Holy Land Trip Day 4: Tour of Jordan, North to South!

This was the day we drove from Madaba to Wadi Musa (the little town outside of Petra), stopping along the way. As with our day in Galilee, we had picked out quite a few sites we wanted to visit en route, and we fully expected that we might not be able to make them all. But we did!

We left Madaba fairly early, and our first stop was a detour west off the King's Highway, which we intended to take all the way to Wadi Musa. But first we wanted to go to the top of Mt. Nebo. This was the spot from which the Bible says God showed Moses the Promised Land of Canaan before he died: "Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it." (Deuteronomy 34).

These are exactly the areas that you can see today from the mountaintop. Although it was raining slightly when we arrived, we could still see remarkably far, and as it cleared up a bit, the clouds made fantastic patterns of shadows on the hills and valley. It was really striking:



Archaeologists have been working there for quite some time, uncovering evidence of Byzantine churches dedicated to the memory of Moses. The excavation was closed when we were there, but we were mostly there for the view, so it didn't really matter too much. There was an interesting, but small, exhibition of things related to the history of the excavations. I found these two pictures quite amusing:



THE FIRST ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEAM THAT WORKED HERE


THIS ONE WAS LABELED "FIRST DAY IN THE FIELD." THEY SURE HAVE THEIR WORK CUT OUT FOR THEM!

From Nebo, we doubled back to join the King's Highway and got lost (again) briefly in Madaba. I did see a funny sign there while we were wandering around, and although I did not get a picture of it, I thought some of you might find it amusing. It was an advertisement for a Turkish bath in town proudly touting its "Tot Tiled Floor!"

We drove on to another site with Biblical associations, the hilltop fortress of Herod known as Machaerus. Tradition says that this was the spot where the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod the Great and, captivated with her, he promised her anything she wanted. At the urging of her mother, the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist on a plate, and it was here that legend says Herod had him executed and the head presented to his wife and her daughter. (The Biblical passages are Matthew 14: 1-12 and Mark 6: 14-29, although no specific location is given for the events).

It is an astonishing site. Incredibly, it is not even mentioned in the "Eyewitness Travel" guidebook we had, but we had seen it in a book on Jordan in the library here, and were able to find it on another map of the country besides the one in the guide, but we were basically on our own to find it. I get the idea that it is COMPLETELY off the normal tourist itinerary (it's a shame), since we had to drive a fair distance off the highway to reach it. Then we became confused in a village because we did not realize that the site would be marked as a "Shrine of the Prophet Yahya" (now we know that's John the Baptist to Muslims). When we found the parking lot, we realized that the fortress itself was high on a lonely mountaintop, and it would require some serious uphill hiking to reach it!


VIEW OF MACHAERUS FROM THE PARKING LOT -- CAN YOU SEE IT ON TOP OF THE FLAT MOUNTAINTOP THERE?

But it was early in our trip and we were still full of energy, so we did it. And we are SO glad we did! The view was spectacular, particularly of the Dead Sea. The ruins are interesting, but there is not that much to see of them. It is really the feeling of isolation that gives the place its appeal, and of course it gives a unique understanding of the power (and the paranoia) of Herod.



A ZOOM VIEW OF THE RUINS OF THE FORTRESS. THE SQUARE BUILDING IS A MODERN SHELTER FOR THE CARETAKER, WHO WAS NOT THERE.


VIEW FROM THE FORTRESS. THAT'S THE DEAD SEA. YES, MY EYES ARE CLOSED -- IT WAS REALLY BRIGHT UP THERE!

It was quite cold at the top, so we did not stay long. Also, just when we made it to the top we looked down and saw someone standing near our rental car (wouldn't you know it?), so we decided to head back down after only a few minutes. Our car was fine -- it was probably just a curious local, surprised to see someone stopping there in the off-season. There were several caves on the surrounding hills and mountains that seem to be the homes of small families, and we saw one man herding his goats in the ravine below. It was all very peaceful and beautiful.



