We left Jerusalem this morning for the trip to the Jordanian Border. Our Israeli guide went with us to the crossing, but there we changed buses and met our new guide for Jordan. His name was Kamel (pronounced like the animal) and he was with us for our entire time in Jordan.
Sign for border crossing at the Allenby Bridge over the Jordan River just a little north of the Dead Sea.
King Abdullah II and his predecessors. At top of other kings is his father King Hussein. Like a good politician, Abdullah’s photo is everywhere.
Very typical of small herds of sheep and goats along the road.
Our first stop was the city of Madaba, known as the City of Mosaics. The town was destroyed by an earthquake in 747 and remained abandoned until 1880 when a group of Christians settled the area. During the rebuilding they discovered ancient mosaics, the most famous of which is the Mosaic Map of Madaba depicting the geographic area spanning from Jordan and Palestine to Egypt. It also includes a plan of Jerusalem.
The Church of St. George, an Orthodox church which contains the Mosaic Map.
Section of the Mosaic Map on the floor of the church. The circle near the center represents the city wall of Jerusalem.
A wall mosaic showing the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John lying on the mountain and Moses, Jesus, and Elijah at the top.
The church was filled with wall and column mosaics such as this one.
From the church we went to a sheltered workshop where mosaics were assembled.
Workers creating a mosaic with multicolored stone, tweezers, and glue (flour and water). The mosaics are created by gluing the stones finished side down and then flipped over to show the finished side.
Just a small mistake in the mosaic shop. There were a number of different tiles, all spelled Marry. I didn’t have the heart to tell them.
Jordanian women have the freedom to dress traditionally or in modern styles. During our entire trip we saw only one woman completely covered, but this lady is dressed very typically, especially among the older generations.
After leaving Madaba, we went to Mount Nebo, the place where Moses was allowed to view the Promised Land.
Monument commemorating the Memorial of Moses.
Sculpture depicting Moses’ staff with snake at top of Mount Nebo.
View from Mount Nebo. Supposedly Moses could see all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, but it was either a vision or he was a lot taller than I am. You can see the Judean hills in the background, the Dead Sea to the left, and Jericho is beyond the Jordan River Valley near the “green” area.
Moses’ friend Susan.
After leaving Mount Nebo we journeyed to Amman, the capital of Jordan and our home base while in the country.
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