Our first big encounter with the Roman Empire - Jerash.

The children first became interested in the Roman Empire courtesy of Asterix and Obelix. One of the ironies of the decline of the Roman empire is that most of the best preserved Roman cities are not in Italy but in Turkey, Syria and Jordan. We saw Roman ruins in Egypt but the first major Roman city we saw close up was Jerash, which is a short bus ride from Amman. The ruins contain one of the best preserved hippodromes from Roman times, and there is a show put on by local actors which demonstrates among other things, Roman military tactics, gladiator fights and chariot racing. Needless to say, the chlidren loved it, especially the fake killing of a gladiator with theatre blood everywhere, and the chariot race.