The 'Eid and the Citadel

As many know, this past month has been the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims around the world. Ramadan ended on Thursday and began the holiday weekend. The end of Ramadan is referred to as Eid al-Fitr. In honor of the holiday, we have Thursday through Sunday off. The city has changed noticeably. People are out during the day, shops are opened and taxi drivers smoke. It has been nice to see Amman a little more lively than it had been in the past week or so.

In light of our days off, Betsy, Shadea and I decided to be tourists today. We ventured down to the center of Amman to take a look at the Citadel or in Arabic, جبل القلعة, pronounced Jabal al-Qal'a. The Citadel sits on one of Amman's seven hills and gives a breathtaking view of the surrounding city. There is evidence that the area has been inhabited for the past 7000 years making it one of the world's oldest, most continually inhabited places. It is difficult to describe the curious juxtaposition of the ruins with the recent Amman buildings in the background. I think the best way to describe might be to show. Take a look at the pictures below:

Me and the ruins of the Temple of Hercules

Me and a pillar from the Temple of Hercules

Ruins of the Temple of Hercules

Ruins of the Temple of Hercules

Fingers from an ancient Roman statue

View from the Citadel

Page from the Dead Sea Scrolls!

Lemon ma' na'ana