Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - Day two in Jordan was going to be a long one for us. We started at 8:00 driving north of Amman to Jerash.

A settlement has been in Jerash since 7,500 BC. However, the city Gerasa, was founded by Alexander the Great and his general, Perdiccas, where soldiers settled here in 331 BC.

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This is the Arch of Hadrian built to honor the visit of Emperor Hadrian to Gerasa in 130 AD.
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Detail on the Arch of Hadrian.

We wandered through the ruins while listening to our guide on a radio with our earbuds.
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Detail on the Arch of Hadrian.
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A small temple with a mosaic floor - mosaics are everywhere.
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A section of the seats in the Hippodrome. Seating 15,000 spectators and was for chariot races and other sports. The exact date of its construction is unclear - estimated between the mid-second to third century AD. It is the smallest known Hippodrome and was built for chariot races.
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The stone wall was the West Souk and Military Barracks over the life of the city. On the hill are the ruins of the Zeus Temple.

This area was used for shops in the 2nd century AD then was burned by raiders in the 3rd century. To strengthen the city a wall was built and these shops were turned into barracks for the military.
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Oval Plaza is very impressive - still paved and surrounded by a colonnade. The oval shape is unique and was chosen to harmoniously connect two axes that meet at an angle: the newer one of the Roman Cardo (the long colonnaded street) with the axis of the older Sanctuary of Zeus.

This picture is looking down the Roman Cardo.
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Virginia Ann hiking up to the ruins of the Zeus Temple.

The green boxes are radio receivers so the tour leader can talk about the sites where only we can hear him without being right next to him. It was great as Cal could run around taking pictures and still hear the information from the guide.
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The Oval Plaza from the Temple of Zeus which was built at the beginning of the 2nd century AD.
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Cal and Virginia Ann in the Temple of Zeus.

We only explored a small part of the ruins.
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The columns in the Temple of Zeus reaching to the sky
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The South Theatre, built in 90 - 92 AD with contributions by rich citizens of Gerasa, it has not only been a place of performances but also of political assemblies. Due to the orientation to the north up to 3,500 spectators did not have to look against the sun.
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Greek inscriptions in the walls of the South Theater.
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South Theater stage.

It is used by Jerash even now for events like the Culture and Arts Festival.
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Detail of the South Theater stage.
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Part of the colonnade of the Oval Plaza
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Columns along the South Cardo which is 874 yards long!!!!

The street plan of Gerasa was designed in the middle of the 1st century AD.
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The cardo continues and just north is the Cardo Maximus which was widened in the 2nd century.
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Entrance from the Cardo to the Cathedral, the oldest known Byzantine church in Gerasa, built around 450 AD. Stones from the Temple of Zeus were used to create the church.
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The cardo continuing to the North Gate.
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After Jerash we drove to lunch at the Iraq Al Amir Women Association - founded by Queen Noor, the cooperative is a place for local women to sell their crafts.

They showed us how to make a local dish and then served us lunch which was very good.
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Then the event we dreaded - floating in the Dead Sea. Virginia Ann opted out after a story from her cousin on how cold the water was and how someone on their trip slipped on the rocks and broke an arm at the Dead Sea.

Cal put on his suit and walked over the very uncomfortable rocks to the water. It was an odd experience - you could not sink.

Virginia Ann snapped off a few pictures of Cal and the rest of the group in the water and the smearing of "therapeutic" mud on your skin - Cal did not get muddy.
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We stayed at the Dead Sea until sunset, and we were not disappointed.
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After showering and dressing we boarded the bus for the trip back to Amman.


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