Jerash

Little Icon

Hadrian's Arch

Temple of Zeus

South Theater

Temple of Artemis Columns

Yesterday Mom, Amelia, and I visited Jerash, or Gerasha, a town 45 minutes north of Amman. Anciently, it was part of the Decapolis and boasts one of Hadrian's arches. It is one of the most well-preserved ancient cities in the Middle East. I think it was about as impressive as the Roman ruins in Rome, Italy. Everyday horse chariot enactments are played for tourists around the Hippodrome, a sort of salute to Ben Hur! The oval Forum was very interesting. Most Forums are circular or Elliptical in shape. This one is an oval! The Greeks would turn over in the graves if they knew of this anomaly. LOL. Amelia had a great time scooping dusty rocks like a little doggy. She insisted walking by herself along the Cardo's uneven paving stones. Once she even slipped on the marble stones and bonked her head. The temple of Artemis and the Southern Theater were really impressive. One guide placed a spoon near the base of a Corinthian column, you could actually see the column rock with the breeze!! As mom and I walked down the main Cardo we imagined what type of shops lined the road...a Payless here, a JC Pennys there. We ended our tour with an ice cold Fanta in the bottle. YUM. She was a bit crabby still having issues sleeping at night (bummer). We are now sleeping in the basement so she can duke it out without waking the entire household.

Today is Sunday/Friday. We watched the second session of General Conference. After we all enjoyed a long nap. Last night, banned to the basement, Amelia cried herself to sleep. She refused to lay down so she would fall asleep standing up, whispering, "no mommy." Each time I tried to lay her down she would pop back up crying and standing in the port-a-crib. After two hours of this she collapsed in a corner and fell asleep. Less than 30 minutes later the fire alarm in the basement started to chirp it's low battery cry. If I only had a shotgun. LOL. I was really excited to see my mission companion, Shannon and her family at church. Our kids played together. Amelia stuffed goldfish crackers into little Grace's mouth one after another. This evening we are all going to dinner at the Indian attache's home.

To see all the pictures from this excursion click HERE