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January 11th 2009
My last day of touring was a trip to the city of Karak to see the Castle. This was a one hour bus trip from Jordan's southern bus station. The castles was originally built in 1140AD and is a natural strong point in the area. Since then, this site has been key for any power that wants control of the area. Sieges where the common way of taking the Castle, with the majority of them lasting months of years, with in habitants eating everything inside and selling wives and children to prolong supplies. Much of the interior has been excavated with numerous halls, churches, kitchens, quarters etc. This concludes my blogs for the moment, as I head home tomorrow. Thanks to all for taking the time out to check these entries out and providing comments and ... read more
January 10th 2009
The ancient city of Madaba offers the largest and best preserved range of mosaics in Jordan. A short one hour mini-bus trip from Jordan's northern bus station, this city is setup well to stroll around to each of the sites. These included the the Madaba Archaeological Park, St Georges Church, Madaba Museum and Church of the Apostles. The Archaeological Park contains a number of original floors in the Church of the Virgin and the Hippolytus Hall, as well as a studio and workshop to learn and continue the art of mosaics. St Georges church has what remains of the floor, which was originally a very detailed decorative map of the greater Jordan Valley area. It also has many new mosaics and paintings, all very impressive. The Church of the Apostles has the very impressive "Personification of ... read more
January 8th 2009
After returning from Damascus, I was lucky enough to stay with a ex work colleague for a couple of days. He and his family showed me the utmost hospitality and I am eternally thankful for such a great couple of days. I was able to experience a number of local dishes, the freshest lamb I had ever had, slaughtered that morning, some city touring, and some very enlightening conversations about local customs and events in Israel. My touring included a visit to the King Hussien Mosque, Folk Museum, Roman Theatre, the Amman Citadel (which included, the Temple of Hercules, Byzantine Church, Umayyad Mosque and Museum) and a trip to the local markets for a quick bit of shopping. Tariq, thank you so much :-)... read more
January 6th 2009
With the On The Go Tour over, this tourist had to fend for himself and he headed North to Syria for a day. The original plan was to go to Jerusalem, but with the current conflict in Gaza escalating, and no end in site, I decided to keep out of harms way. The bus trip took around 4 hours, which included obtaining a Visa at the border. Sites included the exterior of the Damascus Citadel (closed for restoration) the Umayyad Mosque, Souq Hamadyeh (Market), Azem Palace and various points around the old city. The Azem Palace was the highlight, with many rooms laid out in beautiful ornate Ottoman style. The no pictures rule in these rooms is necessary to preserve the colours, but makes for a less interesting blog. The Umayyad Mosque also unique experience, with ... read more
January 5th 2009
The final day of the organised tour for those going to Amman included a trip to the ancient Roman city of Jerash. Jerash is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy. They even included a live show complete with a roman legion, tho we stuck to the static sites. The tour took about two hours to cover the entire site. For much more useful and informative detail on this site, please read the government web site at http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/tourism3.html :-) ... read more
January 3rd 2009
The Jordanian star attraction is the ancient Nabataean city of Petra. A member of the new seven wonders of the world, this city flourish in first three centuries AD. Highlights include the treasury, carved over 100 years, the main city way, with amphitheater, the urn Tomb and the monastery. The tour included one and a half days of exploring Petra, a thoroughly enjoyable experience and a highlight for the Jordan leg.... read more
January 2nd 2009
An extra bolt on was an excursion to the Mt Nebu and the Dead Sea. Mt Nebu is where Moses eyed the holy land, Jerusalem, across the Jordan river valley and he spend his last years. A quick stop at Mt Nebu to enjoy the small museum and great views. Some of the buildings of Jerusalem could just be seen in the very far distance. We travelled down to below sea level for a buffet lunch followed by a dip in the buoyant saline waters of the dead sea. Fun was had by all, the sun came out for us, enough to then cover ourselves in the “therapeutic” Dead Sea mud.... read more
January 1st 2009
The trip to Jordan's famous Wadi Rum was split into two parts due to the modifications for the Xmas New Years edition of the the tour. Normally the wake up call for the Ferry to Jordan from Egypt is 4:00am, being New Years Day, a generous 9:30am was given - phew. We arrived at night and settled down for a Bedouin buffet dinner and entertainment. The dinner was awesome awesome and more awesome. After Egyptian food and minor belly aches for a week it was a relief to consume as much of the delicious salad and succulent lamb as possible without consequence. The bedouins entertained us with songs, some games and some dancing, but being New Years Day, 10pm was bed time. It was generally cold in the main tent, and this continued overnight in the ... read more
December 30th 2008
Mt Sinai, the mountain of Moses and the ten commandments, is an optional bolt on for those adventures enough to do it. The tour for a Mt Sinai sunrise began at 10:30pm, jumping on the bus for a 2 hour bus ride to the base at St Catherine's Monastery. Thus begun a hike from 1500m to 2400m around 1:00am ish which concluded around 4:00am ish. The hike is broken up into roughly four sections, the first three very similar, medium level semi rocky incline path. The last, 700+ steps , reasonably steep, to the mountain top. Camels taxi are available for those not so willing to walk, and regular coffee stalls are also available at many points. The hike was tougher than expected, one due to the irregular time, (normally sleeping) and two, very cold, 2-3 ... read more
December 27th 2008
The visit to Luxor was spread across a couple of days with visits to the Luxor Temple at Night, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Valley of Queens, Colossi of Memnon and the enormous temple of Karnak. The best part of the Valley of the Kings and Queens are hidden in memory due to the no photo rule. The vivid colors and detail work in the tombs of Tausert, Thutmes III, and Ramses (one of them???) was the best seen to date on the tour. Tutankhamen was an extra, and only worth the visit under tourist status, not that impressive, but of course, the most notable and famous and after seeing the riches in Cairo museum a must. Valley of the Queens also impressive and Karnak temple was the highlight. Its seams that every pharaoh added ... read more
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