The Desert Castle Loop

A 7:30 start to the Desert Castle loop. East of Amman are numerous historic ruins, including castles, forts, towers, baths, caravan inns and fortified palaces. They are known as the desert castles or desert palaces. There are a number of theories about the purpose of the desert palaces. SInce most lack any defensive structure, it's believed that they were used as recreational retreats. The early Arab rulers' love of the desert led them to build or take over these castles, which appear to have been surrounded by artificial oases with fruit, vegetables and animals for hunting. Other theories suggest that they came to the desert to avoid epidemics which plagued the big cities, or to maintain links with their fellow Bedouins.

Kharana Qasr—This Qasr is believed to have served as a caravanserai, with 61 rooms.

Amra Qasr - Built during the reign of the Caliph Walid I (705-715 BC) as a luxurious bath house, it was a true pleasure palace with beautiful frescoes of hunting and baths with naked women.

Azraz - The first fortress here is thought to have been built by the Romans around 300 BC, during the reign of Diocletian. The structure was also used by the Byzantines and Umayyads. Qasr al-Azraq underwent its final major stage of building in 1237 BC, when the Mamluks redesigned and fortified it. In the 16th century the Ottoman Turks stationed a garrison there, and Lawrence of Arabia made the fortress his desert headquarters during the winter of 1917, during the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.Roman fortress

Our guide was a druze, the son of a commander who fought with “Mr. Laurence”. He gave us his tour, showed us his photographs and proudly pointed out the room where “Mr. Laurence” slept.

Baths of Hallabat and Qasr of Hallabat - Originally a Roman fort, during the seventh century, the site became a monastery, and the Umayyads then fortified it and decorated it with ornate frescoes and decorative carvings. Just past the castle (Qasr al-Hallabat) are ruins of the main bathing complex known as Hammam al-Sarah. The baths were once adorned with marble and lavish mosaics. Today, you can still see the channels that were used for hot water and steam.

Lunch with our driver at a local kebab joint- beer and kebabs.
More Islam lessons from our driver. We think he was trying to convert John. He kept saying that it would take only a few words and John could be a Muslim-he could go to Mecca.. He didn't seem to be too concerned about getting John's other half converted...just a woman. Other insights: For the Muslims, birth control is OK, abortion (prior to movement- when the soul enters the body), divorce and smoking are all OK. Not OK is drinking, not believing in Allah and sex outside marriage.
We drove back to Amman with time to see the Roman amphitheater, the Citadel (where David arranged for death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite) and the Archeological Museum. (Our driver always made sure he prayed the requisite 5 times/day.)

Ramadan starts tomorrow.
Our wonderful driver drove all over Amman searching for a Latefeh el-toniseih CD. He settled for a tape copy and bought it for us. He explained that one song takes about an hour—1 concert is about 2 songs. It certainly explained our ferry ride from Nuweiba to Aqaba with the televised concert. We thought that the music was just repetitive - it didn’t just sound like one song… it was one song for the entire hour.
The tape Sali bought us translated to “Far away from you, my life is miserable when I am far away from you…”

The Roman Cities of Jordan

At 7:30 we were off to Pella where we saw the civic complex church and excavation areas III, IV and XXXII.
We saw the Jordan Valley with views of the Golon Heights (Israeli occupied Syria), Israel, and the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberius).

At Umn Qais (or Gadara), we had a great guide, Umn Qais is one of the cities of the Decapolis and, according to the Bible, the place where Jesus cast out the devil from two men into a herd of pigs. During the early part of Roman rule, the Nabateans (with their capital at Petra) controlled the trade routes as far north as Damascus. Aiming to put an end to this competition, Mark Antony sent King Herod the Great to weaken the Nabateans, who finally gave up their northern interests in 31 B.C.. In appreciation for his efforts, Rome rewarded Herod with Gadara. The city remained under Herod’s rule until his death, and then reverted to semi-autonomy as part of the Roman province of Syria.

Today, a huge portion of the original Roman amphitheater has survived. Next to the theater is a colonnaded street that was once probably the town’s commercial center. Also near the black basalt theater are the columns of the great Basilica of Gadara.

It was interesting to see views of Israelis farming on Syrian land in the Golon Heights. They were building a huge recreation center at the hot springs. We also saw blown bridges from the 1967 war.

Then we were off to Jarash (Gerasa). They had just filmed the American movie, “Mortal Combat” there. Jarah is one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy.

We saw Hadrians Arch, South Roman theater, Temple of Zeus, Church of St George, Church of St John the Baptist, Temple of Artemus, North Theater, Cardo, and the Decumanus.

We drove back to Amman and were dropped off in city center. We tried to find a place to get a beer. First, we tried to get into “Sully’s Pub/Jordan style” but were stopped at the door--- NO WOMEN!

They sent us upstairs to Auberge Bar where we caused a minor stir.
We had dinner at the “Jerusalem Restaurant”—a typical Jordanian meal- “mensaf”.
After dinner, all the women in the street had disappeared. According to our driver, they werehome preparing for Ramadan. He also told us about his six children - "3 clever ones and 3 donkeys!")

Shobak Castle, Karak Castle, Mt Nebo

This morning, we visited what is known as "Little Petra".

Lots of rock climbing gave us a real appreciation for the baby goats climbing the mountains. They were absolutely fearless.

