Every December, we try to go as a family to an off-the-beaten-path destination. For this year, we settled on the country of Jordan. We decided to go to Jordan for two reasons. First, we wanted to continue tracing the ancient Silk Road back toward Asia. In 2023, we went to Morocco, which was the most western part of the Silk Road, then last year we went to Egypt, so this year we wanted to go nearer the east. We considered going to Israel and the Holy Land, but the war between Israel and Hamas was still raging when we were making plans, so we settled on a Holy Land-adjacent country that was safe and had a good track record for taking care of tourists. The second reason was that Jordan now offers e-visas to Filipinos with US or Schengen visas, and it was easy to get them online.
The one place I knew about in Jordan was the ancient Nabatean city of Petra, built directly into the rock, which we all wanted to see. We planned a multiday trip to make it worth the long flight. We flew into Amman, the capital, which is also known as the Greco-Roman city of Philadelphia, and is surrounded by numerous ruins and historical sites. Another place we wanted to go to was Wadi Rum, a protected valley with spectacular geological formations, which has been used in many Hollywood movies such as “Star Wars” and “Dune.”
We left Manila on the night of Dec. 25 and arrived in Amman on Dec. 26 in the afternoon. It took 30 minutes to get to our hotel, where we rested for the night. Jordan has a population of 11 million people, with half of them living in Amman. We set off bright and early the next day to see some places in the north of the city.
Our first stop was Umm Qays, the site of the ancient city of Gadara, which was part of the 10-city Greek Decapolis. Umm Qays has spectacular Greco-Roman ruins, featuring an amphitheater, temples, fountains, aqueducts, and roads, which even have pedestrian crossings indicated by the direction the paving stones are oriented. The remains of an unusual octagonal Byzantine church are built over a temple area, which was visited by Jesus during his ministry. Gadara is near where Jesus cast out demons from a possessed person and commanded them to go into swine, which then ran into the sea.
Our next stop was Al-Rabid castle in Ajloun, a castle built on the orders of Saladin to defend against the crusaders. The castle is built with black basalt rock and is very well preserved. Going amid the battlements gives a panoramic view of the landscape, and one cannot help but wonder how the soldiers who occupied the fortress lived as they waited for the next attack.
TRIBUTE TO THE SKIES The author with his family at the Temple of Zeus at Jerash.
Our last stop for the day was Jerash. Its historical buildings are so well preserved that it is known as the Pompeii of the East. A mostly intact hippodrome, with paved roads connecting the Temple of Zeus and Artemis, allowed pilgrims to say prayers to Artemis and then route them to Zeus. Artemis was the goddess of fertility, so this is the equivalent of our dancing at Obando. Our guide pointed out that eggs were a common fertility motif on the decorations of the columns, and the size of the eggs grew as you progressed down the street, mimicking a pregnant woman’s belly as she progressed in her pregnancy. Rows of shops lined the thoroughfares, and it isn’t hard to imagine a bustling city from centuries ago.
On the second day, we visited three remarkably preserved Umayyad forts in the Eastern Desert: UNESCO-listed Qusayr Amra, Qasr Kharana, and Qasr al-Azraq. Qasr al-Azraq is the biggest among the three, and its claim to fame is that it served briefly as Lawrence of Arabia's headquarters. It is colored black because of the volcanic basalt from the region, and it features formidable defenses, including thick walls and battlements that have a panoramic view of the surrounding area. Qusayr Amra used to be a hunting lodge and has stunning, intact frescoes, which are UNESCO heritage-listed. It has one of the oldest preserved Turkish baths (hammam) in the Muslim world and unusually includes frescoes depicting naked women. The last desert castle we visited was Qasr Kharana, which has two floors and is similar to a caravansary, where there are accommodations on top for humans and for animals below.
HISTORICAL ART UNESCO-listed frescoes at Qusayr Amra.
Closer to our base, we went to the Amman citadel, which features a variety of archaeological finds, including the remains of a Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine church, and water storage facilities. On-site is an archaeological museum featuring
artifacts from different periods, from the Neolithic up to Roman times. A short walk away was possibly the best-preserved Roman amphitheater we have ever seen, with museums on each wing of the structure.
The third day saw us leaving Amman and heading to the southern desert to the biblical town of Madaba. We stopped by the Orthodox Church of St. George, which has an exquisite mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the sixth century, the oldest known map of Palestine in existence. We then proceeded to Mt. Nebo, which is traditionally believed to be where Moses looked down on the promised land before he died. The Memorial Church of Moses was built on the site and is believed to have served as a Byzantine-era monastery. It is now administered by the Franciscans, with centuries-old, well-preserved mosaics. The winds were really strong on the day we visited, and it was about 5°C with some rain. I could just imagine what it was like during Moses’ time while we sipped hot chocolate in our warm jackets.
FOLLOWING MOSES' STEPS The author and his wife at Mt. Nebo, where Moses saw the Promised Land.
Next stop was the church of St. John the Baptist, complete with scenes of his beheading. This site is near where he was beheaded, and the church was built on the site traditionally believed to be where his head was buried. It has an ancient underground Acropolis dating back to the Moabite era and a bell tower, which was closed due to the inclement weather. We then proceeded to the Dana Biosphere Reserve, which is a protected area with unique flora and fauna, which was going to be our home for the night. Our hotel overlooked the reserve, and we were treated to spectacular views of the valley below.
This was just the first half of our journey through this fascinating and ancient country with its friendly and hospitable people. Our trip continued on to the magical city of Petra and Wadi Rum, which I will write about in my next column.
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