Roman Theatre

Amman has two main attractions: the Citadel (Roman, Byzantine and Islamic remains) and the Roman Theatre. The theatre is great value for money - £1, which includes two museums. As we approached the site we had to get across a busy dual-carriageway that has no crossing facility, everybody apparently arrives by coach. We thought that the obvious place to start was the Tourist Information kiosk, only to find that they had just one small leaflet/map for the whole of Amman - be grateful for small things. The theatre was striking as it is in downtown Amman; it has 33 rows, and as you can see the terracing is very steep because it is built into the hill; it can accommodate 6,000 people and it is still used today for concerts - amazing what information you can pack into one small leaflet. We were considering visiting the Citadel this weekend but winter has arrived, thunder storms, hail-stones and snow is forcast. Keep warm wherever you are. P (another panoramic photo - three photos merged into one, Jane is in the top left corner - click on it to enlarge)

A room with a view

We have settled into our flat (apartment), it is very comfortable and has everything that you would expect in a home that has been lived in for 6 years. It is in a great part of town with good cafes, book shops and of course the language school. Having lived in a similar location last year we knew what to expect, but Amman is even more crowded and compact. There is virtually no open spaces in our area of town.
I have recently noticed that I have a 'panoramic' software package on the computer and so I have been playing with it - it merges photos to make a panoramic photograph - which you would expect. This is a photo from at the rear of our apartment. We have a little balcony, no room to even put a chair - it is designed to be a drying area for washing - if you look closely you can see the washing lines and how the picture has not quite merged them, you can also see both ends of the balcony on the sides. More scenic photos to follow! P

On guard!

We recently visited Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, although it was on this side of the Jordan for us - see John 1:28 - it was where John the Baptist was baptizing. We were invited to go to the annual diocese service at Bethany, which was attended by about 500 adults, teenagers and children. I didn't understand a word of the service but just being there was enough. We sat in simple wood terraced seats, which meant that everybody had a clear view of the Bishop and Priests as they led the communion service. They had their backs to the River Jordan (the brown background in the photo), which was just a yard behind them. The communion was distributed with Jordanian soldiers guarding the River Jordan, which is the Israel/Jordan border. I don't know what the soldier thought about the priests dipping olive branches in the river and flicking the water at everybody - is there a theological term for this apart from getting 'soaked'? P