Touring Day

One has to say that Jordan has an excellent roading system and in general they are in much better condition than NZ roads. We know this because we spent the day visiting a number of archeological and Christian sites away from Amman. Even in the wops the one lane roads are tar sealed. In Amman there are four lane express ways. Lane markings mean little as three abreast is common on two lanes, and for those of us not familiar with left hand driving we have to pause and think about what is going on.

We left the hotel at 8.30am and got back at 6.30pm. Our first stop was Mt Nebo, the highest point on the Jordanian side of the rift valley and the most likely contender for the spot Moses first surveyed the Promised Land of Israel from. I was hoping to get a good photo looking across the Jordan Valley to the Judean Hills and Israel but was beaten by the haze again. Apparently most of it is smog from Amman. We need a windy day to clear it. Next we went to the town of Madaba that dates back to the Kingdom of Moab. It is now famous for the mosiac map of the Middle East in the still functioning Greek Orthodox Church of St George dating from about 350 AD. Madaba is 30% Christian and it has a precinct of little shops owned by Christians that is neat and tidy and just plain nice. We wished we could have spent more time there. Helen enjoyed the shopping so much we ended up borrowing lunch money from our kind dig supervisor. Then it was off across the Plains of Moab. Kilometre after kilometre of wide open farm land, fertile and green, most of it cultivated and planted out with grain crops, with the occasional olive grove and "Chicken Hotel" - poultry farm. And noticably, not a fence in sight anywhere. So imagine driving across the Canterbury or Southland Plains and no fences - not sure how it all works but undoubtedly it has for generations. Right in the middle of the plains we visited the site, name escapes me at the moment, of the ancient capital of Moab, as in 2 Kings. Covering about 8 acres it had large cut stone blocks and you could make out some of the buildings. Moab broke away from Israel's control after the death of King Ahab and a stone stelle was found written at the time by the Moabite King boasting of his achievements in this regard. Politically the key to Israel's power in the region was when it was able to control the two trade routes between Egypt and Babylonian/Assyrian Empires, the coastal route up the coast of the Mederterrian Sea and the Kings Highway througn Moab.

We then visited the Christian site of the church of St Lut from the late 300's AD with another magnificent mosiac floor. Then we drove 90 minutes to have lunch in a restaurant on the edge of Jordan's version of the Grand Canon. The catch was that it was on the other side of the valley. 20 minutes down and 20 minutes up on a switch back road - but so spectacular. After lunch, at about 2pm, set off for two hours back towards Amman to visit the World Heritage Five Churches site. This about a 10 acre site that contains the ruins of five Byzantine Churches, with two of them the size of Christchurch Cathedral. One set of ruins has been covered over with a huge roof to protect the ruins and its mosaic floor. It has aerial walkways over the floor so you can see it properly. These churches date from the 700'sAD, interestingly after the Muslim conquest. The picture is of Helen touching a mosaic floor that isn't protected in the smaller Twin Churches. Would have loved to have spent a whole day there exploring. After that another 90 minute drive mostly along single lane tar sealed roads back to Amman. Another tour around Amman is planned for tomorrow, but we are thinking of giving it a miss as we need a good rest day.

In Jordan at the moment there is a lot in the news about a prisoner exchange for the airforce pilot who was captured by ISIS. The suggested exchangee is a woman who was part of a suicide bombing group about 4 years ago who hit some Amman hotels killing 60 people. At the moment ISIS has gone quite on the Jordanian demand for proff of life before anything else happens. Our little hotel at the end of a one way street has those water filled plastic barriers outside the door to stop cars coming too close. There are four armed security guards on duty all the time, and you pass through a metal detector at the door. Helen was talking to one of the guards who said they will always shoot to kill, and because they are themselves targets sometimes, their families are also trained to shoot that way. Today we drove past a couple of "tents towns" for refugees. They looked bleak. Today was the King of Jordan's birthday. He is 53.