...is not, as one could wittily argue, The Baghdad International Highway in Jordan's Mafraq Governorate, but rather the 1500 years of history of The Black City.

'But why black', I can hear you asking. Because all of its buildings are made of basalt. Oh, and because it is a graphic opposition to the Red Desert on the south of the country with its most appealing miracle - Petra.

By the way, both Petra and Umm el-Jimal are Nabataean sites. What we know today as Petra was mainly constructed in the first century AD. Exactly the time when our Black City made its first appearance.

Later, the city was rebuilt in 5th century, while under Byzantine control, and despite Constantinople's inaction. It was Umm el-Jimal's inhabitants who pushed for the reconstruction of their city and not the head of the province. Subsequently, it was used by Arabs, Mamluks, Druzes and even French expeditionary corpus in WWII.

In any case, if you want to read more about the story of Umm el-Jimal, I strongly recommend you visit the website of Umm el-Jimal Project.

There you will find the people behind decades of archaeological research. Here comes all my admiration for their work and their website. Both are done with an extremely high quality.

While in real life one can admire first-hand the site with its many superstructures, such three-floor high buildings, on the website one can make a virtual tour of the city. What impresses me most, however, on the ground, is how information plates explain the sights. A typical inscription on a plate in front of an ancient church for example would mention the form and some other structural details, that interest no one but a mad archaeologist and eventually a date for the building.

Here, instead, you can read about some small churches, included in private houses. 'Which reflects how the people ceased to conceive the religion being something public and regulated by the authorities and started instead to pursue more intimate relation with god', one inscription in Umm el-Jimal says.

Thus the information plate here gives you an insight of who the inhabitants of Umm el-Jimal were and what they thought.

What impresses me most in the website though, is how the people behind Umm el-Jimal Project stress on the participation of 'thousands' of people from the modern village during decades of archaeological excavations and their inestimable role.

Thus leaving you with the satisfying feeling that at least once the archaeology of the Middle East has put today's people before treasure troves. Thank you, Umm el-Jimal Project!

I might have been exaggerating when I cited the inscriptions as the most remarkable thing on the ground. For me, as an archaeologist, probably the most appealing thing was the sight of this stone door:

Until that moment, I had never seen such an ancient stone door, standing on its hinges. It still stands, despite the ages, in a very symbolic way.

Not less for the fact that if you cross its doorstep, you will find yourself in Syria, which lies one km away. You stay behind and you can go to Zaatari refugee camp, which is one km away on the other side. Between them is the 1500 years old stone door - still standing.

If you walk at night, you step on mud and crap, a Greek saying goes. It refers to the known unknown that awaits you just around the corner.

So, let me walk you through the known to every foreigner in Amman Abdoun. First, there was nothing. Then Christians created The Orthodox Club for the sake of every bored expat, looking for a game of tennis. Or it wasn't how the story goes. However, then The British Club and all the rest came. But, apparently before The Orthodox Club was created there was some unknown medieval christian site.

That's right. Let's take a look at it! Take your car to Abdoun Circle. Now leave it and head down the street towards Taj mall taking the left side of the road. After a couple hundred of meters comes another, smaller circle. Then, right after it, on your left side there is a small green spot with some trees. Go there.

On first sight you'll notice some old stone structure. It's clear that excavation and conservation were done on it. By whom, or when it happened is unknown to me.

Until I find this out (or you suggest me the answer in your comments below), let's make some preliminary remarks. It's built on a hill's southern slope. The excavated site spans some 80 to 100 square meters.

It has entrances on at least two of its sides.

One of them bears a cross, shaped in what is known in the heraldry as a croix pattee. Back at the time it was used both by Templars and Teutonic Knights. In any case, it is been associated with the Crusades, especially when seen in Jordan and Palestine.

Now, this cross may seem like a clue, but don't rush to awaken in your mind the sight of handsome knights, chinking their armors. The place clearly lacks any military purpose. It bears neither curtain walls nor towers or any other sign of fortification at all.

Instead, it has a water collection and distribution system.

Here for example you can see the hole in the middle of what seems to be an open court with cobble pavement, made in opus rectangulatum. Under the hole there is a huge water tank with a ceiling, which reminds me of the Byzantine cisterns in Constantinople.

Once upon a time, when you entered the court, you could take your horse to drink water from the fountain, visible on this picture:

It takes its water from the tanks, using a system of pipes, running through the walls. Just like the ones you've seen in Petra:

Now, I suppose there wasn't any mechanical way to make the water climb the distance, separating the tank from the fountain. That's why you have to take the few steps leading to the well, just next to the fountain, and pump some water into the pipelines, my lord:

Once you fulfill your duty to the animal, you can proceed to the main mission of your visit. Let me introduce you to the mill:

Now, whether it used wind, water or animal force to make the millstone move back and forward is unknown to me. Whatever the force behind it, it seems that our Crusade structure is all about Sancho Panza rather than Don Quixote.

And still, it's worth visiting, not least for the fact that such a cute surprise lies in such a boring newly built neighborhood. Oh, and it's not on your Lonely Planet guide! Cheers!