Hey Guys!

Well, it seems that internet service is somewhat unreliable- after all, we are in North Africa...

I have a lot to catch up on here. An amazing few days.

Wednesday:

We left Amman after listening to the US election results and wiping our tears, and headed with our guide Ahmad and driver David (Daoad) to Jerash. It's a small city billed as having an unbroken chain of occupation for 6500 years. We were expecting a couple of ruins like what you might find in the US, and what we got was an entire city. First occupied by neolithic, the site was built by the Romans, followed by the Greeks, followed by The Moabites, (descendants of Abraham's daughters), followed by the Umayyads who were the first to follow Islam, and then followed by the Byzantines before it fell into ruin. Very hard to get your brain around! Here's a pic of the main - way too many pics to include. Ok, pics aren't uploading tonite, sigh.

At Jerash, there was a guy, previous Jordanian military man, in military dress playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on the bagpipes. Talk about multi-cultural.

After Jerash, we headed back to Amman to the Citidel region near the old city. The area has the Umayyad Palace complex, dating to 720 AD, the Temple of Hercules, building during the rein of Marcus Arelius (180 AD) and a Byzantine church built from the rock from the other two. Hmmm. There is a small, old and ratty museum on site. The museum has the oldest known statue of a human being (about 10,000 yrs old). Our guide said look around and "don't miss the side room where they keep the Dead Sea Scrolls". I said "Huh? The actual Dead Sea Scrolls"? and he said "Oh yes, they are there. The others are in Jerusalem which used to belong to us." And sure enough, there they were! If pics were uploading tonite............

Thursday:

First we went to Mt. Nebo where Moses saw the promised land and struck the rock which sprang the spring! There's a pic of Gene standing where Moses stood. Then we went to the city of Madaba to look at a Byzantine church that had a mosaic map of the middle east on the floor. Madaba is the famous area for mosaics. Next, we went through the mountains, including the Wadi Mujib (Wadi means "wash" in Arabic), which is the Grand Canyon of Jordan. We traveled on the Kings Highway, which has been paved from 3000 BC. I bought rocks (of course) from a cheerful fellow named Hany, who was operating a road side stand at the top of the canyon. Arrived late at Petra find that the Petra by night tour had been canceled due to high winds. Staying in Wadi Musa, which means valley or wash of Moses!

Friday:

Wow, one of the best days I've had in years! We went with Ahmad to Petra, ancient Nabataean site where Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed. Ahmad, a Bedouin from Petra, used to be the Director of Antiquities for Petra. The Bedo who used to live there were moved up the hill to a development just before the site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Just mind blowing. You enter the site through a slot canyon called a Siq. All told the trip is about 5 km walking. About 1/2 hour in, you come around the corner and voila, there is what is called the Treasury building. Giant red temple carved directly into the sand stone. Ahmad said it would take us 2 weeks to see the whole site. Ahmad told us a story of his youth. He lived and played in Petra as a child. At 4 years old out walking one day, he met two Americans. Not knowing much English, when they said "hi," he said "400 meters" thinking they were asking about height. You see, his dad was sheik of the local tribe and was the former director of antiquities.

The way through the Siq is a sacred journey, designed to emulate traveling from life to death, and there are many "god spots" where the traveler stops to pray to various gods. The geology was amazing. There is a necropolis for the dead, and an acropolis for the living, houses carved in the rock. Along the way in the Siq are Bedo boys and men with horses and carts for hire. Near the Treasury building you can rent a camel. And there was a great restaurant at the bottom where we ate lunch. Just a wonderful day.

We came back to the hotel for a nap, and then went for a Turkish Bath- a first for both of us. Wild in the streets- Gene wasn't too pleased but I had a really good time, and now I'm so clean!!

So, I promise to try to fix the picture problem, since I am sure that's what you tune in for! On to Wadi Rum tomorrow, where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed, and where it actually happened! Can't wait! Until then....