Blogs In the Key of Life: Lost cities

After a few days in Cairo, I was really excited to get to Jordan. I thought it would be more like Morocco in terms of hospitality and people and I was right! I knew there were a few places I wanted to see but I decided just to go with the flow. The morning after I got there, I heard two guys speaking in Arabic about Mount Nebo and, ta-da, a tour group was created. We went to Mount Nebo, where Moses saw the promised land (Deut. 34: 1-7) and also where he (allegedly) is buried. On a clear day, you should be able to see what Moses saw: across the Dead Sea and into Jerusalem. They were doing construction the day we went, kicking up dust, so we could just see a hazy horizon.

(I put the below in the best story-telling order, not actually the order we went to see them)
In addition to Mt. Nebo, we also went to Sodom and Gommorah, you know, the two cities that were so depraved God couldn't even find ten righteous people worth saving. Only their complete annihilation via fire and brimstone (sulfur) would appease Him. And He did. There isn't anything left (but brimstone and ash marks). If it weren't for the signs, we wouldn't have even known it was the site. Actually, Gommorah is a beautiful set of gorges and a little stream that leads to a waterfall. No sign of people though. Lesson to be learned? (Kara- I'm not sayin, but I'm sayin...)
Since this was already a day of dead people and cities, we thought it fitting to drop by the Dead Sea. This is a must if you are ever in the Israel/Jordan area. It's like having a built in water chair, you can't help but float! Oh, and just for fun, I went in a burkini! That's not me in the picture (obvi) but that's pretty much what I looked like, minus the headscarf. Since we were on the Jordan side, you can look right over into Israel, it was pretty damn cool. So we floated and chatted and just chilled out for the better part of two hours. You can put some magical mud on you that is supposed to clear up any skin problems but, since I had my burkini on I couldn't do it.

We went to a few more biblical sights and did a lot of driving but those were the highlights of the day. Jordan is great because the country is so small you can traverse it in about 5 or 6 hours, no matter where you are. The people in Jordan were also very friendly, both the tourists and the locals. Oh, and good cheap food! On the road we got three falafel/egglplant/fries sandwiches for 1.5JOD! That's about $2. And, you can get sugarcane juice for about $.75. Imagine a big Jack Lalane juicer that they stick raw sugarcane sticks through. The result? Pure sugarcane juice (my dentist will be pleased!)

After I split with the traveling boys (they were going to Dubai the next day), I headed down to Petra. After sitting on a "minibus" (a van with every seat packed and bunch of luggage) for almost 5 hours, I had no idea what was in store. I will say, Petra alone would have made the trip to Jordan worthwhile. It is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and you quickly see why. The city was carved out of the mountain, literally! I don't know how these people, in the first century AD, did this but it is amazing. Sometime around the 16th century the city got "lost" and was rediscovered in 1812. Words can't describe and even pictures can't fully capture the majestic nature but I will try. The day in Petra was full; we hiked from about 6:30AM until sunset, but it was so worth it. Enjoy the pictures!