Touristing: Ajloun Forest Reserve

Some friends and I headed out early Saturday morning to hike at the Ajloun Forest Reserve. Ajloun is located about 70 km north west of Amman. The Forest Reserve has several trails; we hiked the Soapmaker's Trail, which is about 6 km. The forest is mostly evergreen oak, but along the way we saw pistachio, olive, and wild strawberry trees, poppies, and a bunch of other flowers and plants whose names I don't remember. We also saw lots of mole hills, a gross-looking bug, some deer(?) tracks and goats. The hike wasn't too challenging and our guide didn't even break a sweat, but I'll be honest, my legs were like jelly at the end. We had a great time though - just nice to be out enjoying nature. Afterwards we checked out two workshops in the village of Rasun - one for soapmaking and another for calligraphy. I bought some pomegranate and cinnamon soap and got a card with my name written on it in Arabic script. Afterwards we headed back to Amman but stopped along the way in Jerash for some lunch. I was beat by the time we got back but overall a nice little Saturday!



Our tour guide, whose name may or may not be Sariq, pointing to what may or may not be Palestine.



Wild strawberry tree! This was very neat to check out - the tree gets its smooth bark and bright color from the fact that it sheds the bark each year, like a snake.

Trail marker that doubles as a mole's front door.

Goats enjoying some lunch.

Checking out the view from the top of the mountain (hill...?).

Young goatherders we ran into at the top. The rapscallion on the left tried to abscond with my camera.

We ordered the*small* vegetable platter for lunch. Two reactions: 1) if this is the small, how big is the large?? and 2) I have to cut the vegetables myself ... with a bread knife?

Elaborate vegetable presentation destroyed by voracious hikers.



Mixed grill carnage! One kilo of meat for five people is a lotta meat, but we managed. 



Touristing: Jerash

A former colleague of mine from the States came to Jordan for work and luckily Tuesday of that week just happened to be a national holiday. Score! (I've previously discussed my love of unexpected holidays.) So we decided that we would go that day to Jerash. Jerash is about 45 minutes north of Amman and I had a vague idea that it was an interesting tourist site with some Roman ruins. I was not prepared for how amazing and extensive it is! When I went to Italy, for example, and saw the Coliseum, I was fascinated by the structure and enjoyed wandering around the site. But I had previously seen pictures it and knew what to expect; it was an awesome site but I was not in awe of the site. I feel like I enjoyed Jerash all the more because it was a surprise to me.

I went to Jerash once more after my initial visit when a couple of friends came through town during a tour of the Levant region -- Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel. Unfortunately for them, Syria would not let them in without visas (they thought you could get them at the border) but fortunately for me, that meant they had extra time to spend in Jordan!

Jerash is the site of the ancient Roman city of Gerasa. Read more about it here. Among its attractions are the towering Hadrian's Gate; a long, colonnaded stone street; two amphitheaters; and numerous temples and churches.

The Hippodrome - home of chariot racing

Hadrian's Gate

Plaza and colonnaded street

Nick, I think you're too close to the ledge. Might wanna step back.

Oops, you should be more careful next time, Nick.