April 12th
Amman, Jordan is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Formally known as Philadelphia, the city was destroyed by several earthquakes and natural disasters and remained a small village until 1878. Since then, the population has largely grown due to the refugees escaping wartime events in countries like West Bank, Iraq, and lately Syria.
We visited Jerash, which is the largest colonial Roman ruins in the world. It has been continuously inhabited for 6500 years. We saw some famous Roman- influenced structures from 129 A.D. like Hadrian's Arch, Temple of Zeus, an Amphitheatre and smaller structures like their water tank system and the grooves on the cobblestone roads from the carriages that used to pass over them.
On our way south to Petra, a UNESCO world heritage site, we stopped at a resort that owned property on the Dead Sea and we went for a swim in the extremely salty water. The Dead Sea is the lowest point in the world (about 1312 feet below sea level). It was so salty that we floated almost at the surface and no fish or marine life can live or grow in the waters. We also covered ourselves in Dead Sea mud which is apparently beneficial to the skin but makes it feel old and wrinkly as it dries, until you wash it off.
Petra is one of the seven wonders of the world and is more than 2000 years old and the people (Nabataeans) who lived there prospered in trading off myrrh and spices. Petra later became part of the Roman Empire and was heavily influenced by their architecture and design.
The Nabateans buried their dead in tombs cut out of sandstone and used the rock to build churches, huge temples of worship, an amphitheater and columned streets. The only entrance was a 1 kilometer long gorge between two vertical cliffs called the Siq. This leads to the famous Treasury at the end of the path and many other huge buildings carved out of the rock. Sadly in 363 A.D., a couple earthquakes and a change in the trade routes by the Romans led to the slow downfall of the city by 749 A.D.
At the end of a long, very hot day in Petra, my brilliant parents decided to hike 885 steps to visit a monastery on top of the mountain. Most people take donkeys... we didn't. At least we got good views and I got fresh orange juice at the top.
The next day we went out into the Wadi Rum desert and stayed overnight with a bunch of Bedouin people in tents. We drove around in 4 wheel drive trucks to see canyons, desert, arches, sand dunes and a whole lot of nothing .... The next morning we rode camels back. They were stinky, very uncomfortable to ride, and slow, but overall, a fun thing to do.
Of course, due to the fact that we spent about an hour on a camel, dad once again believes he got yet another brilliant camel shot. See below.
Amman, Jordan is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. Formally known as Philadelphia, the city was destroyed by several earthquakes and natural disasters and remained a small village until 1878. Since then, the population has largely grown due to the refugees escaping wartime events in countries like West Bank, Iraq, and lately Syria.
We visited Jerash, which is the largest colonial Roman ruins in the world. It has been continuously inhabited for 6500 years. We saw some famous Roman- influenced structures from 129 A.D. like Hadrian's Arch, Temple of Zeus, an Amphitheatre and smaller structures like their water tank system and the grooves on the cobblestone roads from the carriages that used to pass over them.On our way south to Petra, a UNESCO world heritage site, we stopped at a resort that owned property on the Dead Sea and we went for a swim in the extremely salty water. The Dead Sea is the lowest point in the world (about 1312 feet below sea level). It was so salty that we floated almost at the surface and no fish or marine life can live or grow in the waters. We also covered ourselves in Dead Sea mud which is apparently beneficial to the skin but makes it feel old and wrinkly as it dries, until you wash it off.
The Nabateans buried their dead in tombs cut out of sandstone and used the rock to build churches, huge temples of worship, an amphitheater and columned streets. The only entrance was a 1 kilometer long gorge between two vertical cliffs called the Siq. This leads to the famous Treasury at the end of the path and many other huge buildings carved out of the rock. Sadly in 363 A.D., a couple earthquakes and a change in the trade routes by the Romans led to the slow downfall of the city by 749 A.D.
At the end of a long, very hot day in Petra, my brilliant parents decided to hike 885 steps to visit a monastery on top of the mountain. Most people take donkeys... we didn't. At least we got good views and I got fresh orange juice at the top.The next day we went out into the Wadi Rum desert and stayed overnight with a bunch of Bedouin people in tents. We drove around in 4 wheel drive trucks to see canyons, desert, arches, sand dunes and a whole lot of nothing .... The next morning we rode camels back. They were stinky, very uncomfortable to ride, and slow, but overall, a fun thing to do.
Of course, due to the fact that we spent about an hour on a camel, dad once again believes he got yet another brilliant camel shot. See below.
awesome photos and videos Kiva. I have enjoyed looking at them. Think about you guys every time I pass by your bus stop. See you in June...
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