Egypt and Jordan: Amman: the deep layers of civilization

After leaving our Luxor hotel at 5 a.m. for the airport, we had a six hour layover in Cairo. Thinking it was probably not cool to sleep on the airport's prayer rugs, we managed to get a couple of naps on the metal seats in the terminal.

After a tasty dinner at a local shawarma place, we awoke the next morning to a cool and cloudy Amman, Jordan. Jordan's former population of 7 million has swollen to 10 million with waves of immigration from Syria. However, Jordan remains stable and very safe, and appears much more prosperous than Egypt. The traffic is fairly well-behaved, almost comparable to what we're used to in the U.S.

Our first outing was to the Citadel, a hilltop site with many layers of occupation, from Neolithic to Roman times. It's considered to be one of the oldest continuously occupied places in the world. This is the Ummayad Palace, built in the 8th century AD and restored with a new dome.

On the site of the Roman Temple of Hercules, a giant hand was found that is believed to have been part of a 40-foot tall statue of Hercules.

The small Archaeology Museum of Jordan at the Citadel contains some remarkable artifacts, such as this two-headed Neolithic plaster bust that dates to 7500 BC, one of the earliest known statues of humans.

Across from the Citadel is a well-preserved Roman theatre.

A 15-minute walk from our hotel took us to the Jordan Museum.

It's a world-class museum with a fantastic collection taking the visitor through the history of the region. This Neolithic plaster-covered skull is 8500 years old, and the sculpted slab is 14,000 years old.

The museum traces the history of writing, and is home to several fragments of the well-known Dead Sea scrolls, as well as a copper one.

Though it took a sidewalk committee and a couple of phone calls by our taxi driver to translate our next destination, we made it to the King Abdullah mosque, known as the Blue Mosque. Judy had to don local garb to enter.

The mosque is dedicated to King Abdullah, the founder of modern Jordan, and is quite striking inside and out. We tried to be quiet and not disturb the few who were in prayer.

In the trip plan, Judy had thought about going to Umm Qais, where Jesus supposedly cast demons into a herd of pigs--they always get the bad end of things--but that turned out to be a bit too close to the Syrian border. (Don't worry, it's very safe where we are going.) So Friday's first stop was Jerash, an enormous Greco-Roman ruin complex about 45 minutes from Amman. We entered at Hadrian's Arch, built to honor Roman emperor's Hadrian's visit in 130 AD.

Next to the Hippodrome (chariot racetrack) was an underground olive oil mill.

The Forum was a hub of activity.

The ancient city had two theaters. In the largest, which could hold 2500 people, a bagpipe player in Arab garb was soliciting tips. Kind of incongruous to hear "Amazing Grace" here.

Though I like the bagpipe, this bird was serenading more beautifully, while a gecko soaked up the sun.

The site is huge, over a mile long and half mile wide, yet 75% of the ancient city remains unexcavated under the modern town of Jerash.

The columns at the Temple of Artemis have stood since AD 150.

The colonnaded street called the Cardo was lined with shops. A food market, water fountains and baths were available to the inhabitants.

The old city had extensive underground water and waste systems. Remnants of the original iron lifting rings can still be seen on some of the manholes along the Cardo.

About 30 minutes away is the mountaintop Ajloun Castle, built by the Muslim Ayyubid dynasty in 1185 AD to protect against the incursions of the Crusades and control the Bedouin tribes.

The town of Ajloun sits below surrounded by olive groves.

The fortress held residences for the area governor, officials and soldiers, as well as a military economics school. Defended by archers through narrow windows and catapults hurling stones and fiery bombs, it was never breached by the Crusades.