I castelli del deserto

febbraio 8th, 2012 | Posted by dokk in Giordania - (1 Comments)

Desert castles: they call them that way, but actually only a few have been castles.

They are mostly hunting pavilions, old villages, small fortress and caravanserais, palaces where caravans used to stop during their long merchant travels.
Today most of them are only a bunch of ruins.

Umm el-Jimal

Umm el-Jimal

I rent a car in Amman, for visiting some: there’s a big car-renting shops area, that is pretty far from the city center. And Amman is not a hole. Got off the cab, I start to ask in all shops, placed side by side (this is very convenient), for the “cheapest car”. In the end I take a Hyundai in a local agency, for 3 days at a cost of… I don’t remember. :)
My first stop is Umm el-Jimal.

Umm el-Jimal

Umm el-Jimal

It was a village founded by nabateans, in the first century A.D., according to greek and nabatean inscriptions found on site.

Umm el-Jimal, ruins

Umm el-Jimal, ruins

My feeling while walking among thousands of basalt blocks, only remnants of a flourishing center, is lost, mixed with a bit of melancholy.

Umm el-Jimal, basalt blocks

Umm el-Jimal, basalt blocks

Then, some children pass in the distance. I do not know where they are going or where they are coming from.

Umm el-Jimal, children among ruins

Umm el-Jimal, children among ruins

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Jerash

febbraio 4th, 2012 | Posted by dokk in Giordania - (2 Comments)

The ancient Jerash, 30 km from Amman, was an important Roman center from 64 BC, when it was annexed to the Province of Syria.

Arrived at the archaeological site, the ancient city, he promises this gigantic door:

Jerash, Hadrian's Arch, entrance to the archaeological site
Jerash, Hadrian’s Arch, entrance to the archaeological site

This is the Hadrian’s Arch, erected in honor of the emperor during his visit. It is 13 meters high and 37 wide.

After bought ticket I walk along main street, the cardo maximo, flanked by massive columns:

Jerash, colonnade of cardo maximo
Jerash, colonnade of cardo maximo

The cardo maximus, always oriented to north-south, is one of the classic urban elements in roma cities, along with decumans, two east-west oriented streets that interesect it.

The legacy of the Romans is generous, as in all the Middle East. Here you can see the foro, oddly shaped oval:

Jerash, view from the top of the oval foro and the cardo maximo
Jerash, view from the top of the oval foro and the cardo maximo

Its role is not yet clear to archaeologists: it may have been the commercial center or a place of worship. Based on these two interpretations the pedestal in the middle could be the base of a statue or an altar.

At intersections between cardo maximus and decumans the built two Tetrapylon (from the greek “four doors”); in the picture you see the northern one:

Jerash al tramonto, sulla destra il tetrapylon
Jerash al tramonto, sulla destra il tetrapylon

Besides various colonnades, remains of temples and fountains, there are also two theatres. The biggest one, northern theatre, still has great acoustics:

Jerash, north theatre
Jerash, northern theatre
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