The Bird

This morning started out very loudly.  The ruckus was tremendous!  I hurried out of the bedroom, down the hall and into the studio.  The blind was down, so I couldn't see what was going on, but the cacophony of the crows told me there were LOTS of them on my back balcony! When the blind went up, I could see my balcony covered with crows.  They were scared off by the blind and by me shaking the handle of the door.  Left behind was this.

I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it wasn't a crow!  Denny took a peek and said it was a hawk of some kind.  When I opened the door, it scared it and it tried to get away, but couldn't because he/she was injured.  So, I went down to get the concierge to see what we could do with her/him.

He seemed to know a lot about birds, and knew right away that it wasn't a hawk.  He said it was a falcon and that it should be in the Negev, not in Jerusalem.  He called the equivalent to the SPCA and they came to rescue it.  The head concierge said it was some sort of a small eagle.  So, whatever it was, it knew to take refuge on my balcony...otherwise he/she would have been killed and eaten by those awful crows!

I have been doing some "googling" to try to find out what species it is, but, so far no luck.  The poor quality of the pictures doesn't help.  I had to take them from inside because he was so scared.  Here are a couple more pics, one from the back with wings spread.  If any of you are knowledgeable about birds, maybe you can figure this out!

Ruins....Amman

Our last day we went down to the center of Amman (Jebal Amman) to see the Citadel.

 The Hill of the Citadel (Jabal al-Qal'a) in the middle of Amman was occupied as early as the Neolithic period, and fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BC). The ruins on the hill today are Roman through early Islamic.  Amman is the capital of Jordan, and has been occupied and ruled by many successive rulers.

Temple of Hercules

Ampitheatre seats 7000 people.  Was restored  and is used today.

 

 

Overview of Amman

Front of Hercules' Temple

Ampitheatre

View of Amman

Looking down on center city Amman.  Look for the street in the middle of town.

 A few more shots of Hercules' Temple. 
Below is a picture of what they think it looked like in it's entirety.

Byzantine Church

 The next 4 photos are what's left of the Byzantine Church.

Amman

 The back of Hercules' temple.

Umayyad Governor's Palace

 The dome of the palace has been reconstructed. The entrance to the vestibule is the large semicircular archway below the dome.
Picture on the left is looking thru the archway and out the window on the back side, to a street in Amman.  

 These are all pictures overlooking Amman.  The density of the buildings is amazing. 

Look for the flag flying center left in this pic.  That is the entrance to King Abdullah's palace.  It goes off the edge of the picture on the right. 

Click on this picture so as to see the red roofed building.  That is the palace.  It would be off the edge of the picture above.

Now we are going to downtown Amman.  The street is crowded, lined with shops sellling everything imaginable.  You can buy your food fresh.  Turkey, rabbit, or duck anyone?

Please remember to click on the pictures to enlarge them....

Camera saga.  I got my new camera this week, but it's going back.  Don't know if I got a lemon, or I'm just so spoiled by my old camera, but I'm just not satisfied with the pics.  My cell phone did better than it has done.  So, we'll be back to the phone camera until I get something that suits me!  

Peace.

Ruins at Jerash

  First we'll go to Jerash.   Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East.   A town about an hour north of Amman, Jerash is a busy city surrounding the Roman ruins that were discovered in the early 1800's A.D.  It's really kind of mind boggling to drive into a present day city and see these ancient ruins sitting smack dab in the middle of the town!  There are daily chariot race demonstrations in the hippodrome,  that our friends attended, and reported that they were very interesting. Since 1981, the old city of Jerash has hosted the Jerash Festival, a three week long summer program of dance, music, and theatrical performances that are well worth attending.

Hadrian's Arch

Roman soldier re-enactor  at the entrance to the Hippodrome.

Temple of Artemis

A Roman arch that you pass under on the way to the Oval Forum.

Cardo Maximus (main avenue)

Overlooking the city of Jerash from the Oval Forum.

 

South Gate

View of Jerash with South Gate in background.

 





 Ancient ruins and ancient cultures.....in 2012.

I looked over Jordan and what did I see.....

