Day 3: Around Amman

We spent the day today exploring the town in which we are staying: Amman. The streets were packed with cars and pedestrians and vendors were on the sidewalks attempting the usher passersby into their open stores. The first stop of our day was to the King Abdullah Mosque--the center of Muslim worship in Amman (although there are many other centers--this was built to be the most recognizable in the country). We discarded our shoes by the door and were ushered in to view it. Muslims pray five times a day, and during those five times, the mosque is packed. We visited during visiting hours, which is between prayer times. Two of the times for prayer are at dusk and at dawn. The time for prayer is determined not with a clock but by holding a white thread and a black thread next to each other. Once the two threads can no longer be distinguished from one another--night has fallen and prayer is called. Once the two threads can again to distinguished from one another--morning prayer is called. The mosque was incredible and hard to describe with words.

After our visit to the mosque, we again ventured into the jungled web that comprise Amman's network of roads. After driving for some time through the city, we exited a street and saw a vast hill sitting before us. In the middle of this modern, busy city remains the ruins of the ancient Iron Age city of Rabah and the Greco-Roman city of Philadelphia (built on top of the Iron Age ruins). You might remember Rabah from the story of David and Bathsheeba, when David ordered Bathseeba's husband, Uriah, to attack the city of Rabah while David remained safely in Jerusalem with Bathseeba.

The Jordanian Antiquities Authority have maintained the ruins of Philadelphia very well. A Temple to Zeus sprawls across the front entrance of the city, which provides a prime look into the Roman amphitheater below. A somewhat smal museum adorns a hill beside the Zeus's temple, but what this museum lacks in size is definitely made up in substance. I have never been to a museum with richer artifacts or a more interesting presentation of artifacts. I could talk about the museum for pages, but I will skip ahead a little. Out of the back of the museum sits the foundation of a Byzantine church and a later mosque from the Ummayad dynasty. After exploring the ancient ruins for an hour and a half, we got back on our bus and headed to lunch.

We ate lunch in the middle of the old downtown district, which has retained a vibrant Middle East market-town vibe. We sat at a local restaurant and were served freshly made hummus, falafel, and many other traditional dishes (which we have been eating for every meal but have yet to become boring).

After lunch, we continued to the perfectly maintained Greco-Roman amphitheatre. On the way, I stopped with a friend and fellow Duke Diver, Joe Plemmons, and we purchased some kafiyehs (traditional middle-eastern head coverings to protect your head from the sun). The man originally wanted 4 JD per kafiyeh (1 JD = 1.40 US$--not the best conversion rate!). But when I started to put the 5 JD bill back into my pocket, he agreed to sell us 2 for 5 JD (probably not the lowest we could have gone but still not bad). We continued to the amphitheater, then to a group stop at a smoothie shop, and then finally back to where we are staying. We relaxed for a couple of hours, played some cards, and head to dinner. It is now pushing 11 p.m. here and fatigue has begun to drag us a bit. We haven't even started digging yet, which will require a 4:30 a.m. wake-up every morning, so we better shake this feeling now.

Tomorrow we are venturing to the baptism site of Jesus (a site agreed upon which many scholars agree) and to the Dead Sea. Tomorrow like every other day so far, will be unforgettable!

Brad