Emirates and Jordan, the adventure begins!

Lauren and I left Hong Kong Sunday evening at 12:35 and I flew Emirates airline for the first time! I must say their 777 had all the bells and whistles. They seats are flat beds, which is a perk to have in business class, the seats have a built in massager, and they used a iPod touch type mechanism to control the t.v. screen, the seats, everything. The service was good and the icing on the cake was the aircraft in the walkway had little stars that illuminated the plane at night! What kid would not love that!  We had a two hour connection in Dubai, in which we visited the lounge a large lounge area, and they had Veuve Cliquot champagne! When we arrived to Amman it was 104 degrees of dry heat! I must say it did not feel that bad in the shade and I felt warmer in Cambodia last year. Our guide Ahmed escorted us through the visa process and immigration and then we arrived to the Marriott Amman. I must say I am really disappointed with the room and the cleanliness of the room. I do not want to sleep on beds with stains on them, or carpets that looked like they have not been cleaned in a long time. The funny thing is that Marriott on their t.v. channel says they know the things that are important to us and they are to them, and then they show someone using the internet, well it took me 48 hours, two rooms and a new cable (no wifi) to be able to PURCHASE internet service. Really? Why is it that now everyone is following the bad idea of nickel and dime people to death. They also show high quality bath products, let Lauren tell you how she spent almost an hour in the shower trying to get the knots out of her hair and the crappy quality of the hair conditioner. Today we started our day early where we went to Jarash where we saw some incredible Roman ruins and then returned to Amman and did a city tour. Amman has approximately two million people, but it feels like there are a lot more. I think it is because the city is so wide spread and sits among seven hills (just like Rome). The city itself is a difficult one to navigate, the is always traffic, the public transportation is non existent and there are no street lights, nor are there lines on the road. My first impression of Jordan, hot, the people are friendly, and the culture is more conservative than I had imagined. We leave Amman tomorrow and continue our adventure. I will tell you tomorrow about our cab driver who was too funny, crazy, but funny.  Here is a bit of info on Jerash or Jarash as the Jordanians spell it.

Jerash is the site of the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as the "Pompeii of the Middle East or Asia", referring to its size, extent of excavation and level of preservation (though Jerash was never buried by a volcano). Jerash is considered one of the most important and best preserved Roman cities in the Near East. It was a city of the Decapolis.

Jerash was the home of Nicomachus of Gerasa (Greek: Νικόμαχος) (c. 60 – c. 120).

Recent excavations show that Jerash was already inhabited during the Bronze Age (3200 BC - 1200 BC). After the Roman conquest in 63 BC, Jerash and the land surrounding it were annexed by the Roman province of Syria, and later joined the Decapolis cities. In AD 90, Jerash was absorbed into the Roman province of Arabia, which included the city of Philadelphia (modern day Amman). The Romans ensured security and peace in this area, which enabled its people to devote their efforts and time to economic development and encouraged civic building activity.

In the second half of the first century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity. In AD 106, the Emperor Trajan constructed roads throughout the provinces and more trade came to Jerash. The EmperorHadrian visited Jerash in AD 129-130. The triumphal arch (or Arch of Hadrian) was built to celebrate his visit. A remarkable Latin inscription records a religious dedication set up by members of the imperial mounted bodyguard "wintering" there.

The city finally reached a size of about 800,000 square meters within its walls. The Persian invasion in AD 614 caused the rapid decline of Jerash. However, the city continued to flourish during the UmayyadPeriod, as shown by recent excavations. In AD 749, a major earthquake destroyed much of Jerash and its surroundings. During the period of the Crusades, some of the monuments were converted to fortresses, including the Temple of Artemis. Small settlements continued in Jerash during the Ayyubid, Mameluk and Ottoman periods. Excavation and restoration of Jerash has been almost continuous since the 1920s.