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

Where do you live?

Where do you live? That is a difficult question when you live in the Mid East. The authorities are giving names to the streets and in some cases there are numbers, but not everybody is familiar with them, because it is not the way you describe where you live. Even the taxi drivers are not always aware of the street names. When you eventually describe where you live the next problem is getting access to the apartments - the 'buzzer' system works, but which button? We're the third up on the right, and being very western we have now put our name next to the buzzer, and by our door bell - we are now awaiting our visitors! P

Keeping on our fleeces

We have arrived safely in JD and we are settling into our apartment. It is very comfortable, but will be even better in the spring because it is currently freezing. The homes are built for the long summer and not the cold months of January and February. The floors are tiled, there is no heating, apart from a gaz-bottle fire which is wheeled around, and just to add to the suffering we are north facing, great in the summer but no warmth from the sun in the winter - we go outside to warm up!
We have mains water for one day a week during which our storage tank refills, this is then our water for the rest of the week, the only problem is that there is no way to see how much water is left. We are getting tips on water conservation such as collecting the water from the shower before it warms up and using dish-washing water to flush the loo.
We are using a computer in the local library because we do not have an internet connection at home so communication will not be on a daily basis and definately not on Fridays and Saturdays when it is closed. But we do have a telephone in our apartment, if you would like the number please contact us, there is a company in the UK that connects you for 1p a minute. P

Temporary lapse in blogs

The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy, visiting family, friends and churches - we have visited five churches over Christmas and New Year including Bath Abbey, which had the prize for the largest screen. We're off on our travels again on Tuesday, flying to A in JD, where we will be learning Arabic for 4 months, it could be a long spring! As soon as we get connected to the internet we will post a blog. P

That warm cosy feeling!

Blazing wood burners, large hot steaming mugs of coffee, German neujahrskuchen ( new year cake), friends and family; all good ingredients to propel us to a the new year.

At this time of year we are grateful for all our friends and family who love us and support us. As we are very nearly coming up to the time for leaving the country again, these relationships become all the more precious. Time with each person is like a gift to be grasped and appreciated in the moment and then remembered with affection and fondness over time. We are grateful to God for each one of you. J