Goodbye to Jordan

After a refreshing sleep in the Geneva Hotel in Amman we were ready to go again. Our bus picked us up again and Hasan, our guide, told us that before starting on the itinerary of the day he had a 'gift' for us. The gift was a tour through the Amman, a city build on 21 hills. You can hear the pride in his voice as he told us about his beautiful city, also known as the white city as all the buildings are build from white limestone. Many of the expensive homes have pillars similar to the famous 'Petra". The streets sure go up and down, we went on quite a few of the 21 hills!
The guide was also praising King Abdullah II, (and the previous beloved King Hussein) who does much good for the people in Jordan in education, health and employment. Even the children of the Bedouins have access to public education. As far as we could see everything looked more prosperous and better organized than in Egypt.

Next we headed to the town of Madaba, about 30 kilometers south of Amman. In a Greek Orthodox church there is an mosaic from the 6th century, it pictures the earliest map of Jerusalem and the area on both sides of the river Jordan. In Israel they referred quite a few times to this mosaic. We were also entertained by some people singing a chant in this church.


While we looked around the church our busdriver found some friends and spent his time smoking a water pipe. One person of our group joined them.

Our next destination was Mt.Nebo, the mountain where Moses died after God had shown him the Promised Land. The day was quite hazy but we could still see the river Jordan and the surrounding land. We read the Bible passage of Moses in Deut. 34.

Our day would not be complete without being dropped off at a souvenirs store. This store was quite interesting. It was a place where they make and sell mosaics and they gave us a demonstration of the art. It was nice to see that handicapped people in wheelchairs were working on the mosaics. They told us that in Jordan they try to find employment for everyone. The mosaics were beautiful and available for a good price even shipped to our homes! Also ostrich eggs decorated with pictures made of coloured sand were there. What a work!

In the middle of the day, when it was very hot, we walked for half an hour down to the river Jordan to the place where it is believed John the Baptist baptized the people who came to listen to him.
We had expected a bigger river than this 'creek' with greenish water. We reflected, made some pictures and a few people dipped their feet or hat in the water. On the Israeli side people were baptized in the water.

This is the John the Baptist chapel. We noticed that everywhere a biblical event happened churches or shrines were build. It was interesting that some white doves were walking around the building, reminding us of the baptism of the Lord Jesus.


Then on to the Allenby bridge where we were planning to cross the border into Israel. We saw some plantations.
At the border one person in our group discovered that his passport was not with him, it was safely in the safe in the hotel. After an hour waiting while the passport was brought with a taxi this problem was solved again, (but not forgotten, he was teased for the rest of the trip). It gave us a chance to look around and use the bathrooms, including a squat bathroom.

The bus drove us across no-man's land and to the Israeli customs. There we were checked, searched, scanned and a few people body searched. Our pastor was the last one through after a thorough check! Around 4:30 pm we were in our new bus and met our new guide, Sam, and driver, Muhammad. Sam welcomed us to Israel. He is a Palestinian christian and he promised that our trip would be unforgettable and that our lives would be changed by having been in the land where the Lord Jesus lived.

We drove across the country, first north along the river and then west toward Nethanya, which is situated on the Mediterranean Sea. We came through the West Bank territory and had our first experience of the security and check points in Israel. The guide and driver had to be checked, belts off, empty pockets, scanners. We stayed in the bus but had to show passports and they opened the luggage area of the bus.
It was late when we arrived at the hotel. We could hear and smell the Sea which was right behind our hotel. After supper we went for a little walk in the dark.

Petra and Amman

A few more pictures of Petra. This is the treasury - and the picture does not do it justice. That they carved all this out of the rock! Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go in.
A picture of a cute Bedouin girl.  Behind her and inside are some wonderful colours in the rock. Quite a few local Bedouins were trying to sell their beads and other souvenirs. Everyone has to make a living somehow.
If you did not feel up to walking, there was another mode of transportation available.


After leaving Petra we drove through more wilderness and desert. Water is a great problem in Jordan. They are building a 360 kilometer water pipe from the South to the capital city Amman, we saw some of the pipes ready to be installed.

Here and there were Bedouin settlements. It seemed that we had gone back to the Bible times and saw the Israelites living in the desert (without the trucks of course and the satellite dishes that we saw sometimes as well).

Further north the landscape became more mountainous. We stopped at the Arnon Valley which was the border of Moab (Numbers 21). They have built a large dam in the river to use water for irrigation. Our bus driver seemed to have fun driving these roads.

Our last stop for the day was at the place with a few of the mountain where Herod the Great had a palace and it is the place where John the Baptist was beheaded. After this we headed for an hotel in Amman and were we ready for a nice long shower (and feel guilty about all the water we used) and a meal and bed. All in all it was another wonderful day. We now have an idea what Jordan is like. It is hard to imagine when seeing all this dry and sandy area, that crops can grow. We were told that the rainy season would soon start soon and that much terrain would be instantly green. This picture shows fields that are prepared for crops.

