I'm 29 today....argh! We woke up fairly early this morning, and had a breakfast of cold pancakes in the hotel before tackling the journey to Jerash. We only went in the wrong direction once (not bad going) and eventually made it to Jerash which is north of Amman. The driving is completely crazy here -- nobody seems to stay in lanes so there can be cars going at varying speeds all over the roads. I won't be sorry to give back the car when we get to Aqaba.
We spent about two and half hours wandering around the ruins of Jerash, which has been described as a "Rome away from Rome". It is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy and there are plenty of colonnaded streets, baths, theaters, plazas and arches to see. My personal favourite was the Oval Plaza, a huge oval space surrounded by columns. It was an overcast day, but it's still a stunning place -- it's just a shame there wasn't a blue sky for the photos.
We had a late buffet lunch in Jerash and then headed back South towards Madaba, and then on towards Mt. Nebo, which isn't far from Madaba. Mount Nebo is one of the most revered holy sites of Jordan, as it is where Moses is buried. Unfortunately it was extremely hazy so we see what is supposed to be a great view, as far as the dead sea on a clear day. We had a wander around the church but I think the day of travelling yesterday was catching up on us, as we were both very tired and headed back to the hotel for a rest.
Later on, we had dinner in the same place as yesterday, before going for a wander around Madaba. Hopefully tomorrow will be a clearer day, as we plan to go to Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan and the dead sea.
