Umm Qais, Ajloun, & Jerash

Happy New Year's Eve! A lot of our crew are ready for a rest day, including me (I woke with a very sore throat) but we have another full day scheduled & our last full day here, so off we go! Our driver picked us up at 9 am and we drove 2 hours to Umm Qais (we were all shedding layers as fast as possible because he kept the van nice and toasty!). Near the end of the drive Emma looked up and said "I'm think I'm going to throw up". She looked look she might too. I grabbed the Kleenex plastic bag and put it in front of her. She filled it. The driver was kind to stop and let her out for a few minutes. She had been looking down at my phone, so it could have been motion sickness. She seemed to pop back after, thank goodness!

Umm Qais (pronounced oom-case):

There was a local guide at the sight and we decided to hire him & we were talked into a horse ride by the girls (and thanks to Peter's good negotiating skills). The girls all got a ride as we walked up and over to the ancient city. It was really neat to see the 3 countries from ancient Gadara. We could see Palestine and Syria (& we were in Jordan). The area is known as The Rift Valley. Across from us were the Golan Heights, where the UN has a presence. We could see the Sea of Galilee, which I especially loved. Ancient Gadara was amazing. It is an old Roman town. There were octagonal ruins that were carved by hand out of the lava stone. They were the oldest. Then there was the more traditional columns in a rectangular shape that used a cement of mixed rocks. Underneath these two structures were 18 shops, one

of which was a bakery (big area for an oven and a way for smoke to escape in the ceiling). There was also a big theater that could hold 3000 people. There was a spot on the ground (between the seats and stage) that if you stood and spoke loud enough, you could be heard all around the theater. The girls loved shouting different things and hearing the echo. Very ingenious! We met another family (young adult kids) there that said they had seen us at Madaba yesterday (@ St George's church). We said hello again (though I wasn't aware enough of others to remember them) and took their picture for them. They are from west Canada.

Another 1.5 hour car ride to Ajloun. Clara's tummy is really acting up

today, poor thing. So long in the car has been hard on her.

Ajloun (pronounced aj-lon):

The Ajloun Castle stands atop a hill overlooking the city of Ajloun. It was very windy. Walking inside the castle, the corridors acted like a wind tunnel and blew us everywhere. Lots and lots of rough stone steps. Some beautiful views. The girls and I hiked to the roof (minus Clara) & enjoyed the views from up top.

A 30 minute minute drive to Jerash. Emma was starving, probably because earlier she emptied her tummy. We got out granola bars again, and the driver (Nader Eid) passed her some chocolate wafers. Jordanian people are so kind. Then he stopped the car and said he would be back in a minute. We thought he was taking a smoke break, but he came back with apples, strawberries, and bananas for us! We could hardly say no, though so far we have been careful not to eat anything that isn't cooked. The fruit is delicious! Clara thought the banana tasted like ice cream and the strawberries disappeared very quickly.

Jerash (pronounced Jer-osh):

We got to Jerash & had fun walking through the ruins. They also have a Hadrian's Arch (Hadrian visited and it was built for him). The Temple of Zeus & the Temple of Artemis were the big ones there. It was the biggest area of ruins we have been in! I was trying to get a picture of the kids when my phone died. A vendor offered to get it with Peter's phone (I had climbed some rocks and he went to the same place), then he led us around to some of the best picture spots and got pictures of us, even some pictures of each girl "touching" the columns. So fun! We tipped him and he handed it back and said it wasn't enough. I had read about that (& how you should just walk away), but it doesn't feel very nice. Peter reminded me after that they have to get as much as they can because that's how they make a living. They were the only small bills we had, so I told him that was all I had. He took it grudgingly, poor guy. I thought it was a good tip for 5 minutes of his time. It's hard to keep enough small bills for everyone everywhere! On our walk out of the ancient city, the Canadian family passed us! We chatted for a minute with them and wished them well - their next stop is Jerusalem. They asked us if we were going to Jerusalem and we said when the girls were older we'd like to go. They said it's been a bit of a running joke - even their adult children were getting tired of seeing ruins. :)

On our way back to Amman, the driver stopped at a store and came out a minute later with two jugs of goat yogurt (one for us and one for him). He said it's the best shop in Jordan for goat yogurt. He had even gotten plastic cups for us! A few of us tried it and it was super salty, then sour, and even kind of sweet after. Peter and I thought it was quite good. We found out it's not pasteurized, just fresh- today's

date was printed on it! I hope like everything we aren't all sick tomorrow! But it's SO fun to try their food!

At the end of the tour, the driver dropped us off at Abu Zagheleh (a family friendly restaurant with local cuisine). We didn't take into account that meant hauling 3 boosters and my pad around, but what's life if you can't have a few good laughs (or be the reason for them). :D The food was delicious, especially the Tanoor bread. And we got to have Mansef (the traditional meal I've heard the most about)! Hooray! It wasn't my favorite thing on the menu, but I was happy to be able to try it. They served it with goats milk, and I was so glad we got familiar with that earlier today so we knew what to expect! I preferred it without the milk, but it was fun to try! Right outside the restaurant there was a man making the Tanoor bread and the servers were coming out to get it from him- we paid for some to have for tomorrow- yum! It was an 8 minute walk back to the apartment. SO nice to get home tonight AFTER eating dinner (not like last night where we were eating beef jerky and bread right before falling in bed).

Theme for today: Do small things with great love.

Things we learned:
Emma- I learned to tap Mom's hand when I really want something and you maybe won't get it even if you really want it.
Clara- I learned to not say "Oh! I really want this", to make it a bigger price.
Leesie- I learned that some of the Greek architecture is here in Jordan. There was the Temple of Zeus, the Temple of Artemis, and Hadrian's Arch.
Addy- I learned that people are very bold with their displeasure with tips (at least one person).

Kathy- I learned why we hear constant honking at night (& anytime). They honk to get around other cars, or when other cars are going too slow. They honk when there are pedestrians to let them know they are there and not to come into the road, and for cars as they pass them to let them know they are there. They honk when the light is green to let the driver in front know to get off their phone. It is common for them to drive in the middle of the lanes, and move when they need to. So interesting!
Peter- I saw a lot of houses that looked half done. The guide explained that when a family purchases a house, they build the support columns for the next level of the house, such that the next generation can build on top of theirs. That was really interesting and cool. I was impressed with the size of Jerash. At Umm Qais I was impressed with the old road that went all the way to Jerusalem.

Miracles:
-Emma threw up only in the small Jordanian Kleenex bag and it didn't get anywhere else (on her or the car). Such a miracle and blessing!
-Such a blessing to not have to wait for dinner! Jamal (the landlord) reserved a table for us at a restaurant he recommended, so a table was waiting for us! So amazing!!