the front of the formation and set fire to the door or he would compromise the integrity of the forts walls.
The next stage of the reenactment, they brought “gladiators” on stage and had them duke it out with different weaponry. Some had daggers, others swords, and one man even had a trident (you could call it a pitchfork). They seemed to be very choreographed because when they clashed, their weapons were hitting with full force! Every dual ended with one gladiator gaining the upper hand against the other and it was the decision of the audience to let him live or die. We were instructed to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to decide his fate. I happened to be the only one yelling “Finish him off!” or “No mercy!” My friends were enjoying how much I was into the event. What can I say, I love history. After the show, we were allowed to go down into the hippodrome to take photos with the actors. It was cool!
I do want to mention one important development for everyone. If you have been paying attention to the regional news of the Middle East, you might be aware of the rising tension regarding Israeli policies in Palestine. To recap, a majority of the current tension—without going into an explanation of the whole Israeli-Palestinian Conflict—has been caused, first, by Israel adding several important mosques in Palestine to an Israeli Heritage Sites list, causing tension among Palestinians that Israel is trying to claim these sites as part of the permanent state of Israel. In addition to this, the Israeli government recently renovated the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem, an ancient synagogue that was twice destroyed. It is located relatively close to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock—the third holiest site in Islam. There has been tension over this because this is viewed by Palestinians as an attempt to increase Jewish influence in the area. To cap it off, the Israeli government has approved 1,200 new building permits in East Jerusalem, which was captured during the 1967 War. This is also seen as further Israeli encroachment into the holy city which Palestinians hope to be their capital in their future state. Regardless of my personal beliefs, this is the view on the ground that has caused tension to boil over in the region. Yesterday, a Gaza militant group fired a rocket into Israel, killing a Thai worker. Today, Israel raided several sites in Gaza in retaliation. My program here is cautioning us about the possibility of the region entering another period of instability. Although Jordan is very safe, there have been some demonstrations campus against Israeli policies. I’ve been very impressed with our programs response and warnings to demonstrations and their explanations of the rising regional tension. Rest assured that I am in good hands here. The people here know the culture and the history. They’ve done this before and they know what they’re doing, Mom. J
FUN FACTS SPECIAL FEATURE: VEST WATCH 2010—In Pursuit of the Not So Elusive Western Tourist
It does not cease to amaze me how many western tourists feel the need to wear vests to the Middle East. Not sure if it’s because reporters do it or if they feel they need the quick access storage space offered in a vest, but they are all over! Why do people seem to think “Middle East huh? …..looks like I better buy a vest.” If you are coming to the region, be advised that the vest is a very good way to signal that you are either a tour guide, or you’re a tourist.
