Commentary on the Ordinary

“How many camels for a wife?”

(Wadi Rum)

We left Petra and headed to Wadi Rum via a couple of pit stops for photos & tea. The trip took about 2 hours before we got to the visitor center at Wadi Rum. It is definitely a beautiful country- desert with jagged mounts piercing the sand in all shades of reds. I can understand why the Bedouins live there! At the visitor center we had an opportunity to photograph the “7 pillars of wisdom” which was aptly named by T.E. Lawrence (from Proverbs 9). Also, we met our host for the evening- a true blue Bedouin Sheik. He was a really nice guy who tried to woo a wife from the single girls in the group. From the visitor center we loaded up our 4WD and went for a desert safari. Again beautiful & picturesque.

A Nabataean rock carving

We saw rock carvings (the birth one by far the funniest), sand dunes & natural rock formations like the rock bridge that Jen climbed up to. I was so worried that she would fall, but she got her two feet firmly back on the ground with no problems. We then proceeded to our camp. I was an awesome but simple place nested between two mounts. It was a series of canvas tents furnished with the Bedouin equivalent of a marfrash. Very homey. We walked to a near by point to watch the sunset behind the hills. Breathtaking!

Sunset at Wadi Rum

For supper we had soup, chicken, potato & onion. The latter 3 were cooked in an underground oven buried beneath the sands near the camp. A very hearty meal. We then talked for a bit, had story time (from the very funny book “Married to a Bedouin”) and made our bed under a theater of stars.

It was so awesome & romantic to sleep under the stars in the desert with Jen. I wouldn’t want that experience with anyone else. After a few hours, the wind picked up and we took full cover under the blankets. It was quite warm except that the sleeping bag etc. ended up in a twisted mess. A great night!

I feel like Indiana Jones!

(Petra)

A sneak peak of the treasury from the canyon.

So today we explored the site of Petra. I had no idea how big it was- 50 km2 with only 5% excavated. we walked into an amazing canyon with the walls being so many different colors- reds, yellows and browns. We finally made it to the “treasury” (actually a burial place) and it was spectacular. Though time has eroded much of the detail in the rock carving, you can still appreciate the Nabatean work. We weren’t allowed inside the treasury but from the doorway, it didn’t look like the scene from the movie. It was a single empty chamber.  From there we walked through the Necropolis with many of the grave sites having beautiful facades. For lunch we climbed a hill to the unexcavated acropolis- the view was awesome. We then made our way to the Monastery via a church which had some of the nicest mosaics that I have seen all trip.

The Monestary at Petra - I'm the speck!

The trip to the monastery was definitely a workout- uphill with lots of stairs. I was exhausted when we finally got there. But it was worth it! This place was huge! Jen took a photo of me in front of it and I was only a speck compared to this structure. While Jen & others climbed the mountain further to get more pictures- I stayed with a few others to chat. We then made our way back down the mountain, appreciating the scenery. Petra also has one of the best ancient main streets complete with portico that we have seen (Ephesus still has better). Also complete with gate and off to the side was a huge Roman temple. After,  Jen & others hiked up to the sacrificial place (It was a steep, uphill climb taking about 20minutes. Near the top a rather strange local lady began to trail us and asked us where we were from. Once we got to the top, we saw the altar where sacrifices were made and the drainage pit where the blood would have gone. The view, once again, was breathtaking. Later, I learned that another girl in our group had ‘posed’ on the altar for a picture and the strange local woman had taken what looked like a knife and actually held it against her neck. In the picture the woman looks just a bit too happy to be in that pose. Yikes! Thankfully, Kat escaped with her neck untouched). Once Jen returned we ventured out of the canyon & returned to the hotel for some showers & rest.

At six, some of the group went to the Turkish bath while some others (us included) went up to Wadi Musa to buy water and use ATMs. We came back down the hill for supper- a Bedouin restaurant. I had something called a Kaufa-bil-tahini. It wasn’t the greatest, but did its job. After dinner, us guys went to the local Irish pub for a beer.

Well there we go! I Float!

(Amman – Mt Nebo – Dead Sea – Karak – Wadi Musa)

Today we got up, had breakfast and boarded our bus to head to Mt. Nebo. Faisel is hilarious- he spent his time telling us about Jordan and jokes about the Tefili people- kind of like us telling Newfie jokes. Have you heard the one about the Tefili who put his hand in a bucket of acid? After his hand burned off, he stuck his head in to look for it….

On the top of Mt Nebo

When we got to Mt. Nebo the view was breath-taking! You could see the Dead Sea & as far as Jericho across the border. Apparently, on some days it’s so clear that you can see the outer parts of Jerusalem. At the top of the mount is a site maintained by the Franciscans. In the same place was an excavation of a 6^th century monastery- the mosaics were beautiful. From there we traveled to the town of Al-Karak where the crusader castle is situated. It’s amazing that we stood at a place where Saladin fought the crusaders. The ruins were in good condition and again breath-taking scenery.

(more…)

I Think I’m Now a Diabetic!

(Jerusalem – Amman)

In Front of the Dome

This morning we got up at 6:30, showered and headed up to the roof of the hospice to shoot a quick video. We then had breakfast and left the hospice to take one last tour around Old Jerusalem. First we went to the idolatrist church of the Holy Sep again to shoot a quick video then the same thing at the Western Wall. We then proceeded to clear security and walked around the Dome on the Rock. Big courtyards surrounded the dome with its iconic gold roof and blue tiles. We got a couple of nice photos looking back up the Mt. of Olives.

(more…)