Tigers
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Monday 11 Feb. expected top temp 8 overcast and showers. Buffet dinner again last night and this was pretty ordinary. Fortunately after we checked in we had a club sandwich and fries. Our last day and another day in the bus. We have a 2 hour drive to Umm Qais an Ancient Greco Roman city. As we drive out of the city we reach a point where we 10 kms from the Syrian border, we turn off the highway and head for Umm Qais. On the way we pass a store with the tiger emblem on the front, Ann thinks this is a good sign. Further on we stop at a bread shop and Nidal gets some warm fresh bread and some falafels for us, very tasty. We walk around Umm Qais which has many old buildings and an amphitheatre. We then are taken to a view point where we can see the Golan Heights, Palestine and Israel, just across the Jordan valley, and Syria and then down to lake Tiberius. We then move on to Ajloun Castle, an Islamic castle built in the 12th century to protect the region from the cr...
Sunday 10 Feb continued We check out of the hotel at 10.15 and are on the bus at 10.30. I am feeling very refreshed after my Dead Sea mud bath. We drive towards Amman Jordan’s capital. We climb up out of the Dead Sea area and it starts to get cool. Amman is a city of 3.5 million people and another 1.5 commute to work in the city. It is built on 7 hills and there are houses as far as you can see. The traffic is very heavy and we have to pass through the town centre. Downtown is the commercial area and there are modern high/medium rise buildings. We continue on to the old downtown area and stop off at the citadel which is part of the original city. From here we have great views over the city and down to a Roman amphitheater. Amman was previously know as Philadelphia during the period 312 bc to 635 ad. In 661 ad it was renamed Amman. We then head down to the amphitheater which can hold 6000 people. It is quite large and the acoustics incredible. At the base it is about 40 metres wid...
Saturday 9 February. Overcast, Cloudy and cold. Check out at 7.15 and on our way to the Dead Sea. As we are waiting to board the bus Ann has a panic her Fitbit bracelet has come off. She retraces her steps and a waiter in the breakfast area has found it - crisis over. On this part of our trip we a member of the Tourist police on board, our guide says this is normal? There is no threats and we have felt completely safe. Jordan relies a lot on tourism and our guide continually tells us how safe and hospitable the area is. We have found no reason to dispute this. Our first stop is where Moses struck the rock to provide water for the Jews and I put my hand in the spring that is still running there. The water tastes clear and not cold as I expected. We are about 1000 metres above sea level and heading towards the Shobak Castle a crusader fort built in 1115. It is on a hill and looks difficult to attack. The castle has been destroyed inside but the walls remain. Our guide tells ...