Roman ruins – Growing With Leala

Today is our last day of sightseeing in Jordan and we spend it visiting the roman ruins of Jerash and viewing the famous map mosaic at St George’s church.

It seems like the influence of Romans can be seen everywhere and Jerash is Jordan’s largest Roman site.

Normally one can witness chariots race or gladiators in full regalia clash at the Hippodrome. We rushed to the site to see a show but it ended up getting cancelled for some unknown reason. Instead we moved on and visited the other sites.

One site we spent some time at is the south theatre. We marveled at the preservation while a bagpiper and drummer performed.

Example of images destroyed during iconoclast period

Later the historical town of Madaba we visit the famous 6th-century mosaic map of Jerusalem and the Holy Land at St George’s Church. The oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the holy land. Parts are destroyed but what remains is still a marvel to see.

And this is the end of my trip to Jordan and the group tour. At the time of this posting it has been over 6 months since my trip and I am happy to say my tour group still checks in with each other from across the world via a WhatsApp chat. I feel fortunate I was able to spend my time in Jordan with this group.

Ephesus is an important Greek and then later Roman city. It was an active river city for commerce but over time diminished due to receding waters. It was also further destroyed by invaders and earthquakes.

I’ve been to Greece, I’ve been to Rome, and I have seen all kinds of ruins elsewhere but Ephesus is up there in impressiveness.

I ended up downloading Rick Steves Ephesus audio tour and I am glad I did because the labeling and descriptions weren’t the best.

I catch the minibus from bus station in Selcuk which is not far from my guesthouse. They drop you off the opposite way you logically want to go. Once I entered the gates I pushed through the crowds of tour groups to get to the start on the other side.

It is a hot and crowded day but I don’t let that get in the way of admiring this town.

Everything in Ephesus is impressive but my favorite is viewing the terrace houses which is a separate ticketed entrance.

Not only is it covered from the sun and less crowded but you can get an idea on how the people (rich) lived back in the days. For them to be so close to the commerce they were probably pretty wealthy.