We slept in because we knew the Jordan museum only opened at 10:00 and it was still really cold. After breakfast, we decided to uber it to the museum, and that worked out very well, no haggling or arguing... We arrived just in time for opening and we bought tickets for 5 dinar each.
The museum looked brand new, and was extremely well presented and excellently laid out. It started in the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods, and then moved through to bronze and Iron Age, Bedouin and Nabatean eras, Greek and Roman eras and even Byzantine. For some reason the Muslim dynasties that followed were not covered. Some of the highlights were the oldest statues of the human form ever found, which were discovered not far from modern day Amman, plastered skulls, ancient texts, a nice display on Bedouins, a history of writing and a cool computer programme that translated your name into 4 different writings and printed it for you.
There was also a section on the Dead Sea scrolls which were discovered by a shepherd in a cave very close to the Dead Sea. Some fragments of the scrolls were on display, as well as the famous copper scroll, which was inscribed onto a copper sheet and rolled up. The archeologists weren't able to unroll it, so they had to cut it into pieces to be able to read it.
As we left the museum it was raining, but it stopped enough that we were able to walk to our next destination - downtown Amman, with its mosques and souks, we were mostly looking for souvenirs, and Ayman had told us downtown was the best place to buy. We picked up Dead Sea mud packs, a coloured sand bottle and a beautiful box, all much cheaper than the tourist sites we had been the rest of the week.
Since shopping was so quick, we decided to walk to the citadel, high up on a hill with a view of the whole city. It was a fair climb but we found our way and paid the 3 dinar entrance fee. Inside we met Heather who had been following the same route, a few minutes ahead of us! We took a pic of the amazing view, said farewell and then moved quickly through the site, as our airport pickup time was getting closer. The site was more impressive than we expected, but of course not as amazing as Jerash.
It was built during the Roman period, and enhanced during the Byzantine and Islamic periods. We saw the temple of Jupiter, otherwise known as the temple of Hercules, due to the huge "Herculean" statue that once stood in front of it. Next was the archeological museum, a smaller and less impressive version of the Jordan museum, and then a mosque. Next to the mosque was the most impressive and best preserved building - the Umayyid palace. We took a walk through it and then reached the Byzantine church.
We then left the citadel and walked back towards rainbow street, climbing a very steep set of stairs to get there. Amman is known as the city of seven hills and today we found out why. For our last meal in the Middle East, we grabbed one more kushary - the unusual but delicious mix of noodles, macaroni, rice, tomato sauce and lentils that we had tried in Egypt. It was warming, spicy and delicious.
Our airport pickup was on time so we headed off, sad to see the end of a wonderful trip and a real adventure.
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