Day 1: Traveling to Jordan
I was looking forward to this Eid break a lot because our family was headed to Jordan to visit and do some pretty spectacular things! I booked our trip through a tour agency called Jordan Inspiration Tours and they took care of everything for us which was wonderful. They picked us up at the gate and took care of our visas and passport control.We didn't have to go through any lines, just straight to our luggage. They also had a driver there waiting for us ready to take us to wherever we wanted to go. They truly made us feel like VIP's!
Our itinerary for our trip was to rest the first day, go to visit Jerash, Aljorn Castle on the second day, day visit Mt Nebo, Madaba, and Karak Caslte, on the 4th day visit Petra, day 5 head to Wadi Rum for some desert Bedouin style camping and jeep tour, day 6 made our way up to the Dead Sea with a stop along the way to visit Bethany, Jesus' baptism site and Jordan river, day 7 & 8 rest and relax at the Movenpick at the Dead Sea, a very nice 5 star resort, and leave for home on day 9. Not a bad itinerary, I would even say that it was a pretty fantastic one!
Upon arrival at the Larsa Hotel in Amman we hung out, relaxed and played one of our family's favorites, the game of life!
The tour agency included breakfast and dinners to all the days we were there. It was nice not to have to worry about where and what to eat. I must say the food was great in all the places we went. I just loved eating all the arabic salads, sauces and breads. The food at the Movenpick was pretty exceptional, it was practically impossible not to over eat. I just had to try a little of everything especially the desserts! I must have gained 5 pounds just during those few days.
Time for a little shut eye to fuel up for our up coming busy day!
Day 2: Aljoun Castle and Jerash
On day 2 Mr Kacey picked us up early and we headed north east to Aljoun Castle and the Roman city of Jerash.
The weekend we flew into Jordan was Eid Al-Adha, which takes its name from the arabic word to cut. This is related to God's commandment to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, or as the Quaran records, Ishmael. All along the roads while journeying from Amman to Jerash, we saw the modern day tradition of sacrificing goats in remembrance that God spared Abraham's son, and commanded the sacrifice of a ram in his place.
One of the things I love to do while visiting a new country is look out the window and soak in the scenery and really see and understand the country and culture based on its geography and people's way of life. It was fun to see young boys herding their goats and seeing them cross the streets.
While north of Amman, we stopped to see the Castle Ajloun, which was build in the center of three wadis, including the Jordan valley, to control the tribes, mines and trade routes in the region. The architecture was pretty intact and had some interesting defense features such as the strategic location with a 360 view of the valleys, a dry moat, four defense towers with arrow slits, draw bridge and of course the machicolation and barbicans.
From the top we had a 360 view. Behind Jon and I is the direction of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. From this point we could still see some of Amman city structures and the valley heading towards Madaba.
We saw a lot of people brewing tea and coffee outside during our trip. They would offer us coffee or tea all the time, nearly every hour of the day. It is such a big part if their culture. It was hard to continuously say no or "Haram" because sawing no is refusing their hospitality in a way.
We bought some figs from a vendor on the side of the road.
They were delicious. Probably the best figs I had ever eaten in my life.
After our visit to Ajloun, we drove to Jerash. Jon's friend Ahmad Sad, and his wife Walah met us for lunch. They presented us with many gifts, and insisted to buy us lunch. We were actually suppose to meet them at another restaurant of their choosing where they had made arrangements, but we mistakenly met them in the wrong location.
South gate of Jerash, which is not actually a gate, but rather a monument built for the arrival of a significant historical figure.
City of Jerash- We saw a Horse Arena, Oval Plaza, and Temple of Zeus.
Some market stores lined the main road way, water fountains in the center of a roman mall plaza.
Pretty cool and elaborate I would say!
Jerash main road connects the Temple of Athena and the Oval Plaza. This street was designed for chariots, and between the pillars and on either side of the road was the cover walkway and store fronts. Some interesting history that we learned was that the people of the area were ruled by Greeks, Romans, and then Persians. During the Roman rule, the people became Romans and built this city around 60 BC. The Persians invaded the city and ended Roman rule in 614 AD, and a major earthquake around 700 AD destroyed the water infrastructure, and topple many structures, rendering the city uninhabitable. Despite this, the city is the most well preserved roman city in the Middle East. Jerash was a very neat place to visit.
