The High Point

1. We are safe and well! In light of the events which occurred in neighboring countries in the last week, BYU has asked us to reassure anyone who might be concerned that Jordan, unlike virtually  all its neighbors, remains apparently peaceful (unless, of course you count the traffic). Alhamdullillah.
2. My roommates and I just returned from the roof (the source of today's title, "the high point"), where we could see the city of Amman in its nightly glory. We can hear the call to prayer from two sources, and the (dare I say it? musical) voices blend together as the sounds bounce off the hills of Amman. They have a lot of "Christmas lights" here as well, especially lighted stars and crescents in green, which is the color of Islam. The only thing that might have made it better is if I could have understood the words, but perhaps in the future in she Allah. Actually, I had a  Biblical insight up there as well: I have always wondered why Bathsheba was bathing on her roof, and what King David was doing walking around on his, but now I completely understand.
3.  Another "high point:" Last Saturday we visited The Citadel, which has ruins from Ammonite, Roman, Umayyad, and Byzantine civilizations, to name a few. One of the best things about it is that you can climb all over 2000 year-old ruins, whereas in the US you would probably just read the sign and gaze from behind a fence. However, these ruins do all have signs with "From the American People" stamped on them--as a general rule, the Jordanians do not care much for these sights. Several people have actually asked me why Americans are always coming to Jordan to take pictures of old buildings!

This is actually the place where Uriah was killed after King David sent him to the front lines of the battle against the Ammonites, whose palace/fortress was on top of this hill.

This is the "modern" museum on top of the Citadel. It just seems like the sort of place that might store the Ark of the Covenant.

   One of my favorite things was the Roman theater near the Citadel. The acoustics were fantastic! Our professor (shown here) sang several songs for our enjoyment, and I entertained my classmates by reciting a couple of choice lines from Shakespeare.