Road trip with Edna!   We had a long weekend and took advantage by going to Jordan with a couple of friends.  Edna, was the GREAT vehicle who got us there and back, safely and soundly.  I don't have a picture of Edna....yet.  But, I'll be sure to get one soon, and we can  properly salute her for her bravery and steadfastness in traffic that you have to experience, cause you just can't imagine it!

Our first night was spent at the Dead Sea.  We stayed at the Movenpick Spa Hotel.  Wonderful.  The views were spectacular.  Here is the view from outside our room, right after we got there.

The rest of the pics were taken the next morning.  I just couldn't get over the beautiful colors that the mountains reflected...and the deep blue of the Dead Sea.  It is 1,300 feet BELOW sea level.

A Floater

Jordanian Flag

Getting "mudded" up!

Fred

Just to remind you that you're not at the beach in Florida!  Hubbly bubbly!

On Friday, we drove up the hills into a little town called Madaba.   It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of The Holy Land. Madaba is located 30 kilometers south-west of the capital Amman.The Madaba Mosaic Map is an index map of the region, dating from the 6th century, preserved in the floor of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George.The mosaic contains the earliest extant representation of Byzantine Jerusalem, labeled the "Holy City." (Info exerpted from Wikipedia, please link to read a more complete description.  It is fascinating!) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madaba

Part of the mosaic map of the Holy Land

Top: Jordan River/Dead Sea
Middle: City of Jerusalem

The river Jordan flowing into the Dead Sea

Mosaic of St. George

So, all the shops are filled with mosaics that the crafters make for the tourist trade. They use the designs and motifs found in the ancient mosaics.

There is also a large weaving community in Madaba.  RUGS!  Woven on pretty primitive looms, they're made of different kinds of wools..camel, goat, and mostly sheep.  They dye much of the wool, but also offer natural colors.  I bought the red rug in the picture.
 This guy is not the weaver, he's the store owner.  The weaver was not working that day as it was the Christian Orthodox Good Friday.  This is a place we're going to go back.  Just not enough time to poke around and talk to the local people.  They are so friendly and welcoming.

Shopping opportunities!

Off we went to Mount Nebo.  According to Deuteronomy, Moses climbed Mount Nebo for the Lord to show him the Promised Land, then he died.  It is now owned by the Franciscans.  It is a beautiful site to behold!  You can see forever.

  We were there in the afternoon, so the sun was in our faces and we couldn't see Jerusalem, you have to go in the morning for that.  But, we could see Jericho, and the Dead Sea to the west, and Amman to the north/east.

Looking east towards Jerusalem, the Dead Sea is visible. The graph shows the distance and location of the towns of Nablus, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Tiberius.

There was also a mosaic floor in the church that was first built at the end of the 4th century to commemorate the place of Moses death.

We had hotel reservations in Amman that night, so we headed there when we were finished at Mount Nebo.  It's been 22 years since Dennis, Andy and I were assigned to Amman. To fill some of you in:  it was August 1990.  Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait on 2 August.  We arrived in Amman on  12    August.  Andy and I were evacuated on 23   August.  So, we didn't get to see anything in Jordan, and not much of Amman.  But, even if we'd been there longer, Amman has changed so much in the last 22 years, it was truly unrecognizable!  Driving into the center of the city, I perked up as I caught site of the little grocery store that I went to around the corner from our house!  But, back then, it was on a busy 2 lane road, not a  crazy, fast, six lane highway!

We finished our day at a wonderful Jordanian restaurant.  We ate outside, and had great food. Mansaf, the Jordanian national dish was one of the dishes we had.  It was fabulous!  It's a lamb and rice dish.  The lamb, seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices, is cooked in a yogurt sauce that is served along with the dish.  I must say, I don't remember ever having anything so delicious!

I am going to close this posting at this point.  The next blog will be the next two days of our trip.  Jerash, a city with huge Roman ruins in the middle of the town, and then, back to Amman for a visit to The Citadel, which has remains of several civilizations.

I apologize for some of the photography...I had to use the camera on my phone as my good camera was murdered.  I dropped it on the floor a couple of weeks ago.  BUT, I should have my new camera in a few days, so things should get better!

These are olive blossoms!

Olive tree in bloom.

Peace.