[Russ]
We saw historical sites from different time periods in Jordan:
Castle Aljoun is a mammoth 12th century hilltop fortress that dominates multiple valleys in Northern Jordan. It was a successful defense against Crusader invasions. We enjoyed finding clay pots with holes for wicks, most likely an early form of hand grenade.
The Citadel of Amman. This hilltop fortress in Amman has been under continuous use since ancient times and even neothlithic tools have been found. At the top was a gigantic temple dedicated to Hercules (note the hand in foreground). Here his statue stood tall, both arms akimbo, looking out across Amman. There are also Byzantine ruins and Umayyid ruins and a great view of the city.
We visited Jerash, a well-preserved Roman town known as "the Pompeii of the East". We had a memorable moment when we entered the Temple of Artemus and walked over to one of the massive pillars that are still standing here. Carter writes about what happens next:
"I agreed to stick my hand into a crack between the column and the base. Then Ra'ed pushed, the column moved, and my hand was still underneath! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
It turns out the column is made with a curved bottom so that it sways gently in the wind and resists earthquakes. The edge only moves about 1 centimeter up and down, so Carter's fingers were gently squeezed and not turned to jelly. The delicacy was quite amazing because these columns were so massive. We agreed though that one demonstration was enough.
After that we attended the live show. Carter writes about that:
[Carter]
The sword sliced along the throat and out dribbled a stream of blood. The victorious man flexed his torso and shouted, AAAAH!!! We were watching a re-enactment of a Roman circus, including Chariot races, Legion VI, and, indubitably, GLADIATORS!
We started off with Legion VI. A hidden man narrated in to his micro-phone while the Legion showed us their weapons and strategies.
The Romans had several weapons-
A Javelin
-Needle sharp tip capable of piercing through shield, armor and soldier all together.
-Bends when it finally is stopped, rendering it useless to the enemy.
A shield
-Big/covers most of the soldier
-Metal Boss (half sphere in the centre of the shield) to hit enemies with
-Sharp edges: the better to clobber your enemy with.
A short sword
-Dice, slice, chop, stab…..ouch
A dagger
-Sharp and pointy, good for making holes
Legionnaire armor
-Flexible and tough
I also learned that Roman lines were “X” men wide and 9 men deep. Every man was only expected to fight for eight minutes! After that he could rest, eat a bit, clean up his tent, and so on. After the first man left, the man behind him took his place; all the relaxing legionaries had to do was make sure they were back in line before their turn was up. In this manner, the enemy had to fight an army that never tired while fatigue took its toll on the poor Egyptians, Gauls, Hannibal’s men, Native resistors, what have you. A fresh army every eight minutes.
Then we had the gladiator fights! A line of rag-tag and mismatched men came out in to the arena, led by a man in a white toga. The gladiator’s weapons clanged and banged. After every battle the crowd got to decide whether the loser lived…or died. Thumbs up was live, and a sideways thumb was die. The crowd never used a downwards thumb. We learned that a kill was usually made by a sideways stab to the side of the head or neck; this was called “A soldier’s death”.
Outcome of fight number one: Majority had the thumbs up. He lives.
Outcome of fight number two: It was a bad fight, many people couldn’t decide, but my sister brazenly stuck her thumb out in the air. It matched my hand with a sideways thumb. He died (not really) and they even dragged his body off the field.
…..
Outcome of the last fight: This was an excellent fight between two gladiators, who had been angling to get kill votes during the entire show. I put my hand in the air, thumbs up. So did many others. I decided to see what Majdy and Ra’ed were doing. They were in the top row like, as my mom said, “The naughty schoolboys who sit at the back of the bus.” Majdy was using his phone, maybe he was playing a fishing game that he let us play whenever we were bored. Ra’ed was nonchalantly talking on his phone…BUT, HIS THUMB WAS SIDEWAYS…he wanted a kill…
Ignoring the merciful crowd, the winner slit the loser’s throat, and fake blood went everywhere. The dead gladiator was dragged away; at least they both got their wish.
Buh-bada-buh-bada-buh-bada-buh!!! Buh-bada-buh-bada-buh-bada-buh!!! Du-du….BADA-BA!
Chariot races! Three chariots wheeled in to the arena, bearing 3 out of 4 of the colors on the Jordanian flag. One had a white robe, another had a red one, and the last driver had a green robe. The race begun with a loud trumpet blare! It all went as expected for the first two laps, but then, at the beginning of the third, Green driver’s horses went the wrong way! The other chariots continued and were almost a lap ahead of him by the time he regained control. Red and White were neck and neck…..and in the home stretch…..Red pulls ahead, winning the race!
After the show was over, Katherine and I went down and took pictures with all the actors because they worked really hard.
