Day 6: Um Qais and Ajloun

We have a very handy-dandy piece of equipment in our car called a GPS.  Sometimes it gets us where we want to go and other times it doesn't.  Today we decided not to trust the GPS, but to follow the signs (as far as we could read them) to Um Qais.  Um Qais is an ancient Roman city overlooking Lake Tiberius (Sea of Galilee).  Our trip took us through some beautiful country and the weather was absolutely perfect.

A member of the Church who works for the department of antiquities arranged for us to have a VIP tour of the site.  We felt very important.

It was nice to have Abraham for our guide.  His name is easy to remember.

This area is where Jesus cast out the evil spirits from two men who were possessed.  The spirits were sent to a herd of swine who then went running down into the sea and were drowned.  

Matthew 8:28-34

The city's hilltop location gave it great military as well as commercial importance.  From this point you can see the Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights (Israel) and Syria.  

We walked down the main road that leads into the city.  The marks of wagon wheels can still be seen in the stone.

Ruins of old shops line the road

The pillars lining the road are massive.  We wondered how they were constructed.

You'll never guess what's down here!

Burial tombs!   Since we were there with a guide who had a key we were able to go inside.  

We were so glad we had a flashlight feature on our cell phone.  The tomb was a maze of burial rooms. 

Abraham pointed out other interesting places, such as elaborate public bath houses and then to the coliseum in the center of town.  The coliseum is very well preserved and has comfortable carved seats for dignitaries.  Mom was ready to sit down and rest her feet for a minute. 

 The last experience was the best of all the game--a private tour of a tunnel beneath the city. 

Everyone was ready for lunch at the hilltop restaurant overlooking Um Qais and the surrounding country.

Next, our plan was to drive down through the Jordan River Valley to an old castle at Ajloun, but the GPS went crazy and took us back to Irbid, down heavily crowded streets and back alleys.  We didn't know what else to do but follow the directions and wait in traffic.  We knew it would be dark (4:30) before we could get to Ajloun, so we phoned ahead and made arrangements for the guards to let us in.

In the end, it was fun to have the whole castle to ourselves (except for a few drunk Russian boys--but they left).  We walked across the bridge over the moat and up the steps.  It was awesome.

A pile of rocks used to throw down at anyone who dares to attack.

Back home again in Husn we had one more stop--to visit the home of Emad Abwe and his family.  They were absolutely thrilled that we would come to visit.