Day Three: Jerash and Amman

Mark 7:31 describes Jesus as travelling through all the region of Decapolis, and that is what we did today also. With an 8.00am start to avoid the heat of the day, we headed north from Amman one hour to the city of Jerash to explore the ancient Roman ruins of the greatest of all the Decapolis cities. Jerash was founded by the Roman general Pompey in 64BC and grew over time to boast such features as a colonnaded plaza, a hypodrome, a colonnaded cardo maximus (N-S) and decamanos maximus (E-W), temples to Zeus, Bacchus, and Artemis, two amphitheatres, along with the ruins of 16 churches from the Christian Era. Certainly the most impressive and extensive Roman ruins in the Middle East, if not the world, one could not help but be awed by the sophistication and wealth of the founding fathers to create such a place and what a culture shock it must have been for Jesus and His disciples to visit there.

Wandering through the 10 acres of this ancient site, we were kept entertained with the latest updates from the AFL grand final in Melbourne - quite surreal. Go Hawks.

Discovered as recently as the 1950s after being lost under the desert sands for centuries, having also suffered catastrophic destruction by earthquake, there remains large sections of the site yet to be excavated. 

After a hot and tiring, yet deeply satisfying 3 hours, we stopped for lunch at a Jersah restaurant for some more delicious Middle Eastern cuisine, before continuing on our return journey to Amman, stopping off en route to view a panorama of the Jabbok River, made famous by Jacob's return to the Promised Land, his wrestling with the angel of the Lord, his change of name to Israel, and his encounter with Esau (Genesis 32:22ff)

Returning to Amman, we visited the Citadel archaeological site, where the earliest remains of civilisation  

are on display. Among other things of interest is the fact that modern day Amman was in Jesus' day the Decapolis city of Philadelphia which Jesus and His disciples would almost certainly have visited.

Upon our return to the Hotel, some enjoyed a refreshing dip in the pool before we met in the "Presidential Suite" for a time of sharing and fellowship before a delicious dinner and some much need rest.

PS apologies - photos not working today. Will have to try a separate entry tomorrow.