Life in the Dead Sea

The final day of our organised tour was spent visiting the Roman ruins in nearby Jerash, before heading off for a refreshing swim in the Dead Sea. Jerash was another awe-inspiring archaeological site. This city and its surrounding area have been inhabited since the Bronze Age. These days, on the edge of the modern city, you’ll find the remains of the Roman settlement of Gerasa. They're some of the world’s largest and best-preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy.

During its prime, historians estimate that Jerash had a population of 20,000. However, the city fell into decline during the 3rd century. It suffered several brutal invasions, first by the Persians and then by the Muslims. It was also devastated by multiple earthquakes, including a major quake in AD749 and a second two years later. The city was eventually abandoned.

Since 1925, the ruins have been progressively excavated and extensively studied. Today they’re a popular tourist attraction second only to Petra. We spent several hours exploring ancient Jersah from one end to the other. Sights that captivated us included the magnificent triumphal arch erected to commemorate a visit by Emperor Hadrian, rows of Corinthian columns in the Temple of Artemis, and an enormous oval Forum encircled by marble columns. It’s hard to comprehend that these ruins are considered relatively modern when compared with those in neighbouring Egypt.

The Dead Sea is quite something. The concentration of salt is such that you literally float on the surface of the water rather than sink into its depths. The sensation is unbelievable...and the salty brine eats at every nick and cut on your skin.

The salt crystals that precipitate on the shore are just as unreal. They form enormous rocks with deadly sharp edges that are surprisingly heavy. You can see me examining a relatively small crystal rock below. Trust me, it's not something you'd want to tread on while swimming.

Our last day in Jordan was spent wandering the city of Amman. The city is home to more than two million people and spreads itself across a series of ravines, or wadis, and hills referred to locally as citadels. We spent time exploring some of its Roman ruins. This included the Roman Theatre, a restored 6,000-seat amphitheatre; the forlorn Temple of Hercules standing guard on a nearby hilltop; and the temple's neighbour, the dome-capped Umayyad Palace, a largely ruined Islamic complex.

I was surprised to learn that despite these ruins, Amman is a relatively modern city. Over the centuries it has been abandoned and resettled several times. In more recent times, it was a relatively modest village until the Ottoman Empire began construction of the Hejaz Railway linking Damascus to Medina. The railway transformed the city almost overnight from a sleepy town of less than ten thousand to the sprawling metropolis it is today.

As we sat in the Roman Theatre, on our final evening in the Middle East, we reflected on two months of non-stop travel across three continents. We'd ticked off so many things on bucket list and experienced so much more than we could have ever imagined. On December 13, Garry and I flew out of Amman ready to begin our new life in London.

UPDATE

Here's a little more about our time in the Middle East. One of our tour friends sent me some of her favourite photos.