Sunday, May 9, 2010

Roman Ruins in Jerash, Jordan

Built around 70 AD, the town of what is now Jerash, Jordan, has many of the expected features of a Roman town. Yet it also includes an unusual oval-shaped piazza—still surrounded by a colonnade of 56 Ionic columns.


As we approached the Hippodrome, a man calling himself Maximus drove up in a chariot and invited us for a ride. We rode around for a couple of minutes but I’m going to spare you the agony of those maximus-touristic photos.




More than 500 columns of the main street, Cardo Maximus (‘main artery’) still exist.











I found the wild pink hollyhocks against the white stones and golden grasses to be irresistible.






We came across a goat herder in the hills above the ruins.


These sparkling grasses were food for the goats:


But they were kept out of the wheat:



Thistles bloomed all over the site.




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