On the way back down, we did make one stop: we went inside the cave that tradition says was the lonely cell where Herod kept John the Baptist up until his execution:



Our next stop on the way south was the Crusader castle at Kerak. But before we could reach it we had a couple of hours of driving to do along the King's Highway. We had no idea what to expect, but the scenery turned out to be amazing. When we weren't driving through desert mountains, we were passing through tiny towns. People were definitely surprised to see us. The further south we went, the more they seemed to be interested in us, and eventually I started covering my head when we drove through the towns, which cut down on the staring quite a bit. Again, I think most tourists just don't drive through there in a car. And the buses probably take the Desert Highway, which is to the east and runs straight through the flat desert. But it is not nearly as scenic as the route we took! One interesting thing that you can see all over Jordan, in the big cities, the small towns, and scattered along the roadways, are "unfinished" houses, like these:



One of our friends here at the Research Institute informs us that "unfinished" structures are not taxed in Jordan, so people are more than willing to leave unsightly metal bars sticking up out of their roofs to prove that they are eventually going to add another story, thus rendering their building "unfinished" and non-taxable!

The further south we went, the more completely we were surrounded by the desert. But there are also wadis (ravines which are filled with water in the brief rainy season), so there are spots with trees and vegetation. We also got to drive over the massive Al-Mujib dam, built over the wadi of the same name. We had no idea it was there, and then suddenly we came around the corner and there was a huge, HUGE dam.




A CLOSEUP. WE THOUGHT FOY MIGHT LIKE TO SEE IT.

All in all, the drive through the empty landscape was very interesting and impressive, but we would not want to do it at night -- lots of sheer drop-offs, hairpin curves, and not so many people around in case of trouble. We did, however, see some Bedouins camping in one of the valleys near the wadi.



A JORDANIAN ROAD CONSTRUCTION CREW. NOT A JOB I WOULD WANT.


A BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT. THE TENTS ARE PROBABLY CAMEL-HAIR.

After descending to the bottom of the wadi canyon where the dam is, we climbed back up the other side. At the top rim we spotted a few places where the adventurous traveler could stay if they wanted to enjoy the scenery and the emptiness: The "Sunshine Resthouse" the "Rest House Trajan" and the "Black Iris Camping" area. Just throwing that out there. Interestingly, when we got back to the top of the canyon, the landscape on the other side went from being dusty yellow colored to an amazing, deep red. This is basically the same color that the rock of Petra has in it, and I'm sure some geologist could explain what type of landscape we had moved into, but all I know is that it was really pretty!

A few other things of note that we encountered as we drove were some Roman ruins in the town of Ar-Rabba (we did not stop), and several checkpoints of military and police groups at crossroads (we did not have to stop very often -- they didn't seem TOO interested in us, as long as we slowed down and waved at them, but occasionally they wanted to know where we were from and where we were going). Also, interestingly, the road signs were less and less frequently translated into English the further south we got. Anyone traveling here should be prepared for that -- having someone who can read Arabic would be a big help! Also, those signs that WERE translated into English were inconsistent -- the name of a town or a site would change in spelling, sometimes drastically, from sign to sign. You really have to work entirely on phonetics, saying each sign out loud and then figuring out what it is for. For instance, the Crusader castle of Shobak (see below) showed up these several ways, all within a few miles:
Shobak
Ash Shobak
Ash Shawbak
Al-Shawbak
And these were all "official" road signs posted by the government.

Other dangers of driving in rural Jordan include sheep, goats, dogs and donkeys, the latter of which are often hobbled by their owners with straps on their ankles so they can't get far, then sent out to wander freely. This means they CANNOT get off off the road quickly!


TRAFFIC JAM ON THE KING'S HIGHWAY

But obviously we survived the drive without incident and made it to Kerak. This city was once the capital of Moab, and this was an important fortress for the Crusaders since it was highly defensible -- it is surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides. It is a very popular site because it has been heavily "restored" (freely interpreted and rebuilt might be a better description), so it is easy to understand. Also, it is simple to get to -- it is in the center of the sizeable town of Kerak, which also means we had somewhere to eat and stock up on road provisions. We acquired a guide in the site that we did not really want, but he was very friendly.


THE CRUSADER CASTLE OF KERAK


PETER EXPLORES THE CASTLE


PETER AND OUR FRIENDLY GUIDE

And, for the first time that day we encountered other tourists: two men from, of all places, Concord, California. They were Rotary Club members on their way to Ethiopia to assess a clean water project they are starting there. I have to say, it was nice to talk to some other Americans for a few minutes (especially since they weren't a huge, annoying tour group of Americans).

