Friday, May 31, 2013

Jerash and Madara

Today the group headed out from the Eco Park, making a few quick stops to Jersah and Madara on the way to Petra!
Today the group headed out from the Eco Park, making a few quick stops to Jersah and Madara on the way to Petra!

We enjoyed a great breakfast that was once again provided by the Eco Park staff. After this, we packed the bus and took an hour drive to Jerash! At this site, our group was blown away by the ancient Roman ruins that were still heavily intact. Our group definitely stood out to everyone as many locals attempted to sell us their goods. Below is a picture of us underneath the arc, with Jordanians in the back selling grapes.

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We also saw the theatre at Jerash, where we got a show! Not only did Professor Marshak, Katie H, and Eric C sing Jingle Bells for us, some locals grabbed their bagpipes and drums to join us! We had a great time singing and dancing to the music.

We then headed to Madara where we visited the church with an original mosaic map of the religious kingdom. The group learned about the map and how it translates to a modern day map and also got to go inside the church where the original map resides. This was a quick visit, but still very interesting.

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Then it was time for our trek to Petra! It was a 3 hour bus ride, but the time went by very quickly. We took a quick stop on the side of the road to take pictures before making our way to the hotel. Once we arrived, we had a beautiful dinner on the rooftop overlooking Petra. It was a gorgeous view and we all cannot wait to visit the site of Petra tomorrow!

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