Travel Blog: Tine Visit, Madaba, Dead Sea, Mount Nebo, Jabal Qala, Ajloun

The past couple of weeks have been great. I've been lucky enough to be visited (Tine!) and therefore go on some cool trips. Ergo, there are photos. Full disclosure, Tine gets full credit for all pictures, its her skills not mine and one can likely tell by the results.

Tine landed during the tail end of the snowstorm (photos in previous post). The shitty weather largely made trips impossible the first weekend, so we checked out other bits of Amman, like Rainbow street. We had a great time, as usual I love introducing new friends to old friends and watching what happens, so the weekend went well. Tine then left me for Jerusalem for a couple of days, when she got back we took off for Madaba which I remembered and reaffirmed as one of my favorite places in Amman. We got lucky with a good drive, a decent hotel, and by finding the big Catholic church in Madaba. A really nice guy working there told us about the Christian population of the city, which he quoted to be about 5,000 families. We hung out in the church, climbed the bell tower and looked through the mosaics and photos of its history. The church was established in the 1800s when several Christian families moved from Karak (in the south) to Madaba with the assistance of the Vatican and established a church and school. The photos include Ottoman officials, Polish and Italian priests, and simple insights to life over a hundred years ago. I also learned that there has recently been established a catholic university in Madaba, which for reasons has been named the American University of Madaba. Someone should look into establishing an Arabic program out of there. Definitely my favorite part of Madaba.

We took the opportunity as well to get a cab and go to the Dead Sea and Mt. Nebo (where Moses saw the promise land, etc. and possibly is buried). The Dead Sea continues to be one of, if not my favorite spot in the country. I've said it previously, but its just one of those places that you hear about and doesn't disappoint. Check out the pictures of the huge salt rocks on the beach. I don't remember seeing so many when I went previously, but like any beach there are sticks and rocks washed up, but at the Dead Sea their encased in salt, so its a bit like its frozen in place. The salt breaks off in big chunks and generally just makes the beach beautiful. The feeling the salt leaves is definitely unique but I enjoy it, not everyone does. The sunset, however, I'm pretty sure is loved by all.

Tine also came with us on a Middlebury trip to Ajloun. The castle in Ajloun is a crusader-era fort built by Muslim forces to defend the area. It's built on big hill, and is huge, it appears even bigger from within. The views were great and the trip overall, long, but very nice. The north of Jordan is awesome and I haven't explored it nearly enough. I assume I'll have plenty of time this summer, when I'm in Irbid.

The next day we did the mandatory trip to the Amman citadel, called Jabal Qala. It was the center of the Roman and Byzantine cities in Amman, and one of the sites preserving the vast age of the city. The views are beautiful and the monument setup is massive. We were very lucky with good weather. The pictures, again mostly Tine, show better than I can tell.

The Catholic Church in Madaba

Really old mosaics in said church

Kids playing in one of the two schools attached to the church.

View from the bell tower

Again

Guy reading, as seen from bell tower (I thought it was a cool shot, don't blame Tine)

Another really old mosaic elsewhere in Madaba (I think Mt. Nebo)

Tine thought the view to the North of Mt. Nebo (not the promise land) was cooler.

Me, at the Dead Sea

Salt rocks

Looking back into the hills. The Dead Sea is the lowest point in the world.

Dead Sea

BAM mandatory sunset photo

View from Ajloun

Inside the castle

In Ajloun we checked out a small community outside the city, took a tour of a work project where women from the community grow herbs, tend olive trees and make soap.