June 2: Jerash and Ajloun
Today was our excursion to see the ruins of Jerash and Ajloun.
We first arrived at Jerash, an ancient city built by the Greeks and later rebuilt by the Romans. It remains one of the better preserved Roman cities, especially in the region. As a result, the ruins of Jerash are pretty extensive and feature many of the key features of ancient Roman cities, such as the Amphitheater, Nymphonium, baths, hippodrome, etc. As a result, our tour around Jerash was quite a hike.
Throughout the Roman city, we could still see remains of the Greek presence before the Romans. For example, certain columns in the city center were built in a Greek style.
Lunch was at the Green Valley (الوادي الأخضر) a restaurant in the nearby area in the modern town of Jerash. Jerash the ruins was a large city, part of the Roman Decapolis, with about 25,000 residents. However, from any point in the ruins we could see the expanse of the modern town of Jerash, that stretched on far greater than the ruins.
We then arrived at Ajloun Castle, which was a Crusader-era castle built under the empire of Salah ad-Din (صلاح الدين) who created the Ayyubid Dynasty that controlled Egypt, parts of Libya, the Levant, Northern Mesopotamia, and parts of Arabia and Yemen at its extent. Salah ad-Din is considered a stalwart defender of the Levant against Crusaders, and is also considered one of the most, if not the most, famous Kurds in history. Ajloun Castle sits on top of a hill that overlooks the entire area. From the top of the castle, one can see the edge of the Jordan River Valley, and many sights in the nearby area. Amman and Umm Qais lie just outside of view. Defenders of the castle would communicate with other cities, such as Amman, via pigeon. They would use a pigeon born in Amman, bring it to Ajloun, and when necessary release the pigeon with the message. The pigeon would naturally fly back to its home in Amman, where others would receive its message. Pretty cool stuff.
We first arrived at Jerash, an ancient city built by the Greeks and later rebuilt by the Romans. It remains one of the better preserved Roman cities, especially in the region. As a result, the ruins of Jerash are pretty extensive and feature many of the key features of ancient Roman cities, such as the Amphitheater, Nymphonium, baths, hippodrome, etc. As a result, our tour around Jerash was quite a hike.
Throughout the Roman city, we could still see remains of the Greek presence before the Romans. For example, certain columns in the city center were built in a Greek style.
Lunch was at the Green Valley (الوادي الأخضر) a restaurant in the nearby area in the modern town of Jerash. Jerash the ruins was a large city, part of the Roman Decapolis, with about 25,000 residents. However, from any point in the ruins we could see the expanse of the modern town of Jerash, that stretched on far greater than the ruins.
We then arrived at Ajloun Castle, which was a Crusader-era castle built under the empire of Salah ad-Din (صلاح الدين) who created the Ayyubid Dynasty that controlled Egypt, parts of Libya, the Levant, Northern Mesopotamia, and parts of Arabia and Yemen at its extent. Salah ad-Din is considered a stalwart defender of the Levant against Crusaders, and is also considered one of the most, if not the most, famous Kurds in history. Ajloun Castle sits on top of a hill that overlooks the entire area. From the top of the castle, one can see the edge of the Jordan River Valley, and many sights in the nearby area. Amman and Umm Qais lie just outside of view. Defenders of the castle would communicate with other cities, such as Amman, via pigeon. They would use a pigeon born in Amman, bring it to Ajloun, and when necessary release the pigeon with the message. The pigeon would naturally fly back to its home in Amman, where others would receive its message. Pretty cool stuff.
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