We drove through Tafila—the men of Tafila are the butt of Jordanian jokes (their version of "Polack" jokes). It was also the home of the 1996 bread riots.
We got to Shobak (Shoubak) Castle, another castle in the great chain of Crusader fortresses which stretches across Jordan. We bought a Bedouin “Mr. Coffee” from the guys outside the castle. One of them was born in the castle.

Then, it was off to Karak Castle. Built in the 12th century -with its location midway between Shobak and Jerusalem, Karak formed part of a great line of Crusader castles stretching from Aqaba to Turkey.We got a local guide and saw where Reynald of Chatillion threw his prisoners out of the castle window. To make sure they stayed conscious until they hit the ground, he put a wooden box around their head.

Our driver quote: “Michael Jackson was a poor black boy…now he’s a rich white woman”.
We had lunch at the resthouse in Karak… more humus and beer.

It was late afternoon and we headed to Mt Nebo. Most of the day had been rainy and cold. On the approach to Mt Nebo - known as Pisgah in the Bible) (where the Bible says Moses lived out his remaining days and viewed the Promised Land ), the sky cleared and we saw the most glorious sunset of our life. Outside the building is an enigmatic Serpentine Cross. The figure represents the bronze serpent taken up by Moses in the desert, as well as the cross upon which Jesus was crucified

It looked like gold pouring from the sun filling the skies. Eerie...

We had time for more touring and headed to Madaba and the Church of St George. The Church was built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian. It's know for the famous mosaic with the oldest existing map of Palestine.

That night, we stayed in Amman at the Philadelphia Hotel and had yet another buffet.

Petra

Undoubtedly the most famous attraction in Jordan is the Nabatean city of Petra, nestled away in the mountains south of the Dead Sea. Petra was the capital of the Nabateans -Arabs who dominated the lands of Jordan during pre-Roman times. They carved these temples, tombs and elaborate buildings out of solid rock. The Victorian traveler and poet Dean Burgon gave Petra this description "Match me such a marvel save in Eastern clime, a rose-red city half as old as time."

The easiest access to Petra is through the Siq, a winding cleft in the rock. WIth our guide, Rudy, we rode horses to the Siq, about 1/2 mile. As you enter the Siq, the entrance narrows to about 5 feet wide (a scene right out of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The first sight is the Treasury, carved out of solid rock from the side of a mountain, and stands over 130 feet high. Although it served as a royal tomb, the Treasury gets its name from the legend that pirates hid their treasure there, in a giant stone urn which stands in the center of the second level. Believing the urn to be filled with ancient pharoanic treasures, the Bedouins periodically fired guns at it.

From there, it was up 900 steps to the Nabatean “High Place” with great views. Then, 900 steps down to Quasr al Bint.

Guide joke: “The reason Moses was lost in the wilderness for 40 years… he didn’t have a licensed guide”
We had lunch (more humus and beer) at the Forum Basin Restaurant.
At this point, Jelly legs John and Doughy legs Debbie opted to take camels to the theater.

The, the death march back up the hill - two miles to the visitors center
John bought a koffia.

Our driver took us to “free tea” in Wadi Musa where we had a political discussion with the owners. They call the Israeli leader -“Netanyahoo”—in Arabic, Netan means rotten, rancid…
Dinner. more buffet

From Aqaba to Wadi Rum to Taybet

We had a 9:30 start for our tour of Aqaba. Then our driver headed to the emergency room of the local hospital- he had kidney stones!
We finally got on the road again. to Wadi Rum.

It's also known as ‘The Valley of the Moon’, this is the place where Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T.E. Lawrence based their headquarters during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in World War 1. (Most of the movie, Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here).

Today, the Bedouins live there. The government builds them houses, then they pitch their tents and move in with their camels, goats and chickens.
We walked through the granite and sandstone hills, saw Laurence’s well.

We had lunch at the Resthouse, wondering if PeptoBismo was to follow.
Then we headed to Taybet and the Taybet Zaman Hotel, recreation of a late 19th century rural Jordanian village.
More buffet…

From Egypt to Jordan - seeing the Burning Bush and Moses Well

A 6:30 AM start on the road with our driver, Ibrahim. He started his day with 30 minutes of mandatory listening to the Koran.
His basic English vocabulary covered all of about 6 words—woman, family, Bedouin, camel, tourist, want photo?

We had a 2 ½ hour drive through the Sinai to St Catherine’s monastery. an active Greek Orthodox monastery.

We saw the “Burning Bush” and “Moses Well”.

Then it was another hour and 45 minute drive to Nueiba and the MISR travel offices.
Current events—Mail bombs were sent to the US postmarked from Egypt. The Egyptian paper blames the Israeli mossad, not Egyptian fundamentalists,
We had lunch at the Hilton—Kilkenny beers and more burgers.
Our ferry started processing passengers at 2;30 for a departure at 7:10. One of the guides waiting with us said that sometimes the ferry leaves without you.
On the Egyptian side, the ferry terminal was filthy and filled with stray cats.

We were amazed at our arrival in Jordan to find an immaculate station.
We got to the hotel, facing more buffet. But the Jordanian wine is great.
Our waiter’s words of wisdom: “A man without a wife is like a kitchen without a knife”.

Jordan Map and Route