The Citadel

Sultan Khatib, (I’ve got his number,  if you’re ever in Amman (or the Kempinski Ishtar, at the Dead Sea — more on that in a moment) found me a driver to take me to the Dead Sea, Petra and Wadi Rum.  Sultan did a video for the Intercontinental about the sights and sounds of Amman; he’s definitely the expert.  I didn’t get the chance to eat at any of the places he’s talking about in the video, but you can watch it here: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/city-tour/video/amman

Sufyan from Royal Tours, (I’ve got his number, too) who spent about 10 years in Orange County, picked me up around 11; and we headed for the Dead Sea, with a few tourist stops along the way.

The Citadel sits on the highest hill in Amman, and has been a source of artefacts dating back to the neolithic and Bronze Ages and after. Sufyan (who used to go by “Samy”) told me that it’s not uncommon to find pieces o’sumthin’ in your backyard, when you’re doing any kind of home improvement that might involve some digging. (Apparently, some peoples buried EVERYTHING).  Finds might include, say, a Roman era jar full of gold coins; most stay in the backyard, but one or two of the coins might make their way to a museum, or the government. The photo at the top of this page is of the Roman Temple of Hercules; there’s not a lot left, due to earthquakes, et. al., but to get a sense of the sheer size of the pieces, check this out — the little ants crawling on it are a tour group from Amman.  The Citadel is a great place for concerts, since you can see all of the city from the top of Jebel al-Qala’a; but they can only seat so many (perhaps 6000 or so). Samy told me it gets pretty crazy – not a lot of parking. I understand that there’s a very popular summer series in Jerash (another amazing ruins & antiquities town); along with all the most popular Middle Eastern artists, both Placido Domingo and Diana Krall are playing there, in just a few weeks.

There’s a series of historic buildings at the Citadel, called the Umayyad Palace, dating from AD 720 or so. I’ve included a photo of the Umayyad Cistern, which has steps to the bottom, and supplied water to the palace and surrounding areas (via slave labor, of course).  Just looks cool, the way they built the steps around the cistern.  There are also some traces of a small Byzantine Basilica, but there isn’t all that much to look at.

Although these ruins were all fun and interesting to imagine filled with people and in full use, I really loved the National Archaeological Museum; not least of which because they had coins, pottery, sculpture, bones (from small children buried under families Bronze Age hearths; or skulls that showed primitive medical techniques that weren’t so primitive, like boring holes into the skull) and jewelry (!!! gave me some ideas) with decent English descriptions.  I could’ve spent a long time there, even though it’s a smallish space; but I only got to hang out with the Romans, and the Egyptians, the Byzantines, the Nabateans, and the whoever-the-gangs-were-who-stuck-around-for-a-bit, for a little while, as I wanted to get to the Dead Sea.  Here’s a little more flavor:

 

These are among the earliest representations of human figures known to exist — circa 6500-8000 BC.  Mind-boggling.  Found at Jerash, in Jordan’s north.  Takes the whole idea of being joined-at-the-hip 4-evah to an entirely new level.  And makes me feel just a tad awkward, when I complain about feeling old and craggy.  This is how I’d sculpt, given the chance; good to know that in about 8,000-10,000 years, my pieces could be priceless. There is always hope, if you persevere.

 

 

 

 

And now, for a true, long-term pot-head — need I say more?  I just loved this figurine:

And, finally — could it be a remnant of corporate secrets rescued from the metaphorical flames from a bank I once worked at?…NOT.  

This is a leather scrap of the Dead Sea Scrolls,found at Qurum by Bedouin beginning in 1947; biblical manuscripts (and building plans, and property transfers, and a treasure map of sorts, among other things, etc.) dating back to the second century, BC, and believed to be the library of a Jewish sect known as the Essenes.    There have actually been lots more found, now – 900 scrolls or scraps of them, but this is what ran in the Wall Street Journal in 1954, when they were first discovered and those who had them were trying to figure out what to do with them:

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE    THE Four DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Biblical manuscripts dating back to at least 200 B.C.
are for sale. This would be and ideal gift to an educational
or religious institution by an individual or group.
Box F 206 WALL STREET JOURNAL

Who’da thunk?  DaVinci Code, DaShminci Code — I’ve always loved the WSJ.  You never know what you can learn, cause truth really is stranger than fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ by mimi on June 30, 2008.