Jordan: Jerash & Figs!

I am writing about my trip to Jordan as though I am sending an email to all of my friends and family. I want to remember every detail, every emotion, every moment of happiness with my families and friends.

Aside from Jordan being a beautiful country, I was able to share my Jordanian relatives with my new Armenian ones. We had many vacations in one, and it is incredible that such a small country can contain so many different parts.

Day 2

Our second day in Jordan was really supposed to be our 3rd. Because of the 24 hour flight delay we had to squeeze a 10 day trip into 9 days. We did not have any time to play around or have jet lag. From the first night we had a maximum of 6 hours a night of sleep. It was worth the exhaustion. Our first full day we visited two historic sites: Jerash and Karak.

Jerash is a 2,000 year old city that was preserved so well because it was buried in the sand. It is a Roman city, and it is definitely a site everyone should visit one day. A few photos from our tour:

Tourists! Every time I had to gather our group I would call out “American Group” with a faux Middle Eastern accent. I even annoyed myself.

I am not sure this photo does this theater justice. It was HIGH.

Maybe this displays it better. The steps were really steep, and to be honest, by the time I got to the top I was a little anxious about being so high. In the picture below we have PB, Jake & Gina.

Jerash has the most ghetto Gladiator show. Sorry, but there is no other way to put it! I remember as a teen thinking it was the coolest show ever. Now, not so much, but it was still awesome. And funny. They played the music from the movie Gladiator over and over again on repeat, but the cut between where the song ended and repeated was not a smooth transition. The boys couldn’t help but hum the tune the rest of the trip.

Posing with a gladiator. I chose not to smile.

Kristine, on the other hand, was happy to have her head almost cut off…

After a morning in the hot sun we headed to a beautiful lunch. The theme of drink for me on the trip was SODA. I had Coca Light or Diet Pepsi every day for lunch and/or dinner, after having soda only once a year before this trip. I have to say, it was fun to drink all that soda. I had withdrawals all weekend from it. Cool sign huh?

The food everywhere we went was incredible. This bread came out puffed up and piping hot. We loved it. PB was weird and ate the hummus with a spoon without bread, but I ate enough bread for a year on this trip.

Most of the meals we had served an assortment of traditional appetizers that filled the table to the brim. This place was no exception, and after eating our fill of hummus, mutable (roasted eggplant with labneh, which is a yogurt spread), vegetables, tabbouleh, and bread, we were full. Then the 2nd course would come out. We made the mistake at every meal of thinking the mezze was the meal. It was a fun and tasty mistake to make.

There was a LOT on our table. It was delicious, fresh, and healthy.

After a fabulous lunch we headed to Ajloun for a tour. Here are Lynne & Eric enjoying the view.

We had a fabulous day touring, but Day 2 did not end there. After a quick shower and change, we all headed to my Auntie Fida’s house for dinner. My family is so generous and kind, and they all made the time each night to not only spend time with us, but to host us for dinners too! The meal was delicious, the company fun. My auntie and uncle have an amazing garden, and even used their own lemons from their lemon tree for the salad!

Dinner was a traditional Jordanian dish called mincef. It is lamb cooked in yogurt and served over rice with the yogurt on the side. Everyone who tries it loves it.

Of course there was also another huge table of food. I love that in Jordan (and in my family in particular) there are always fresh vegetables and healthy options with every single meal.

Dessert was an assortment of my favorite fruits of Jordan, including dinar peaches (the flat disk-shaped ones), apricots and fresh figs! The fruits in Jordan taste the way they should- no chemical after taste or bland flavor. Yum. We also had a beautiful display of chocolates and Jordanian pastries.

I love fruits.

A lot!

In case you don’t know, this is what a fresh fig looks like from the inside:

In fact, everyone partook in the eating of fruits. Our table alone must have eaten over 10 figs, among other fruits!

Here are some of the guests that were in attendance that night:

It was only Day 2 in Jordan, and already the trip was memorable.

Thoughts and interesting points of Day 2:

• One might see a Mercedes next to a camel. Most might think that Jordan is a backwards country, but in fact it is very much a part of the modern world. Much like Europe, you may find historic sites right in the middle of a busy financial district, or the most modern telephone (more advanced than we have in the States) in the hands of a boy selling flutes.
• The Christian population is only about 6-10%. Somehow I believe it used to be higher. If you didn’t know, my family is Christian and my grandfather was a Christian minister in Jordan. He passed away this last year at 106 years old.
• Only recently did the Muslim population start wearing the head covering more often. When I visited in 2006, 2004, and before, I did not often notice women with head scarves on. Now it is a bit more common.
• Again, much like in Europe, everything happens more slowly here. Americans are always in a rush, rush, rush, and it was nice to know that for once if I was a few minutes late, I was still actually early.
• Hot tea with mint is almost as good as fresh lemonade with mint, but not quite.

Previous Jordan posts:
Planes, Cars & Family