Visit to Umm Qais

I have been away from my blog for ages, and I am so happy that I can finally sit down and write again! There are always lots of reasons why one can't blog, but my main reason (a part from having visitors for quite some time) is that Bibs kind of took over my laptop when the tv suddenly went funny. The only time during the day I can write is when she quietly sits and watches her favourite program "Peppa Pig". So you got it, TV is working again: Bibs can have her screen and I can have mine.

Have so much to tell as we have done quite a few things in the last month; and I have decided to start with the last thing we did: a visit to Umm Qais.

Umm Qais is located in the North Westerly corner of Jordan, just at the border with Israel and Syria; the site overlooks Lake Tiberias, aka Sea of Galilee, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley. It was a member of the Decapolis (during the Roman Empire) and was then known as Gadara. The city was then a cultural centre and was home to many poets and philosophers.

I found the site very beautiful, specially because it is so green there. Unfortunately it takes nearly 2 hours to get there from Amman - the drive goes through Irbid, the second largest city in Jordan and that means that you waste a lot of time.

Entrance to the site

It is fairly easy to get to Umm Qais, there are signs the whole way (this is worth mentioning as: 1. it is very rare in Jordan - 2. it is not the case when you need to go back to Amman!). The entrance is free for the residents and tourists need to pay 3JD.

View of the theatre

The theatre was built in the 2nd century AD against the western slope of the Acropolis. It could host around 3000 visitors and is built entirely in basalt. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 8th century.
There are many things to look at on the site:

The main road in Gadara

The Nymphaeum

Archaeological museum (closed on Tuesday) 

The site is also known for a biblical event: this is thought to be the place where Jesus cast devils into swine, which then drowned in the waters of Lake Tiberias.

View of the Lake Tiberias or Sea of Galilee (and the Nymphaeum)

If you schedule your visit over lunch I have heard that the guesthouse, located just across the road from the entrance should be rather good - not a bad idea before a long drive back. The views are surely stunning. 

Jordan Valley

The other attraction of the area is Al-Himma - therapeutical hot springs located about 10 kilometres north of Umm Qais, they were already in use by the Romans, whom apparently regarded them highly. Today there are both a privately run bath and a public one (with separate timetables for men and women).

As I have already said it is a bit far away, which is unfortunate because I don't think I will go again. It is the kind of place you visit once. Yes, the views are amazing, the biblical reference interesting, but it is just too far from Amman. I wouldn't recommend to go to Jerash and then Umm Qais, I think it is too much to do in one day. One last thing it is not a stroller friendly site!

Here is a link to more pictures.

Saved dolmen field in Jordan - a new tourism attraction for 2011

For at least the past 2 years a Dolmen field near Damiyah, a village located north of Salt, in the Jordan Valley, has been on the World Monuments Watch list. According to an article in the Jordan Times of today, the site has been saved from destruction. A new archaeological site has been created, the DoA (Department of Antiquities) has made a deal with the mining company exploiting the area and a piece of land has been protected. It means that some of the dolmen will have to be moved to that specific site.

Pictures from the World Monument Site 

The dolmen site should open sometime next year to the public. This is great as it adds one more interesting site to visit to Jordan's already quite extensive list. Dolmens are from the Early Bronze age (3600-3000 BC) and some experts say they could be even older, from the Chalcolithic era (that's 4500-3500 BC). There are around 300 dolmens on site, so it should become an interesting park to visit. This is one of the things I particularly enjoy about Jordan: there are so many things to look at from so many different times.

The other thing that is nice to notice is that there are no other sites currently on the watch list.

Archaeological Museum in Amman

Located on the site of our famous citadel, there is a small but well appointed archaeological museum.
The collection ranges from the Paleolithic era to the islamic era (so covering several hundred thousand years). The museum displays artifacts found in all the archaeological sites around Jordan, you can see items of daily life such as pottery, tools, but also statues, coins...

One of the most important exhibits are these plaster statues from "Ain Ghazal". They date back from the pre-pottery Neolothic era, around 6000 BC.

They look a bit extraterrestrial to me!

They were discovered in a cache at a site, located on the outskirts of Amman in 1983 and then some more in 1985. The statues are made of plaster applied to an interior reed armature. They are thought to be funeral statues and could commemorate deceased family members in more important families. The statues were found buried underneath the floors of uninhabited houses. The theory is that these statues were made for ancestor worship and when no longer needed, they were then "buried".

Another very interesting thing to see is the exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Discovered at Quram, Israel in 1947

In spring 1947, a bedouin discovered jars containing scrolls in the caves facing Qumran. The scrolls make up a veritable library, with a time span ranging 2 centuries BC. The texts are written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. All the books from the old testament are included. Many documents concerning the activities of the Essene (a Jewish sect) were also found.

A copy of the Mesha Stele (aka Moabite Stone) is also on display at the Museum. The original one can be found at the Louvre in Paris, France. The Stele was discovered in Dhiban (ancient Dibon) in 1868. This stone constitutes a direct account of the history of the world that is related to the Bible.

Mesha Stele in the Louvre

Some more interesting things on display at the Museum

To the left: some very rare sarcophagi dating from the Iron Age. To the right: marble head of the goddess Tyche, daughter of Zeus. Goddess of fortune and protectrice of Amman. It was found in the Garden of the Museum in 1957.

A little note: the first time we went to the Citadel, we didn't pay an entrance fee, but this time we did. 150fils for residents and 2JD for the non-resident.