The Power of Rome

Day fourteen saw the group off to Shobak, Madaba and Amman. A lot of the day was spent in the mini van drinking with only the odd stop to check things out. Shobak is home to an important castle that has been around since the days of Old. Surprise, surprise it was first build by the bloody Roman's but was also important during the Crusades and the Ottoman Empire.



The site is up on a very high hill as we could see for a long way! But one of the disadvantages of being high up was the wind! It really cut through you and apparently was really bad, even from the viewpoint of the locals. Our guide was quite concerned about us getting blown off the edges. The group is a little challenged at walking even in perfect conditions.... too busy looking at everything to watch our feet. It has become a habit when we come to a step or tricky ground to have the whole Chinese whisper thing going on as we pass warnings down the line. Even then some people still manage to not 'mind the step'. So far I have only fallen over while climbing Mount Sinai which I think is totally understandable!
Once we were thoroughly windswept and extremely cold we got back on the bus and headed to Madabe, world famous for an ancient mosaic map that was created around 550AD and featured Jordan, Palestine and Egypt. It is currently housed in a Greek Orthodox church but parts of it were destroyed before people realised how special it was.



The final stop of the day was Amman where we would be based for the next two days while we explored the surrounding area. St last I was in the same city as my Dad and that was kind of reassuring - if any thing went wrong Daddy Bear could come to the rescue! I was surprised by how seriously our hotel took it security. We all had to walk through a metal detector, yes they were other places but here if you beeped they would actually check why. Bags were also screened. It was only when I met up with Dad and his local taxi driver that I realised why. A few year earlier there had been a series of terrorist bombings in Amman and my hotel was one of the target. Dad's taxi driver would no longer accept pick ups from it. Glad I found out as I was check out and not in!!!!!
The next morning we head off to Jersah, a major Roman town in it time and with a lot that has survived including two theatres,a working hippodrome, colonnaded streets and arches.




We could have spend a whole day here but were rushed through the site by our tour guide. By now we were sick of the word 'Yella Yella' which basically means hurry up in Arabic. I don't think our tour guide really got the idea that while he comes here once a week it was the first and probably only time for us. He even whistled at us like we were dogs at one point. I think some members of the group became even slower as a form of silent protest!.

The afternoon was spent at 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. Yes you guess it we were at the Dead Sea and yes I was brave enough to have a wee float. And floating it was! It was so easy to sit on top of the water. It was a most bizarre feeling. Most of the time when you are swimming you have to fight to keep your head above water but not here. Swimming was somewhat trick as your legs were hardly under the water so kicking was not very effective! The water was not as clear as what I am used to in NZ and had the strangest silky yet slimy feel to it. I think I spent about ten mins trying to shower the feeling away!



And yes the Romans came here too for the healing properties of the water!

Indiana Jones and Me

The biggest tourist attraction in Jordan has to be Petra. Petra is most famous for it brief inclusion in the Indiana Jones film The Last Crusade. But it has also featured in the most recent Transformers film ( where the the machines basically destroyed the whole complex.... I was a little worried that there would be nothing left for me to look at). It was something that I was quite looking forward to. But I think I probably saw it on one of those 'off' days and looking back at my photo's I don't seems to have really captured it well. The day was extremely windy. Even the local tour guide and shop owners were complaining about it. Many packed up and went home early! The wind whistled through the cannon and stirred up masses of dust. I could kind of understand why the woman cover their faces as expose skin tended to get rubbed red!
The most famous image of Petra is probably the view of the Treasury at the end of the Siq



And it is a difficult spot to get a photo as everyone (including me) stops and stares in wonder! The night before we had attending "Petra By Night" where the whole of the Siq is lit by candle light and it was equally impressive! The site of Petra was mostly build by the Nabataens but many others have also left their mark. It seems on this trip that I can't get away from the Romans! While this site was known about in ancient times it was 'lost' until about 1812 when it was 'discovered' by the Swiss. In fact the locals who were living in the site itself had 'hidden' it to stop Westerns from coming.



Petra is also a bit special to Kiwis a well because a New Zealander ended up marrying a Bedouin and living in a cave at the site (Marguerite Van Geldermalsen) Dad gave me the book for Xmas and I am about haft way through reading it and rather her than me! I did meet her son while I was there. It was very werid to hear a kiwi accent there (he was educated in NZ and still knew what was going on in rugby) as There seemed to be very few kiwi's travelling through the Middle East. I had met none and normally when travelling you can't help but trip over all the Kiwi's.



The whole site is rich with decoration but my favourite was the elephant carved in one part of the Siq. There were also camels and people but I think the elephants were the best!

Lost in the Desert .... Where is Lawrence when you need him?

Our first big day in Jordan was based around Wadi Rum. This is the place made famous by Lawrence of Arabia who of course was not an Arab but a skinny white English dude. Nowadays it is most famous for the Bedouin tribes who still live in the vast desert. Our group headed into the great openness of Wadi Rum to spend a night 'roughing it' in a Bedouin Desert camp site. Now as most of you know I am not that big on the whole camping thing (in fact I think I can count the number of times I have slept in a tent on my ten fingers and still have a lot left over!). So I had prepared myself for this experience, psyched myself up for it with lots of "you can do it" don't be a girls blouse' and lots of hand sanitizer and hand wipes! But when we got to the camp (after a 30min ride in the back of a 4 wheel drive truck) I was pleasantly surprised. I had a real bed, flashing toilets, running water and hot showers! I was almost dissappointed!



The camp was quite well hidden until you arrived at it and seem to fit in very well with the landscape which was unusual to say the least. The desert in Jordan is very different to the desert in Egypt where the dominate colour was yellowy - you know like sand. Here there is an orange glow on every thing and while a lot of the land is wavy sand dunes and quite flat, you then get these massive mountains that seem to have no way of climb up them. The first 'Bedouin' experience was a ride on a camel.... a first for me, having managed to avoid it in Egypt. As you can imagine there was a lot of squealing and giggling from me!! Especially as my camel decided that it wanted to go first. And when as camel stands up...... interesting experience! Paul, one of the tour groupies did manage to capture the whole thing on his camera and no doubt with be on youtube soon......



We also had a traditional Bedouin dinner that was cooked in the ground but unlike a hangi there was space around the food, and the earth kind of acted like a big oven. The food was great and we were well entertained by the local guides who sung to us and keep us well feed and watered. I particularly liked the sage tea - sage added to 'normal'tea. Something that I am going to try and recreate.
The stars at night were amazing with nothing to get in the way of their light. I am sure that I was not the only one who kept looking up. In Jordan our wee tour family gained two new members, one of whom was a Chief Inspector for New Scotland Yard and she became my new room mate. Very funny woman with a great laugh like me..... you can imagine the noise we made and the fun we had. She did have the interesting habit of yelling in her sleep sometimes. The first time she did it, it scared the crap out of me but the second time was hilarious as she dreamed that someone was coming into our tent and she yelled out in her best British accent "Who Goes There" and answered herself with "It's just you, you stupid cow" Fun Times!

In the morning we went for a walk (unguided) in the desert. We were given the instruction 'Head for that black rock way over there" But luckily we made it safely.



We then had a whirlwind trip around all the key sites eg Lawrence's Spring and house, ancient wall paintings and carving, massive sand dunes,etc and during the whole day our guides were always on their cellphones.... yes vodafone exists even in the middle of the desert.



And yes Horus has done much to improve Aussie/Kiwi relations!