TRAVEL: Jerash & Amman, Jordan - centurions, Citadels, and Crown Princes

Before you start, make sure to read my last Jordan blog here! 

Having now seen wonders of the world, untouched desert, and salty seas, our journey through Jordan continued on the road, passing through coastal scenery, to desert, to Mediterranean landscapes filled with olive trees. After a few hours, we arrived at Jerash, somewhere we hadn't previously heard of, but should really be included as a 'should visit' when in Jordan. Jerash is a former Roman city, and today is filled with Roman ruins. 

We picked up another local guide as Ra-ed wasn't able to come in with us, and spent the next hour or so wandering along the Roman streets and through former temples under the hot sun. It was surprising to find Roman architecture somewhere that we wouldn't have usually associated with the Empire, but Jerash was in fact an important midpoint between Amman (then called Philadelphia) and Damascus in Syria. The tour was interesting, but unfortunately ignored a number of my questions, and then stalked off without so much as a thank you or goodbye after we'd tipped him, which dampened the experience somewhat. 

With Ra-ed, we headed back to Amman to visit the Citadel. These series of buildings lay high above the city and gave great views of the cluttered streets down below. Again, many of the buildings of the Citadel had become ruined over the years, but the central church was still in good condition and looked very impressive from the outside with its large domed roof and stone sides.

Afterwards, Ra-ed took us into downtown, filled with hundreds of shops selling watches, hats and wallets, kids toys and the like; and through the fruit market stuffed to the gills with fruit as fresh as can be and fragrant spices galore. The tour ended with some kunnafeh, a traditional Jordanian sweet made of a slab of goats cheese toasted with grains on top, and smothered in syrup and pistachios. It wasn't too sweet, and was utterly delicious. 

Towards the end of the afternoon, we headed back to the Hyatt we'd stayed on at the first night, but were met with a surprise in the form of a fleet of blacked out cars, which we'd previously seen racing through the streets of downtown with police officers blocking traffic to let them by. Ra-ed informed us that due to the dress of the soldiers surrounding the cars, this meant royalty. How exciting! Nonetheless, we headed up to our rooms, wondering who important might be in our hotel......

With a few hours until dinner, it seemed like a good idea to head down to the lobby for coffee, and lo and behold, a number of paparazzi were waiting down there, with security personnel waiting around the lobby. We took a seat, had our coffee and managed to catch someone walking by to ask who it was at the table behind us who required so much security. As it turned out, this was Prince Hassan, the former kings brother, and the current kings uncle. How exciting! We're clearly staying in the right hotels if they're okay for royalty too! 

Our last meal in Jordan, at the Hyatt, was very pleasant if extremely slow service, in spite of the pretty much five guests total in the restaurant. I started with a cold mezze of Jordanian favourites including hummus, moutabel, baba ganoush, dolmes, and fatoush, which would have been sufficient had there been no main as well! This was followed by a cream of mushroom pasta dish, and a chocolate lava cake, neither of which I managed to finish being so full of my starter! 

To conclude, Jordan was magnificent. My tips should you wish to visit (which I would recommend!) would be 1) make sure to see more of the country than just Petra. Petra is spectacular, but so is Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, which are also worth a visit. 2) Go with an open mind - there's a lot going on in the Middle East at the moment, but from what we saw, Jordan is a safe and friendly country to visit. Granted, we were on organised tours so I cannot speak for how it would have been on a DIY tour, but safety concerns should not be a reason not to visit. 3) Try the hummus. 

I hope you enjoyed today's travel blog! I'll be back with more very soon so make sure to stay tuned on my Twitter @CiarasCountry, and drop me a message in the comments below with any comments or questions you may have about my adventures - thanks for reading!