After two days of hiking all over Petra, our group was quiet on the bus ride to Kerak Castle. an ancient fortress made more of during the Crusades. Thus, much of what you see dates back to the 12th century and before. The last shot in this batch are three Islamic students from the Philippines interested in discussing religion, so we did…
Kerak Castle featured great views from three sides, in addition to all the accoutrement necessary to survive two years of seige, which it did at least once in its long history…
We pressed on, eventually driving north along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea – the lowest point on Earth (over 400 metres below sea level). We stopped at the Dead Sea Resort to go for a swim and give ourselves a mud bath. However, you can’t really swim in the Dead Sea. The ridiculous salt content (10x that of the oceans) causes incredible buoyancy and one just floats. You can swim, sort of, but getting the water in your mouth, or especially in your eyes, is very unpleasant. I know. After a thorough rinsing and refreshment, we motored on to Madaba, stopping briefly for a pitch about Dead Sea skin care products..
This batch starts with random shots out the window of the bus, shows the royal patriarchs of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and various views of our Dead Sea experience…
Our hotel in Madaba was great, and the next morning we set off for the ancient (Greek) Roman (Ottoman) city of Jerash. It features theaters, a hippodrome, numerous temples, roads, shops, and monuments – variously sacked, abandoned, and repurposed over the centuries. A sprawling archaeological site, it needs more love from UNESCO…
More views of Jerash…
Second only to Petra as a most visited site in Jordan, Jerash could take days to explore. We did our best in three hours…
At some point we needed lunch (with the royal family?)…
After lunch, we went to Mt. Nebo, a pilgrimage site due to its affiliation with Moses, and another reason why our hotel (and Madaba in general) is called Mosaic City…
Speaking of mosaics, of course we visited a workshop (and giftshop) that continues to make mosaics (among many other souvenirs)…
Our final stop on another long day of siteseeing was the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George that features an ancient map of the Middle East. In fact, the site was under reconstruction and renovation…
Again, photos from my. fellow travelers in our WhatsApp group chat…
That evening we had our farewell dinner at an interesting restaurant inside one of the oldest buildings in Madaba…
Thus ended another Intrepid tour – but not my trip to the Middle East!
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