Last night we went to the ancient city of Jerash which is where there are many columns and Roman Ruins. It is one of the largest and most well preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world, outside of Italy I guess. It was just amazing. After a tour and many pictures we went into the South Theatre which is this huge place that can seat thousands of people to watch a concert put on by Kathem Saher who is an Iraqi performer. We were extremely lucky to be there at this time because the Jerash Festival was going on and it is only there for three weeks. Despite us getting there three hours before the show we were still crammed by people, but the show was so worth it. For the first hour or so I was freezing and couldn't say awake, but then I got my second wind and was thoroughly enjoying it. There was a lot of dancing going on in our group. There was one lady that Kevin met that flew in just for the concert from France. I guess he is very well known and popular. (So, of course today I had to go buy one of his Cd's. Not that I will know what he is saying, but it was still great music to listen to.) One thing that was so amazing to me was that the audience was full of people at all different ages. I was surprised to see such a wide age range there. We even saw a guy that was wearing a Dimmitt Athletic shirt like the ones our junior high kids wear. When I went to ask him about it he had no idea what I was saying. It finally came out that he got the shirt from his uncle that lives in the US, but he doesn't think it was from Washington. It's such a small world that you just never know.
It was a very long night, but even despite how tired we were we all went to the airport to pick up Mini, our UW coordinator. She got sick the night before we left so she was unable to come until last night. We have missed her and are all so happy she is here to experience this amazing adventure with us.
Today was another fantastic day. We all got to sleep in, which was much needed after our late night. After lunch we went bargain shopping and then to Mt. Nebo. Being that we were in a tourist shop they were all about trying to sell us things, BUT at a higher price than Maha, Abeer, and Hanan. It was pretty funny. So, we outsmarted them and would give one of them our stuff to go ask for prices and they were always lower, so they would buy them for us. It was pretty funny. We all definitely learned not to shop without them. Although Kevin did pretty well on his own. The prices would even change from one person to another. One guy told us that these neat mosaic coasters were two for $20 and get a third one free. So, of course that was a good deal and Marvice bought some. But, then when another one of us asked a different guy they were all of a sudden 3 for $75. Yeah right!!! Then the two guys discussed it and I guess they are more expensive than he charged Marvice and the other guy joked that he would now be losing his salary for the next two years since we were all now buying some... We made out of there with a lot of good finds!
Mt. Nebo was another fascinating place with such a story to tell. I think I need to refresh up on the Bible when I get home though to learn more about these places. Mt. Nebo is where Moses is said to have seen the Promised Land. Later when he died he was buried somewhere up there. Of course we had a group picture taken at his memorial site. We have group pictures taken everywhere. The Moses Memorial Church is full of beautiful mosaics. Some have really been preserved well. There was a great view of the Dead Sea from up there.
After Mt. Nebo we went to a the Holy Land gift shop. It was full of some amazing things. There was a lot of products from the Dead Sea. Between the 8 of us we pretty much bought out the whole store. I was excited to buy some things, especially for my friends. I wasn't really concerned about how I was getting it all home because most of it was small, but what I noticed when I lifted the bag of goodies I bought, was that I didn't consider the weight. Today was really the first day I shopped and I think I already put my suitcase over its weight limit... Great!!!
Finally we were on our way to the Mecca Mall. Oh my gosh!!! I was HUGE. I think it was 4 or 5 stories. We had dinner there, pizza from Sabaro's, and then walked around for a while. This was the first meal that I had that didn't involve pita bread and humic. We were not there long enough so we will have to go back when we can spend more time. It was amazing to me to see such a crowded mall when we were leaving at 10:30 at night. Everyone here seems to be night owls.
There is so much history here in Jordan that it makes Seattle feel boring. Even though when we say that to our Jordanian friends they disagree because they loved being in Seattle. I guess they are both great places each in their own unique ways.
Well I had better get to be because tomorrow is going to be another amazing day when we go float in the salt water at the Dead Sea!
Mahsalamieh,
Michelle
1 comment:
Wow, sounds fun. Pita bread is good. Is it humus or humic or ar they 2 different things? Did you get a fine at the airport for having too much stuff? How did you type everything up in Jordan or did you come back and put everything on the website? - Alex T.
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