This may sound like a menu, but they’re simply the names of two species we spotted today at Jerash, of which more in a moment.
Today we visited Ajloun Castle, one version of which was built by a general of Salah ad-Din‘s, Izz al-Din Usama, and then drove on to the Roman city of Jerash. Buried for centuries under sand, Jerash is the only one of ten cities of the so-called Decapolis to have survived to any great degree.
Intriguingly, though, much of the ancient city is now underneath buildings constructed in recent times – with the cost of demolishing them and rehousing the inhabitants prohibitive for the archaeology world.
Blown away by Ajloun Castle – where the internal lighting is spectacularly well done. The place is a bit like a Tardis, turning out to be much bigger on the inside than it appears from the outside.
When we arrived in Jerash, Elaine was embraced by a Jordanian bagpiper in the theatre, though he seemed to be embracing anyone who came in arms’ length.
When we got to the Temple of Artemis, one of our group spotted a large bird hovering not far away. A local man said it was an eagle, though I said I didn’t think eagles hovered in this way. Then he said it was looking for fish, over what seemed like an urban desert. But that should have been the clue. An osprey – and they do hover. Made me even happier that we helped Sacha Dench with her Flight of the Osprey project.
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