Castle Aljoun is a mammoth 12th century hilltop fortress that dominates multiple valleys in Northern Jordan. It was a successful defense against Crusader invasions. We enjoyed finding clay pots with holes for wicks, most likely an early form of hand grenade.
The Citadel of Amman. This hilltop fortress in Amman has been under continuous use since ancient times and even neothlithic tools have been found. At the top was a gigantic temple dedicated to Hercules (note the hand in foreground). Here his statue stood tall, both arms akimbo, looking out across Amman. There are also Byzantine ruins and Umayyid ruins and a great view of the city.
We visited Jerash, a well-preserved Roman town known as "the Pompeii of the East". We had a memorable moment when we entered the Temple of Artemus and walked over to one of the massive pillars that are still standing here. Carter writes about what happens next:
"I agreed to stick my hand into a crack between the column and the base. Then Ra'ed pushed, the column moved, and my hand was still underneath! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
It turns out the column is made with a curved bottom so that it sways gently in the wind and resists earthquakes. The edge only moves about 1 centimeter up and down, so Carter's fingers were gently squeezed and not turned to jelly. The delicacy was quite amazing because these columns were so massive. We agreed though that one demonstration was enough.
After that we attended the live show. Carter writes about that:
[Carter]
The sword sliced along the throat and out dribbled a stream of blood. The victorious man flexed his torso and shouted, AAAAH!!! We were watching a re-enactment of a Roman circus, including Chariot races, Legion VI, and, indubitably, GLADIATORS!
We started off with Legion VI. A hidden man narrated in to his micro-phone while the Legion showed us their weapons and strategies.
The Romans had several weapons-
A Javelin
-Needle sharp tip capable of piercing through shield, armor and soldier all together.
-Bends when it finally is stopped, rendering it useless to the enemy.
A shield
-Big/covers most of the soldier
-Metal Boss (half sphere in the centre of the shield) to hit enemies with
-Sharp edges: the better to clobber your enemy with.
A short sword
-Dice, slice, chop, stab…..ouch
A dagger
-Sharp and pointy, good for making holes
Legionnaire armor
-Flexible and tough
I also learned that Roman lines were “X” men wide and 9 men deep. Every man was only expected to fight for eight minutes! After that he could rest, eat a bit, clean up his tent, and so on. After the first man left, the man behind him took his place; all the relaxing legionaries had to do was make sure they were back in line before their turn was up. In this manner, the enemy had to fight an army that never tired while fatigue took its toll on the poor Egyptians, Gauls, Hannibal’s men, Native resistors, what have you. A fresh army every eight minutes.
Then we had the gladiator fights! A line of rag-tag and mismatched men came out in to the arena, led by a man in a white toga. The gladiator’s weapons clanged and banged. After every battle the crowd got to decide whether the loser lived…or died. Thumbs up was live, and a sideways thumb was die. The crowd never used a downwards thumb. We learned that a kill was usually made by a sideways stab to the side of the head or neck; this was called “A soldier’s death”.
Outcome of fight number one: Majority had the thumbs up. He lives.
Outcome of fight number two: It was a bad fight, many people couldn’t decide, but my sister brazenly stuck her thumb out in the air. It matched my hand with a sideways thumb. He died (not really) and they even dragged his body off the field.
…..
Outcome of the last fight: This was an excellent fight between two gladiators, who had been angling to get kill votes during the entire show. I put my hand in the air, thumbs up. So did many others. I decided to see what Majdy and Ra’ed were doing. They were in the top row like, as my mom said, “The naughty schoolboys who sit at the back of the bus.” Majdy was using his phone, maybe he was playing a fishing game that he let us play whenever we were bored. Ra’ed was nonchalantly talking on his phone…BUT, HIS THUMB WAS SIDEWAYS…he wanted a kill…
Ignoring the merciful crowd, the winner slit the loser’s throat, and fake blood went everywhere. The dead gladiator was dragged away; at least they both got their wish.
Buh-bada-buh-bada-buh-bada-buh!!! Buh-bada-buh-bada-buh-bada-buh!!! Du-du….BADA-BA!
Chariot races! Three chariots wheeled in to the arena, bearing 3 out of 4 of the colors on the Jordanian flag. One had a white robe, another had a red one, and the last driver had a green robe. The race begun with a loud trumpet blare! It all went as expected for the first two laps, but then, at the beginning of the third, Green driver’s horses went the wrong way! The other chariots continued and were almost a lap ahead of him by the time he regained control. Red and White were neck and neck…..and in the home stretch…..Red pulls ahead, winning the race!
After the show was over, Katherine and I went down and took pictures with all the actors because they worked really hard.