Eden very excited about a souvenir brass camel one of the vendors gave him. During our trip Kia Ora and Eden got gifts nearly every day from locals. People here are so kind and generous, and there really love children. It will be a harsh reality when we move back to the states.
When we entered the amphitheater some retired Jordanian soldiers were playing traditional music. It sounded awesome! A kid from the audience started dancing by stomping his heals and doing fancy footwork. It was so cool to watch him. It made me want to go up there and join him, but I didn't!
Day 3: Mt Nebo, Madaba, Karak
Here we are climbing Mount Nebo. There is a monument the significance of the location, dated 2000 AD. There are also some olive trees planted there by the Pope which were bearing fruit as we arrived.
Mount Nebo- From Mt Nebo you can clearly see the promised land Moses saw just before he died. He was buried on the mount. You can see the waters of Moses and the valley heading to the Dead Sea. The north end of the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, and valley, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem are all visible from the mount as well. There is a monument with the staff and serpent, which represents the staff Moses held up to those wandering in the desert that were miraculously healed those whom had been bitten if they looked upon the serpent in faith.
One of the things I love to do while visiting a new country is look out the window and soak in the scenery and really see and understand the country and culture based on its geography and people's way of life. It was fun to see young boys herding their goats and seeing them cross the streets.
While north of Amman, we stopped to see the Castle Ajloun, which was build in the center of three wadis, including the Jordan valley, to control the tribes, mines and trade routes in the region. The architecture was pretty intact and had some interesting defense features such as the strategic location with a 360 view of the valleys, a dry moat, four defense towers with arrow slits, draw bridge and of course the machicolation and barbicans.
From the top we had a 360 view. Behind Jon and I is the direction of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. From this point we could still see some of Amman city structures and the valley heading towards Madaba.
We saw a lot of people brewing tea and coffee outside during our trip. They would offer us coffee or tea all the time, nearly every hour of the day. It is such a big part if their culture. It was hard to continuously say no or "Haram" because sawing no is refusing their hospitality in a way.
We bought some figs from a vendor on the side of the road.
They were delicious. Probably the best figs I had ever eaten in my life.
After our visit to Ajloun, we drove to Jerash. Jon's friend Ahmad Sad, and his wife Walah met us for lunch. They presented us with many gifts, and insisted to buy us lunch. We were actually suppose to meet them at another restaurant of their choosing where they had made arrangements, but we mistakenly met them in the wrong location.
South gate of Jerash, which is not actually a gate, but rather a monument built for the arrival of a significant historical figure.
City of Jerash- We saw a Horse Arena, Oval Plaza, and Temple of Zeus.
Some market stores lined the main road way, water fountains in the center of a roman mall plaza.
Pretty cool and elaborate I would say!
Jerash main road connects the Temple of Athena and the Oval Plaza. This street was designed for chariots, and between the pillars and on either side of the road was the cover walkway and store fronts. Some interesting history that we learned was that the people of the area were ruled by Greeks, Romans, and then Persians. During the Roman rule, the people became Romans and built this city around 60 BC. The Persians invaded the city and ended Roman rule in 614 AD, and a major earthquake around 700 AD destroyed the water infrastructure, and topple many structures, rendering the city uninhabitable. Despite this, the city is the most well preserved roman city in the Middle East. Jerash was a very neat place to visit.
Eden very excited about a souvenir brass camel one of the vendors gave him. During our trip Kia Ora and Eden got gifts nearly every day from locals. People here are so kind and generous, and there really love children. It will be a harsh reality when we move back to the states.
When we entered the amphitheater some retired Jordanian soldiers were playing traditional music. It sounded awesome! A kid from the audience started dancing by stomping his heals and doing fancy footwork. It was so cool to watch him. It made me want to go up there and join him, but I didn't!
Day 3: Mt Nebo, Madaba, Karak
Here we are climbing Mount Nebo. There is a monument the significance of the location, dated 2000 AD. There are also some olive trees planted there by the Pope which were bearing fruit as we arrived.
