I stood on a street in Jerash and suddenly realized that no one ever told me what to expect. I had seen ruins before, and I had viewed photos of this Roman city. Still, I cannot think of anything that could have prepared me for the experience. Jerash isn't some pile of rocks left over after people pillaged it as a quarry, as are most remnants of the Roman era. As I looked in all directions, I saw the equivalent of a major city too large to cover by foot and ready for habitation.

When Ed White of DevIS contacted me in April to speak at last week's OSS event, I wondered if he was joking. With all the trouble in the Middle East I could not imagine why anyone would want to go there

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