Jordan tour: Borders, bagpipes, orphan girls
Our first full day in Jordan was spent mostly at sites of Greco-Roman ruins: we visited two cities of the ancient Decapolis, Gadara (now Umm Qais) and Gerasa (now Jerash). (Three of the ten if you count our initial home base in Amman, site of the ancient city of Philadelphia.) While Jesus is thought to have done ministry in both cities, the morning's main attractions were pagan ones.
On the way to Umm Qais, however, we stopped briefly to see the Zarqa River—the biblical Jabbok, where Jacob and Esau are reunited. It's a smallish, unimpressive bit of water, which makes all the more striking its Genesis role as a boundary the epically feuding siblings must cross to be reconciled. We stopped there when we did because it's on the way, but I don't imagine this theme of small but powerful boundaries between feuding people is lost on tour guides headed to Umm Qais.
The city is biblically noteworthy for its claim on the synoptic account of the Gerasene demoniac, and its classical ruins are impressive. But the most striking thing is the international-border-rich vista: you can see the Sea of Galilee; the contested Golan Heights; the Israeli city of Tiberias; smaller villages in Jordan, Israel and Syria; and even a glimpse of Lebanon. (Also: towers with soldiers with guns.)