Mount Nebo- From Mt Nebo you can clearly see the promised land Moses saw just before he died. He was buried on the mount. You can see the waters of Moses and the valley heading to the Dead Sea. The north end of the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, and valley, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethlehem are all visible from the mount as well. There is a monument with the staff and serpent, which represents the staff Moses held up to those wandering in the desert that were miraculously healed those whom had been bitten if they looked upon the serpent in faith.
On our way from Mt Nebo to Madaba we stopped to see a mosaic workshop which featured many mosaics for sale, as well as demonstration of how mosaics are made. This artist was following a design in micro stone.
Madaba- St George's Chapel
I think this is the oldest preserved mosaic in the Middle East.
The mosaic is really neat, as it contains a map of the region, which clearly depicts the Baptism Pools in Bethany, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, the Field of Blood, Mount Nebo, and many other features of the area.
The features were labeled in mosaic Greek and not all of the piece were present. It was very interesting to see. We stopped to get a mosaic which had the Tree of Life, replicated from the preserved mosaic.
Wadi Mujib- the Valley of Mujib was impressively similar to our Grand Canyon, much of the territory here, and in Wadi Rum was similar to our national parks in the Western United States.
On our way to Petra we took the Kings highway. This road was a trade route of vital importance to the ancient Middle East. It began in Egypt and stretch across the Sinai peninsula to Aqaba. From there it turned northward across Transjordan leading to Damascus and the Euphrates Rivers. Since the Muslim conquest in the 7th century BC and until the 16th century, it served as the drab al-hajj, or pilgrimage road for Muslims coming from Syria, Iraq and beyond and heading for the holy city of Mecca.
Karak Castle- Karak is located in the region of the plain of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Caslte here was built as a defense against the Holy Crusaders and the remains are left open for exploration. We found many interesting areas to explore here, and had a clear view of the south end of the Dead Sea.
We loved roaming around and exploring the castle.
Day 4- Petra
Today was a very excited day! We got to visit Petra.
Jon and Mohammed, manager of Jordan Inspiration Tours.
Mohammed planned our entire itinerary.
A great chance for the kids to ride horses. They took horses from the main entrance to the Siq, which in arabic means between the rock. This is the narrow shaded crevasse in the rock that leads down to the Treasury in Petra.
The legs of a man leading a camel
BOB stroller cam in very handy
Some formation resembling an elephant
Some formation, now a fish
The Altar
Sacrifices are offered to God
The walk through this dressage leading to Petra was very exciting.
We knew we were close but could not see it until we finally arrived to it.
The sight was breathtaking!
Finally our first peak at Petra, or the Treasury. The Treasury is what is usually shown when showing pictures of Petra. Petra is however a small city with multiple buildings. I did not realize this until I started planning this trip.
Donkeys- This is how we roll in Petra. The tenacious beast ran right up the steps!
We saw many tombs as we headed from the Siq down to the residential area.
The amazing scenery of ancient structures, bedouin camels and typical Nabatean scenery.
Beautiful!
Our guide sang the most beautiful salah while in the mosque!
Shmaugs- We all wore these Middle Eastern pieces in many different ways throughout our tour of Jordan. We are quite familiar with them, because many people wear them in KSA. I enjoy collecting them and wearing a variety of colors and styles.
"Eventually our persistent entourage of donkey jockeys managed to get us all on donkey, to high tail it up and out of the canyon back to the Siq. The stubborn asses were not so stubborn and knew exactly the speed and route to take. They were fun to ride. The boys took hold of their asses and marched on ahead quickly. Jon's ass was a stubborn ass and Maeva's ass was quickly renamed "jiggly ass" because of the speed and manner in which he trotted away to his final destination."
-Jon
Jon learning how to tie the head scarf the traditional Jordanian way.
We had ice cream and gatorade there to cool down after the long day in the canyons of Petra. Kia Ora and Logan had fun running through the water fountains to cool off!
Once we returned to our hotel, the Petra Moon, we headed to the pool for more cooling off.
The water however was a little to cold for my taste. The kids were the only brave ones to jump in and go for a swim.
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