Later Diala drove us 48 kilometres north to the town of Jerash, where set in a picturesque valley lies an ancient Roman town.
Northern Jordan is fertile, green, and with steep-sided, cultivated hills, reminded me of Cyprus. In Jerash, we walked ancient streets and marveled at the preservation of the remains, and perfect proportions of the renovated amphitheatres.
I left the two girls talking in the warm sun, and climbing up found myself in the temple of Dionysus, which a perfect listening position for the entire valley. I am sure the siting of the altar here is no coincidence. Here I made my best recording yet of the daily sound of prayer, the huge human clock that regulates the Islamic world, and had something of a personal revelation as I gazed upon the inhabited hillsides opposite, bathed in aural washes of devotion.
This is a podcast about my travels to the middle-east. I've never been there before - the nearest I've been is the Greek Islands. 
I'm taking no laptop - instead, I've bought a Zoom H4 recorder, which should allow me to create MP3 audio on location, and upload it via the magic of USB onto the nearest available hard drive and from there onto the web. Although I will also take my video camera, I'm not expecting to send back video. When I get back I'll more than likely add videos to this site as a post-journey complement to the audio.