…Jerash and the end?

To complete the Traveler-tourist circuit, we had to visit Jerash. While we also wanted to drop into Ajloun, that wasn’t in the cards. There has to be some give and take on a circuit like this, and you also have to account for those unforeseen instances so very common in fieldwork (surprise meeting with the government concerning your research, for example).

So off to Jerash we went, via a few backroads that afforded us fantastic views of the landscape surrounding Amman. More than a few times there were remarks about how European the physical landscape looked, noting that the barren-of-houses-yet-green-of-agriculture hillsides is actually how Amman proper looked before the population (refugee and immigrant) surges occurred. En route, we stopped for coffee (“Hot Strawberry” for me—like hot strawberry milk…yummy!) at a roadside petrol station called “Integrated Market”. True to its name, the place had snacks, drinks, paper towels, dish soap, mops, pliers, frozen foods...you name it. Utterly splendid what you can find along a Jordanian roadside!

Jerash is a quick 30- to 40-minute drive from our apartment, and before we knew it, Hadrian’s arch loomed in front of us. Google maps, we have found, does not keep up with roads in Jordan. What it shows to be a roundabout might now be a stoplight or just a straight-through street. So finding the entrance to Jerash was a bit confusing. Eventually, we did find a secluded parking lot next to what we discovered a few minutes later was the side of Jerash. The entrance was actually a good 500 meters away from where we parked. But, it made for a great parking spot for two reasons. First, when we were done sightseeing, we would be able to duck-out a side entrance to get to our vehicle, bypassing the noisy and recently-placed touristy souk by the entrance, and second, where we parked was in a local souk, not a tourist one.

Jerash is large. One of the largest Ancient Roman sites I have seen outside of Italy, and pretty well-preserved nd restored. Its center is also a Tetrapylon—a four-gated structure—where each “side” is a road leading to a major city. In this case: Damascus, Jerusalem, Philadelphia (present day Amman), and Iraq. There’s also a large oval-shaped courtyard (instead of the standard circular kind), a hippodrome (for chariot races!), two theaters (including “Roman telephones”—like the “Whispering Wall” in Grand Central Station only kewler), multiple churches, and remarkable mosaics. Jerash is also famous for its moving columns. Seriously. They sway in the wind! What a freaky sight.

Just one of the several stunningly-vibrant mosaics in Jerash. This one is outside, unprotected, in the Byzantine church complex. Simply beautiful.

A cultural highlight came after visiting the ruins, when we decided to get some lunch. Being that we were not parked in the tourist area, the souk and other shops were full of locals. From previous Traveler experiences, I know there is great shwarma and other scrumptious food to be had in places like this. Sure enough, around the first corner, we found a shwarma shop and wandered in to find...more food: salads, keffah, hummus, eggplant dishes, fruits, veggies, rices...All smelling so flavorful. After ordering traditional shwarma for the parents-in-law, a couple appetizers, and a rotisserie chicken to share, the man asked if we wanted to take away or eat upstairs. We chose upstairs. We could hear talking and chattering as we climbed the stairs, but it all stopped as soon as we appeared the sitting area. It was one of those Traveler Moments, where you know you are the first non-local that people have seen at this place, at least in a long while: A quiet comes over the room immediately as people stare at you while you find a table—not in a scary Deliverance way, but in a genuinely puzzled, “Why-would-they-eat-here?” way. After sitting down with our drinks, we looked out the window to see a spectacular panorama view of Jerash. As our food arrived, the locals began gabbing again, and we dug into our meals. “This. Is. Delicious. I mean REALLY good.” My father-in-law said, and my mother-in-law agreed. It was their first authentic shwarma, and it didn’t disappoint. Perhaps it had something to do with the ambiance as well. Either way, the food was really tasty!

A panoramic image of Jerash. From left-to-right: The Byzantine church that houses some gorgeous mosaics, the Temple of Artemis, other complexes, the oval-shaped courtyard, and the south theater.

On our way back to the vehicle, we stopped to get my father-in-law a street side “Arabic coffee”—that strong, black, sludgy stuff that many coffee aficionados think is marvelous stuff. Our drive back to Amman was quick, and once at the apartment, we cooked a nice rice-based dinner, sort of a pseudo-magloubah. It was delicious. Debriefing with the parents-in-law over dinner, the circuit seemed successful.

And then, the next morning, they headed to Israel for a couple days to finish their “vacation”. While in Jordan, they experienced the “biggies”, but also intimately engaged with the landscape broadly speaking and the people more specifically. In the end, Traveling—being a Traveler, or a “Travelist” (a word coined by my mother-in-law to encompass a combination of Traveler and tourist)—is all about cultural exchange and landscape awareness. Our circuit helped accomplish that. From the arid south to the Mediterranean north, experiencing transitions of landscapes, peoples, and places, everyone came away with a sense of satisfaction at completing such a circuit. Likewise, a new appreciation of other locales and their inhabitants, and for sure a better understanding of our World’s situations was also gained. In the end, that’s what is most important when traveling—whether Traveler, tourist, or Travelist—I suppose: a growth of knowledge brought on by in situ experiences and personal interactions with people and the landscape. Sounds a lot like Geography to me! J

A kefiah-clad bagpipe-playing Jordanian is also a neat thing: