Jordan/Israel Tour
Here is, at last, a brief summary of our Jordan-Israel tour. We took many photos, over 1300 actually, so only a few will be shown. Because of the length of this, I decided to split it up into three parts, published in reverse chronological order to make it flow normally.
Day 1/2—awoke at 3:30 am to get ready to go. We got to the Seatac airport by 6 am and were hassle-free getting on the plane. The flight to Dulles-Wasghington DC was 4.5 hours, and we then got to meet our companions. We lost three hours from jet lag. The flight to Wien was overnight, an 8-hour endeavor, with another 5-hour jet-lag loss. The final trip from Wien to Amman was another 4.5 hours, 2 hours more jet-lag loss, and we hit Amman a bit tired, but ready to tour. Our first encounter was with Mo, who would be our guide for the Jordan duration of the tour. He was superb. We had dinner buffet style in the hotel, took a walk around town, and then crashed.
Day 3—awoke at 5:30 for breakfast at 7. We needed to be completely packed for breakfast since the bus left immediately after breakfast., Our first stop was at the excavation of the large Roman Decapolis city of Jaresh, just outside of Amman, it was rather impressive for its size.
Mo
Amphitheater at Jaresh
Part of the group
From there, we went on to Mt. Nebo, where Moses viewed the promised land, The sky was a bit hazy, so you couldn’t see the best’. Jerico and the plains of the Jordan River stood out. The evening ended with a long ride through the desert in darkness to our hotel at Petra. A few people took a night walk through Petra, but Betsy and i decided to lay low and catch up on Jetlag.
Foggy view of Jericho from Mt. Nebo, standing exactly in the spot where Moses stood.
Day 4 Petra— We were up early for our Petra adventure. They did a light show walk the night before, but Betsy and I turned it down. Petra is much different than I imagined. The Treasury is the most famous building, known to Indiana Jones fans, but the narrow passage is much longer than I thought,, and goes way beyond the Treasury. Betsy and I went beyond, up to the Monastery, where one could see the Negev, and the whole region. I also climbed up to another site, which was called the high place, where the Petra folk would hold sacrifices. It was about 15 miles of walking, and most of that was climbing, but well worth it.
Begin of the walk into Petra
Graves on the way into Petra
The walk into Petra, not with Indiana Jones but with Washington Betsy
The Treasury – actually a mortuary site
Camels guarding the TreasuryTrail up to the Monastery
Jon, Betsy, Lynn, Peta, and Ward resting from the climb
Still climbing
A view from higher up the Monastery trail
The Monastery
A marvelously beautiful lady waiting for me on top
Man with Hooka on the trail
Donkey on the Trail
Day 5—Aqaba and the Red Sea. From Petra, we headed south on the main trade route across the mid-east, headed toward Aqaba. Half-way there, we stopped for a truck ride into the desert at Wadi Rum, made famous by Lawrence of Arabia. There is actually a mountain there called the seven pillars of wisdom. We stopped to visit some Beduins and buy tea from them. We Finally made it to a fancy Radisson hotel in Aqaba and enjoyed the sunset. We also learned of Obama making it a second term.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom in Wadi Rum
Desert Jeep ride
Bedoin Tent
The Desert
Betsy loved the camels
Aqaba, the Red Sea
Continued in Part 2…
