Settling in, venturing out
Its been a busy week in Lake Wobegon...I mean, at ACOR...
We're starti
ng to sleep, to settle in, and to venture out.
Last week we went on a family expedition to the Citadel and Archaeological Museum and the Roman Theater in downtown Amman. Aaron found some research related stuff at the Museum that got him excited, while Noah and I had a good time climbing on rocks and ducking in rooms in the Ummayad (?) palace. Noah's into theaters these days and we're making it our mission to climb to the top of every theater in Jordan. Stay tuned for the updates...Wandering around the suk later, we think we've found our favorite rug shop and are bracing our wallets for a return trip.
Noah and I went on an outing to the Childrens Museum in Amman. Its a fantastic place (so many buttons, so little time) complete with a toddler area, a moving skeleton, an excavation pit, and a foam dinosaur that can be assembled. We'll be back.
We're starti
ng to sleep, to settle in, and to venture out.Last week we went on a family expedition to the Citadel and Archaeological Museum and the Roman Theater in downtown Amman. Aaron found some research related stuff at the Museum that got him excited, while Noah and I had a good time climbing on rocks and ducking in rooms in the Ummayad (?) palace. Noah's into theaters these days and we're making it our mission to climb to the top of every theater in Jordan. Stay tuned for the updates...Wandering around the suk later, we think we've found our favorite rug shop and are bracing our wallets for a return trip.
Noah and I went on an outing to the Childrens Museum in Amman. Its a fantastic place (so many buttons, so little time) complete with a toddler area, a moving skeleton, an excavation pit, and a foam dinosaur that can be assembled. We'll be back.
Over the weekend, we spent the day at Jerash, less than an hour north of Amman. Think 
Disneyland for Classical Archaeologists.....such an amazing place. We watched Roman soldiers, gladiators and a chariot race in the Hippodrome, wandered through the Cardo, danced to music in the southern theater (and, of course, climbed to the top of both the northern and the southern theaters), and had a time-out in the Temple of Artemis. Probably the most scenic time-out we've ever had. Got to marvel at the earthquake damage and troll around some relatively recent excavations. Sigh. Columns are half buried and walls are peeking through the dirt at the site....makes you want to whip out your trowel and get crackin'.
Yesterday we embarked on more modern (so to speak) adventures and went to Darat al funun (www.daratalfunun.org/main/index.html) and the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Art. Darat al funun is my new favorite place in Jordan. Sigh. Serene courtyards, fountains, a
Circassian awning, the remains of a Byz. church and - right now - a fantastic exhibition of Mona Hatoum's work. It's divine. After tearing ourselves away from paradise, we walked through a great neighborhood (that reminded us a lot of East Jerusalem) to the National Gallery. Housed in two buildings with a sculpture garden/park in between, the Galleries are beautiful and the artwork hung is quite interesting. Noah stalled out in the sculpture garden (there was sand) and tolerated the attentions of a very cute 1 1/2 year old girl who alternated between dumping sand on Noah and kissing him on the head.
Went out to dinner last night to celebrate Kim Cavanagh's plenty-ninth birthday and had (among other things) a delicious Thai beef salad (who knew?) in a swank setting. Felt very grown up. As we were arriving, we asked the cab driver to stop at Abdoun Circle near a bank, to which he replied, "Insha'allah", which means, "God willing". Sent me into a fit a giggles, but only because he really did stop where we asked. I suppose I wouldn't have been laughing as much if we ended up on the otherside of town.
More to come....please stay tuned....
Disneyland for Classical Archaeologists.....such an amazing place. We watched Roman soldiers, gladiators and a chariot race in the Hippodrome, wandered through the Cardo, danced to music in the southern theater (and, of course, climbed to the top of both the northern and the southern theaters), and had a time-out in the Temple of Artemis. Probably the most scenic time-out we've ever had. Got to marvel at the earthquake damage and troll around some relatively recent excavations. Sigh. Columns are half buried and walls are peeking through the dirt at the site....makes you want to whip out your trowel and get crackin'.Yesterday we embarked on more modern (so to speak) adventures and went to Darat al funun (www.daratalfunun.org/main/index.html) and the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Art. Darat al funun is my new favorite place in Jordan. Sigh. Serene courtyards, fountains, a
Circassian awning, the remains of a Byz. church and - right now - a fantastic exhibition of Mona Hatoum's work. It's divine. After tearing ourselves away from paradise, we walked through a great neighborhood (that reminded us a lot of East Jerusalem) to the National Gallery. Housed in two buildings with a sculpture garden/park in between, the Galleries are beautiful and the artwork hung is quite interesting. Noah stalled out in the sculpture garden (there was sand) and tolerated the attentions of a very cute 1 1/2 year old girl who alternated between dumping sand on Noah and kissing him on the head.Went out to dinner last night to celebrate Kim Cavanagh's plenty-ninth birthday and had (among other things) a delicious Thai beef salad (who knew?) in a swank setting. Felt very grown up. As we were arriving, we asked the cab driver to stop at Abdoun Circle near a bank, to which he replied, "Insha'allah", which means, "God willing". Sent me into a fit a giggles, but only because he really did stop where we asked. I suppose I wouldn't have been laughing as much if we ended up on the otherside of town.
More to come....please stay tuned....
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