[Khamsa] Jerash, Dead Sea, and Amman, in Jordan

Fifth album of my trip, and well.. Since I have the SD card of the one in Jordan, I guess I'm gonna upload this first. We went to Jordan after Syria, but until I found that SD card.. ^-^" This place is called Jerash, located somewhere between Irbid and Amman, and we had two very nice kids (Syafiq and Aida) to bring us around. Alhamdulillah everything was just lovely.

Me and Bonda <3

Oval Plaza

The spacious plaza measures 90mx80m and is surrounded by a broad sidewalk and colonnade of 1st century AD Ionic columns. There are two alters in the middle, and a fountain was added in the 7th century AD. This square structure now supports a central column, which was recently erected to carry the Jerash Festival Flame.

Colonnaded Street

Still paved with the original stones – the ruts worn by chariots are still visible – the 800m Cardo was the architectural spine and focal point of Jerash. An underground sewage system ran the full length of the Cardo and the regular holes at the sides of the street drained rainwater into the sewers

(*^-^*)

Our tour guide. Oh the talking part was so much fun!

South Theatre

Built during the reign of Emperor Domitian, between 90-92 AD, the South Theatre can seat more than 3,000 spectators. The 1st level of the ornate stage, which was originally a two-storey structure, has been reconstructed and is still used today. The theatre's remarkable acoustics allow a speaker at the centre of the orchestra floor to be heard throughout the entire auditorium without raising his voice. Two vaulted passages lead into the orchestra, and four passages at the back of the theatre give access to the upper rows of seats. Some seats could be reserved and the Greek letters which designate them can still be seen.

Then, we went to the Dead Sea. As most of you would already know about the story of "The People of Lut and The City which was Turned Upside Down".

Prophet Lut (Lot):

According to Islamic and Biblical traditions, the Dead Sea is the site of the ancient city of Sodom, home of the Prophet Lut (Lot), peace be upon him. The Qur'an describes the people of Sodom as ignorant, wicked, evildoers who rejected God's call to righteousness. The people were murderers, thiefs, and openly practiced immoral sexual behavior. Lut perservered in preaching God's message, but found that even his own wife was one of the disbelievers.

Punishment:

God's severely punished the people of this region for their wickedness. According to the Qur'an, the punishment was to "turn the cities upside down, and rain down on them brimstones hard as baked clay, spread layer on layer, marked from your Lord" (Qur'an 11:82-83). The site of this punishment is now the Dead Sea, standing as a symbol of destruction.

Visiting the Dead Sea:

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, reportedly tried to dissuade people from visiting the sites of God's punishment: "Do not enter the place of those who were unjust to themselves, unless you are weeping, lest you should suffer the same punishment as was inflicted upon them."

The Qur'an describes that the site of this punishment has been left as a sign for those who follow: "Surely! In this are signs for those who understand. And verily, they (the cities) are right on the highroad. Surely! Therein is indeed a sign for the believers." (Qur'an 15:75-77)

If one does visit the Dead Sea, it is recommended to spend time recalling the story of Lut, and how he stood for righteousness among his people. The Qur'an says, "And to Lut, too, We gave wisdom and knowledge; We saved him from the town which practiced abominations. Truly they were a people given to evil, a rebellious people. And We admitted him to Our mercy; for he was one of the righteous" (Qur'an 21:74-75).

The Dead Sea is the lowest surface on Earth, at 400 meters below sea level. Pretty scary uh. The road to this place was amazingly beautiful and to know that this is where Allah had punished the people of Sodom somehow took me back to reality.

We headed back to Amman and had this...

oh my. I can't remember the name. >_<"

Oh! It's Falaffel!