Jordan Journal Day 2

After our move of rooms, we slept OK and got to breakfast at peak time - no bowls, no places to sit, no tea cups. It was bedlam. We did find some seats as a couple were just leaving, so we sat at the dirty table! No-one came to clean it, so we had to ask for cutlery and napkins. What a shambles!

Soon we were on the road, leaving Amman behind and heading south for Mt Nebo (Jabal Siyagha). Mo must have had a long night discussing politics as he almost harangued us with political views for a while on the bus – all in the name of giving us some background in to Jordanian life.

The story of Mt Nebo is that Moses stood here and looked into the Promised Land. He never managed to cross to the west bank, but died and was buried somewhere near by, but no one seems to know where – not even in the Old Testament. There is a brotherhood of Franciscan monks living here and they are building a new church over the site of the Byzantine one, which has a remarkable mosaic floor. We saw one of the floors in a special tent, but the best one is under the construction. It will be preserved and able to be seen when the construction is completed. They depict extravagant beasts, twirling leaves and flowers with twisting borders. At the top of the hill we looked across into the Promised Land and glimpsed the very top end of the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is a mere 26km away, but it was too hazy to see the city. There is a cross with a snake coiled around it here, too.

 
















Then we were back in the bus and off to Madaba. This is a very tolerant place with churches and mosques next to each other, rubbing along peaceably. It has been a centre for mosaic making since the Byzantine era. We visited the church of St. George which also has a mosaic floor. This time it is a depiction of the world at the time the mosaic was made, with the river Jordan flowing across it joining the north of Jordan to the Mediterranean. You can pick out several towns including Madaba and Jerusalem; also the Nile Delta, the Dead Sea and more. We walked back to the bus through the town and saw people making mosaic plaques in some workshop/shops. A couple of the party bought some.

Mo had a good place planned for lunch - a sort of Bedouin tent overlooking the impressive Grand Canyon of Jordan (Wadi al Mujib). With a dam at one end, a lake has formed, trapping the winter run off water before it flows into the Dead Sea, thus saving lots of water for drinking and irrigation for which the country is desperate. A and I shared a sandwich, crisps, cucumber and a tomato. There was a rather revolting chocolate roll for pud and a banana. Then the man brought us tea, which was made with sage, cardamom, cinnamon and a fresh mint leaf. Very refreshing.

But we soon had to be off again to see the Crusader Castle of Karak. Driving through the impressive countryside, we stopped to take pics of the views, and saw some bee-eaters, swifts, swallows and a griffin vulture. I also think I saw a kestrel, but others were sceptical.

Karak Castle is huge, taking up a whole hillside! It commanded the whole access from South to North, so was very strategic. Although it was originally a Crusader place, the Mamlukes who came later, built over the cruder Crusader construction. Apparently, Saladin besieged the fortress twice in 1183 and 1184. King Baldwin IV relieved these sieges by marching from Jerusalem, but in 1189 Karak fell and the Crusaders left. We walked through various rooms, including the kitchens area, then we came out at the top and took in the view. Mo told us that they can get quite a lot of snow this high up, and one year the amount of snow brought down part of the wall which has had to be rebuilt.

 As we now had about three hours to drive, when we got back to the bus Mo put on a DVD that played on a flip down screen by the driver. This was the film Kingdom of Heaven with various film stars playing Crusaders and Saladin and their armies in the story of Karak Castle. But the landscape was more interesting and quite a lot of snoozing went on. Unfortunately for those watching, we arrived before the end of the film.

We arrived at Dana Guesthouse in time for a lovely sunset. Before the sun disappeared we saw some chukar, Alectoris chukar, (partridge type birds), bulbuls, an icterine warbler, Hippolais icterina, lots of swifts (crag swifts), swallows, another kestrel, all with the help of a knowledgeable guide from the Guesthouse. The sun sank away leaving a crimson/purple afterglow, and the moon had risen behind us. Quick showers in the communal bathrooms were taken and then upstairs for a buffet supper ending with sweet tea and cake. I had a go at taking moonlit landscape pics of the vista falling away from the back of the guest house. I also got in a couple of the moon itself.