From Kerak we drove further south to another Crusader fortress, this one called Shobak. This castle, built in 1115, was one of the first Crusader outposts constructed to the east of the Jordan river, and it controlled the important road between Egypt and Damascus. It was conquered in 1189, and there are Mameluke inscriptions and some of their stonework here (the Mamelukes were an Egyptian Muslim dynasty). It is quite an impressive site, well worth a visit. Unlike Karak, it is isolated and has had little reconstruction done. We liked it more! There were no other tourists there, only a few locals who live in cave-houses nearby and apparently like to hang out in the ruins (who wouldn't?). We arrived just before the sun started to go down and paint the surrounding desert amazing colors, casting shadows of the castle on the mountains:


SHOBAK FROM A DISTANCE


YOU CAN SEE THE CASTLE'S OUTLINE IN THE SHADOWS ON THE HILLSIDE


SHOBAK CASTLE: A LOCAL HANGOUT

At that point, our light was failing and we had to move on to Wadi Musa, where our hostel was located. We managed to get there just as the sun fell behind the massive mountains that hide Petra. It was so exciting to stop and take pictures, and try to figure out which gorge might be the siq, the entrance to the ancient city!


PETRA IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE!

When we arrived at our hostel, we were given tea and sat down to chat with the man working the counter. Two other guests came out to the lobby, a couple of young ladies from Australia. We got to talking with them and discovered that they also live in Istanbul! They teach English to elementary school children here. What a small, small world it really is.

We were also pleased to find that our room had a fine view of the mountains, so we were able to say goodnight to them, and then wake up eagerly the next morning bright and early to head to the park! It was like the night before Christmas -- we were both so excited to finally see something we had dreamed of seeing for years.


THE TOWN OF WADI MUSA AT NIGHTFALL

Holy Land Trip Day 3: On to Jordan

On Saturday we got up early and rushed to make one touristic stop in Nazareth before boarding a bus to cross the border into Jordan. We wanted to see the interior of the Church of the Annunciation, built on the spot where the angel is supposed to have come to Mary bearing tidings of the birth of Christ. It had been closed both of the previous evenings by the time we go into town, so we took 10 minutes between the time that it opened at 8 am and the time we had to be to our bus at 8:15 to see it.


VIEW OF NAZARETH WITH THE TOWER OF THE BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION

It is a really interesting church. Very modern, but with some elements of old architecture in it. A smaller chapel behind the main church is constructed over what is supposed to be the site of Joseph's carpenter shop. In my opinion, at a certain point all of these associations become a bit ridiculous. How could we possibly know where Joseph's shop was? But there is something to making a pilgrimage to a spot and saying "This is where it happened," and knowing that thousands and thousands of other people thought the same thing on the same spot. I guess that's really the point.




INTERIOR OF THE DOME OF THE BASILICA OF THE ANNUNCIATION

Anyway, we made it to the bus, which was bigger than we expected, and full of Arabs making the border crossing. The border is very close to Nazareth, and we were there in about 30 minutes. It did not take too terribly long to cross, but of course we had to go through security and passport control twice: once to leave Israel, and once to enter Jordan. Plus we had to pay an exit and entry tax for each of the countries. We had purchased our Jordanian visas ahead of time, so we didn't have to mess with that line. The process was a pretty smooth one, and the most interesting part about it was watching the "pit crew" come out and change the license plates on all the buses over from Israeli to Jordanian. They just stack them on top of each other, and pull whichever one they need to the front when they hit the border. I suppose that's legal! We did have to wait about 30-45 minutes on the Israeli side, but we think it was because our bus driver was doing some duty-free shopping. At any rate, we got through without incident, and were able to convince the agents on both sides not to stamp our passports, since either an Israeli stamp or a Jordanian land border stamp would indicate we had been in Israel, and we would be denied entry to some other Arab countries in the future. We had already convinced the passport control gal at the airport not to stamp them, but they are never happy about it. They want to know why, where else you want to go, and what business you have there. It makes for a lot longer and more thorough questioning, but is potentially worth it.

One interesting border note: On the Jordanian side, a member of the Tourist Police boarded the bus and talked to us, then rode the 2 hours or so on into Amman with us, where he made sure we got a reliable taxi to the rental car service. They really really want to make sure that tourists are not treated badly because tourism is the only real source of income they have! (we thought they might have some oil, but we were told that is not the case).

Amman is big and dirty, dirty, dirty. Oh, and did I mention it is an absolute catastrophe in terms of driving? I don't think many tourists take the plunge. I'm basing this on the fact that the rental car place actually had my name written on their wall calendar for that day! We did make it through and out of the city alive, but I don't think Peter's heart will ever quite be the same. Just to illustrate what it was like, here is a sequence of events that took place within a minute of each other. First, an old man stepped into the road directly in front of Peter, who was already trying to negotiate three invisible lanes of traffic. He slammed on the brakes, swerved a little, and went on. Seconds later, some kids did the same thing! Again, the brakes, a swerve, luckily no sideswiping of another vehicle, and another sigh of relief. But literally 30 seconds later, a woman WITH A BABY stepped out! Unbelievable! My job as Navigator was anything but easy, but Peter definitely had the hard job.


YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS WITH THE JORDANIAN PARKING POLICE!

Seeing the city, we were SO glad we had decided not to stay there in a hotel. Really, it just seemed pretty gross. But we did want to see some of the ancient ruins before heading out, so we drove to the center of town (again, big points for Peter) and miraculously found a parking spot directly in front of the famous Roman theater.



Then we climbed to the ancient acropolis (now called the Citadel). We had a bit of a hard time finding it, winding our way up through some pretty dismal back alleys and climbing stairs covered in broken glass and other trash. But finally we made it.

Amman was the capital of the Ammonite people (hence the name), but he most impressive ruins are, as usual, Roman and later. The massive Temple of Hercules towers over the city.


SOME RANDOM GUY IN THE TEMPLE OF HERCULES


SOME NOT-SO-RANDOM GUY IN THE TEMPLE OF HERCULES


VIEW OF MODERN AMMAN FROM THE ANCIENT ACROPOLIS

Also well worth seeing is the Umayyad palace (built in 750 AD and only used for 30 years!). The Umayyads were a Muslim dynasty, the second Arab Caliphate established after the death of Mohammad, for those of you who do not know -- and trust me, I didn't know until I moved to Turkey and started living in a building full of historians! It was an important empire though, the fifth largest ever in the history of the world in terms of land size and the percentage of the population of the world that it ruled over. The remains of impressive Umayyad buildings are dotted all over the Middle East, and this is a fine example.



We also planned to visit the Jordan Archaeological Museum on the acropolis. Inside we could have seen some Nabatean artifacts from Petra, among other things. Unfortunately, when we got there we discovered that the reason it had been so difficult to find the Citadel was that we had come in through an illegal back way and so had not purchased a ticket, so we could not get into the Museum. It was only 15 minutes to closing time, too late to go buy a ticket and come back, so we missed out on that.

But we were able to rush out of town (very slowly, in traffic), and make it to Madaba, a small town to the south of Amman.


SUNSET ON THE ROAD FROM AMMAN TO MADABA

Our goal was to get to town before the Church of St. George closed. The Church is built over the ruins of a much earlier church, from the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (ca 527 AD). The main attraction is a mosaic map which shows the area of the Holy Land, including Jerusalem in detail, as it was at that time. We did not in fact get there before the church closed for services, but I pleaded with the caretaker and he let us in for a few short minutes, and rolled back the rug so we could see the map and take photos. It is interesting, but not incredibly impressive. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is that it was altered later by Muslims. Because the Koran includes a rule against representing living beings in art, medieval Muslims would sometimes alter antique mosaics by rearranging the tesserae so that the figures now appear "pixellated." That way, the beautiful decoration of the floor was retained, but the human and animal forms were no longer present. There are some very good examples of that work here. The guidebook we have says merely that the figures were "gouged out by later iconoclasts" which is clearly not true, and unfortunately glosses over the interesting reasons for the reworking of the art:



THE MOST FAMOUS SECTION OF THE "MADABA MAP": JERUSALEM


THE TWO FISHERMEN ON THE SEA OF GALILEE WHO WERE REWORKED IN THE "MADABA MAP"

Madaba is an interesting town that became somewhat important in the 19th century. It was at this time that a fairly large community of Arab Christians were forced out of nearby Kerak by the greater number of Muslims, and settled here. Today it is a mixed community of Muslims and Christians, but there is certainly a large number of churches for such a small town! The woman and her son who own the hotel we stayed in (The Black Iris, which is actually their family home converted for use as a small hotel) were apparently Christian. We guess this because she did not have her head covered, and because there were several crucifixes hanging on the walls, as well as a Christian fish symbol. The place was a bit drab, but they were incredibly friendly and helpful, and her homemade hummus for breakfast in the mornings was wonderful!

Madaba is a small town, but it is under construction everywhere, and is full of confusing roundabouts and one-way streets. In the two nights we spent there, we never ever really understood how to navigate it. We would set off, map in hand, to find some simple marked destination, and end up completely lost. Very frustrating. But it was still much better than Amman, and we had probably the best meal of the entire trip (cheap too!) in a restaurant there. Traditional middle eastern food, served on low couches in front of a crackling fire. Wonderful!