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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 ...
Petra Continuing Sorry about this but when I save the blog before publishing it won’t let me scroll back to where I have finished very annoying. Anyway the Treasury is a sight to be seen. We then continue walking and pass by an amphitheatre that would seat 3000 people which is carved into the rock and based on the Roman design. We stop at a store run by a NZ woman, Margaret van Geldermalsen who married a Bedouin and stayed in Petra. Her husband has died but she still stays in Petra. Her son was in the shop and needless to say Ann bought a lovely silver necklace and matching earrings. We then moved on to the Royal Tombs which was a bit of a climb but nevertheless well worth the effort. We continued our walk to a Christian church that was recently discovered and then to the great temple which was only discovered after a flash flood revealed something and then excavations commenced. It is believed there is much more to discover and they believe there is possibly another 6 to 8 me...
Friday 8 February. Petra clear sunny skies max temp 8 degrees After last nights marathon march we both had a great nights sleep. We start off this morning at 7.30 with our tour of Petra. This morning it is a leisurely walk with stops along the way as our guide Nidal explains the history of Petra. Petra was built, when I say built I mean carved out of the mountains which are all sandstone. It is a much better walk in daylight. The buildings structure reflect different cultures including the Greeks, romans, and the Nabateans themselves. Apparently they were great copiers and adopters of different styles, however they were highly original as well. They cut out their structures from the top to the bottom, they built dams and channels for the water to fill their cisterns. There is one place we went to, the royal tombs where a great cave was cut out with chisel work on the walls beautifying the area and the precision of the corners was laser like. But I have jumped ahead. Th...
Thursday continued. While waiting for the light show we had a couple of drinks at the cave bar where we sat in a little cave inside the cave! The cloud lifts and the light show is on. We meet at 8.15 pm and head off following a set of candles on the ground. It is pitch black and we are walking on uneven ground through narrow rock crevices with a hundred other people. The walk takes 30 minutes! This better be good. We arrive at an open area in front of the treasury and there are dozens of candle lights lighting up the area. It looks great. The show starts at 9 pm. What a disappointment! The first 25 minutes involved a flute player giving us eerie Bedouin music, followed by a string player, then a singer and then a speech and then some coloured lighting on the front of the building. Now we have another 30 minute walk back this time up hill! Not happy campers.
Thursday 7 February overcast and rain. Last night after dinner the locals wanted to dance so we got up and danced along. Most sat down after one song and I felt obliged to continue so as not to be disrespectful. Even Ann who always wants to dance deserted me. I kept going for another two songs before I had to retire! Took it for the group. Heard rain on our tent roof twice through the night. We wake to heavy rain and hail! We had to make a dash to the breakfast tent. Interesting on how we will make it back to the bus. There is a break and the sky clears a bit, I can hear the sound of a waterfall, so I go exploring and find it around the back of our campsite. There is a small runoff of water and I trace it back to the falls. Take a few photos and head back, the small runoff is now a creek and I am just able to cross it to get back to the campsite. We head off from the campsite about 8.45, the bags are in the back and we are in the cabin. They are all Toyota hilux dual cab ute...
Wednesday 6 Feb. overcast Had a great nights sleep and feeling much better this morning. The hotel is huge with swimming pools facing the beach of the Red Sea. We have a leisurely breakfast as we don’t leave today until 11.30. We depart Aqaba and head for wadi rum. The start of the drive as we leave the town is scenic in a different way. The road skirts between large mountains on either side of the road. There is no growth on the mountains just rock and dirt, mostly sand stone. As we move further into the desert the mountains give way to large sandy tracts with the occasional rocky hill popping up or away on the horizon. We have a short stop to view an outcrop known as the seven pillars. Then it is on to Wadi Rum. We were supposed to leave our suitcases on the bus and go by Toyota utes 4 wheel drives to the camp, but they are expecting rain and where the buses park they could get bogged so the buses are sent back to Aqaba. They send an extra Ute for the luggage....
Tuesday 5 February. Clear sunny skies. Quite cool this morning, but heading to Jordan expected temp. 26 degrees Up early for breakfast and a 7.30 departure. Went to bed early but didnt sleep well, nose stuffed - couldn’t breathe. Of our group of 12 only 3 have not been affected. As we travel to Masada we are descending into the desert area. We pass the Mount of Temptation where Jesus was tempted by Satan. The desert is not sand but hard packed soil, in some areas completely bare, others sparse cover and then there are areas where agriculture such as date palms and olive trees are planted. We will end up 500 metres below sea level. It is a strange contrast. On our left is the Dead Sea and then we are skirting around quite large sandy and rocky hills and mountains. Oases are easily pointed out, as these are in stark contrast to the rest of the landscape. Wherever there are oases there is lush greenery. As the Dead Sea is receding sink holes are forming and a new detour has been built...
Monday 4 February clear sunny skies cool to warm. Big night last night. Met an American couple from Oregon Portland who recognised our accents. We kept drinking till 9pm., feeling it this morning. Our first stop this morning is the Temple Mount in the old city. We are not allowed to go into the mosque that is built on the site it is restricted to practicing muslims. Our next event is the stations of the cross. We start at the 2nd station because the first is now an Islamic school. We move through the next 7 stations stopping at each one and the rest are all contained in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is divided into three religions, Armenian Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic, each have their own distinct area. We visit the place where Jesus was crucified and his burial tomb. The burial tomb has a chapel built over it. While it is claimed that these are the places where these events occurred it requires a lot of faith to accept it. However if the...
Sunday 3 Feb. clear sunny skies cool to warm. We leave Tel Aviv at 8 am and head for Jerusalem. Breakfast at our hotel was fantastic. A spread of salads, fruit, bread and honey, including fig honey. The traffic was heavy leaving Tel Aviv and entering Jerusalem. Our first stop is the Mt of Olives and from there we look down on Jerusalem. It is an amazing sight as the walled city is quite large but the area outside the walls is vast. All around the mt of olives are graves and they cover a vast area. The important landmarks are pointed out to us including the Temple Rock where Abraham was said to have been asked by god to kill his son. It is also the same place where Mohammed night journey to heaven began. It is significant to Judaism and Islam. It has a golden dome built over it and is a Mosque. We then walk down the mountain to the garden of gethsemane and enter a church that was built there. From down below the walls look massive. We then board the bus and head up the other side...
Saturday 2 Feb. clear sunny skies but cool - 10 degrees at 8 am. Had a good nights sleep and feeling much better, nose has dried up and just an occasional cough remains. Two more of our group seemed to have succumbed to illness and have pulled out of today’s journey to Galilee. The two who were the worst, and probably started it, went to the doctors yesterday and have been diagnosed with bronchitis. Hopefully with antibiotics they will start to recover. After a nearly two hour drive we arrive at Nazareth. We are told it is an Arab town and the streets and surrounds are untidy and litter strewn. Our guide Mira is ashamed of the state of the area as it is an important historical site and the town benefits from tourism. As we approach and leave Nazareth we view Mt Tabor where the Transfiguration took place. While in Nazareth we visit the basilica of the Annunciation. A church dedicated to Mary on the site where Gabriel the Arch Angel visited Mary to tell her she would be the mother of...