Petra - A Seventh Wonder of the World... and Olivia

I haven't posted in a while, if I don't get going we never 'get home' from this trip! :)

Our minds has been with other things as on December 6th, Olivia Sharon was born, daughter of Kevin and Adena. She is so precious, new life is such a miracle every time again. She had a bit of a rough start but things are going well now. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. We have another granddaughter to love and to spoil.

On Monday, Oct.10, we had another early start, we left Aqaba and headed north over the King's Highway (which used to be the old caravan route) to Petra. This place was truly amazing to see. It used to be a flourishing community as far back as 400BC and is carved out of the rocks. We had to walk in, over a kilometer through a gorge with high cliffs which on many places had carvings and statues of the gods they worshiped and a sophisticated water system.

At the main part was the amazing Treasury, also an amphtheater and tombs, etc. Unfortunately we were not there long enough to explore it all.
Blogger does not want to upload the next picture. I'll add some more in a separate post.

A Day of Rest

On Sunday, Oct. 9th, we had a day of rest for body and soul. It was good to stay put for a day and recuperate from all our aches and pains. With almost every step we took, our muscles reminded us of our climb on Mt. Sinai, which was aggravated by the many steps and stairs we needed to go up and down to go anywhere in this hotel.
It was also very good to get together and focus on God's Word and sing and pray together. In this dry and desert country we heard about the biblical significance and the blessings of rain.
We went for a walk to the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba.
We reminisced about our experiences in Egypt. A few more pictures...
Typical buildings of finished and unfinished apartments in Cairo.
Market scene.Modes of transportationCoptic church.
Crossing the Suez Canal to enter the Sinai area.Climbing Mount Sinai.
The view from the top of the mountainReading the Bible on the top as the sun sets.The road to Nuweiba and view of the Red Sea and the mountains of Saudi Arabia.

Crossing the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba

,October 8, 2011
This is what we saw from our room when we woke up. What an incredible view with the sun shining on the mountains.
This morning we went back to the foot of Mt. Sinai to visit the St. Catherine Monastery. We were asked to wear long pants and covered shoulders. Some of us were given shawls and cloths to wrap around. The monastery was already at this location since the 5th century.

In this monastery is a Room of Skulls. The people are not buried when they die; after decomposing their skulls are preserved and added to that room. (I know, you wanted to know this.)
It is claimed that the burning bush was at this location, even literally the plant that is still growing there. Of course we were rather skeptical, the funny part it that there is a fire extinguisher by the plant!

We went back to the hotel for a quick stop and boarded the bus again, this time heading toward Nuwieba on the Gulf of Aqaba. On the way there, Reda told us about the way of life of the Bedouins. We saw quite a few places where a tribe lived. They keep very much to their traditional way of living in their tents and self supporting (we wondered how, in this wilderness). They also still have customs such as arranged marriages and payment of dowry with camels.

At Nuweiba we boarded a ferry and crossed the Red Sea to go to Aqaba, Jordan. First we had to be 'processed' for the customs at the border.


It trip on the boat was interesting with all the muslim men, us as tourist women were pretty much the only women on board. The 'call to worship' was announced very loudly.
On the other side, our new bus with driver and guide, Hassad, were waiting for us (in the dark) and brought us to another luxurious hotel while announcing that after tomorrow's day of rest, he wanted us up by 6 a.m. (and we thought we were on a holiday).

Into the Desert

On the beautiful morning of Friday, Oct.7th, we were on the bus before 6. While singing songs, we left Giza, Cairo, behind us and headed east toward the Suez canal.
Reda, our guide, told us interesting facts about Egypt in modern and biblical times. The christians are persecuted in Egypt, they are discriminated in getting jobs and education. Most muslims and christians want to live peacefully, having a job and raising families.
At the Suez Canal, which we crossed in a tunnel, we stopped for a break. We left Africa behind us and entered Asia. We followed the coast of the Gulf of Suez toward what is believed Mt. Sinai is, the mountain where God gave the Ten Commandments to his people. Along the way we stopped at Marah and at Elim (where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, Ex.15). The springs must have dried up, although there were still palm trees.


We then continued in the 'desert of Sin' and stopped at Rephidim, where some of the men of Israel fought the Amalekites and were winning as long as Moses held up his hands to heaven.

Around 2 o'clock we arrived at the hotel, 'Morgenland'. We quickly got ready to climb 'Mt. Moses'(as they called it). 20 of the group of 29 attempted the climb. Many started off on a camel, but Herman and I were among the group that planned to walk up.

After a two hour climb on a mountain path, the 750 steps started, which is the final stretch to reach the highest peak. It was a tiring but amazing walk! Half way up the mountain, I really could not keep up the pace, neither could Ralph, so the others went ahead and we followed at a slower pace.


We met a group from Austria on the way, who were hiking five days in the desert and sleeping 'under the stars'. Here are some of them climbing the 750 steps. I should have had some walking sticks... or a camel...
At the top of the mountain, watching the sunset and meditating on God's words and works.
The way down was easier and beautiful. It was dark, but not completely, as it was full moon. It is amazing how the sound carries in the desert mountains. We could hear the Bedouin guides shouting at each other. It was a tired but exhilarated bunch getting back to the hotel.