Ajloun Castle (Qal’at Ar-Rabad) is a 12th century fortress built by the Muslim Ayyubid dynasty to enforce order amongst local tribes, guard nearby iron mines and defend against Crusaders in the northern Jordan Valley. The castle sits at about 4,000 feet atop Mt. Auf the highest ground in the area, with gorgeous views across olive groves and pine forests for miles around. A visit to Ajloun Castle pairs well with the Roman site of Jerash, about 30 minutes away. This is also a beautiful area for hiking and the protected, cool mountain forests are a welcome retreat from sweltering summer temperatures in this desert country.
Can you name that country?
See below for answers.
Gerasa (modern Jerash), 30 miles north of Amman, is the second most visited tourist site in Jordan, after Petra, and one of the world’s most extensive Roman sites outside of Italy.
There is evidence that the area has been inhabited since the Neolithic period but serious development began with the Hellenistic Greeks in the 3rd-century BCE. The city grew and prospered under Roman rule and was a member of the Decapolis, ten politically important city-states in the far eastern reaches of the empire. At its height, in the 2nd-century CE, 20,000 people lived in Gerasa.
The ancient remains sprawl across an elevated, rolling plain with the modern town and cultivated fields looking on from the surrounding slopes. Much has yet to be uncovered. Demonstrations of gladiator fights and chariot races take place in the hippodrome every day except Tuesday. For three weeks each summer (around late July-early August) the site hosts the Jerash Festival, an acclaimed arts festival with theater, music and dance performances staged among the ruins.
All the clues in this post refer to one Ya’lla Tours destination: Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Turkey, or United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai).
We’ll show you images of popular tourist sites in our mystery country, along with descriptions of those sites. Continue reading
We get a lot of questions about Israel border crossing. It’s very common to combine Israel and Jordan as travel destinations and somewhat common to combine Israel and Egypt. Continue reading