Machtesh Ramon, Wadi Rum, Taybet Zaman Hotel

We started the day by seeing an overlook of Machtesh Ramon. an amazing land formation in the Negev Desert.

An ibex that posed for us at a rest stop

 

 





What a fun day! I totally skipped over yesterday (later!) Okay, crossing the border into Jordan wasn't all that much fun, but it was interesting. We noticed a difference in the two countries soon after we crossed the border; mainly the bathrooms! We were spoiled in Israel!

 

 

 

After doing a drive-by of the Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba we headed for Wadi Rum. After lunch we all were loaded into the backs of small pick-ups and headed out toward these magnificent, gigantic land forms.

 

The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

As you can see we were all loaded into the very "safe" seating in the backs of the trucks. We drove on trails made by our Arab driver. We drove out to a spot where we could climb on some boulders to watch the sunset.

 

 

As we were getting to load up and drive on, the driver realized that we had a flat tire. Oh we'll, I had to ride in the front with the driver while 2 friends rode in the back seat. I took his picture, but the road was so bumpy it came out blurry. He had no problem with me taking his picture.

My new boyfriend!

 

The dashboard of my boyfriend's vehicle

Two hours later we finally arrived at our hotel. It is the site of a village that was restored into a hotel.

We finally arrived at our hotel which is a restored village.

 

 

 

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Petra

What a fun place to stay! The Taybet Zaman Hotel has been our favorite so far. We only have one more night in Amman and then we head for the airport.

We were able to spend the whole day exploring in Petra. The Nabteans were an amazing people. Evidently, Petra was at a crossroads so traders from all over the world passed through here. Their amazing structures were carved into the stone from the top down. The only way to enter the city is in a horse-drawn cart, by horse, or on foot. We walked in since the guide was giving us information as we went. The Siq is a passageway with rock walls vaulting overhead which ends at the Treasury.

Some friends in a house drawn cart

 

Frankincense sold at the shop

 

Myrrh - worth twice as much as gold!

 

 

The Siq with a carved water channel

 

The view of the Treasury as you come to the end of the Siq

 

The Treasury

We continued on walking after the Treasury toward the tomb of the kings. on the way we saw an amphitheater. And many caves carved into the sandstone.

Ampitheater as viewed through a carved arch

After lunch (I had a protein bar and trail mix. Some ordered a box lunch which came in a bag!), we began our walk up to El Deir (the monastery). It was about 1000 steps up the side of the mountain! I made it all the way to the top. According to a friend's pedometer we walked 2 miles straight up.

Here I am in front of the Monestery

 

With the Jordanian flag at the very top with the Monestery in the back ground

We walked back straight down the two miles and then a new adventure started at the Cardo! Camels!

 

Camel ride from the Cardo to the Treasury

 

Zuzu

Kings' tomb, on right, from the top of my camel

The walk up the Siq and the trail out was a gradual slope out. By the end of the day we had walked about 10 miles! This day was a highlight of our trip!

 

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Qumran, En Gedi

Today Munir is no longer our driver and we no longer have wifi on the bus. We left Jerusalem early and traveled out of town to an overlook on the wadi that comes up from Jericho through the Judean Wilderness. It may have been the path that Joshua took when he came to spy out the land on his way to the western hills.This area was definitely not the land flowing with milk and honey. We encountered a Bedouin camp and some camels while at the lookout.

Jericho is in the haze. The water runs where you can see the vegetation which is probably the route they took.

Bedouins around a campfire in some ruins

Bedouin and his camel

 

We boarded the bus and headed south until we reached Qumran which is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We saw the ruins of an Essene village. These people may have been the ones to preserve the scrolls in the caves.

Trail leading up to some caves - not where the scrolls were found

 

Cave #4

 

Angela and I at Qumran

 

These people valued and worshipped the written Word

 

 

 

 

From there we continued to travel south parallel to the Dead Sea until we reached En Gedi. This is an "oasis in the desert" with a waterfall that flows all year and an area that has several different animals that thrive in this area.

Papa Ibex

This area is where the story concerning Saul And David in 1 Samuel 24 took place.

 

View back to the Dead Sea as we hiked to the waterfall

 

Waterfall at En Gedi that flows all year

 

 

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Herodion, Beit Guvrin, Elah Valley, Beth Shemesh

 

Fortress on top of a man made volcano - shaped mountain built by Herod

Small theater built just below Herod's tomb discovered in 2010

 

Olive press in a cave at Beit Guvrin

 

Riverbed in the Elah Valley where David fought Goliath

 

Sorek Valley - Samson's territory

Tomorrow we leave Jerusalem and head for the Dead Sea. We get to see where the scrolls were discovered in the caves at Qumran and go to Masada. We have been here for 6 nights and have to have our bags packed and outside our door by 7 in the morning. We have had time to shop so fitting everything in our suitcases is a challenge!

 

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Holocaust Museum

Sunny day! We visited a Menorah in a park across the street from the Kenesset that was a gift from the British. It depicts several scenes from the Bible.

 

Next we walked to the Shrine of the Scrolls where they have copies/originals of the scrolls found in Qumran. On the same site was a model of the old city.

site of the Dead Sea Scrolls

scale model of the Old City

This model was originally at a hotel, but the hotel was torn down and new construction was to go in it's place so they moved it. It is a 50:1 scale model. The amazing thing about it is that none of the excavation had gone on in the city yet, so the designer relied only on written sources such as the Bible and other historical records. He was fairly accurate .

the arches leaving the Holocaust Museum

 

The verse quoted is Ezekiel 37:14. The museum, Yad Vashem, was built with raw concrete to represent an unsealed experience. The first museum was started in the 1950's and was the first Holocaust Museum. The thought was that " if it is not remembered here it won't be remembered anywhere".

There is also a museum dedicated to the 1,500,000 children killed during the holocaust. The parents of a two-year-old, who was ripped out of the mother's arms by a guard so the mother's life could be saved, provided the funds to build this memorial.

When leaving both museums you are lead to overlook the hills of Jerusalem.

 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

This is the Orthodox Church's site for the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus. One interesting story we heard happened in the late 1800's. Evidently, the Greek Orthodox and the Armenians could not agree on who should have possession of the key that locked the doors, so since then the doors are locked and unlocked everyday by a Muslim!

The last site we saw today was excavated under where the current Jewish quarter of the city is located. It is the home/complex of some of the wealthy in Jerusalem. It may even be the home of Caiaphas, the high priest that questioned Jesus.

 

tile floor on the lower level

Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock in early evening

 

One thing we have learned is that we appreciate the Israeli value of cleanliness, especially in the bathrooms!

 

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