After arriving in Amman we immediately got the bus to Jerash, one of the finest ruins of a Roman city. Jerash may not be as spectacular as other sites but it is wonderfully complete within the curtain wall that surrounds it. Walking the streets past shops, theatres and temples you can fully appreciate the extraordinary sophistication of Roman culture. The site itself was beautiful too, the greenest place we saw in Jordan, full of flowering plants and butterflies. There is little point in me writing about the history as that is easily available elsewhere but often I forget how long the eastern Roman empire and Byzantium lasted after the fall of the west.
After Jerash we returned to our slightly seedy hotel and were greeted by a large cockroach leaving as we entered our room. Thanks to Tracey this got us an upgrade. If I had been alone I would probably said 'Hi' and passed it by. After travelling with Kit in Indonesia I became a little disappointed if a cockroach was not included in the price.
Travel Tip. If you want to get an upgrade on your hotel room bring you own cockroach.
After the sophistication of Beirut Amman seemed much more of arab city. Tatty, kitsch and in need of repair. The streets near our hotel were lined with a bizarre range of shop dummies that somehow seem to sum up Amman and the spirit of Jordan for me. Being a much more a muslim country try than Lebanon drink was hard to find. But we did it. We came across a tiny dark hole in the wall bar that sold beer and an impressive range of spirits.Surprisingly it also sold some local brews, so we drank Petra beer in honour of our forthcoming visit to the rose red city.
Little did we know at the time that this would be our last and only beer in Jordan
Travel Tip. If you want to get an upgrade on your hotel room bring you own cockroach.
After the sophistication of Beirut Amman seemed much more of arab city. Tatty, kitsch and in need of repair. The streets near our hotel were lined with a bizarre range of shop dummies that somehow seem to sum up Amman and the spirit of Jordan for me. Being a much more a muslim country try than Lebanon drink was hard to find. But we did it. We came across a tiny dark hole in the wall bar that sold beer and an impressive range of spirits.Surprisingly it also sold some local brews, so we drank Petra beer in honour of our forthcoming visit to the rose red city.
Little did we know at the time that this would be our last and only beer in Jordan