Aqaba is Jordan's only port. From Aqaba you can look down at Jordan, to the West, Aqaba shares a land border with Eilat in Israel, slightly South of there across the Red Sea is Taba in Egypt's Sinai and directly South is Saudi Arabia. The port and ferry terminal to Nuweiba, Egypt are just south of town. Because we were there at the end of Eid Adaha, the Eid holiday following the annual Haj pilgrimage to Mecca, the beaches in Aqaba were very crowded. The Jordanians camp Bedouin style right on the beach. There were no facilities per-se for this mass of people, so the beach had lots of litter. The beach is also not the fine white tropical sand type, more of a course grainy sand with patches of small rocks. The Red Sea though ... read more

Karak Castle was built by the marauding crusaders in 1142 and was once commanded by a sadistic French guy in non-oxidized armour named Renauld de Chatillon who took great delight in throwing his victims off the ramparts. He placed wooden boxes around their heads to make sure his torture victims didn't knock their heads and get unconscious before they hit bottom. Saladin's forces took the Castle in 1183 after an epic siege. ... read more

There are many hot springs around the Dead Sea area, and the hot spring water falls at Hammamat Ma'in, just off the Dead Sea highway are truly spectacular. They were a great way of washing the last of the itchy and scratchy Dead Sea salts off before going back to our hotel. Certainly better than the cold pool that waited for us at our hotel. ... read more

Bethany Beyond the Jordan is where Jesus was dunked in the Jordan river by John the Baptist in a symbolic cleansing ceremony. The suspected original baptism site has been dug up, since the river has now moved a little further to the west to form the border between Jordan and the West Bank (ceded to a Palestinian State by King Hussein). Of course, the Israelis are unlikely to give up access to the water, as the current fight is more about water rights than even land. The Jordanian signs repeatedly emphasize the Bible quotes saying Jesus was dipped on the East bank of the Jordan river. On the West bank meanwhile, there were people conducting dunking ceremonies into the now filthy waters of the Jordan creek - just a trickle so it's hard to call it ... read more

Madaba was our base for travel to the North and West, since it is closer to the Amman airport than Amman, and it is nice an centrally located. It's also a nice walking town. Most tourists come to Madaba to see the mosaic floor depicting the holy lands including the Dead Sea and the Jordan river at the St. George's Greek Orthodox church. The church was re-discovered in the ruins of the old town of Madaba and goes back to Byzantine times. The mosaic floor was preserved due to all the rubble on top of it.... read more