1 Jan - Arrival in Jordan
An early start to the day, after only 4-5 hours sleep. However we
shouldn't
complain,
our
friends
carried
on
partying
until 5 am! The
taxi arrived at
8:30
to
take us to the
airport.
Another big
thank
you to
Jacques
and
Mariam
for
getting up
early to
see
us off,
preparing
breakfast
for
us
and
for all
their
kindness -
especially after
only two and a half
sleep !
The flight to Vienna went smoothly. The correspondence was
delayed by 35 mins, but hey, who's complaining
at least
it took
off
!
The personal video
on
demand system was
appreciated by
all,
especially
the
kids who
could
choose
their own
film
and video
games.
We
arrived in
Amman at
19:30,
quickly
obtained
our
visas,
passed
through
immigration
and
collected the
rental
car. After a 45 min
drive we reached the
Salome Hotel in Madaba.
We received a friendly
welcome;
unfortunately the
room
wasn't of the
same
standard - a
nasty
smell greeted
us
in the bathroom and
the bedroom
light
didn't
work, so we were
left
in relative
darkness...
There was a film about Jordan being shown in the hotel bar, so we
headed down too
watch
it
accompanied
by a well
earned beer, before
settling
down for
the
night.
2 Jan - Jerash
We were woken at 5:00 in the morning by prayers blasting out
of the
loudspeakers
from a
nearby
mosque...
Fortunately
the
kids
slept right
through
it. We then set
off to
Jerash for
the
day. We
must have
got a bit
lost on the
way,
because
we
encountered
roadworks
and
diversions
which we
didn't see on the way back.
The
archaeological site
of
Jerash dates
back
to 4
B.C. and
consists
of
remains from the
Greek,
Roman and
Byzantine
eras. The
Forum,
Artemis'
Temple and the
North
and South
Theatres
are the
monuments
that
impressed
us the
most.
The site has
been
extensively
restored
over the last
hundred
years,
however
there's still
work for
many centuries
ahead
! A roman
column on
Artemis' temple
actually
moves
when pushed - a tourist
policeman
gave
us a
demonstration
with a spoon wedged in
between blocks,
which
amused the kids.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped off at Carrefour (yes
Carrefour !) to buy food for a picnic the
next day, in an attempt to
avoid
expensive
and
mediocre
tourist restaurants. It was surprisingly
international, with Arab
and
English signs and
packaging
everywhere,
however it was
impossible to find pâté
or ham
for our
sandwiches
!
Then back
at the
hotel,
the first
homework
session
with the
girls
who
wrote
their
diaries
of
our first
few days
of our
trip.
 |
 |
 |
| The girls
keeping occupied with Nintindo DS's
in the car |
Hadrien's Arc
de Triomphe |
The South
Theatre |
 |
 |
 |
| Cardo Maximus
(main street) with sewer drain
under Gaelle's left foot
|
The North
Tetrapyle at road intersection |
The Forum
(oval in shape) |
BACK
| 