The Greco-Roman city of Pella (named for the birthplace of Alexander the Great) was a Decapolis city, one of 10 centers of Greek culture established on the eastern fringes of the Hellenistic Greek world. Pella is located about 80 miles north of our mystery country’s capital city Amman (built on the site of another Decapolis city, Philadelphia).
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Standing sentinel at the Visitor Center entrance to Wadi Rum, this massive rock is popularly known as the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, after the book by T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia). The traditional name of the rock formation is Jabal al-Mazmar. Lawrence was a British army officer who joined the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Beyond the Seven Pillars of Wisdom, hundreds of equally awesome rock formations frame the sandy corridors, broad and narrow, that crisscross the Valley of the Moon.
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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.
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The grand entrance hall pictured above is all that remains intact of the large palace complex that once wrapped around the north side of the Citadel, the historical and geographical center of the country’s capital Amman, as well as its highest point. The palace was built around 720CE by the Umayyads, a dynasty that ruled the area 661-750. Much of the complex was destroyed by an earthquake in 749. The entrance hall takes the unlikely-for-Islamic-architecture shape of a cross because it is built on top of the foundations of a Byzantine church.
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Known as the “Citadel,” the site pictured above is located on the highest of seven hills that make up Amman, the capital city of our mystery country. The area has been continuously inhabited at least since the Bronze Age and excavations have only scratched the surface. Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad remains have been uncovered to date, including the Roman Hercules Temple above, a water cistern and palace from the Umayyad period and a Byzantine church. The national archaeological museum is also located at the Citadel.
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In the south-east of our mystery country, tens of thousands of petroglyphs and inscriptions in Wadi Rum are evidence of human habitation going back 12,000 years. Across three hundred square miles of protected desert, you’ll find red sand dunes, mountains, narrow canyons snaking between sheer towers of granite and sandstone and a small population of Bedouins, living much as their ancestors have done for thousands of years. Spend a few hours exploring Wadi Rum by 4X4 with a local guide or stay for several days, sleeping in a Bedouin camp. Cultural and historical sites are often the main attraction in our mystery country, with Wadi Rum as a short side trip, but “adventure” activities such as hiking and rock climbing in the country’s wild places are increasingly popular.
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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
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